Quartz 5

Monks and their Monasteries

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tagsgeneral, monastery
aliasesMonasteries, The Nine Monasteries

6 min read

Monks and their Monasteries

The origin of the monks is closely guarded, and it is unclear whether even the version told within the monasteries is the whole truth.

The Silence and the Guidance

For five hundred years after the Collapse, the gods did not answer prayer. Belief in the Old Gods all but died, surviving only in a handful of enclaves. When the Three Pantheons came and the enclaves at last received answers, the words were cold: “let go of your erroneously placed faith, for we have let you down.” Most let go. A few refused - and in time the Old Gods softened, answering in riddles instead of dismissals:

“A river does not carve through stone by watching the pickaxe, but by finding its own path and patiently flowing in it.”

The meaning came slowly clear: the Old Gods would not shepherd their flock nor pave their roads. Those who followed them would have to carve their own path, becoming uniquely themselves and unlocking an inner strength - a mysterious energy that is not quite magic, yet wonderful all the same. The Old Gods hold to strict limits: they grant no magic, give no answer a follower could find alone, never interfere beyond a timely hint, and never seek new followers. So the first monasteries formed, and their followers became the monks.

The Grand Council and the Chakras

The heads of the nine monasteries together form the Grand Council. In the lawless years after the fiend-flood, finding their inner power not enough against rising threats, the Council prayed, and the gods sent their grandmasters on an unprecedented quest. Forty-nine years later one returned bearing the secret of seven holy tattoos that grant awesome power to their bearers - the Chakras. Those who take a Chakra become the monasteries’ elite warriors and are granted a seat of honor on the Council, whatever their rank. A Chakra may be taken from its bearer only by defeating them in a sanctioned bout judged by three grandmasters and two other Chakras.

The Nine Monasteries

Each monastery is devoted to one of the Old Gods, trains in its own monastic Way, and several are home to one of the Chakras:

  • Monastery of Indra (atmosphere) - the Way of the Hand; in the Lexalian Republic; led by Grandmaster Semran; home to the Chakra of Touching, Krey.
  • Monastery of Agni (fire and lightning) - the Way of the Ascendant Dragon; in the Hub (Jyoti); led by Grandmaster Froshler.
  • Monastery of Kali (destruction) - the Way of Debilitation; in the Lexalian Republic; led by Grandmaster Estela; home to the Chakra of Death, Eluete. (It was this monastery’s rite that became the Blood Offerings.)
  • Monastery of Lakshmi (luck) - the Way of the Drunken Master; in Jaknia; led by Grandmaster Yolderen.
  • Monastery of Rudra (storm and the dead) - the Way of the Long Death; in the Hub (Synope); led by Grandmaster Loghan; home to the Chakra of Dragons, Elendarel.
  • Monastery of Surya (sun) - the Sun Soul Way; in Jaknia; led by Grandmaster Trazor; home to the Chakra of Thinking, Brontal.
  • Monastery of Ushas (dawn) - the Way of Shadow; in Clairnia; led by Grandmistress Helemdol; home to the Chakra of Seeing, Mystokai.
  • Monastery of Varuna (order) - the Way of the Kensai; in the Holy Theocracy; led by Grandmistress Quanda.
  • Monastery of Vishnu (mercy) - the Way of Mercy; in the Holy Theocracy; led by Grandmaster Elanor; home to the Chakra of Angels, Pon.

Ways Without a Monastery

Some monastic Ways were discovered outside the monasteries altogether:

  • The Way of the Four Elements, practiced by elemental cults and genie-worshippers.
  • The Way of the Shackled, practiced by the enslaved and freed Tabaxi of Clairnia.
  • The Way of the Five Animals, kept by scattered enclaves of druids and worshippers of the natural world.
  • The Way of the Cobalt Soul, favored by information-gathering orders.
  • The Way of the Astral Self, a rare art often manifested by those who pursue monkhood without any guidance at all.

Rank and Advancement

A monk’s standing has two axes - level (raw power) and rank (station) - which are one and the same up to the seventh step and separate thereafter. The common ranks, in ascending order, are:

LevelRank
1Novice
2Initiate
3Sibling
4Disciple
5Immaculate
6Master
7Superior Master

Above the Superior Master the path forks into three honored offices, earned by feats rather than years:

  • Masters of Dragons (level 8) - the monastery’s military masters, each commanding a small band of monks on a mission or in battle; any of them may call a council meeting. The office is won only by a monk who has bested one of each of the twenty-one kinds of dragon.
  • Masters of Winds (levels 9–12) - the eight masters, one for each wind (north, south, east, west, and the four between them), charged with the monastery’s dealings with the outside world and the gathering of valuable information.
  • Masters of Seasons (levels 13–16) - the four elite (summer, fall, winter, spring) who run the monastery itself: its training, its inner affairs, and the special quests their god sets upon it. At least one must be present at the monastery at all times, and the choosing of a new one is judged by the grandmaster, the other seasons, and at least four masters of winds and ten masters of dragons.

At the summit stands the Grandmaster of the monastery, head of all that passes within it, though bound to the agenda of the Grand Council in certain matters.

The Trials

From the eighth step upward, no rank or level is given freely - each must be won in single combat against a monk of the step the aspirant seeks. The bout follows strict law: no weapons; both combatants fight stripped bare so that no item may aid them; no magic may be laid on either in the week before (only older, openly-declared effects are allowed); and victory is reached not by killing but by reducing the opponent to half their strength. A level-trial is judged by the grandmaster and at least one season master; a rank-trial by the grandmaster, at least two season masters, and an equal number of masters of the sought rank (chosen by lot), who may rule a special victory or a disqualification only by a two-thirds majority.

Appendix

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