Followers of the Travelers

The Church of the Travelers is unusual compared to the religions of many other worlds, leading to common misconceptions among newcomers to Horizon. To begin with is the word itself. Many adherents to monotheistic faiths presume there is a single deity called the “Traveler.” Others refer to the Church’s members as “travelers” themselves, though this is also incorrect - they are only Followers.

The Travelers built the Iris, and lived in Horizon in a time long before our known history, before it was called Horizon. In truth, we do not know what they called it, or what they called themselves for that matter. What little writing remains has been only patchily translated. We do know that, while they appear to have begun as simple mortal people of a material plane just as we are, they controlled the unique ability to create stable and persistent doorways to a plethora of different worlds. Thousands are known through the crystals that have been explored, but it is unknown how many more there may be, or how great an impact the Travelers had on the worlds where they explored and built endpoints. We do know that their journeys brought them great power and learning, as evidenced by the magical structures that remain on Horizon, comparable only to the most advanced cultures we have encountered, and more complete than any other.

It is not known when the Travelers left Horizon, or why. We do not even know exactly how the first of our current peoples came here, as this is shrouded in the murky beginnings of our history; Before we followed the Path. Even so, we can only imagine the glory of the Travelers’ civilization at its height, given the magnificence of what little remains. Given no signs of great disaster or destruction, we believe that they grew wise enough and powerful enough to ascend to a higher form of being, one that makes the great works we know of trivial in comparison. The fundamental faith of the Followers of the Travelers is this: In journeying across the worlds and learning all that they could from each, the Travelers became - in a very literal sense - self-made Gods of the highest order. We follow in their footsteps, hoping someday many generations hence to follow their example and earn a place by their side. While travel to other words is incredibly useful in building defensive strength of arms, and acquiring riches to improve life in this great city, the true Path must never be forgotten.

Our travels have given us the chance to observe many other religions, which make for interesting scholarly comparison. While some faiths are merely fanciful stories told by primitive and superstitious peoples, there are certainly plenty of examples of faith placed in legitimate deities wielding verifiable divine power. However, we observe that these tend to be very restricted in scope. Even beings that are able to affect planar travel and influence tend to see “their” material plane as “The” material plane. The Travelers, by effecting influence over all the worlds, thus prove themselves to have become greater than these others.

The Followers of the Travelers is a Knowledge Domain religion, available to any Good-aligned character.

The fact they worship a precursor race, and the strong emphasis on traveling (the Path) lend to some unique aspects fo the religion. They are far from puritanical, permitting (or even encouraging) acts other religions might consider puritanical such as drinking, gambling, or sexual relations outside of wedlock (so long as none of these acts outstrip the bounds of a Good alignment), as these varied experiences increase the breadth and variety of one's journey. The most exalted form of travel, however, is to other worlds with their own peoples, places, and ways.

Holy Symbol

Clerics within the Church of the Travelers do not use a traditional holy "symbol" (as either a cast object or emblem) in their spell casting. Instead, each cleric must choose an item that has been of great personal importance to them on their journey. This does not have to be an innately magical item, though they tend to be. A cleric is not required to keep the same symbol throughout their life, but a new bond can only be formed once per year.

While the Path of the Travelers fundamentally boils down to the Journey, plenty of the laity of the church do not travel through the Iris. Satisfying their faith with humble service to the community of Horizon, they too aid us all in following the Path. Some members of the adventuring guild or the merchants certainly hold the faith privately, satisfying themselves with the knowledge that their own travels, while perhaps outwardly profit-seeking or adventurous, nonetheless serve a larger purpose in their own way. But indeed, some are called to still higher service and join the clergy of the Church of the Travelers in many capacities. The restrictions on behavior for clergy members are not as rigid as many other religions we have encountered - for example there are no broad mandates for temperance or celibacy, though some may still choose these roads as personal pledges in service of their own discipline. However, the seeking of one’s individual Path is still not left to chance. Each member of the church is paired with a more senior cleric, their “Pathfinder,” who helps them to stay true to the Path. This individual arrangement continues upwards to the church leadership, where the Journeyman Council selects a Pathmaster, who serves as the wisest teacher overseeing the Church. It is a natural expectation that as one gains wisdom and power in the Church, they should take on more such roles of leadership and mentorship, though the wanderlust that is an inevitable side effect of the Journey makes this a duty of which Pathfinders frequently find themselves reminding their charges! One alternate way to serve the Church more directly is through excursions through the Iris to better follow the Path, though this privilege is not bestowed lightly.

Unlike many purely dogmatic faiths, centered around stroking the ego of an otherwise dangerous celestial entity, the Followers of the Travelers worship what can be categorized as the Knowledge domain of divine energies. As such, we do not share the religious aversion to critical scholarly research that many faiths do. (something to which we can likely credit the continuing cordial, if businesslike, relationship between the Church and the Mages’ College!). Much research has been done into the source of divine magic for Followers so imbued, as we have found most other religions (including several practiced even here on Horizon) draw energy from the favor of specific lesser divine entities - a practice which would clearly be incompatible with the more enlightened understanding of a true Follower! In a poetic sense, it is commonly stated that a magic-user such as a Cleric of the Travelers draws their energy from the Journey itself. Invoking the holiness of the Path is in line with our teachings, and certainly works in practice for those who follow the faith, surfacing in many verbal invocations used in their spells (eg: turning the undead, “Death dares stand in the way of the footsteps of the Travelers. Begone from the Path!“) However, in a more scientific and practical sense, we do not know for certain. Our best understanding so far suggests that our faith in the Path and the Journey has allowed us to tap into some small portion of the mysterious power unlocked by the Travelers - that which powers the Iris, and to which the Travelers themselves ascended. It may in fact be a manifestation of their current state of being, or some as-yet uncharted analogue to the well-studied Arcane Weave of magic. We simply do not know… yet!

Orwynists

A sect inadvertently started by Orwyn of Xorath, when word spread of his leaving Horizon and entering another world without use use of the Iris or Oculus. While this was determined to be the work of the powerful lich Acererak, some within the church took this "achievement" to be a great step forward in mastery of the Path.

The Orwynists are viewed as an anarchist sect, as they feel the rigid structures Horizon has built around extra-planar travel are obsolete, and holding the people of Horizon back. While their actions have so far just been talk, the Church (and particularly Orwyn) are working mightily to suppress the splinter group. To date, the group is still small and does not appear to be growing, but it stubbornly refuses to disappear either.

Cult of Gara

TO-DO: I think someone set this up as a thing?