Cypher

There is little that one needs to be a Cypher despite what the stories might say regarding their legend. Though some are great warriors, and others sages of the darkest arts - others are simply artists and inventors - explorers and wanderers - priests and thieves and more. The full scope of the mortal condition contained within a simple word.   A Cypher merely requires one to understand. They must understand their Cryptic truly and fully, embrace their absurd and incoherent philosophy and in turn be shaped by it as they shape the world in its image. Cyphers are servants of the madling creatures beyond the Shade, philosophers of the wild thoughts that drown out these single-minded entities, and bearers of their gifts and their curses in equal measure.   This is not to say that the path is simple, nor that they are common, for to understand is perhaps the most difficult part of being a Cypher. To a soul they are insane; their ideologies and beliefs warped and alien to the casual gaze - defined equally between their mundane existence and the incoherent ambitions of their patron. Few can embrace this role in life without being warped, and none can survive the journey for long without embracing the erratic and the delusional in equal measure.

One's path through the life of a Cypher is one of reflection and service - their gift and ability refined by their understanding of the Cryptic to whom they are pledged. For some, this comes through violence and finesse, destruction serving as a lesson equal to none. For others, it is through study and contemplation and others still by a dogged descent into total madness and self-destruction.   The best of them are teachers, for the ability to convey and instruct in philosophies and theories often contradictory and incoherent is a skill that takes decades to learn and longer to master, if master one even can. Around these rare individuals entire cults can form, known as Mysteries, where Cyphers travel vast distances to learn and practice their knowledge of the Shade. It can be somewhat confusing to the outsider, to see a legendary warrior or renowned explorer nod their head in deference to a young librarian whose world consists of paper and parchment. This is not so uncommon however, for those who live long in the world sometimes find letting go of its lessons the hardest.

By nature of their vagrant existence, and their service to strange spirits and creatures many find loathesome, the life of a Cypher is often a mercenary one. Most make their way through life selling their services, providing assistance to those they encounter in exchange for the means to continue their search for understanding and knowledge. Sellswords, assassins, artisans, and scholars - the blessings of their Pact grant them abilities far beyond most and allow them to charge dearly for their aid.   Some of the more established Mysteries have become influential players in their own right, possessing many assets scattered throughout the world, and capable of sustaining a staff of hundreds and sometimes thousands. Cyphers rarely share in the benefits of these successes however, for to do so would be to undermine their path and deny them the selfish and self-wrought nature of their quest.

Cyphers are perhaps entirely defined by the gifts they receive in exchange for their search for knowledge and their service. Cryptics are strange creatures, and their gifts of magic can be terrible and glorious in equal measure - and those who bear them can be shaped entirely in perspective and form alike.   Outside of that however, Cyphers are often accorded a degree of respect and fear by much of the world - and many nations offer protections for one walking their path of understanding. In some places they are treated as heroes, in others as the worst kind of fool - but in all their passing is noted and for some - that is all that matters in the world.

The purpose of a Cypher is one often defined by the Cypher in question. Many act as sellswords and mercenaries, though this is often a byproduct of their true purpose. Others serve as intermediaries between the Cryptics and the mortal world - solving disputes or enacting the will of their patron across the land. A few still act as cult leaders and teachers, spreading their bizarre philosophies across the world in the endless games played by the Shade and its inhabitents.   It is perhaps truer to say that Cyphers serve entirely themselves, and what benefit or harm they bring to society is merely a mad consequence of their dedication and obsession and inevitable collapse. From their efforts some claim to discover a greater understanding of the Cryptic world, but this is heavily disputed, for those wisest in the ways of the Shade so often appear incoherent and delusional - their truth as sick and twisted as themselves.

One's standing as a Cypher is a mercurial thing, for every land interprets the roles of these mystic-wanderers differently, and each Cryptic may be held in love or hate depending on their nature. Some Cyphers find themselves outcast - travelling through lands that have no truck with the Shade - or in service to some spirit of loathing and spite. Others may be welcomed with open arms in towns and villages that rely on the Cryptics for their survival, or who bring gifts from a Patron respected and adored.   In truth, a Cypher is known for their own actions, for few can escape the pull of legend and fame. It is perhaps the nature of these servants of the absurd to find themselves caught up in the madness of the world, and by their actions determine the fates of countless. Heroes and villains, adventurers and blackguards - those who survive become something more and less than their service.

The true number of Cyphers in the world is unknown, for just as many cloak their allegiance as display their service proudly. They are, by nature, isolated and lonely and some may vanish for decades only to reappear long after they were thought dead. Further still is the confusion often applied for the title, for many an Arcanist or Warlock has been ascribed the title of Cypher due to their surface similiarity.   What can be stated for certain is that there are vanishingly few who truly deserve the name, for in this world of mistrust and deceit, few put stock in the whims of the Cryptic world. Those who do are strange and other, frequently mad in their own way, capable of understanding a view of existence that borders on the incoherent, and frequently crosses it. Fewer still can survive for long the rigours such a life delivers, one of constant strife and turmoil, where stability is as much a luxury as a dreaded curse.

Since mortals first made contact with the creatures beyond the Veil, there have been those willing to sell their souls in exchange for their power, or in worship of these crazed beings. As such, the history of Cyphers is one that stretches back to the dawn of existence, and perhaps beyond.   They have been involved in, and sometimes caused, nearly every significant event in the history of Erodas - and the nature of their service has changed with the nature of their masters and themselves - each one an expression of individual devotion and self-obsession. Over the years some have formed Mysteries and others have forged alone, and as the passage of time continues, no doubt these will continue and change once more; as mercurial as the path they follow.   The true tragedy of these creatures of independence and will, that they are entirely slave to those that pay them - be it mortal or not.