Pure Ones
The followers of the goddess Mera are known for their humility and their pacifist tendencies, but the Pure Ones take these tendencies to the highest level.
The Pure Ones are an orthodox sect that takes many onerous vows in Mera's honor including but not limited to vows of celibacy, vows of poverty, vows of veganism, and vows of non-violence.
They practice simple but regimented lives in secluded monasteries focusing on improving their spiritual health.
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Military
Most Tenders have pacifist inclinations, but they admit that there are times when defending oneself or defending the innocent is necessary. The Pure Ones are absolute pacifists.
Maylar and Greymoria find Mera's pacifism abhorrent and this carries over to more than a few of their followers.
Some sadistic members of Maylar's Testers and Greymoria's Children delight in slaying Pure Ones or attacking innocents in front of them and daring the Pure Ones to strike back.
Most, if not all Pure One monasteries have a sympathetic force guarding them, whether the Tenders asked for it it not. Very frequently, these defending forces are aligned with Hallisan or Zarthus.
Worship
Visitors to their monasteries are expected to obey all their rules for the duration of their stay.
The Pure Ones have very regimented daily routines involving meditation, ritualized prayer, work and rest. They eat simple meals and very few worldly possessions. They practice veganism, refusing to even wear wool. They take great care to avoid accidentally stepping on insects.
Most Pure One monasteries are completely self-sufficient growing their own food, making their own clothes, etc.
Some Pure One holdings separate men and women fully, and some only separate their sleeping quarters, but they are expected to be chaste and celibate either way.
Priesthood
It's good for older Tenders to spend some time learning from them too. In my long life I've roughly spent one year in nine among these serene savants though I've admittedly I've visited them less often in my old age. Just making the journey to their monasteries is rough on my old bones."The Pure Ones don't actively seek new recruits, they don't have to. Most Tenders make it a point to visit a Pure One monastery at least once in their lives. Many lay people make pilgrimages to their monasteries for spiritual cleansing. Occasionally, visitors decide that this highly peaceful and peaceful lifestyles calls to them, and they choose to stay. Only a small number of Tenders are full members of the Pure Ones, but we often send our younger members to train with them for a stint of time to build character.
Granted Divine Powers
A very high percentage of Pure Ones manifest theurgy. Pure Ones are especially likely to show an aptitude in Divination and Purification.
Pure Ones focus on orthodoxy over orthopraxy and rely on over ritual (though they often practice ritualized meditation). In game terms, this means they usually rely rely on Enigmas versus Theology for both casting spells and replenishes their mana.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Pure Ones seek to abstain from unclean worldy influences. This means they go out of their way to remain apolitical as possible. Because a large number of Tenders engage in at least some of their training under Pure One mentors, this as pushed mainstream Tenders to generally be more apolitical as well.
Sects
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The core practices of the Pure One remain the same from place to place though there are some regional differences. Most Pure One monasteries have been around for centuries, so the drift of time means each monastery has evolved slightly different practices due to cultural drift.
The Pure Ones have widely scattered holdings throughout Scarterra, and since strive to live off the land, so they have to adapt local practices to whatever land they are in.
Some Pure One holdings with relatively small or infertile parcels of land are not strictly self sufficient, and rely on some donations to keep functioning.
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