[[:Template:Tishra Qal]]
The Tishra Qal
Of all the organizations and societies within Ta Los and the Omniverse there is none more influential for the forces of good than the Tishra Qal (Tish-RAH KAL) (Keepers of Wisdom). An ancient monastic organization unified by its belief and observance of the Tome of Life, known as the Tishran. Its members, known as Qalun (KAL-oon), are guardians of peace, justice and knowledge, whose primary focus is Ta Los and the Southern Realms.
Tishra Qal is a very large organization that once had many established sects throughout Ta Los. They rely on their powers of Jinhu and their faith in the Lord of Wisdom. The organization is secretly led by a number of Niras (NEE-raz) Tishra Qal (Council of Wisdom), the order was once great in numbers but has faced many trials from the dark forces of Azahak and the influences of Chaos.
| Code of the Tishra Qal | |
| The code of the Tishra Qal, or the Tishran, is derived from the Laws of Odiryn and the philosophy of the jinhuur teachings. This code describes the way of life that Qalun adhere to and effects all aspects of their lives.
One of the keystones of the Tishran is the core mantra:
There are a number of other tenets that many of the order adhere to.
|
Hierarchy
As Qalun evolve in their powers, and grew in the ways of the order they progress through different ranks.
Shudu Rezzak - The highest rank of the Tishra Qal. There are only ever six members that can attain this title as this title is for life.
Grand Masters - The second highest rank of the Tishra Qal. There are many of these individuals that have setup individual Tishra Qal Sects through out the Southern Realms and beyond.
Knight Guardian - These are the commanders of the Tishra Qal when there are battles to be fought, they are also the guardians of the holy sites of the Tishra Qal. Many of these knights travel with a Tishnal through the world. They are known to carry the Tishran into the wild, dark places of the world and the Omniverse
Tishnal - These are the warrior ranks of the Tishra Qal. They are first into battle when there is a need.
Shudu - These are the file and rank individuals of the Tishra Qal. Shudu become Tishnal after passing the Tira Qal.
Apprentice - Individuals that have shown an interest and sensitivity to the Jinhu Pathways, Kai or Dra’Pahkun (Lifeforce).
Goals
As with most good-aligned organizations, the Tishra Qal focused on the preservation of life, acting as guardians of the world standing against the Agents of Chaos and other organizations that would see Kralis enslaved by dark entities, foul gods and those who desire nothing more than power. They were known to take up causes of peace and justice through out Kralis. In some cases this also included the Khirius Solvetras and other nearby solvetrasi. They were among the first professional "knights and guardians" to take up this guardianship.
Its core goals were:
- Preservation of Peace
- Serve the world good
- Protect the world, and by extension, the Prima Terra from invasion of dark entities
- Protect civilization against incursions from outer realms
- Combat the Church of Azahak
- Combat slave and criminal networks
Since it was dissolved its principles and goals have been maintained by individuals or small groups of individuals.
Beliefs
The beliefs of the Tishra Qal are intertwined with their goals and their code. One of the core beliefs that come from their code and goals is self-discipline. They are taught to over come many weakness of most mortals. They are trained to conquer arrogance, conquer fear, to persevere against overwhelming odds, not to be reckless in their actions, to honor their promises, to honor life, and provide support wherever they can.
Upon becoming an apprentice all Qalun took an Oath of Life:
I swear on my honor and on the faith of the Tishra Qal that I will unite instead of divide, that I will seek the truth as demanded by Odyrin and the Tishran. I will live without fear and be a light against the encroaching darkness. If by my death I can protect peace then I will. Where there is doubt I will be an anchor of courage for those around me. I will bring hope to those that struggle against Chaos. Through my life I will never turn my back on the oppressed, the downtrodden and those crushed by tyranny. If I should fail at this vow, my life shall be forfeit, here and in the after.
Allies, Rivals and Enemies
The Tishra Qal has many numerous allies and enemies. Their greatest enemy is that of the Church of Azahak and their consort the Yashur-Da. They also count the many numerous Junda, the Dark Monks, among their enemies, but believe that they can rescue their fallen brethren.
They count among their allies the Knights of Elal, the Knights of Dardura, Rayche Blackstone and the Senate of Dardura Sheva.
Influence Level
Global and Omniverse
Members and Membership
Membership within the Tishra Qal was meant to be a lifetime membership, one that could only be undone by the Niras Tishra Qal (Council of Wisdom). Though many did leave the Order itself of their own volition, they were still counted among the members of the Order. Since its dissolution there is no accurate list of who is a member is or is not.
While the organization is no longer one unified in large numbers, many Tishra Qal continue to work in smaller sects of individuals ranging from 2 to 6. Those that achieve Knight Guardian or Grand Master status are known to take on new apprentices. There currently is only one Shudu Rezzak: Jol Erith a gigantic bhahuul that resides in the First Temple of Elal in Baar Dysh.
History
It is generally believed and accepted that the order was officially founded in 3730 B.F.A.: Year of the Red Moon. However, the order is much older dating back nearly 1,500 years (5250 B.F.A.) and was established secretly by several monks in the service of The Hall of Knowledge the Church of Odiryn as a response to the growing darkness of the Church of Azahak, The Courts of Decay, in the region of Dardura Sheva. The exact specifics of the founding are lost to memory as any written record was lost in the battles against the order by followers of Azahak. According to the most commonly excepted history of the order is that it came to power in the monasteries of the Desaryn Mountains prior to the establishment of Baar Dysh and the great mountain monasteries of that Nation.
This first early monastery was nearly crushed in a near fatal defeat in 3850 B.F.A. when a splinter group from the Courts of Decay, known as the Yashur-Da, along with the great dragon Yuzaroik besieged the ancient Odiryn Temple wiping out the temple.
This led to the Kusuria War (3845 B.F.A.) that lasted for a century in the region. The war came to a fevered ending in 3740 B.F.A., when in a heightened and climatic battle in the Caves of Kishmar in the mountains to the northeast of modern day Dardura Sheva when Yuzaroik was defeated by priest Xander Kasiden as he unleashed a powerful divine spell that ripped the soul from the great earth dragon and brought the whole of the mountain side down upon himself, the dragon and many disciples of both the monastery and Yashur-Da.
From the ashes of this battle rose the foundation of the order. It was after this that a number of the churches best priests and warriors came together under the direction and tutelage of Ter Ashlan, a Grand Priest of Odiryn. It has been speculated that Ter Ashlan was Odiryn in mortal form who came to teach the founding members of the Order the ways of the Jinhuur.
From this the First Order of Wisdom grew for several hundred years where it established a number of Order outposts throughout the region with far outlying posts in the North and the far Southeast. This established the order as a unified force against evil throughout the world and was often looked to by the founders of fledgling cities, towns and nations as peacekeepers and guardians.
During its first five hundred years (3740 to 3198 B.F.A.) of growth the Order fortified itself not only in the region but also in the newly founded Duchy of Mashrapur, and Ahamkara and the region of Sheva. It was a time of prosperity and peace for the order as it grew.
While this time saw great growth for the Order and the initiation of many disciples dedicated to furthering the beliefs of the Order, there were whispers within its numbers of dark secrets and dark alliances that were being formed between members and beings dark chaos in order to amplify their jinhuur powers.
Many of the monks delved deep into dark practices as they learned that with enough chaotic Kai force they could mold and bend life and the elements to their desire, even more so than spellcasters, priests or jinhuur but at a great costs. The monks believed that with sufficient intensity they could rival the gods themselves. Slowly over several centuries dissidents began to arise within the order as it became more apparent that many of the monks had delved into dark jinhuur powers and they became bolder in their use of these powers.
The dark monks, or Junda (Tainted Ones) as they became to be called, began to see that it was up to them to convince their brethren that the true path to power lie in the use of chaos energy to amplify their jinhuur which would lead them to be able to better protect, guard and keep peace by placing the citizens of the regions under their control and mandates. Those that believed that this was not the proper way distanced themselves from the Junda.
Firmly believing that the peoples within the regions that they, the Junda, watched over desired and needed the monks to protect them from all forms of danger and including themselves. This began to cause a rift amongst the monks within the Order; the division between those of the Old Order as it was being called and the New Order eventually turned into conflict amongst the monks themselves. Thus, began the Ulatar Wars (3205 B.F.A.) as the two orders began to fight each other for control of the order and their set of believes.
The Junda gathered their forces in the Duchy of Masrapur, an alliance that forever sealed the Duchy’s fate. There they established the Grand Hall of Chaos where they established the Order of Kishra Tal Rhid (Keepers of Strength). In the first half of the war (3205 – 3055 B.F.A.) the Junda raised their dark armies of chaos zombies from the dark jinhuur powers. These armies stormed across Ta Los in wave after wave outnumbering and slowly crushing the Tishra Qal orders. Many of these battles ended in death duels between Junda and Qalun.
At some point during the war many believe that Odiryn had returned to them as Tar Ashlan and fortified the Order which allowed them to push back the Junda. By the end of the first half of the wars (3050 B.F.A) the Kishra Tal Rhid were in a desperate state. They had become outnumbered and were losing these dark wars.
Unphased by this the Junda turned to darker powers, the Yashur-Da priests who pooled their powers and created some of the fiercest creatures of darkness and chaos the world had not seen since the beginning of time. The Qalun, bolstered by the return of Tar Ashlan, eventually pushed back the Kishra Tal Rhid. The last battle and stand of the Junda occurred in 2956 B.F.A. deep within the Duchy of Mashrapur. The Kishra Tal Rhid, apparently destroyed and weakening through infighting amongst fractured groups, fled into exile leaving behind ancient ruins and fell chaos throughout Duchy. Many fled across the Sea of Ithangar to dark lands of Azar; while others fled eastward and towards the Eastern Realms.
The Order once rid of the Tainted Ones, rebuilt their various outposts, and once again began to flourish throughout the Western, Northern and Southern Realms, over the next several hundred years (2945 -2730 B.F.A.) In order to assure that the Order would never become extinct, a number of Qalun, using ancient technology of elven origin, and sailed into the vastness of the Void.
As with all things, what was once, will be again, and as such there came the rise of the Nyreth Lords from ancient Ahamkara. In the year of 2950 B.F.A., those Junda that fled to the east had found solace in the dark lands of Ahamkara where they delved even deeper into the dark secrets of chaos and Eldritch Alchemy. Powered by great evil and pacts with the demons of the Neter-Kheret planes, these Junda slowly began attacking not only Tishra Qal outpost orders, utterly destroying them, but all those that had dealings with the Qalun.
This often included the villages and towns that Qalun allied themselves with. These Tainted Ones were led by the Dark Lord Teryan Edon who used powerful magic and jinhuur to further the encroaching armies of the Kishra Tal Rhid.
For the next five hundred years (2722 – 2518 B.F.A.) wars and battles raged across the Aham Mountains and throughout the southern halves of the empires of the Southern Realms. The wars and battles depleted the forces of both the Kishra Tal Rhid of Ahamkara and the Tishra Qal, nearly extinguishing the light of the Tishra Qal. Smaller cults and disassociated groups of the Ahamkara, Kishra Tal Rhid disappeared in the volumes of time (though many believe that they also escaped into the vastness of the Void), very few of these groups have existed to this day, while a number of them were pulled into the Church of Azahak.
Victorious, but reeling from the massive loss of Qalun, the Tishra Qal would never be the same again. In 2495 B.F.A., rather than gather again into large groups of orders and bring war and destruction to the lands that they have sworn to uphold, they exiled themselves from the common view of the world and formed small various cells each working to stave off the work of evil and chaos in their adopted regions. Over the next 500 years, the Tishra Qal faded into the background of the history of the world. Since this time (1980 B.F.A.) they have continued to work as a force throughout Ta Los, the Celestial Planes and the worlds Omniverse.
It was evident to the leaders of the Tishra Qal, as well as others, that the Order had the great potential to influence the political motivations and decisions of many nations, kingdoms and city-states throughout the world. The Tishra Qal formed a central political organization called the Niras Tishra Qal, or the Council of Wisdom. The Council was a gathering of great minds, deeply spiritual jinhuur masters (called Shudu Rezzak) and others that acted as a ruling body for the Order. The council is made up of six lifetime members, and three members that changed on a yearly basis. Six of the members are Shudu Rezzaks, while three are Qalun Grand Masters.
Many of the members of the council also serve in some capacity, predominately advisors, to many countries, cities and towns throughout Ta Los, predominately in the Southern Realms and the skirting countries of the borders with the north.
Prior to the final dissolution of the order in 1779 B.F.A.: Year of the Red Seas, the grand Temple of the Tishra Qal in Dardura Sheva was home to many other councils ranging from the Council of Knowledge, Council of War, and the Council of Peace. The temple has since become another building for the government of Dardura Sheva.
Among their many tasks, a number of larger cities and towns throughout the Southern Realms, the southern parts of the Western and Northern Realms brought on Qalun as Protectorates, responsible for the organization and defense, including local law enforcement, of the cities and many of the surrounding counties or smaller baronies of these cities.
