The Oath of Silent Fire

"We are not broken things to be mended, nor vessels to be filled, but sacred fires - silent, sovereign, and alive"

— Opening line of the Oath of Silent Fire.

Issued by: The Circle of Ashen Reverence

The Circle of Ashen Reverence is a reformist movement born in Phaedorin among discarded priestesses, radical scholars, and quiet revolutionaries who seek to dismantle systems that strip individuals of choice, dignity, and spiritual agency.

The Circle is a quiet but incendiary spiritual-political movement rooted in the South, first stirring within the stone walls of Phaedorin’s lesser convents. Founded by Zariah Vellore, a former Serathi-Kaen who survived the brutal Serakai only to reject re-sanctification, the Circle has become the voice of those who live and suffer under the illusions of sanctity, duty, and divine order.

They work in silent coordination with The Dustcloak Mercy, a nomadic, often vilified order that shelters those whom society has deemed unworthy - infertile women, bastard-born children, failed Aetheri, and disgraced priestesses. Where the Duskcloak offers physical sanctuary, the Sanctum offers ideological and spiritual freedom.

Together, they form two halves of a heretical coin: one heals in shadow, the other speaks in fire.

1. Oath of the First Breath

No soul is born to chains. Every being enters the world sacred, whole, and unsworn.

• This tenet rejects social contracts made on behalf of infants—such as betrothals, noble pacts, or destinies preordained by bloodlines.

2. Oath of Consensual Calling

Spiritual devotion must never be demanded—it must rise, like incense, freely chosen.

• Targets the forced induction of women into convents, particularly Serathi-Kaen pathways.

3. Oath of the Forsaken Flame

Those society discards are not ash - they are coals, waiting to blaze.

• An overt tribute to the Duskcloak Mercy and their sacred mission to uplift the “unworthy.”

4. Oath of Unbound Bodies

No law shall govern love, nor decree what a body must endure for honour’s sake.

• Criticises forced marriages, annulment punishments, and the sexual commodification of women.

5. Oath of True Union

Only bonds of shared sovereignty may be called sacred.

• Calls for a complete reimagining of marriage and spiritual partnership, with an emphasis on mutual agency.

6. Oath of the Unseen Spark

Magic that flickers weakly is still light. Let it be nurtured, not extinguished.

• Protects Unmarked or Failed Aetheri, advocating for alternative education and non-traditional paths.

7. Oath of the Departed Path

Those who walk away walk towards themselves.

• Defends those who leave religious orders, homes, or societal roles once forced upon them.

8. Oath of Quiet Defiance

Let the whisper be mightier than the blade.

• Encourages subtle acts of rebellion - coded prayers, rewritten rituals, veiled stories and songs.

9. Oath of Sacred Restoration

Let the wounded be restored, not erased.

• Asserts the right of the diseased, disfigured, disgraced, and exiled to reclaim honour - not by becoming someone new, but by being fully seen.