Guild of Ruin
| The Guild of Ruin | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Sect |
| Alignment: | Entropist 5, Anarchy 5, Nihilism 2 |
| Headquarters: | Unknown |
| Leader: | Dalmiren |
| Membership: | Est. less than 50 |
| Motto: | "All things shall crumble" |
The Guild of Ruin is a whispered sect devoted to the natural decay of life. Few even know of the sect's existence, as their purposes, beliefs, and goals are not outright malicious. As far as the guild is concerned, they would prefer to remain a secret.
"The Ruiners" as scholars aware of the sect call them, are enigmatic people, and would seem distant, uncaring, and Callous. They live among standard society or withdrawn in their own thoughts. Each owns a spherical vial of dust which they wear as a necklace, either in plain sight or under the cover of clothing. They refer to this as a Dust Choker, and it serves to remind them that eventually all things end.
Ruiners research Ruin Magic and the process by which the universe decays everything in it, sometimes helping the universe along on its mission of chaos.
History
The leader of this sect is King Dalmiren the Ceaseless. Ruiners refer to him as Dalmiren the Ruinous. In ages past, he was cursed by Selragh with immortality until the end of the world, and so after thousands of years of living, Dalmiren decided he would bring about just that. Few know of this fact, and the majority of them are deities; Dalmiren keeps his immortality an absolute secret.
Over the course of his unnaturally long life, he saw many things wither and die around him: people, trees, buildings, and even whole cities and nations. He realized a sort of natural order of things, that all things age, die, and crumble to their base materials. He began research on this natural phenomenon of entropy, in an attempt to learn the secrets.
Over the course of his work, he located individuals who shared a desire for things to progress on their natural course of ruin. Thus, the sect was born. When exactly it began being called the Guild of Ruin is not certain, but it is recorded as far back as the Age of Battle.
Dalmiren will tell members that age and die while he remains young that he has divine blood. Whether they believe him or not is another story. Nevertheless, the Guild has remained in operation for thousands of years.
Income
The sectists are not concerned with worldly wealth, as even coinage and the countries that back the currency erode and expire. Knowledge is free, and so is time, and that's all they need.
New Members
The funny thing about entropy and the chaos of the universe is that things tend to flow toward their correct end results. Adopting the philosophy of "it will happen", new members manage to find the Ruiners one way or another. There is no ceremony to induct a new member, they are simply brought in to craft their Dust Choker, and from then on recognized as a fellow member.
Rules
The sect has no rules at all; Ruiners think strict guidelines are pointless. Members are allowed to leave the sect as they wish — they'll die eventually, anyway.
Beliefs/Goals
Those not well-versed in the beliefs of the sect may assume that the purpose of the Ruiners is to bring about the destruction of all living things. The sect's members would find this incredibly short-sighted.
Ruiners believe the universe is meant to decay; the purpose of life is to die. Many in the Guild like to help the universe on this course, and sometimes will help to catalyze a series of events that end in chaos and ruin. While they don't seek out loss of life for its own sake, Ruiners would be hard-pressed to feel sorry for a victim of their chaos, it's just in the natural order, they would say.
The specific beliefs of individual sect members vary greatly. Some believe that as this world decays, another, better existence will emerge and they will play a part in it. Others are nihilistic and assert life as pointless and the process of decay is the only absolute.
Dalmiren's goal is the end of the world; he yearns for death. He uses the philosophy of the Guild to continue his efforts toward this goal. If the sectists are concerned in the natural ways of decay, they will ultimately hurry the world's fate.
Organization
Sectists hold no ranks, order is meaningless since all things crumble and die. The Ruiners do look to Dalmiren as their leader, but otherwise no one has more "say" in the organization than another.
