The Teurthas Adarizh

The Way of Ringing

  This zealous group, also known as the Order of Teurthas, is devout to the ideals of the body and mind, of the plying of the Veil, and of the oneness of soul and self. Their religious group dates back to as early as Aleryn's founding, and their ideals revolve around the ways of the Akathian monks of Aleryn's beginnings. These devout, however, are a much more specialized and cultish order than the monks ever were, and to join their ranks requires a mind for obsession.  

"Focus. There is nothing else. Only through focus can you be true to yourself, your mind, and your soul. Untie them, rebind them, unify their purpose, and tie them once again into a new knot. One of pure efficacy. One of singular meaning. Go forth and share the harmony of your belfry and soul to all ears that would listen." -Gharan Teurthas

  Established by Gharan Teurthas around ~8800 A.A.R. (Around 2600 years ago), the order made itself known in Aleryn as the dominant spiritual order. Many involve themselves in their ways, so much so that their politics are woven into that of the Akathian Realm at large. Some refer to them as fanatical, bordering on that of the Unspoken Cults, though their power is defined and real. Their power, indeed, is unique.  

Tenants of the Teurthian

  The Treatise of the Mind, Melody and Soul, or the Book of the Teurthian, was a book written by Gharan Teurthian around 8800 A.A.R. to describe his findings and spiritual journey after the founding of Aleryn. He detailed in great effort his years spent developing melodies to be rung on bells, and how certain melodies could cause change in the mind, working as a liason to the soul. He found that he could enter trance-states with varying melodies, and could benefit incredibly from doing so, which he was able to use to extend his life a great deal. Living for over three-hundred years, Teurthas became a figure of legend that defined the spirituality of the Alerean people, and to this day is foundational to the way the city exists.  

"The three are separate, yes, but we were given hands, were we not? The phsyical. We can not expect the soul and mind to manipulate themselves. Their freedom is the detriment of the physical." - Treatise of the Mind, Melody and Soul: Preface

  The Book of the Teurthian included all of the original Belfry Melodies: especially sacred scripts that describe singular parts of what are always seventeen-part harmonies. These larger harmonies, however, are always broken apart, as they don't necessarily need each other at any particular moment. Many thousands of these melodies were integrated into the magnum opus of Teurthas, The Belfry Eternal. The Belfry Eternal is a constant piece, designed to be played forever with no exact repetitions, and is in its second millenia of play by the Teurthian Belfry system in Aleryn. The music itself allows for a magical event to occur without use of mythral crystal, and is the only known way around their use. The harmony is understood by dwarves to form such defined shapes acoustically, that acute magic can form, enough that the mind of the willing and trained can utilize it. None after Teurthas have been as proficient at the skill than he was, though that hasn't stopped many of his faithful from attempting to capture but a sliver of his power.   Despite his life being relatively self-contained and non-problematic, his followers have since warped what he did into something of a cultish religion. That said, many of his core tenants are upheld in full. More a guideline in their original form, their interpretation afterwards formed more strict spiritual lines. the Seventeen Ideals are as follows:  

• Welcome harmony in all things.

• A Melody is but part of a whole. Melody is Harmony.

• A steel mind is a mind emptied of all but the will of the Belfry.

• Life is served only for the self.

• To reject unity is to reject the self.

• Be the Belfry's reaper.

• By the way of the Belfry shall you know yourself.

• Forget not; forgive nothing.

• Emotion is a delusion of misfocus.

• Hope is the first step on the road to loss.

• Suffer not imperfection.

• The wise have much to learn.

• Accept the inevitable.

• Victory needs no explanation; defeat allows none.

• The mind belongs to one, and one alone.

• Abhor silence.

• A shielded mind's reward is another day spent in terror.

  Some of these tenants are taken to extremes in modern day, or perhaps misinterpreted entirely, though in general these are cited by Alerean citizens, not just members of the organization. Over multiple millennia, however, it's hard to expect meanings not to change.  

The Faithful of the Belfry

  The Teurthian ways aren't necessarily considered religious by the world at large, though those within the order might beg to differ. The Belfry itself in modern day has grown to be revered like a holy entity, with many citing that when the Belfry was constructed and began its eternal song, that an indentation was made in the Veil, where the Belfry is now permanent and perhaps even alive in some tangible way.   Bellstaves are individuals that are official members of the Teurthas Adarizh, and can be either Initiates, Vhandezhan (one that rings in Alerean), or Kezhateur (carrier of melody). This is regarded within the order as a strict arrangement of responsibility and power.   Initiates typically have very few responsibilities, and many are initiated but bare no obligations above adherence to the tenents and attendance during holy events and holidays.   Vhandezhan are the first official members of the order, and it can take a number of years as an initiate in order to be welcomed as a full members. Responsibilities of the Vhandezhan are the most numerous of the Adarizh, and they are the breadth of the order. Some Vhandezhan do have more power over others of the same rank, howeve, and their specific place will determine who they should have sway over. When someone refers to a member of the Adarizh as a bellstaff, these are generally who they're referring to. Some of their potential jobs within the order include making sure the ascribed melodies are played at the correct times for the Teurthas Belfry, guarding Kezhateur, working their bellstaves for the Alerean Ward, and leading public meditations under the Belfrys.   Kezhateur are the highest member of the order and are responsible for the movement and organization of what they refer to as Holy Melodies. They possess and maintain the original Treatise of the Mind, Melody and Soul and take bring these melodies to the Vhandezhan that would play them. They keep strict notes on what Vhandezhan has played what melody and when, and who they would have been with, as the sacred melodies are not to be played again by the same individual. To do so is considered a heresy of the order, so much so that memorizing melodies is can land one in great trouble with the order. Some of the more fanatical of the order have even been known to kill for such a transgression, though it is a rare occurance. Persecution, though, is much more common, and it's regularly rumored that the Teurthians possess means to alter an individual's mind to rid them of knowledge they should not have.   Knowledge of the melodies is not meant for minds to hold onto, and it is thought that when a melody is memorized, it becomes tainted, that the Veil knows of the melody's existence in more than one place at a time, and so it is diluted by the mind it resides within.   Members of the order have also generally been in some kind of trance-state for such a lengthy time that they're less themselves than they are their spirit and faith. Many avoid interaction directly with Teurthians as they act in strange, distant ways, and can be hostile with those that do not know how to navigate a conversation with them.