Theurgists
The Theurgists of Pagan are the servants of the Titan Stratos.
Description[edit]
The Theurgists are one of the four groups that wield titanic magic, their power of Theurgy being mainly concerned with air and healing. Living on the remote Argentrock Isle on the other side of Morgaelin, they are quite isolated from the rest of the population, despite their good reputation as always willing to help those in need. Their main occupation, as already mentioned, is to heal the people of the land, so that even more people would flock to their order, so that Stratos' power over the land would grow even more. The order has enshrined the principle of Truth above everything else.
The order has little formal heirarchy. Wise and old Stellos, while having no nominal power, is seen by many as the highest authority on the island.
History[edit]
The history of the Theurgists started when Stratos decided on a different tactic to gain power and charmed young Stellos to follow a new way she suggested. However, while the news of the healing powers Stellos could wield spread through the land fast, it was only when Stellos' resurrection of Kalen's beloved caused him to go blind, that the order did take off for real on the very island the miracle was done. The massive fame that feat gave Stellos - and the completely different image compared to the reclusive and mistrusted Necromancers - ensured a quick growth of the Theurgist order over the centuries.
When the Avatar arrived in Pagan in Ultima VIII, the hero joined the order of the Theurgists on Argentrock Isle in order to learn its magics. The Avatar managed to master all the quests, but in the end stopped the Theurgists from doing their magic by taking the Breath of Air from Stratos. This meant that healing by magic was over, and Stellos, after many centuries of sustained life, died. It is unknown if the order would try conventional healing to continue helping the people.
Lore[edit]
| “ | Several years after the torrential rains ceased, a mystical voice contacted Stellos, a wizened follower of Stratos, while he was praying at Argentrock Isle. The voice identified herself as Stratos, ruler of Air. Stellos began telling others of the Mystic Voice, but they thought nothing of his insane ranting ... until he began performing miracles. Quickly it spread through the land that Stellos could aid the sick and draw truth from the lips of liars. Word of his powers reached Kalen, who brought to Stellos the body of his betrothed. The elderly man took Kalen's love to Windy Point and asked for the power to return her to life.
Stratos explained that the woman's body had been separated from her spirit for too long. It would be possible to breathe life into her, but only at great cost. Hoping to repay Kalen for his work in ending the rains, Stellos agreed to the unknown fee. Stratos permitted the determined man to send his spirit into the realm of Air. Farther and farther he went, facing tremendous winds. There he finally found a shimmering cloud at the very verge of the sky itself and something he later called the ethereal void. As he entered the cloud, the light of day confronted him; he was the first and, to this day, only Pagan to see sunlight in many generations. On the dark island below, his mouth opened and from it flowed the breath of life into the body of Kalen's beloved. The old man, prepared to greet the lovers, returned to his body only to discover he had lost his vision - forever blinded by the sight of the sun. Kalen began to weep, but Stellos bade him stop. He was himself truly joyful at the sight he had witnessed far above the darkness of the clouds. To show his gratitude, Kalen commanded the rocky ground to form the walls for a stone construct to house and protect the old man. Here Stellos could pass on his knowledge of healing and purification throughout the ages, for with the power of resurrection came immortality. Stellos and his pupils became known as Theurgists, and together they were proclaimed the Order of Enlightenment. The Order was never wanting for students, for one Titan's violence was yet unquelled, and with the fires came always the wounded. – from The Chronicle of Pagan (Ultima VIII)
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The Way to Become a Theurgist[edit]
To become a full member of the order, the following rites have to be passed:
- The aspiring student first has to correctly answer a set of questions dealing with the philosophy of Stratos correctly. Having done that, they are declared a student.
- Now the student has to go to Windy Point and manage to stay up there for a given time despite Stratos trying to blow them off the peak.
- Next, the student has to gather silver ore from the catacombs beneath the monastery and let the blacksmith of Tenebrae make the spell foci out of it. The foci then have to be charged on the center altar of the monastery.
- The third test involves healing a wounded torax after transporting it to the other side of a lake with an aerial servant.
- The last test is to make the leap of faith to reach Stratos, who will give the student the air walk spell foci. Now the student has become a full Theurgist.