A Succinct Survey and History of the Numinous Order etc.

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A Succinct Survey and History of the Numinous Order of Brethren Votarient, Men of the Three
by Guillaume Dumaresq, Footman of the Order and devotee of the Three

 The simplest way to record history is the counting of days. For the one and half millenia of relative solitude that the Numinous Order of Brethren Votarient, Men of the Three, has resided on the island known as Ymph in the Shining Sea, their scholars and priests have recorded the passage of the sun like all other civilized societies. In the reckoning of the masters (r.m.) this is the 1714th solar year of Faerûn.
 
A further congruency with other societies characteristic of the Order is the tendency for its history to decay 'neath the cowl of time. The Order is presumed to be as old as its calendar at least, but all history retained by the Order before the passing of the tenth century r.m. has a propensity to drift into the vague classification of myth or legend. Hard records of these stories are often secondary documents, transcribing from an oral source that may have been manipulated over several centuries and are thus unreliable for historical precision, but can, none-the-less, offer insight into the unaccountable beginnings of the Order and its mythic founding years. This work will focus on information gleaned from what are considered primary documents to give the reader a precise understanding of what the Order is today and why it is that way.
 
The Numinous Order of Brethren Votarient, Men of the Three is a congregation of devotees of the Triad, the prophets who lead them, and the gendarmes who protect them and their ideals. The majority of Faerûn's cultures of men envision the unison of Torm the Loyal Fury, Ilmater the Weeping God, and Tyr the Maimed as the Triad uniformly, and this work will take for granted the reader's prior knowledge of its characteristics. The worship by the Order of these three deities (as well as the god Helm) is atypical. They are known instead as Torm-Arisen-from-the-Lake, Ilmater the Dead, and Tyr the Unbroken as the Three. These variations are a result of the isolation of the Order and its prophetic clergy who receive visions and epiphanies from the Three and the Dreamer, Helm, and are disputably closer to the reckoning and true character of these deities than their more banal likenesses.
 
The Order is traditionally an ecclesiastical one. The rise of the Knighthood came about in the eleventh century r.m. Until then, the Order is understood to have spent most of its time in ascetic solitude, pursuing the dreams and visions of the Three to better understand their accordances. Several legacies of this early period remain in the Order as core rituals and practices, the most significant including reverence for the prophetic members of the clergy, marking the three, and vespers.
 
The following is one of the oldest original passages kept by the Order, the last five verses of the prose account of Bergamar. Bergamar is not believed to be a founder of the Order, nor is it certain if he were made Grandmaster, but his pilgrimage as an act of penance has become an icon of the renewal of loyalty amongst the Order.
 

...
And Bergamar knelt reverently in the light of daybreak before the lake and touched the coming dawn, then carried it to his left shoulder.
 And Bergamar knelt reverently in the heat of noon atop the mountain and touched the full sun, then carried it to his brow.
And Bergamar knelt reverently in the retreat of twilight 'neath the crypt and touched the waning dusk, then carried it to his right shoulder.
 And Bergamar raised up his eyes to his gods and said, “I have done holy pilgrimage, and sanctified my body in honor of you.”  
And the Three spoke in unison, “You have marked the three, and in so doing are a new man, a whole man, and a man destined for death.”

Members of the Order who encounter any significant emblem of the Three or their holy prophets will ritually “mark the three” to replicate Bergamar's reaffirmation of faith.

 During the eleventh century r.m. the adherents of the faith faced an uncertain menace which inspired a new breed of warrior-devotee among the pews. Extrapolations from later documents and contemporary sources leave most scholars in agreement on the nature of the menace being orcan. The island tribes of orcs may have immigrated to the archipelago during this time or simply become more hostile to their human neighbors (since this time, the Order has had conflict with the orcan tribes on varying scales up 'til the present). Though the Apostle remained in the cells of the temple examining his divine dreams, the Abbot (an archaic position among the less inspired but no less devout members of the clergy as chief administrator of temple proceedings) de Marsse took up the sword. Though de Marsse's intentions were pure, his act of militarizing half of the congregation threatened to swerve the brethren from their righteous path and into the chaos that war brings. To compensate, the abbot established a strict rule adhering to the precepts and teachings of the Three and their prophets, and order among his weapon-bearing brothers. This is the birth of the contemporary Order.
 
The following document contains the first reference of the Order's traditional name. The name was coined by Lord Commander Roland de Marsse during the Order's period of militarization and the organization of the Order Knights that occurred cerca 1100 r.m.
 

The Wyrds ov the Venerable Lord Commander Roland the Swordbearer, Blessed is his Name
 as Transcribed by Peter Veracitus
 Year 1086 by Reckoning ov the Masters

 Hearken, Men ov the Three. Know this: Faithe hath no substance without Hardship, wyrds realize meaning only by Action, Man hath no durability lest he break his bones. Brethren, the Validity of thy spirit is not questioned, only its Survival. I lay my scabbard on the altar and kiss the sworde. And she has Three measures: her pommel, her hilt, and her blade. Yea, our savior is steel...
 Five and a half lines are measured missing here.
... unto divine graces. Thy Enemy sneers and recoiles for you are Brethren Votarient ov the Three and I lay upon thee the calm of this sworde and name thee Knight and I hear thy Pledge and summon thee the Numinous Order ov the Sacred Vow. Brothers by Oath, tend to the vespers with steel at thy knees then walk in the field with steel at thy 'bow. In doing so you are holy.
:Blessings administered to congregation:

Later documents refer to the Order as “The Numinous Order of the Sacred Vow” until 1134 when the vow was changed for reasons unknown. (From which evolved the tradition of changing the vow whenever a consummated prophet ejaculates a new vow in holy epiphany. Vows of the Order were left unwritten until the vow of Lhenica the Mute who put to paper all of his premonitions and divine insights.) Because “the” vow no longer existed, the Order's title gradually transformed to The Numinous Order of Brethren Votarient, Men of the Three, as first recorded in the memoirs of the Knight Alexandros D'Arcadon, and members of the Order were called by Votarist in official proceedings. Since the installment of the Footmen, the name of this holy companionship has colloquially been shortened to “The Order”, giving it a sense of finality as to what it is the Order of to those who know, and mystic ambiguity to those who do not.
(A tangential note: Peter Veracitus is an enigmatic name around which much controversy is held in the libraries of the Order. This is the first document transcribed by him, but he has penned his name on over one hundred of the Order's stored documents, some several centuries apart in date. The name never appears anywhere but the transcriber's line. Several theories surround this name, this most outlandish claiming that possessions of any particular scribe by the spirit of Tyr the Unbroken occurs to assure that only truths are documented in history. A select few believe that an immortal hides in plain sight among the Order. The most likely explanation denounces it as nothing but pen-name taken on by scholars as a badge of honor or fidelity to the annals of the Order.)

 While the Knighthood of the Order evolved its own traditions, it remained happily married to the clergy by the command of the Grandmaster. Though earlier documents during the militarization nuance a sense of schism in the Order, this is no longer the case. The Knighthood and clergy of the Order are inseparable and symbiotic; the clergy uphold the truths of the creed of the Order and outline the duties of their devotees while the Knights defend those truths, fulfill those duties, and adhere to that creed. At present, the clergy is a minority in the Order if measured in numbers, but remains at the core of the congregation's religion and decision-making process.
 
It was 1479 r.m. when the mettle of the Knights of the Order came under righteous trial, as recorded by Sir Louis d'Epinay. An orcan boss known as the Ironjaw brought the feral tribes to a state of vigor and determination never since seen. So vicious was his attacks on humanity and its businesses that the government of Old Port was forced into war with the amassed tribes. The armies of the Council of Five were well-trained, but unsuited for the task of open warfare that lay ahead of them, and furthermore faced no line of men, but a tide of beasts. The beleaguered Old Port armies were relieved to see the black capes of the Knights of the Order break the orcan formation and enter their camp. Tact on the part of all men brought their causes together, and the Knights spearheaded victory. Though the Ironjaw was defeated and its tribes routed, the Knights of the Order sent many-a-body to the Lake in holy ceremony.
 
In 1713 r.m., a year prior to the publication of this work, the Order experienced a significant change. At the decree of the Grandmaster a mustering of men was called into action. To combat the new influx in numbers of the greenskins, the Knights marshaled castaways, exiles, and those fit to hold steel to the band known as the Footmen under the directive of Lord Commander Sir Roderick de Velen and the sacred guidance of Nethzerim the Awakened. Hearkening back to the Order's history with Old Port, the Order marched to its new colony, located on the site of the ziggurat of Nebudzznos to aid the people there, to find brothers in arms among the populace, to remind people of an ancient faith that has been kept within the confines of the congregation for centuries, and to fight alongside Old Port once more.