Dam-Torsad

I ache, I burn, I want to scream.

As I am in the Amarr system, I wanted to visit the holy sites and major cathedrals in Amarr Island. But I had no idea how to do this, the island has become one vast metropolis. Dam-Torsad has swallowed all the land, all the way up to the shore on every side. I don’t know how to move around in this city, I can’t figure out how to find the Mausoleum of Greinok or how to get to the Cathedral of Saint Tal-Romon. Mass transit remains a mystery to me, and the free maps they hand out at stations are woefully inadequate.

So, I registered with a tour operator, specializing in the holy sites. They pick you up in the morning, show you places of pilgrimage with a guide, and drop you off in the evening. This modus operandi should have been a first warning signal.

With a cluster of tourists from all over the Empire and beyond, you are squeezed together in a transport and brought from one site to another. The guide walks you over, says some commonplace nonsense rehearsed and rehashed a thousand times before, including the monotonously repeated jokes. Then you get just a little bit of time to walk around on your own before you are pushed towards the souvenir shop where you get ample time. Then you are shipped to the next site.

It hurts. I want to pray, to meditate, to contemplate history and the immensity of these places. I want to let it pierce my heart while I recite scripture and let the history of these places fill my soul to the brim. I want to lay down flat on the floor and touch the stones on which holy men and women stepped. But I can’t. It is too loud, too crowded with stupid obese Gallente taking disrespectful holopictures. There is no rest and no quiet. You get a tiny glimpse of what these places could be, before you are pushed further along the tourist track. And soon you are again dumped in a souvenir store, that offer books with nice pictures of what you could only vaguely perceive.

I came back from this trip exhausted and disappointed. The most revered and holiest places have become an industry, an assembly line for tourist mementos. From opening time till closing time, they are desecrated by the loud, picture taking, fast-food munching tourist stream of atheists and heretics.

Emperor Family Academy station in Amarr

Today was my first visit to the Emperor Family Academy station in orbit around Oris. What a glorious sight! A monument unrivaled in beauty! This station is gigantic. What a center of trade! The skies were black with ships coming and leaving. For the first time I beheld immense Titan ships. Not one but four of them are anchored outside the station. I wept and prayed and praised God.

After my years of seclusion, all this was just too overwhelming.

Once docked safely in the labyrinthine hangar bays, I left the ship and looked for merchants. However, I could not mentally handle the sheer amount of traffic and people, the constant buzz of activity, the mix of obnoxious odors, the relentless droning of advertisements. It came to a point that I had difficulties simply walking around. Everyone seemed to bump into me, and I seemed to always stand in the way of someone who is already late to get somewhere else urgently. Even the chapels are too noisy to find peace of mind.

The markets are even more challenging. I was drenched in flashing lights, explosive soundbursts, yelling, and aggressivity. I have come here to equip my exploration vessel, a Magnate class frigate that I baptized the “Indagatrix”. I needed drones, scanners, damage control units, salvage equipment, probes. It took me a lot of effort to navigate these markets and probably I have been ripped off, but I have acquired all I needed. 

To my surprise, the equipment appears to work as advertised.

I will head off to the Gamdis system. But first I yearn to spend some time in a sensory deprivation unit so my mind can rest.

SFRIM corporation

How could I have failed to notice this? Aspenstar's corporation is called "Societas Imperialis Sceptri Coronaque", the imperial society of scepter and crown. This is a direct reference to the Ametat and Avetat! To be honest, the ticker "SFRIM" does not hint at it. Thinking of it, neither does "Khimi Harar" directly associate to LUMEN. 

Letter to Kernher

In the reports of the Theology Council Tribunal I cannot find a formal condemnation of Samira Kernher as heretic, or Kernherism as a heresy. I searched, because on the IGS many Amarrians were denouncing her as a heretic. However, most of the time in these IGS discussions everybody calls everybody else a heretic, so that is not a very reliable source. Therefore, I prefer to rely on the files of the Theology Council. 

Since I do not find any official denunciation of her, I sent a letter to Samira Kernher, to find out more about Ilash Toth: 

Dear ms. Kernher,

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a wandering monk, trying to recover the Empire’s most valuable relics. It needs no explanation that Ametat and Avetat are foremost on my mind. 

I have been living a hermit’s life in an asteroid monastery for many years. So, before my quest began, I have not been following worldly affairs. 

I am now trying to catch up.

In doing so, I came along your manifesto, “The Test of Faith”. I do agree that our Empire is rife with sin and that those that rule must be held much more accountable than they are now. 

Even though I do not agree with all aspects that you write, my soul was warmed by the strength of the fire of faith in you. I laud your faith, and I pray that your critics never succeed in diminishing it. Those that say nothing can ever be changed have forgotten how the Mad Emperor’s corruptions of both the council of Apostles and of the scripture could be undone, without civil war, but through the actions of a single saint.

My firm belief is that the Avetat will not be our reward for returning Amarr to the faith, but that it will be the tool that helps us achieve this. Therefore, I devote all my efforts in finding it, even if others denounce me as a madman for doing so.

My quest has been hampered by a lack of information, in particular on Ilash Toth. However, from your manifesto I gather that you are familiar with his writings. Since he was the last person to allegedly succeed in leading an expedition to find the Avetat I am trying to understand his mind better. I do not expect his writings to show his route or which system he ended up, but any scrap of information can hold clues.

I humbly request access to your collections on information on Ilash Toth, and I seek any advice you can give me in my quest. If it please you, I can meet you at a location of your choice.

I thank you for your time reading this missive.

By his light and will,

Theodosius Savnar

 

False lead

 I learned that the alliance “Two Maidens One Chalice” has absolutely nothing to do with the chalice of Greinok. I have seen what they do with a chalice and pray no relic ever falls in their hands.

Gamdis III and previous expeditions

 I learned that about a year ago, an expedition was sent to Gamdis III in the Kakol constellation, by a wealthy capsuleer and Khanid commoner that goes by the name of Nauplius. He built a research station, the Ametat Archaeology HQ, which was soon after destroyed by an alliance called Lumen. 

The reasons for this destruction are not clear, it appears Nauplius is in a race with Lunarisse Aspenstar (aka Lunarisse Daphiti) of LUMEN to find the artifacts. This lead points to Anath V, as is clear from this fragment on the background of Aspenstar:

Anath V is a storm planet known for an unusual population of indigenous wildlife colloquially named “Sefrim’s Veil” floating through its tulmultous skies. Killed during the attack were many colonists, administrators, soldiers, gas miners and their families, including Tertius Ausonius Bathana, a noted archeologist from Hedion University, known for his study of the ancient Takhmal and his quixotic pursuit of the Ametat and Avetat, and his Ni-Kunni wife Mairi Beaumonte, the-then heir to a Ni-Kunni trading clan. Perhaps the most famous survivor of the attack is the couple’s then four-year old daughter, now known by the call-sign of Lunarisse Aspenstar of the loyalist capsuleer alliance Khimi Harar, who later came to maturity on Mishi IV in the care of her mother’s extended family.[https://forums.eveonline.com/t/rumors-gossip-tabloids/130182/91]

Another explorer involved in the search is Lord Jude Benayahu Aslan, searching also in Gamdis III in the Araz constellation:

Lord Aslan’s expedition is rumoured to be visiting both the more well-known Araz constellation, known for many historical sites and ruins, as well its lesser-visited neighbors, such as the Kakol constellation, perhaps in the hopes of discovering sites overlooked by others. The expedition is well equipped, with specialists from Hedion University and the Royal Amarr Institute, teams of mechanics and technicians, as well as security, numbering close to a hundred souls.[https://forums.eveonline.com/t/rumors-gossip-tabloids/130182/93]

However, Lord Aslan’s expedition seems to have ended in disaster on 5-9-YC121, due “to catastrophic technical mishaps with excavation equipment and the site’s unstable geology.” It is interesting that he is also a suspected leader of the Purity of Throne cultists. And again, Lunarisse Aspenstar was close by the accident:

The MIO spokesperson expressed gratitude to Khimi Harar for their tireless Search and Recovery efforts, and other assistance in the aftermath of the disaster. The Executrix of Khimi Harar had been on vacation in the world and was among the first on the scene to render aid and mobilized response forces. [https://forums.eveonline.com/t/rumors-gossip-tabloids/130182/94]

Why is Gamdis III a candidate system for the relics? There is a mention of “local legends” for salespeople paddling false souvenir relics. And why does Aspenstar try to stop these expeditions? What did her father Bathana look for or find in Anath V ?

Aspenstar seems too dangerous to approach. I will start with the others.

Samira Kernher

 A certain Samira Kernher, who wrote a pamphlet denouncing the vice and corruption in the ruling classes of the Empire and proposing more oversight, appeals to Ilash Toth’s writings. She seems to have deep knowledge of Toth’s life and thought. 

I hesitate to contact Kernher to be able to access Toth’s writings, since many call her a heretic.

The search begins

I have finished capsuleer training, but my patience is put to the test again, as even more training awaits. Skills to acquire, ships to make mine. It is hard to control my impetuousness, since I am eager to start my quest.

God, through the visions I was granted, has instructed me to find the holy relics of the empire. Prime three among them are the crown Avetat and the scepter Ametat of the emperor Amash-Akura and the chalice of the prophet Dano Gheinok. To this quest I must devote my life, even if most will declare me mad.

Below are some initial notes I made on the Ametat and Avetat:

It is known that various impostors made forgeries, some with a lot of success. Harr Indi was an Amarr Holder on Matar who claimed to have discovered the Ametat and Avetat. He produced exquisite forgeries of the items that fooled the Empire for close to a year. Following discovery of his deception, he vanished.

A more sincere attempt seems to be Ilash Toth's expeditions thousand years ago, 21432 AD:

The first was launched shortly after the Empire developed the jump gate, when a notable radical theologian, Ilash Toth, and a contingent of fifty-thousand followers set up an expedition to find the artifacts. Toth had long espoused a return to the early days of the Empire, before contact with the Udorians instigated the Reclaiming, and purportedly received a vision from God that would lead him to the Ametat and Avetat and enable him to reestablish what he considered the old days of glory.

Toth's following had grown quite massive and his intention to launch an expedition drew great interest from all quarters of the Empire. The search lasted for three years, with Toth reportedly growing closer and closer to uncovering the resting place of the artifacts. Eventually he came to believe he was nearly at the point of discovery and sent a tenth of his followers back to Amarr to spread the word that the Ametat and Avetat were on their way back to the Empire.

However, Toth and his remaining followers never returned, and no trace of them was found. The system where those followers that had returned claimed they had left him was devoid of any indication of their fates, with no wrecks nor evidence that Toth had ever been to the system. Treasure hunters fell upon the system, but never discovered the Ametat and Avetat. To this day, Toth's disappearance remains a mystery
[http://wiki.eve-inspiracy.com/index.php?title=Ametat_and_Avetat]

The ultimate fate of Ilash Toth and his followers has been a source of much speculation and conspiracy theory. The most commonly accepted answer is that the expedition met with some calamity and was destroyed, with the wreckage having long ago been picked apart and scattered. The nature of this disaster varies from theory to theory; some claim it was a group of pirates or raiders, others contend it was a critical engine failure or other ship malfunction.

However, several conspiracy theories remain popular. The most widespread theory claims the emperor, fearing that Toth would uncover the actual artifacts, sent a covert detachment of the navy after Toth. They followed Toth to the resting place of the Ametat and Avetat and then destroyed him before securing the artifacts for themselves. The Ametat and Avetat, this theory claims, remain under heavy guard in the Imperial vaults, awaiting a time when the emperor must reveal them to save his own power.

A similar but less outlandish theory claims the emperor merely used the expedition as a way to dispose of Toth. The theologian never discovered the artifacts but he was still eliminated by imperial assassins. The truth of the matter was covered up in order to prevent a public backlash.

Still other theories claim that Toth did find the Ametat and Avetat, but then departed with them to parts unknown, feeling that the Empire was doomed even if he returned. The followers he sent back, it is said, were those unworthy of following him to his new utopia.

Finally, there are some claims that Toth met with some advanced civilization, perhaps even the Jove, and was either destroyed, kidnapped for research, or willingly went to live among what he viewed as a more righteous society.
Whatever his fate, it seems unlikely the truth shall ever be uncovered.
[http://wiki.eve-inspiracy.com/index.php?title=Ilash_Toth]

What was the system where the returned followers last saw Toth?

Initio

I decided to keep this log of my research and explorations. I am searching for the most holy relics of the Empire, and I am focusing on the long lost Ametat and Avetat.

I received this quest in a vision, as saint Tal-Romon appeared to me and spoke to me. I also had to take three vows: a vow of non-agression against capsuleers, a vow of poverty, and a vow of celibacy. If I would break these vows, I would not succeed in the divine quest given to me. 

I start with no knowledge of current affairs in the Empire, as I was a monk in a secluded asteroid monastery, far away from worldly concerns. My congregation was divided in opinion, between thinking I had gone mad and thinking I was indeed given a divine vision. There was a slight majority for the latter, so I was able to bid them goodbye in faith.