Snowbringer Starets
In the two decades since his flight from St. Petersburg, Grigori Rasputin gathered a new following in the east. His new role as Bishop gave him a lot of political power in the interior of the country, allowing him to further spread his teachings which shook the foundations of the church. At first he drew in the Khlysts from all across the empire, largely due to the more hedonistic rumors surrounding him. Priests who had met him during his time in St. Petersburg and Kazan also came to serve under him, whether in search of his political power or mystical acumen. His faith healings also drew in large amounts of recruits from less faithful circles, as he was seen as a much needed revitalizing breath in the spirituality of Yekaterinburg. He quickly had more power over his flock than their own government, the allure of the almost hypnotically charismatic elder was often irresistible. Even still, he had enemies that his title alone would not budge.
To better spread his word, as well as defend him from any further physical threats by the wretch Yusupov, Rasputin appointed his old friend and confidant Archbishop Theophan Bystrov to a special commission overseeing the creation of a special ‘Miraculous Seminary’, a school dedicated to his particular teachings. Theophan was more politically minded than his master, and understood that training a generation of loyalist priests would allow them both a greater control over the next eventual Tsar. The Yekaterinburg Seminary of Miracles was opened in 1923, with the school’s initial class taking in 120 of the most malleable, devout, and perceptive individuals, both from outside the church hierarchy, and those already well into their work. Rasputin and Bystrov hoped to train these special emissaries to not only uphold their teacher’s word, but protect it if necessary. They were encouraged to use their skills of spiritual awareness as a means to persuade those who supported their detractors, or in the case of a more adversarial situation incite violence in the name of the Nastyevik cause. Upon graduation, these spiritual enforcers were given the special title of Starets, or Elder, and sent off into the countryside to spread their message.
In the late thirties Rasputin’s starets have only grown in their militant demeanor. Many of them can be found accompanying Nastyevik armies into battle, whether against enemies of the Empire, or anyone who would threaten their beloved Metropolitan Bishop. They often equip themselves with rather paradoxical instruments of battle; riding in a sled drawn by mechanized horses. They have co opted a more portable model of the Novaya Zemlya Scientific Solutions Cloud Engine, mounting it onto their vehicle to the effect of making them a mobile blizzard. The imposing sight of a fierce, disheveled priest glaring out across the battlefield in a vortex of frost has given their enemies a new nickname for Rasputin’s most loyal followers, the Snowbringers. Their uncanny appearance on the war front only adds to the mystique of their cause, as if the “immortal” bishop himself was watching them. Only time will tell if this veritable cult of Snowbringer Starets truly has the best interests of the empire in mind.
A Starets Inspiring Troops In Battle
Artwork by Jesse Blom
Comments