The Cult of the Twin
The Twin is the two-faced God known for representing duality and opposites. The twin is both mischievous and humorless, logical and enigmatic, cruel and merciful, light and dark. Unlike the other Grissin gods who have mostly been forgotten, the Twin has chosen to spend their life on Mundus among the humans rather than in the Heavens. The true message of the Cult is that duality is a lie, there is good in every act of sin and profanity in every act of virtue.
The Twin was a powerful shapeshifter wandered across the whole world spreading chaos and order equal measure. This came to an end when Kain, a Talaos Warlord, captured the Twin and using a mystical blade, maimed the God. The Twin succumbed to their wounds, dying. This is were animosity between the Talaos and Grissin people begins. The Twin was able to survive by embedding their soul within a nearby human. When that human died, the Twin was reborn as another human, starting the cycle of Avatars of the Twin- humans carrying the spirit of a God within them.
The Avatar of the Twin have varied greatly throughout history. There are the blade-saints like Sozu, who championed the Helgaran people and killed Kain. Then there are those like Thelne who helped to guide or ruled over parts of the Grissin people. There are those like Amutu who pursued their own ambitions. There are also the Explorer Avatars, lifetimes that left Grissin lands to see the world, to deal with outsiders and learn from them. There are a series of rituals and purifications that can prove that one is an Avatar. Having undergone this process, they become known as a Sanctified Avatar. Usually only the Avatars involved in politics or the Cult submit to be Sanctified.
The mystic blade that killed the Twin is said to be imbued with evil and dark energies. Its presence perverted the North for many years until one of the Avatars found it and took it South. Since then the superstitious Grissin have done their best to avoid the South, fearing the power of the blade. The Cult has long preached that the South and its people have fallen to the blade long ago. The only protection from Kain's blade (its name long ago purged from all records) are the artifacts left behind by the Avatars, trinkets and items that remnants of the Twin's energy linger on. The Confederacy is dotted with these artifacts from the hundreds of Avatars that have lived and died within its lands.
The Cadres
The Cadres are religious societies that are all across the Confederacy. Most trace their origins to an Avatar, either being founded by one or being created in their memory. Cadres have extremely varied beliefs and lifestyles, often trying to emulate the Twin in some way or another. The members of the Cadres can roughly be divided into two camps, the Way of Shadows and the Way of Light, both representing the conflicting faces of the two-faced God. Some Cadres are mixed while others fall directly into one of the Paths. Monks distinguish themselves by wearing black and white robes, respectively, for either Way. As Cadre monks grow older, wiser, and more enlightened, they tend to adopt some ideals and practices of the other Way, often symbolically adding the other color to their robes.
The Way of ShadowsPragmatism, machiavellian, chaotic, clever, cunning. These are words that might describe those that walk the Way of Shadows. Those of the Way of Shadows have a historical tendency to be involved in politics, subterfuge, and commerce. The Way of Shadows regrets the idea of morality, only caring for intention. Every action posses an intention, ill regardless of the outcome. That intention may carry positive or negative will towards you, or not regard you at all. As such, there are no monsters and no heroes, it is all a matter of perspective and the will of the intention. The highest ranks of the Way of Shadows are those known as the Seers, noted by their violet and purple accents on their robes.
The Way of LightHonor, dignity, kindness, humility, generosity. These are words that might describe those that walk the Way of Light. Those of the Way of Light have a historical tendency to be involved in society, medicine and charity. Unlike the Way of Shadows, the Light embraces morality, and its followers are those that wish to do good. There is some disagreement on what this means, but they generally dedicate their lives to others, forgoing many of their own desires and attachments. The highest ranks of Way of Light are those known as the Augurs, noted by the gold accents of their robes.
UndividedWhile many Cadre monks adopt aspects of the other way, there are those that walk both Ways. They are one of the most elite and exclusive groups within the Cadres, akin to the Augurs or the Seers. Known as the Undivided, they can be easily distinguished by their multicolored robes. To become Undivided takes many years of training and the passage of numerous rigorous trials. The Undivided have a number of responsibilities included the regulation and settle of disputes between the two Ways. As such, they often posses a form of detachment in order to remain objective, a major criticism by both the Augurs and the Seers.
Cadres of Note
The White Lily: One of the most social of the Cadres, the White Lily is an all-women Cadre that was founded in memory of Avatar Jealki. Members of the White Lily spend their first years learning a strict code of honor, discipline, history, spirituality and formal combat. Then they are sent to live among another Cadre to help maintain the Lily's relationships.
The Temple of Silence: The Temple of Silence was once known as the infamous Dollic Cadre. Most of the history of the Dollic Cadre is sealed by the Decree of Darkspeak. The Decree renamed the Cadre to the Temple of Silence, revoked their status as a Cadre, and barred them from ever being involved in Grissin politics ever again.
The Dollic Cadre was a simple house of assassins, claiming descendancy from the god-beast Enkidu. But they learned the arts of manipulation and politics in addition to their shadowy discipline. Instead of taking jobs from outsiders for money, the Dollic used their skills to puppeteer the entire Confederacy, making the entire council of elders into their figureheads.
This lasted decades and could have continued much longer if the Cadre did not fall to infighting. Since then the Temple has been in isolation, members only venturing out to recruit to maintain their ranks.