Tuesday 1 March 2022

Doriam's period of grace

The Tetrimon cult in exile in Khanid space longed to be recognized by the Empire and lobbied hard and long for this. Heideran never allowed it. However, under his successor, Doriam II, they were finally given a chance to get re-instated. In YC106 the Theology Council accepted a petition to investigate their doctrine and decide if it is in line with the imperial rite. Unfortunately Doriam would not live to see the result of that investigation.

The cult's teachings are based on a slightly different version of the scriptures. Some parts are not included, while others are added. There are apocryphal texts that are not in the canonical version of the scriptures, and these parts are known as the "Tetrimon Scrolls". These include some very old books that were retained by the Tetrimon when the Order had been instructed to purify Scriptures from the Mad Emperor's heresies. These old parts date from at least two millennia ago, when the Order was still in the good graces of the Empire, before the Moral Reforms.

For the duration of the Theology Council's investigation of the scrolls, the Suppression Edict was revoked, suspending the exile of the Order. Still, it was no walk in the park to bring their sciptures to Amarr, in fact the Order's grand master at the time, Elata Ardo, died protecting these shipments during their transfer to the Theology Council. 

The Theology Council then debated and studied these texts carefully for nearly two years, and at first, things were looking good. A first report in January YC108 concluded that several books in the Tetrimon scriptures are authentic.

Things took a turn for the worse not long after that. It appeared that the Order had been spying on the Theology Council. There were even some claims that they tried to influence members of the Council. Their spying attempts were revealed, resulting in a strong condemnation from the Empire. In the end, the Theology Council described the scrolls as "inconclusive", and while this does not reject their authenticity, it does not accept the Order back into the fold either.

In October YC108, chancellor Karsoth had ordered the Imperial Navy to attack an installation from the Order in the Bleak Lands, claimed to be the center of their eavesdropping effort. The Order claimed that it used this station to mop up the remnants of the Blood Raiders that were still in the Bleak Lands following Doriam's successful campaign against the Raiders. The installation was destroyed. One month later, the Privy Council reconfirmed the Suppression Edict and the exile of the Order. 

After two hopeful years, things were back to square one for the Tetrimon.