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Expressors Of Agape With Compassion

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The Expressors of Agápē with Compassion (agápē means "tough, unselfish love") is a religious order among many in the Offwhite City. The name is catchier in Instarrian and the organisation is called shortened names in local languages: for example, on Shade, it is known as the Mercies. The order is sanctioned by the state and has subtle political influence at a very high level.

It does not proselytise or accept converts. The order employs monks, all male, in various ranks and rôles.

The literal translation of their name is something like "Expressors of Agápē[*] with Compassion" - definitely not Compassionate Expressors of Agápē. The organisation's name is variously translated in alien languages, because they pay a very great deal of attention to nuance of language so as not to sound sinister or threatening.

1. Purpose
2. Beliefs
3. Resources
4. Location
5. Public opinion
6. Ranks
7. Home life
8. Purity
8.1. Grades of purity
9. Education and abilities of monks
9.1. Training given to all monks
9.2. Training specific to field (slasher) monks
9.3. Training specific to field (diplomat) monks
9.4. Training specific to entertainment monks
10. Equipment
11. Vows
12. Spotter's guide
13. Unusual features

In Wessian language (Helmine's native language, spoken by Nico and a variant known to Sebastian and Weft), the name of the order is probably given as something with the connotations "Makers of tough decisions with compassion". This might literally be given as something like "wearers of steel-plated silk", as a culturally specific comparison to Wies's own clergy (the so-called 'wearers of gold-plated silk').

1. Purpose

[Weft:] "I work for what's officially called the Expressors of Tough, Unselfish Love with Compassion, a monastic order. We're one of the more important and moderate sects and we do a lot of work for the city -- well, officially for the city and also for various people and gods who live here." [1]

The monks have religious duties, including prayer, and they are rumoured to use their various agents to exert pressure in various ways - always for the good of the state, of course. They do not have any official political power and do not receive financial support from the government. A large part of their work is charitable in nature and it's common knowledge that they donate any profit they have left over after covering operational costs.

2. Beliefs

They say they follow the one true Divine (which is not quite a god). They can and do discuss their religion and a monk will willingly get into a philosophical conversation if someone seems interested. Just don't expect to make any headway in convincing him he's wrong.

"Why pray to a god no-one knows anything about?" [asked Nico]
"To keep them all from losing interest and going away," Weft replied. "There's no need for us to honour the popular ones. Other people do that." [2]

3. Resources

The order has extremely good knowledge-gathering methods, and a way to share information with their agents, wherever they may be.

4. Location

Halfway up the Offwhite City's slope, in a recreational (park) district. The monastery itself is three buildings in an outer wall, with a courtyard in the middle. The courtyard contains small trees and a pair of decorative fishponds with benches around them. [3] [4] [5]

5. Public opinion

A post from Roofrats gives [the general range of public opinion]. It seems street children aren't afraid of them. [6]

6. Ranks

Profusionites have encountered monks of two ranks, an assassin-cum-spy (example: Weft, Triviality) and diplomats (example: Tortile).

7. Home life

Monks, when cloistered or stationed at home base, follow a strict routine with devotions at standard times and daily training depending on their rôle.

Their food is plain ("nutritious and hypoallergenic and famously discouraged at least four deadly sins"). Field agents and other monks with duties away from a monastery can eat manabars: white, chewy, largely tasteless pressed food with many of the properties of order food. It has been hinted that these taste worse for a monk with a guilty conscience, though further details about this property are unknown.

Monks do not eat or drink anything intoxicating or narcotic. The only approved drinks seen so far include a clear "water with stuff bubbled through it", drunk cold, and a translucent liquid with a green tint, served hot. Both smell unappetising to humanlike senses.

8. Purity

They have purity rules and consider certain things, including some specific substances, species and behaviours, to be damaging to purity.

Weft has written a description of a [typical solo purification ritual].

8.1. Grades of purity

Note that aliens are not yet listed here. The list will need to be reworked to take them into account.

nicenessBest thing imaginable Worst thing imaginable
classificationCelestialPersonAnimalDiabolic
subclass. CleanestEdibleOKDirtyDirtiest
theological nameDeitiesAngelsPersonsFlying thing
Swimming thing		Running (2) thingRunning (4) thingSwarming thingChasing thingCrawling thingDemons
consists ofanything classified as suchInstar kind ONLYInstarrians ONLYbirds
bats
fish
snakes
frogs		ostrichesherbivoresinsectspredators
excluding
chulc		rats
chulcs
lizards
long body eg weasel		anything classified as such
monastic attitudehonoured appropriatelyhonoured, avoidedhave souls and feelings, is sin to murder themused, killed, eaten etc, have no souls or feelingskilled on sight

9. Education and abilities of monks

The order does not accept children older than what on Earth would be considered pre-school age. There is no exception for promising Callow Youths.

9.1. Training given to all monks

Knowledge web ('godbond'):

Social:

Magic:

Cultures: Each initiate studies a few different Instar religions/creeds/belief systems (there being far too many of these in the world for anyone to understand them all in detail). For any creed they may need to deal with, there will be an array of monks with knowledge of it. Of course monks could acquire the relevant knowledge as and when occasion demanded through the godbond, and do so if necessary, but it has traditionally been useful to have a deeper understanding of another religion's mindset than a simple accumulation of facts would provide. Note also that monks have often dealt with, and even been hired by, other religions and gods.

See Weft's pantheon.

9.2. Training specific to field (slasher) monks

Armed:

All order-standard weapons are unornamented and non-sentient (heavens forbid! No, really, heavens are very clear on the subject).

Unarmed:

Lesser-known skills of a field agent:

Sprinting vs endurance note: slashers are built for bursts of speed and activity, not endurance. They use stealth and surprise and if a target is not killed or disabled in a single hit, it is possible the mission will be failed - they do not do well in a fair, prolonged fight. Similarly, escapes usually rely on a sprint for cover or a lightning-fast climb to higher ground.

9.3. Training specific to field (diplomat) monks

Social:

Knowledge web notes:

Combat:

9.4. Training specific to entertainment monks

Entertainment's a euphemism. They're high-class escorts.

Social:

*Cultural rituals typically include some very... stimulating... hot tealike drinks.

Combat:

10. Equipment

Weapons (more detail later) include blades (inc thinsword, daggers, twinstar daggers used for close-quarters fighting vs multi opponents, also multibladed thing perhaps used as caltrop), projectiles (arrow launchers, not drawn bows, no great strength required - for ranged ambush only), thrown weapons (inc daggers, discs), miscellany (inc garotte wire), undecided on gunpowder, chemically quite advanced - remember physiology and toxicology different

Whetcloths mentioned in one or two places ([7] and?) are what they sound like - they obviously won't work out big dinks, but are at least as effective as wire wool and more portable than a whetstone.

11. Vows

Upon completing their training, monks have the opportunity to leave the order [8]. If they choose not to, at this point they take formal, lifelong vows.

For combat-trained monks, their vows include killing demons, including vampires, on sight.

12. Spotter's guide

Weft on how to recognise an Offwhite order monk:

[Weft:] "Dress code, [...] behaviour and attitude. Mainly little things missing that you'd expect to see on most guys -- jewellery, long cuffs, scarves. Obvious to anyone who grew up in the city. You can easily learn to pick us out, or so aliens have told me.

"Of course not everyone who looks dumb, fast and menacing is a field agent like me. Civic police have uniforms. The difference to look for between a combat brother and somebody's hired muscle is that we're stiller, nicer, we talk less trash and we tend to call people 'citizen'." --[ref]

13. Unusual features

This is not quite like your average oppressive religious order or cult, as this quotation from Kit-Fox may illustrate.

"...so you see, it's not as if bees like flowers for the sake of the flower itself, and I do know most bees are of the female persuasion. It's a flawed analogy to begin with," Sebastian concluded[.]

"Oh, I quite agree. As a homology it really doesn't fly at all... although bees are useful for setting novices to meditate on societal ideals." [said Weft]

"Oh, yes, the common good, sacrifice, such and so forth," Sebastian said, not unkindly toward any of these ideals. They were essentially very good ideals. Just not his ideals.

"Oh, no - blind obedience, anti-individualism and loyalty to authority," Weft said, concerned that Sebastian had misunderstood. [9]

Indeed, the monks consistently stress that they are made aware of the nature and purpose of their training and current tasks, except where this would be counter-productive to a mission.

Expressors of Agápē with Compassion:
Resources: Knowledge web | Manabar
Characters: Affability | Afflictive | Tortile | Triviality | Snags | Weft
Beliefs: Religion | Purity | Deities | Example pantheon

* [noun, meanings 1-3]

Partial list of monks

INFO TO BE ADDED

How monks are fed while on assignment

In theory: "they beg for it, or their clients feed them, but in the latter case there are all sorts of rules about how the monk is supposed to be fed only as well as the client's lowest servants, and not put anyone to any trouble, and there's a whole range of things they're not allowed to eat, the consequences of breaking these rules tending to be unhappy for the monk in question".

In practice, as far as we've seen: "Weft shows up at the back of the mess tent, to the great excitement to the srollen head chef, who has taken a liking to him and has formed the habit of keeping nice cuts of fish back for him. Weft hangs around some distance from the fire* and bitches about Suitov, the alien landscape, the alien humidity wrinkling his clothes, etc. Head chef tries to persuade him to eat the fish. Weft fusses unduly and acts nervous and grumpy. Head chef offers him creamy milk. Weft eyes it up and fusses more."

*Suitov refers to this distance as "the Weften approach/retreat modifier, or WARM radius, expressible as a function of misery × (20 degrees - outside temperature) divided by guilt". Everyone else refers to it as "the creepy spy skirting around the fire again". [10]
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Last edited March 17, 2015 6:44 pm by Herm
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