Lore - Convergence of Cyriss

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This article is about the lore of the Convergence of Cyriss, for information about playing the faction by the same name, see Convergence of Cyriss.

History of the Convergence of Cyriss

The cult around the goddess Cyriss is perhaps the youngest of religions, beginning in earnest with the discovery of the celestial object later known as Cyriss by Magus Aghamore in 283 AR. Though members of the cult retroactively see the influence of Cyriss far earlier, back to the beginning of the universe. Aghamore was an astronomer with the Fraternal Order of Wizardry whose innovations in optics allowed him to see celestial objects that were previously invisible. One of these was dubbed the Dark Wanderer far from Caen's sun. After seeing the Dark Wanderer, Aghamore received dreams and visions that this object is called Cyriss and it was directly communicating to him. Sharing this made Aghamore an outcast, and lead Aghamore and others who also had visions from Cyriss after seeing the planet to meet in secret. The early members mostly included abstract mathematicians, engineers, and astronomers.

The first major gathering of the cult was in 290 AR, which was when many of the core tenets were established and the first priests were nominated. At this meeting, the three tiers of priests were established: optifex being the lowest, enumerators being the caretakers of the faith, and fluxions to guard the mysteries. This meeting was also when it was formalized that the cortex, which many from the Fraternal Order had spent much of their previous lives making, was against the will of Cyriss. After this meeting, Aghamore, then spent the last five years of his life which ended in 303 AR, to secretly developing a network of energy from the arcane energies that flow beneath the surface of Caen to power the new temple workshops. This was expanded on in 311 AR by ranking priests of the cult in Principles of Geomantic Energy and then expanded in 326 AR with the invention of the astronometric nexus, which gave the cult a secret source of near limitless energy for their workshops. By 330 AR, the cult had completely removed burning fuel for all energy including mobile engines. Future sites of temples relied heavily on these geomantic flows. To control these advancements, the priests decided on the Rubric of Mysteries in 320 AR to formalize the hierarchy of knowledge within the cult.

The most important early temple was in the southern Wyrmwall Mountains and housed the Foundry of Enumeration beginning in 312 AR. Here the brightest minds in the cult worked to create machines capable of automated mathematical operations, originally as an act of devotion to Cyriss but later their usefulness became core to the cult. They started to use these machines to control the simple tasks of servitors, provide precision for instruments, and aid in mathematical problems. Later developments allowed these machines to be given new tasks using brass cards with punched holes, and output of the machine was collected with new inventions such as a printing press. By 330 AR, the machine had grown in size and scale and occupied several rooms and constant maintenance. In 333 AR, a priest named Helicratus discovered patterns in seemingly random errors of its output, which he determined to be encrypted messages sent by Cyriss herself. This became known as the Cipher Engine, and is still the primary method of direct communication from the goddess, which it is now solely devoted to.

The first decree from Cyriss was to abandon flesh and become one with their machines, which initiated the Anima Corpus Procedure to transfer a soul to a machine, which took many decades to begin to show any progress. The early leadership of this project included Fluxion Helicratus, [Master Lucidia], and Enumerator Ghil Lucant. Lucidia was cast out of the cult in 360 AR due to her work, and just a few years later Helicratus became the first to have his soul transferred to a machine body, but Lucidia attacked the temple the same night, killing many, and capturing Helicratus in the process. That same night, Enumerator Lucant successfully transferred his own soul to avoid certain death. Due to Lucidia's attack, the Foundry of Enumeration was abandoned and the Cipher Engine relocated.

The next decree by Cyriss was revealed to Lucant that Caen must be made into a machine spanning the entire planet and allow Cyriss herself to manifest, inhabiting the world machine. This project became known as the Great Work and is still ongoing, likely to be ongoing for many more centuries. Lucant became effectively the new leader of the cult, creating a stricter hierarchy and rebuilding after the betrayal of Lucidia. In 370 AR, he convened a meeting of all ranking priests and laid out the Great Work, declared himeslf the first Iron Father, created the Convergence of Cyriss, an inner circle of the larger cult, and described the Nine Harmonics which refined the tenets of Aghamore. Lucant lead the Convergence for 20 years, stepping down to allow new leadership and prevent stagnation, but he remains a pivotal figure in the Convergence and holds the title of "Divinity Architect" due to his founder status.

As the process of transferring one's soul became easier, rules were established about who was able to do so and when. Priests were required to live as much of their flesh lives as possible before transferring, and to do so was a great honour reserved for the spiritually advanced. While nearly all who transferred their souls, did so to a machine body, there was one machine named the Constellation which was capable of housing multiple souls at once created in 410 AR. Initially it was only used temporarily before transferring back to a body, but over time it gained more permanent souls. For the last two centuries it was been a vital advisory source, though most of their efforts are spent on greater mysteries which they are uniquely able to understand.

The Convergence has been secretly expanding and working silently on their Great Work. They have been avoiding major conflicts in order to keep themselves and their mission secret, though occasionally taking important sites by force when necessary. River mouths in particular were coveted sites of geomantic power, though all have large cities built there, so the Convergence has built elaborate workshops and temples underneath these cities, which collectively make up the Great Conjunction, a system of underground temples under the cities of Caspia, Ohk, Berck, and Five Fingers. The most common foes encountered in this endeavor has been the Cephalyx and the Circle Orobos, who are also capable of harnessing the geomantic energies flowing underground for their own purposes. These are among the greatest enemies of the Convergence. Additionally, the Convergence has so far been unable to penetrate Ios, where many sites remain unclaimed. In 521, Enumerator Donaes discovered evidence that while the Convergence of Cyriss is the only force working toward the Great Work in western Immoren, there are other groups previously unknown working toward the same goal on other continents of Caen, which has since emboldened the Convergence. Father Lucant and the Constellation have been working to reveal the Convergence in force and take that which was impossible to do in secret. The research within the Convergence has sifted to almost entirely military innovations. Diplomatic ties with Cygnar was established in 604 AR and Cyriss worship became mainstream in Caspia after Cygnar learned of the Convergence efforts there, and similar diplomacy in underway in Korsk with the Khadoran government. In 606 AR, Directrix became the Iron Mother in order to lead the war for the final phases of the Great Work in western Immoren.

Organization of the Cult

The cult of Cyriss is scattered across western Immorren, and major stronghold exist in most major cities. These temples are all designed to be as self-sufficient as possible and communication between temples is intentionally limited, though there is still a hierarchy that they follow. Of the three tiers of priests, only fluxions communicate directly with multiple temples. Each temple is supported by peripheral cults, which are typically not a part of the Convergence of Cyriss but maintain the public worship of Cyriss. Optifex priests work as labourers and craftsmen inside the temples and are the lowest rank of the Convergence inner circle.

Above the optifex are the enumerators, and above them are fluxions who lead each temple. Additionally, each temple has a Forge Master, usually one of the best innovative minds there, who maintains the technical and mechanical work at that temple. Temple leaders secretly communicate with each other using fluctuations in the geomantric flows connecting each temple. Since the Phase of Alignment started, this has become more crucible due to the higher need of coordination.

The most vital temple, called the Temple of Prime Harmonic, is located in the Wyrmwall Montains and it contains both the Cipher Engine, allowing direct communication from Cyriss, and the Constellation, a council of multiple souls housed in a single machine. The highest leadership in the Convergence is the Iron Mother/Father, which is currently Iron Mother Directrix. Directrix leads from the secret Temple of Prime Harmonic, though she is mostly away for the Great Work now. She is the singular leader of the priesthood and the military, a position which lasts 9 years and is decided by the Constellation. Her role as Iron Mother will end in 615 AR.

Father Lucant holds a unique leadership role of Divinity Architect, which does not have direct authority but highly respected at all levels of the Convergence and is responsible for the deciphering of the Cipher Engine. Nobody else in the Convergence matches Lucant's skills in deciphering messages from Cyriss. Though he has no official authority, his orders would only be disobeyed due to a direct contradiction by the Iron Mother or Father, which is very rare.

The Oblivion Events

During the events involving the coming of the Infernals, Aurora, the Numen of Aerogenesis and daughter of Iron Mother Directrix discovered her relationship with Sebatian Nemo. When Aurora confronted Directrix, she initially denied it, leading to Aurora temporarily fleeing from the Convergence. Aurora found Nemo dying and in secret transferred his soul to a clockwork vessel against his will. Directrix discovered this and while deciding the fate of Nemo's soul, Aurora with the help of Aurum Lucanum Athanor Locke and Prefect Hypatia stole his soul and escaped. Together they put Nemo's soul into a large machine created by Locke. This act caused a division in the Convergence, with most supporting the Iron Mother, but a significant portion of the peripherals joining Aurora in her fight against the coming Infernals.

Nemo devised a plan to lead an exodus from Caen through a gateway built by the Convergence to expedite Cyriss' arrival. Directrix learned of this and sent attackers to Aurora and Nemo.

At around the same time, Lich Lord Asphyxious was struck down by Omodamos, The Black Gate, but was restored to life by Aurora in a Convergence body at the request of Deneghra. Asphyxious aided Aurora in the fight against Directrix for control of the gate at Henge Hold, where Asphyxious nearly killed Directrix. Nemo and Aurora directed a series of vessels through the gate, Nemo going through first and returning (the only one to do so).

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