Legal matters

The nerve of this gangster! I received a letter from an attorney in Bersirym, representing mr. Boulette. 

First, I am surprised that the scoundrel is still free. A gangster, whose henchmen have murdered me some time ago. They lack solid proof! Since when has a shimmer of doubt ever stopped the Ministry of Internal Order to apprehend criminals? Have they lost their mind and become bleeding heart "innocent until proven" Federals? Ah, it must be the relative proximity to the Federation that has poisoned law enforcement in that forsaken province. 

Mr. Boulette himself has Gallentean blood flowing through his veins. And he probably has some Gallentean blood on his hands too. And that of men and women of all four Empires, I am certain!

Anyway, his fancy lawyer claims I have illegally retrieved a bunch of artefacts from a storage facility of mr. Boulette in an abandoned mining colony, and I have to pay for these goods or return them to mr. Boulette. I mean, there was a firefight and another attempt at taking my life in that facility! I reported everything back to the local authorities who had given me the green light to investigate this storage facility in the first place. I don't know what happened afterwards with the whole thing, content as I was to have retrieved these artefacts from what was clearly a Blood Raider operation.

Most of the artefacts I have donated to Hedion University, but I did keep some choice ones here, for my Takmahl history museum that I plan to set up. I will not give them up! But I need to find some legal counsel. Either that or finally install pulse lasers on the Indagatrix.

Offer of help

It is always nice to receive offers of help without asking. Ms. Prime showed interest in my search for relics, and offered her help (and that of her Holder father).

I am happy to accept, even if right now the help I need may not be of the adventurous kind ms. Prime imagines. Rather, I would have her help me patiently scout out Access and the neighboring systems, and maybe also New Eden. Also, a review of the archives of the historical settlement of those systems may need and additional pair of eyes. 

But maybe I should be wary not to burn out my young friend with boring assignments? Another trip to Bersyrim may be useful, and then I can bring someone who is not afraid to engage other capsuleers or Blood Raiders.

A night at the Lamp

There was a very lively and pleasant night at the bar in Gottin's Lamp. I was there, having a coffee with Gaun, discussing the status of my research on the Tetrimon relics. It turns out that Gaun has shortly been in the same corporation as Lord-Consort Newelle; but he did not know about the retired (and heavily decorated) admiral, lord Graelyn.

That night, by a happy coincidence, many capsuleers chose to drop by, and the bar really filled up. There was also an interview with a candidate-member, Tiberius. Ishta was bartending.

It's nice to see our corp is in good spirits, and also still recruiting. When it appeared that some drinking games would begin - a thing not unusual among soldiery and miners alike - I retired. One spiked coffee is enough...

Lord-Consort Shutaq-Newelle's help

I learned a valuable lesson: if the coffee tastes off, don't drink it. Even if it is offered to you by a lord.

I met up with Lord-Consort Aldrith Shutaq-Newelle, to ask him questions about the history of the Militia, in particular Aegis Militia and their involvement in retrieving relics from the temple of God's alluring whisper. This happened in a time before his lordship joined the Amarr Militia, so he did not have too much information about them. 

However, he is acquainted with a retired admiral, Lord Graelyn, who probably was part of that operation. He will contact him and try to put us in contact. 

After this good news, Lord-Consort Aldrith Shutaq-Newelle invited me to the Holy Grape bar on Amarr. I think he misses a good intellectual or theological conversation. That is hard to come by in the current Militia, he says. He bought me coffee, but it was coffee with whiskey, and I did not realize until it was too late. That is, I do not hold my liquor, not even in small amounts, and especially not since I try to fast regularly. I got drunk. 

The next day I had to deal with a headache of such a magnitude that I decided to never drink a drop of alcohol again, and also no coffees that taste strange, even if it may offend a noble.

Training

I was acutely reminded of how much I dislike physical exercises as I continue a training programme that Ishta suggested for me, to get me "in shape". 

The training centers on running. I have to admit that Ishta chose to train a skill that excellently matches my primary instincts when facing an enemy. 

However, rather than running in a straight line, which would make sense to evade an enemy, I am to run back and forth between two lines, going absolutely nowhere. It seems like a silly sport. It's even a sphereless sport - note that many sports involve throwing, bouncing, kicking, hitting or punching spheres - with some exceptions using ellipsoids. I have to reach the goalpost before hearing a beep, and then turn around to run back to the first one. The time between the beeps gradually decreases until, inevitably, the task becomes impossible. After a while, it has me spinning around like a rabid hamster that lost its running wheel.

I could clone into a younger version of myself, and cybernetically enhance my legs, but the trainer considers this cheating. Also donning an exoskeleton would be cheating. It would however be the rational thing to do for one that cannot run well, and yet has to go on a mission. Why all this pain and suffering when there is an easy technofix for this? 

In the end, I resigned myself to this training, though. I have come to see these exercises as a form of self-flagellation, or maybe spiritual exercises. I try to discern in it a theological allegory, one of perseverance in the face of inevitable failure.

Progress is slow

Still no success in getting more information from our "veterans". They seem to have different hours than I have (or, in the case of ms. Renalard, refuse to talk to me). 

Meanwhile, I also have difficulties to find anything about the Aegis Militia. The Order of the Black Cross seems to have made much more of a fuss about them, and their demise is more documented.

I will try to find our directrix, our hours of activity have been particularly out of sync. And perhaps also lord Lok'ri, as he has been around since I think the start of capsuleerdom.

Var's distress

 I saw ms. Varcutii Renalard at the bar, and that looked like a happy coincidence as she is a veteran capsuleer and might know something about the Aegis Militia and the Dark Sephrim. 

However, she seemed quite distressed and disheveled. Perhaps even suffering from substance abuse... She refused to answer my inqueries about her distress and pushed me away.

Why is it that veteran capsuleers are so distressed? Those that witnessed the birth of capsuleering and the early years, the last ones of Heideran VII? Are they distraught at what we have become? Far from immortality, many end their own lives, as I've found looking into these "old" corporations. 

We do have the prospect of immortality, but few seem to be able to bear that burder longer than a decade...

Obituary

I received some really sad news. 

About a year ago, I found three stowaway exotic dancers in my hangar, and I brought them back to the federation. They were nice girls and I was glad to help them.

Today, I stumbled across an obituary for Anna Angel, one of them. She died back in January, apparently. And she died suddenly, unexpectedly, of an overdose of frentix. That's all I could learn about this, I didn't find any news of the other two girls. I have no idea how I'd contact them now.

I'm quite shaken by this news. She was so young, perhaps early twenties? Maybe I could have done more for her, tried to keep up with what was happening to her? I didn't stay in touch after I had them dropped off in Luminaire. I made a courier contract for that. It seems so impersonal now, I was concerned about my reputation. I didn't think about them afterwards, I just supposed all would be okay. I forgot about it afterwards.

I should have known better, they crept on board the Indigatrix during a Serpentis and Angel cartel party week, when I raided one of their data centers. Serpentis and Cartel, that should have told me they being taken advantage of. I failed to see that.

I'll light a candle for her at the chapel and pray for her soul.

Too little, too late.

Heresy

The downfall of the Order of the Black Cross started when they declared war on Aegis Militia, the other group that was supporting the Tetrimon. It appears they allied themselves with Blood Raiders and other dubious characters.

One of their 'friends' was a certain Arderich, a sedevacantist before they become known by that name. He declared the following tenets of his belief:

"1) Pax Amarria must burn and
2) the Udorian House Tash-Murkon must retreat.
3) I realize this statements are clearly against the decisions of Heideran. Neiher Heideran nor Doriam were Gods chosen ones is a logical conclusion of this two first statements. On a side note: again I am pleased to have heard a similar statement form Grand Master Horm.

I think this pretty much sums up the whole chaos and I am not at all interested to get between the lines of this nonsense that is happeneing between multiracial corporations/alliances with wicked and strange relationships all over."

This was a decade ago, but reeks of Sedevacantism. It seems this heresy was simmering underneath long before Nauplius became its self-proclaimed leader. This leads me to believe it will not go away once Nauplius goes away...

Members of the Order of the Black Cross

From what I can find in the trade registry, the Order of the Black Cross, and its executor corporation Dark Seraph indeed seem defunct. 

An alarming number of capsuleers that were registered with them have been biomassed and/or have been stricken from the Record. It looks like there was a final purge somewhere around or just before YC112, not just a disbanding. These folks didn't retire, they were eliminated. 

There's no more trace of lord Jeserat Verisum, or Revan Neferis (who perhaps became his wife and a lady of the fallen House).

A few members of the Order got out, and remained active. There's only one of the maybe more prominent members that managed to escape: ms. Verjigorm. She's a convicted heretic and now a pirate and has shown signs of activity all the way up to YC 119. 

To my surprise, I found that a former member of the Order of the Black Cross has joined SFRIM, staying there up to June last year. Mr. Kazuma Ry. I pulled up his interview. Too bad that back then no-one asked about prior associations with known heretics... Nothing special was noted in the interview, it would take a skilled exegete the transcript may reveal an undertone of the Order's heretical beliefs painted over with the veneer of tolerance.

The Order of the Black Cross

I'm glad I am away from Teakh Tak-Teakh, and the dark world of Ibani VI. I didn't get to hear the ice sing, but I don't want to stay for that natural phenomenon. I did buy a recording of the singing ice from a souvenir shop in the Khanid Transport Storage station at Ibani VI, and a fridge magnet showing the glow beneath the glacial surface.

It's not that the Tetrimon refused to help, it's just that everyone remained quite distant. As if I am suspect, or impure. They won't offer any advice. They only tell me what I ask about. They don't sabotage me, not at all, but they simply have no interest in seeing me succeed.

To investigate House Verisum I don't need their archives any more. I will do just fine back in Nasreri consulting the Amarr Trade Registry in our station. I've already remotely logged in to the library's databases and found a next clue: House Verisum was apparently deeply involved in a secretive organisation, the Order of the Black Cross. 

Allegedly, this Order no longer exists, but of course, if it is a secret organisation, then it would make sense for them to let the rest of the world believe they no longer exist. 

The thing is, even secret organisations need to buy stuff and leave a paper trail in the vast bureaucracy of the Amarr Trade Registry. It just needs to be dug  up.

Fallen allies

My best chance to get more information on this "Temple of God's Assuring Whisper" is to find the people that were involved in retrieving artefacts from it before. 

Grand Master Horm led the last mission to retrieve the relics, but he is no longer with us. He was assisted by by members of the Aegis Militia and House Verisum, so these are the people I need to talk to. 

The Aegis Militia was an Amarrian loyalist faction, but I have no idea what became of them. Have they been absorbed by PIE? That would be an ideal outcome, maybe some of their old members are still in PIE and now that they are in our own alliance it will be easy to talk to them.

House Verisum was more deeply involved, and I think they would know more. They were staunch supporters and allies of the Order. However, they fell from grace. Grand Master Horm denounced the Verisum Family, accusing them of severe crimes against the Empire and the Order. According to the recorded indictment the accusations included threatening pilots of the Order, flying alongside known enemies of the Empire, feuding with Imperial loyalist forces, and releasing private communications into the public domain. Even though the Grand Master offered redemption, House Verisum refused, with one exception: Revan Neferis decided to seek a pardon from the Order. 

She did not get her pardon.

But to me, this implies Revan Neferis stills cares about her soul, and holds on to the faith. She might be the key to this mystery - and to the location of the temple where Tetrimon IV hid the relics. Who is she? The Order might never tell me what I want to know, but these fallen allies just might.

I look forward to leaving this depressing world and getting back to Nasreri.

The temple of God's Assuring Whisper

Slowly, in this dark and forlorn archive, I am making a bit of headway in the search for mentions of the relics hidden by Grand Master Tetrimon IV.

I'm finding scattered references revealing that the stolen relics of the Apostles were brought to safety in a region all to familiar to me: the constellations close to Eve Gate in Genesis. There are many mentions of a "Temple of  God’s Assuring Whisper". These whispers can only be heard close to the Mouth of God, which is what we call Eve Gate in the Amarrian language. I've even found some references that locate the temple in the Access system. 

This would indeed be a convenient hiding place, far away from the Throne worlds, at the edge of what was then the explored part of the cluster.

The archivists and other monks here tell me this temple was indeed an important place long ago, but it was destroyed during the civil wars following the Moral Reforms, and information on its location is lost.

However, back in YC108 the Order did retrieve some relics that were stolen from the temple by Blood Raiders. The thieves and the relics were still in the Genesis region, and this is not the Blooders' favorite place. If they were stolen long ago, they would have been moved. So I think the Blooders got their hands on the relics around YC108 and not before. This leads me to believe that maybe the temple or its ruins remain to this very day a hiding place for many relics stowed away by Tetrimon IV. 

And I need to find it.

Contradictions

These archives are vast. And contradictory. 

On the one hand, a lot of the material of the Tetrimon Scrolls advocates for the concept of "equality". This is the (disturbingly Gallentean) idea that all people are the same and should be treated the same. Nowhere is this more clear than in the teachings of Tetrimon IV, who was grand master of the order during the Moral Reforms. He emphasizes the apocryphal exhortation "For you are all my creation, and are all equal in my kingdom". 

Tetrimon IV opposed emperor Heideran V and his Moral Reforms, that would see power centralized in the hands of the Emperor and the Heir houses. The drive for equality is indeed antagonistic to the idea of increased power for the Heirs and the Emperor. It would even now be considered a heresy now, I am convinced of it. Holders and slaves are not equal. This inequality does not mean that holders are inherently superior, just that the duties and expectations are different. And this is as it should be, as it always was.

Tetrimon IV hid the records of the Apostles, and many can be found now in these archives. They show a council that slowly loses its grip on power and no longer is able to keep the Heirs and the Emperor in check. The grand master also hid the relics of the apostles, but they do not appear to be here.

On the other hand, today's Order is now all about orthodoxy and enforcing the rule of the Holders over their slaves. I find that contradictory to their historically held beliefs. It is clear from these records they even acted against Doriam and his release of slaves, and they were eagerly participating in Sarum's and Ardishapur's wars against rebellious slaves. This enforcer role must be what earned them the support of these Houses.

I wonder where the current grand master stands, Khemon Dulsur an-Tetrimon is a direct descendant of Tetrimon IV, and hence of Saint Tetrimon. Perhaps he returns to this belief in equality? Indeed, he has supported Jamyl in her reforms, something that was unthinkable before.

The pit

Following a tradition that dates back into the dark ages, an abbey's muniment room - where the documents are kept - is located close to the calefactory, where the power generators are. This probably goes back to a pre-industrial era when the calefactory was the only heated place in monasteries, and documents needed to be kept close to that room so they would not get damp and moldy.

                                                               (OOC image credit: Wojtec Fus)

The historical archives of the Order are also located near a site where the power generators are. Mostly fission reactors, creating enough excess heat to melt some of the ice on top of the site. The site itself is mostly undergound, to protect it from orbital attacks. It looks like a chasm, an immense hole in the ground, and that is why people refer to it as "the pit." A dark place in a dark world.

It appears to me that it also houses a kind of command center and fleet hangars. The security is tight, and I am constantly tracked. I'm only allowed in some restricted area. But I could finally start working - I've installed myself in the reading room and I have found a helpful assistant archivist. Helpful, but like everyone else here, not very chatty.

Teakh Tak-Teakh

The Tetrimon knight met up with me in the hangar of the Khanid Storage station orbiting Ibani VI's fifteenth moon, while I was reviewing the Indigatrix's systems and preparing for another round of probing in the Ibani system. A stern fellow, taciturn. He introduced himself as Paladin-Knight Kaertush Eradahr. He took me to a shuttle, capable of atmospheric flight.

We went down to the planet, to fortress Teakh Tak-Teakh. You could feel it, as the craft descended. Ibani VI is a large world, with a high gravity, pulling you down and making every movement tiresome. 

Everything gets more weight, down here.

The fortress is a squat, hunkered down, sprawling installation with large guns to take down orbital bombers and shields to protect it from bombardment. It's built into one of the few rocky outcroppings in the ice. There are many hangars, it's clear that there is a fleet here and a full commandery of several cohorts of Tetrimon forces.

After some formalities I have been housed in a cell, with a small window to the outside. I took the above picture of the view from my cell of the panorama outside, on  what is known here as a bright sunny day. 

I am to wait here, and will be brought to the archives and library tomorrow. They're in a different facility, known as the Pit, which serves mainly as power station for the fortress, housing the old-fashioned fission reactors that power up the entire place. I ventured out of my cell a bit, going to the nearest refectory in the hope of chatting with other monks. But I did not get any normal conversation - everyone here seems quiet, tensely focused on work, thinking only of duty, and wary of strangers.

(OOC: image taken from scrolller.com / antarctica - image author unknown)

Singing ice

Ibani VI is a large ice planet. At a distance of 31 AU, Ibani's sun is so weak that even high noon looks like dusk, and stars remain visible on the celestial dome throughout the day. The sun is not able to warm anything on this world, and it is covered by an ice layer many kilometers thick.

Ibani VI has no less than 22 moons. Some of these moons are quite massive, the size of small planets. The large amount of moons means that there are no tides, the moons usually pull all in different directions, averaging out whatever tidal effect there would be. But from time to time there are lunar alignments. Especially if several of the larger moons align, this does cause a powerful transient tidal force on Ibani VI.

There's no free flowing water, Ibani VI is covered in ice. But the immense tidal forces during an alignment event create a strong tension in the ice, ultimately making it crack. As the cracks and fissures move at high speeds through the ice mass, they create strong vibrations resulting in otherworldly sounds, heard over hundreds of kilometers. The ice sings. The colder, the louder the eerie sounds. If a crack occurs close to you, even if it is hundreds of meters below the surface, the force of the vibrations can knock you down. During a tidal event, the proliferating cracks that slowly move around the planet create a powerful and enchanting symphony unlike anything you ever heard.

This is often accompanied by weak, almost auroral light - but rather than an aurora above, the sheets of light are below the ice. This blueish glow under the ice travels at great speed, spreading underfoot from horizon to horizon in a matter of seconds, racing along like the cracks. It's not yet fully understood what causes these curtains of diffuse subsurface light, although often it is attributed to piezo-electric effects in the ice. This glow adds to the magic of the phenomenon.

The singing ice of Ibani VI draws tourists, even from Amarr itself. It's apparently the only thing for which people bother to visit this system. Well, there's the Order of St. Tetrimon's fortress, but that one is not very popular.

Ibani

Ibani. A cold, feeble star. It looks orange, even though it's classified as a main sequence brown dwarf. It's a bit too large for a dwarf but this aberration of a star is still close enough to the main sequence. It's a dark place, and whatever meager light comes from that star has to be enhanced by the ship's imaging systems.

I came early for the meeting. A paladin knight of the order would escort me. Not a cleric: I must be reminded that this is a militant Order.

I passed my waiting time by launching combat scanner probes and having a look at the system. There were a few miners from Darwinism who scurried away as soon as they saw the probes on d-scan. Maybe they picked up my Anathema as well, before it cloaked up, and thought I would cyno in a battle group. I tried to tell them on local that I present no danger, but they were already gone before I could type up a full sentence.

The miners were working the belts, but there are no Athanors in this system, no one is interested in the ore-poor moons. There's some planetary industry, at least if one goes by the customs systems. 

I scanned the ecliptic plane out to about 300 AU, to see if the order is hiding some stations in deepspace pockets. They did this in Thebeka: they built a fortress monastery more than hundred AU away from anything. No-one bothered to scan that far out so their station went undetected, until they chose to reveal it. In this system, I couldn't find anything.

En route

Yesterday, I had a nice chat with mr. Statesman about the search for his father. He's been given some interesting artefacts as "heritage" when his mother passed away, providing hints to the identity of his father. He asked me to help him analyse them - a long while back, in Mehatoor. He then left for a long time - and only recently did he show up again, at SFRIM's new offices in Nasreri. I was glad I could finally get back to him with the results of my investigation, and suggestions on how to proceed next. I almost feel like a private detective.

Anyway, further detective work on this will have to wait a bit, today I left for Ibani - it is rather far away. The kind of place that always seems to be at least 40 jumps from any reasonable place you may find yourself. It is still part of the civilized world, but barely, with a 0.1 security status. The local capsuleers seem to have banded into an alliance called "Darwinism", and unfortunately, they appear to be set red to us, unfriendlies.

I haven't been given permission to land anywhere near the fortress complex of the Order of St. Tetrimon, on Ibani VI. In stead, I have been asked to dock up in the Khanid Storage station orbiting the 15th moon of that planet.

Ascension since Jamyl's reign

The return to power of the Order of St. Tetrimon was a policy of Empress Jamyl I. It came as a shock, totally unexpected, just like Jamyl's reappearance in Mekhios to save us from the Elder fleet. 

One would have thought that Jamyl's return would have been met with scepticism and critique from such an conservative sect. In stead, they issued a simple statement, in support of Jamyl: “The Order of St. Tetrimon welcomes Her Royal Highness Jamyl Sarum home. God’s children rejoice as His light returns home, and the light shall bring death and despair on His enemies.”

Soon after, Jamyl invited the Khanid heir back to the privy counsel, and overturned the old suppression edict, allowing the Order to operate in Amarr space. When Empress Jamyl passed away, it was the Order who was responsible to oversee the succession trials. Empress Catiz has maintained their privileges.

In the last couple of years, their influence has grown even stronger, supported by both house Ardishapur and house Sarum. The Order became more militant, and was given key roles to purge the Empire from heresy, alongside the ministry of internal order. Ardishapur and Sarum were instrumental in giving the Order an  Empire-wide mandate to seek out heresy and rebellion, first among slave populations, and then in general.

House Ardishapur allowed them to start a new chapter in the Ammatar mandate, and to build fortress-monasteries on the planet of Halturzhan in Jarizza, as well as in the Thebeka system, where the order helped defeat a slave rebellion. Similarly, House Sarum gave them titles to a fortess on Dihra VI, and permission to start a new chapter in their demesne, and in return they have been involved in House Sarum's battles in Floseswin.

The Empire has been purging itself from heresy after the treacherous Equilibrium of Mankind attacks, and this latest development has seen the Order become more powerful than ever.

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.

The Tetrimon in exile

When I was a younger man, before I got my calling to join the monastery, Heideran the Good (Heideran VII) was Emperor. He'd been emperor since I was born and long before that. In those days, the Order of St. Tetrimon was considered a fringe grouping outside the Empire, crackpots at best, heretics at worst.

It had been so ever since they chose the wrong side during the Moral Reforms, one and a half millennium ago. Somehow, the order managed to survive, even though it was disgraced and banished. 

During Heideran's reign, the Khanid Kingdom was not part of the Empire. The reason that they had broken away was the refusal of Garkeh Khanid to commit the ritual suicide Shathol'Syn after the trials that saw Heideran VII ascend the Imperial throne. This breakaway kingdom had offered sanctuary to the Order of St. Tetrimon, perhaps to spite the Empire. The Order was allowed to operate rather freely in the Kingdom, and built its headquarters in the Ibani system in the Budar constellation, a low security backwater pocket of the Kingdom.

So, at least until I left the monastery a year and half ago, in my imagination they were just a bunch of  Khanid zealots, who try to give themselves importance using the fading memory of a once illustrious past. 

You can imagine my surprise when I got back into worldly politics and learned of their swift ascension and the central security role they now play in the Empire...

Visiting the Order

Sometimes I think I bite off more than I can chew.

This is compounded by my inability to say no to requests - and as a result I often find myself lacking time or running around from one errand to another. It's not that I dislike the particular tasks: I enjoy the ministry, and what I can do for baseliners and capsuleers alike. I also love the library, and expanding its collections in a meaningful way. But time flies without me noticing it - in fact a week has passed as if it were a couple of days.

So, I have resolved to refocus some of my attention to the holy mission that saint Tal-Romon has given me. I'm going to try following a lead that I have not given much attention to yet: the order of St. Tetrimon. I've placed a request to visit the library at the Mother Chapter of the order, on Ibani VI, and it did not take long for them to respond positively to my request.

Time to dust off the Indagatrix and climb back into the pod.

A few uneventful days

This past week was rather slow after the Auction, and filled with tedious jobs, for the library and for the chapel. I do not complain: sometimes it's good to have a relatively uneventful few days.

That being said, I did have the pleasure of welcoming Yun-Hee at the Lamp. She's not a member of our corporation yet I think, but Lunarisse allows her to use the Lamp's quarters. She dropped by the library to explore this public part of the Lamp, and made friends with Mittens. I'm glad to have her around.

Ishta came to the chapel, she wanted to repair the altar after she had pinned down a sedevacantist on it. I let her try her woodworking skills on a spot on the side first, and initially it looked like the colour of the filling didn't quite match the rest. But now that it has had some time to dry and cure, it looks very good. I'll ask her fix the top as well now, if she still wants. It's nice of her to do this, and not obvious for her: because of her past, she does not have pleasant memories of altars...

Amra is allowed out of the medbay now for short periods of time, to do sports and relax in the bar. It must be that she's progressing well in her healing and I am glad for that. I must talk to Lord Anderson, I've come to see that his carnal relation with Amra might be sinful, given his position of power over her.

The Lamp underwent "sonic cleaning", whatever that may be. We had to stay out of it for an hour or so and I was very worried about the ancient books and artefacts in the library. Probably this is to take care of the rats - since we moved here the station rats started to explore the new structure that the Lamp represents for them.

I've noticed Aria seems a bit under stress. The whole thing with Amra, first in the chapel and then in the medbay... Then the subdeacon going nuts. And then the rats. I think she takes it all too personally, and sees this as failures of security, but I don't think anyone could do much about any of it. You just can't control everything... And especially not human error, such as a guard that gets infatuated with his prisoner.

The price of art

I am happy the auction for literature went well. Although I am stunned at the amounts of money offered by capsuleers, like I was last year.

The kind of money paid for luxury items like ship skins are outrageous - especially if you think of what it could mean to baseliners or to the improvement of the poor and weakest in society.

Six billion ISK - I think, maybe it was seven before I zoned out - was offered for art by a rather unknown Matari artist, Saccade Amir. After this news gets out, any art gallery in the cluster is going to try to get Saccade's art. Traders and investors are going to goggle it up.

At first, I thought it was rigged, some artists buy their own art through a third person, just to crank up the prizes for their art. But then, this was an auction, the money has to paid to Lunarisse to sponsor the writing contest. So it cannot be a loop, with the artist paying money to themselves just to boost the price of their works. 

Six billion. For a portrait and a painting of a house.And afterwards, the artist tried to murder someone and Ishta prevented it. 

Probably this will boost prices even higher....

Blessings and exorcisms

I'm glad I brushed up on my exorcism skills.

I was in Mehatoor to bless a new station, built by the 641st Task Force. They are valliant warriors active in the war zone, fighting the Republic's hold over our worlds. 

After the station blessing, there was a ship blessing. Always a joyous occasion, and one that boosts the morale of both capsuleers and baseliners. Except - this time mr. Nauplius showed up, asking for his vessel to be blessed too. Of course I was not going to bless the ship of a heretic and enemy to the empire! 

In stead, I attempted an exorcism. If it didn't work, well no harm done. But just in case he was indeed possessed by a demon... 

It turned out that this was not the case. I was hopeful at first, he grunted and shook. But in the end, no it didn't work. He quickly reverted to Sedevacantist propaganda. And left.

News: movies and music section

There was definitely a strange mood this morning in all sections of the Lamp. Baseliners and capsuleers alike seemed to be walking around as if there is a storm warning. Hurricane, highest category. It's betrayed by a definite tension, and an urge to look for shelter. 

I asked around, but of course nobody would acknowledge there was anything wrong. At the same time, nobody wanted to hang around for any amount of time.

I found out later, as I was watching the news. 

Apparently, there's a new sedevacantist movie that came out in the Federation. The news reporters explained how it portrayed a caricature of LUMEN. And Faith. And Luna. The news redaction was gracious enough not to show scenes, but the report anyway did not leave much to be guessed. If Luna hears this, there's going to be war.

Anyone you'd ask at the Lamp will claim they haven't seen any news today. But everyone knows. And everyone is keen on not being the one to tell Luna today.

As it turns out, I have to leave Nasreri today to go to Mehatoor to bless a station. Never was I keener to bless a station.

A closet sedevacantist

I was shocked to discover that one of the clerics in our Chapel is a closet sedevacantist. 

He blew a fuse yesterday, seeing Ishta - a former slave - in her high rank, now member of the illustrious House de Silvestris, at the chapel. He started insulting her and became so enraged he vomited out all his hatred.

Ishta stabbed the man in the hand, pinning him on the altar that got blood all over it now. So, she remained remarkably in control of herself. There was a time where I'd probably have had to go look for his bowels in the chandeliers.

He's been with us since a while, mr. Tykraen. Since Mehatoor, for sure. He is a quiet man, somewhat introvert. He has always been helpful and diligent. I know he was frustrated that he did not get a promotion to deacon, but he did not let that stand in the way of his work. How did the venom of sedevacantism find its way into the mind of this hard working man? 

In Mehatoor, he must have been exposed to the heresy, as it is also the home of Nauplius. Aria downplays the importance of Nauplius, and indeed his power is very limited - he cannot muster a fleet of Titans like the equilibrium of mankind. 

But I think the appeal of his simplistic message of hate and division should not be underestimated. There are many discontent, and when offered scapegoats that can be blamed for everything, it's very tempting to believe in that. Humans have this tendency to divided the world in "us" and "them", and blame all the bad things that happen on these others. 

This newest heresy plays on these feelings. It is therefore more contagious than for example promoting the red god, or any other demon worship. In order to multiply itself, this heresy relies far less on the person of Nauplius than what Aria may surmise. 

Confession

I visited the contortionist assassin, Amra Ronuken, in her cell in the medbay. She was indeed willing to confess - I think this was the reason why she showed up in the chapel earlier. She did, and I think it alleviated her soul.

In some ways, she reminds me of Ishta. Abused, victim of criminals of the worst kind, but nevertheless she still yearns for the light and detests the horrible things she has to do. The compass of her soul still works. I see promise for redemption in her, and hope lord Anderson will help her, as lord Pitojee helped Ishta. However, I am somewhat worried that the relation between his lordship and his enamoured assassin is more carnal, and this might be detrimental to good spiritual guidance.

We will see how this will develop. 

Meanwhile I had to notify Aria that the attendant who lets people in and out the cell has been somewhat negligent in his duties. He wasn't present any more to let me out, Amra had to open the door for me. That was surprising, as she is supposed to be the one who is locked up.

Sounds behind the Walls

Perhaps one thing to add to the summary is that I spent some time in an Achur monastery, and learned about their version of the Sceptre. I even got to see a shard of it, and it could be dated to the time the Eve Gate must have been built. Perhaps there were several Sceptres and as the Goners think they can indeed unlock the Gate...

But, coming back from daydreaming to daily reality at the lamp. There is a noise, a clunking, audible behind walls from time to time. It got Mittens' attention. It's probably just the structure settling in, but I want to make sure we do not have a poltergeist. So I'm having some advanced equipment shipped in from my contacts at the Theology Council. Poltergeists have an effect on the electrostatic potentials in the room and on the thermal gradients in the room. This equipment will detect and track it.

Summary part 4

 Part IV - The Moral Reforms

The expansion to the stars increased the power of the Emperor. Together with with the five most important planetary Holder houses, the later Heirs, Heideran V (not to be confused with the more recent Heideran VII) contested the power of the Council of Apostles. It was a conflict that had been long in the making, but started more or less openly in 21875, five hundred years after the flight of the Sabik.

The civil war would last half a century, till roughly 21930. Heideran V's forces defeated the Council of Apostles. The Order of St. Tetrimon had sided with the Council during the conflict, but managed to remain active in small sects that continued to act against the Moral Reforms. Led by grand master Tetrimon IV they hid away the artifacts and records of the Council of Apostles.

This is probably the second moment in our history where a lot of relics and artefacts were hidden or taken away. I've conjectured earlier in this summary that Council of Apostles - in its ancient role of keeping the power of the Throne in check - was for many millennia the caretaker of the Ametat. During and after the Moral Reforms they would certainly want to keep this symbol out of the hand of Heideran V. 

In recent years, the Order of St. Tetrimon has made a comeback. Their return was encouraged by the recent Empresses Jamyl and Catiz. They now have built a magnificent headquarters, home to their growing fleet and their center of power. If they kept possession of the Ametat, this is the place where they'll keep it. The only other possibility is their Mother Chapter in the Kingdom, Fortress Teakh tak-Teakh on Ibani VI.

I haven't yet pursued that lead, although I was hopeful when one of the Tetrimon joined the ranks of LUMEN. But I haven't seen mr. Moon for a long time now.

This concludes the summary of my search till now.

Summary part 3

This post follows the two previous ones summazing my search thusfar.

Part III - Investigating the Takmahl lead

The Takmahl political organisation reflected what we had in Amarr, and at the head of their society stood an emperor. The possession of the stolen Avetat would have strengthened his claim to power and brought the wise rule necessary to make the Takmahl thrive well beyond any other Sabik colony. Under the emperor stood holders, with commoners under them, and finally slaves at the end of the chain of obedience. The Takmahl empire incorporated Talocan technology into their own science. 

I spent most of the year investigating several leads in connection with the Takmahl :

• I have not uncovered hard evidence that the Takmahl could reach Anoikis or any other far flung part of the cluster using Talocan jump gate technology. There are Takmahl artefacts in Anoikis, but it is not clear they were left there by the Takmahl themselves.

• I spent a lot of time investigating the Araz constellation and the surroundings of the Takmahl core worlds. During one of my expeditions I found a mummified corpse with intact cyberimplants (the Takmahl have developed advanced cybernetics). I keep that corpse in a stasis pod, I need to clone it to succesfully fool the cyberimplants and reactivate them.

• Given their attachment to the pentagram, I was intrigued that besides Araz there is only one other pentagram constellation in the cluster, in Deklein. I went there, beyond the borders of the civilized world, but was unable to find any traces of the Takmahl.

• The Bersirym system is another such place of interest outside or Araz. There is a high concentration of Takmahl relics there, and I found out that it was being used by gangsters to fund their activities. Although I found their space warehouse, I haven't really found the source of these relics, and this is a lead I must continue.

• Finally, I followed archeological reports that claimed there is a large temple or treasury on, let us call it "planet G". The Takmahl emperor would indeed have kept such a relic in a well guarded treasury, but it is not clear that their influence reached planet G. It is also not clear why they wouldn't keep them close at hand in Aphi - unless they got scared of them. There are certainly interesting things hidden there, guarded moreover by typical Jove tech (nanoswarms). However, this treasure is not accessible any more...

Ultimately, Takmahl society collapsed, for reasons not altogether clear. Their numbers dwindled from billions to a few hundred thousand that had reverted to barbary and ignorance by the time our explorers encountered them, as can be seen from the photograph below.

This means that any knowledge of where the Avetat was kept, if indeed it ended up in the possession of the Takmahl emperor, is now lost. Searching their ruins and wreckage will therefore remain an important part of my search.

However, there are still other leads to follow.

Summary part 2

Continuing my summary of what I learned in the first year of search for the Ametat and Avetat.

Part II - The Theft

Several sources - including Lunarisse's archeologist father - point to the great purges under Queron I as a possible time when the relics could have left Amarr.

Queron I ruled not that long after we took to the stars. Our first jump gate, to Hedion, had been built only thirty years before he ascended to the throne. We had not yet met any other intelligent life in the universe. He had inherited from his uncle Armani I an empire rife with heresy. Equilibrium of Mankind was operating from its hidden lair in space, and the Imperial institutions had been infiltrated by Sani Sabik. Queron I cleaned up the Empire.

Those Sabik that survided Queron's inquisitions (21310-21346) fled Amarr in cryoships. They took important relics and artefacts with them and set course to distant lands. I conjecture that they took with them also the Avetat (and possibly the Ametat too, but more on that later). Their cryoships -such as the well-preserved wreck shown in the picture below- were slower than light, and traveled many decades in the hope of finding a good world to start new colonies.

Most of these attempts failed, but at least one colonist fleet succeeded. They made it to the Araz constellation, probably arriving around 21400. There, they flourished - perhaps with the help of the stolen Avetat and its wisdom-granting powers. Certainly the Talocan artefacts that they found in Aphi helped. They would become known as the Takmahl, and their civilization would last for a millennium before collapsing.

The theft of the Avetat by the Sabik runaways must have been known in the highest circles of the Council of Apostles and the Speakers of Truth. A young religious reformer, Ilash Toth, was working with these institutions in their role of curbing the growing powers of the Emperor and the Holders with planetary holdings. The Imperial and Holder power grew through the interstellar expansion, and this planted the first seeds for the conflict between the Throne and the Council. Ilash Toth found out what happened to the Avetat. He organised his famous expedition to retrieve the artefact(s) - bringing his followers along - and left Amarr with his fleet in 21432, in pursuit of the Sabik thieves.

The Sabik colony in Araz -that would become the Takmahl empire- was a mere 30 or 40 years old only when Toth set a course to them. At this point the theories branch: did Toth succeed or not?

Let's first explore the theory that Toth did succeed, and was able to wrest the Avetat and maybe also the Ametat from the budding Takmahl. He sent word of his success back to Amarr, but did not turn his fleet back to our holy homeland. Famously, his fleet disappeared and presumably hasn't been found since.

The Goners, founded by Brother Sarachem after he found his truth in old texts long forgotten in the Hedion archives, believe that Toth flew to Eve Gate. Early last year, I spent a good deal of time in the New Eden system to study this and to talk to the Goners. The Goners believe the relics can open the gate, and devote themselves to flying subwarp to the gate. Maybe one day they will find Toth's lost expedition somewhere between the New Eden star and the gate, but thusfar they have not succeeded. They also mention legends that the Jove or some other ancients stopped Toth from opening Eve Gate and hid the relics in an asteroid belt in the now inaccessible Jove systems.

It is fair to say the Toth trail has gone cold for now. So, next we must look at the alternative: Toth did not succeed in retaking the relic(s?), and they remained with the Takmahl.

Summary part 1

It has been over a year since I started my search. So, it is time to take stock, and review where my investigations stand, and summarize what I’ve learnt. The report is a bit long, so I'm going to break it up in parts for my logbook.

Part I – Early history

The Ametat and Avetat disappeared from the Imperial Palace roughly 400 years after Emperor Amash Akura’s death.

If God sent the Sefrim to retrieve these gifts and bring them back to Him, then my quest would be pointless. Yet, I am devoted to the vision that I received, and must continue.

So, I assume they were moved from the Imperial Palace. If one translates the oldest reports - from the Court Chamberlain - in a strictly literal way then the only things they say for sure is that the Ametat and Avetat were no longer in the hands of the Imperial Family. 

At the time, the only entities with the power to remove them from the Imperial Family, would be the Council of Apostles and the Speakers of Truth. Petty thieves would stand no chance on the long run. Back in these early millennia, the Apostles and the Speakers had as their main role to keep the power of the Emperor in check – the concentration of power in the Throne that we know today is fairly new as it dates from the Moral Reforms.

The Ametat - the Sceptre - gives power and vigor, and its natural extension would be the Council of Apostles. They wielded power and continuity then, and elected the Emperor from their ranks. The Avetat - the Crown - gives wisdom and acumen, and its natural place would be with the Speakers of Truth, who dealt with justice. It makes sense that the trinity of Throne - Scepter - Crown , which in Amash Akura was unified in the Emperor as it is today, used to be split among the Emperor, the Council and the Speakers. 

Ancient jewelry represented this as three interlocking gold rings - they interlock in such a way that if you remove one ring, the other two also fall apart. Before the moral reforms, such trinity rings were inscribed with IMP - SEN - IUS (for Emperor, Council, Justice), and "UNITAS" at the center. After the reforms, these rings still appear, but the three rings are inscribed with "Scripture", "Grace", and "Faith". The message that remains is: leave out one ingredient and all falls apart.

Ah, but I'm digressing, and this was meant as a review. So, I should simply state that it is my firm belief, not proven but corroborated, that the holy relics were still sound and safe in the halls of power, except not with the Imperial Family. 

However, all that changed when Amarr took to the stars.

Gamdis III

My visit to Gamdis III was in the end rather inconclusive for me. 

I did not find what I came looking for, and as potential archeological sites are not accessible any more, there was little in the way of artefacts or other hints that could be retrieved to help me on my quest.

However, the trip did help to answer questions that I had, and in doing so to close a loose end in the investigation, at least for now.

The sand sea

I'm working on an official report today that I promised to make for the reverend mother Sisyriana Kahoudi on the Gamdis trip. 

She won't be interested in the descriptions of local fauna and flora and sightseeing. So that is something I can share here. 

The interesting thing about the sand on Gamdis III is that acts like a liquid - you could not walk on it without sinking in. It forms a sand sea, and the rocky outcroppings are the only places accessible for settlement and exploitation. To travel accross the sand, you need a boat. Luna's family has a sand sailing business, and we got a sailing boat to travel to our destination, a mountainous ridge that rises out of the sand seas and is owned by Luna's family.

The sand sea is also home to some remarkable creatures. There are sand skates, which look like manta rays and can dip out of the sand. They followed the sail boat for a while. There is also a sand lion, it makes a kind of bowl in the sand, a funnel of huge proportions and with a web in the center. Our ship almost got dragged into it. I had a little moment of panic, but Luna and the sailors were able to steer clear from it.

Curiously, there are also places with water, and the usual fish, on 'land'. 

I wonder how the sand fish taste and if it's different from the usual fish like rockjaw....

Another first

Another first, but definitely less impressive that helping a baby into the world.

Lunarisse is enjoying motherhood leave for a few days, and there was a potential member for the Societas who needed an interview during my usual day cycle. So, Lunarisse asked me to do the membership interview.

I still remember my own interview, when I joined our corporation. But I've never been the interviewer, so that was something new. The interviewee is an interesting lad, Anjio Siwalin. A Gallente native, who joined Amarr and our faith long ago and did some spying for the Empire while he was still in the Federation. Those days seem over, so he is now joining as an Amarrian loyalist and faithful.

I was glad Therese showed up - she's a Preafecta (a high rank in our corporation), and she could keep an eye on how things went. I think I did well. And I think mr. Siwalin didn't notice it was my first interview. He was accepted as a member, in the end, and I hope that he will do well.