The Cult of DisIllusion

From: Julian Lord <julian.lord_at_hol.fr>
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 01:59:09 +0200


THE CULT OF DISILLUSION
(please, smash a hole in your computer screen here to illustrate the
cult Runes...)

I MYTHOS AND HISTORY     This cult believes that Myth and History are Lies.Stories are designed for controlling the weak,and it is impossible to say anything True. It believes that DisIllusion itself is a Lie, and that the only Truth is the Void.

    The cult has no history since the Dawn, because it does not believe itself to be a cult, or that history is true, or that the Dawn ever occurred. Everyone is on their own, with-out the Void, unless they are Not.

    DisIllusioned Ones have sometimes been called initiates of Jotimam or Kajabor, but more likely Aarquong, the Lord of Despair. They would presumably deny these things too as Lies.

    DisIllusioned Ones know that Life after Death is a Lie, or an Illusion. Truth lies in the Void. They seek annihilation of Body and Soul.

    Various Runes have been associated with DisIllusion by outsiders. Always Void, and usually Chaos. But sometimes Truth, Seduction, Illusion or Evil.

II CULT ECOLOGY     As long as there are things in the world, and something to hope for or have faith in, there will be DisIllusion. DisIllusion comes from the Void, but it is not itself the Void. If it were, the Adepts of the cult would be unbeing, whereas this is something they must acheive in the world. It is a part of Chaos, but because it is of the Void, there is no Chaos in it to be found. The Void is un-being, and the thoughts and actions of the DisIllusioned Ones bring the world one step closer to the Final Void. However, the nature of DisIllusion is such that cultists have no belief or faith even in their own doctrines. They embrace apathy and despair.

    DisIllusioned Ones think that everything which exists is a Lie and an Illusion, and that the only True thing in the world is the Void. Only when the world returns to it will the Great Lie be destroyed. The personal aim of every DisIllusioned One is to return to the Void.

    However, they often think that this also is a Lie. This is one of the only reasons why the cult remains in the world. Another is that it takes Time for the DisIllusioned One to accumulate enough Void Magic to annihilate his own body and soul, and be truly initiated into the Mystery of "Kajabor" and "Jotimam". Much Time is needed, because of their apathy.

    DisIllusioned Ones do not have any commitment to social life. It is extremely rare for them to involve themselves with anyone. This usually happens by complete accident. When they interact with other people, the physical and spiritual devastation they bring causes others to act towards the DisIllusioned Ones with great prejudice.

    DisIllusioned Ones see physical Death as a condemnation to remain inside the world through reincarnation. Hence, they try and avoid others, for they know that they are the Death Bringers.

    Similarly, they do not let themselves starve to death. This would be a failure of the true Void.

    DisIllusioned Ones sit, alone, unloved, and contemplate Emptiness. Perhaps, they take potent drugs. They hate all of the Lie, including Religion, Physical Substance, Spirit, Knowledge, Being A Nice Person, Love, living, and Magic.

    Those DisIllusioned Ones who are powerful enough to cause widespread annihilation are also powerful enough to remove themselves from Existence. This is what they normally do.

    The only motive for action in the World is to try and accumulate enough Void Magic to be able to acheive self-annihilation. DisIllusion is, however, occasionally "preached" by cultists, with DisIllusion spells, when they encounter intolerable falsehoods in someone.

III THE CULT IN THE WORLD     The cult of DisIllusion is rather like a Spirit Cult, except that the DisIllusioned mind is itself considered to be the Unholy shrine. Attempts to organise the worship of DisIllusion may work for a time, until enough Void Magic is accumulated for a good mass annihilation, perhaps taking away some part of the physical world as well. Basically, though, there is no organised cult of DisIllusion.

    The cult has no temples, no holy days, and no places of power. Possible exceptions to this last statement are the Maw of Gloomshark, the Heart of Gorp, and something under the Block in Prax. Magasta's Pool was one too, until it was made to lead SomeWhere instead of NoWhere. There are rumours of a place in Dorastor, too, but these rumours are probably Lies.

    This self-destructive cult is a small one, but it might spring up anywhere.

IV DISILLUSIONED ONES     To become a DisIllusioned One, a being must follow this path:

  1. It must live, believe, and hope. (Unintelligent creatures cannot become DisIllusioned. Illuminates cannot become DisIllusioned without ceasing to be Illuminated. Dragonewts cannot become DisIllusioned at all. Dream Dragons and Specters who are DisIllusioned immediately cease to exist. Atheists can, however, become Disillusioned.)
  2. It must lose faith; because of circumstance, chaos wounding, or the DisIllusion Rune Spell, for example.
  3. It must sacrifice one point of POW to emptiness. This might be to a god the creature no longer believes in, to the Void itself, to a non-divine thing, to a creature of Evil, to a DisIllusioned One, etc... It might be encouraged to do so by a previously DisIllusioned One. This sacrifice turns the being's spirit into a shrine of DisIllusion, and a source of Void Magic.

    The DisIllusioned Ones are of all kinds. Some maintain their physical body until their coming UnDay in Aarquong. Others progressively remove portions of themselves from the realm of existence, becoming more and more evil in their physical and/or spiritual natures as this advances. Some have annihilated their bodies, and remain as partially existant spirits in the Ghost Plane. The Vast majority no longer exist.

    Very rarely, a DisIllusioned One will cast DisIllusion on his belief in DisIllusion. In most cases, suicide follows immediately afterwards. There have been extremely rare cases of a complete return to sanity, though. This and Death are the only ways of leaving the cult, but surviving in an afterlife.

    DisIllusion teaches no skills, and places no special requirements on its initiates. Rune Magic is obtainable directly from the hole in the DisIllusioned One's spirit.

    DisIllusioned Ones who attempt to maintain some sort of faith besides DisIllusion usually go completely and very spectacularly insane
(as opposed to quietly and asocially insane, of course). They are good
candidates for other Chaotic cults, though.

Rune Magic Available: DisIllusion, Dismiss Magic, Void Size, Void Spirit

V RUNE MAGIC NB The fact that these spells are reusable is an intentional paradox.

DisIllusion                    1 Point

Touch, instant, stackable, reusable

This spell reveals philosophical ideas contained inside a spirit to be False. These ideas are turned into Nothing. To DisIllusion one of these ideas, sufficient spell points must be stacked to affect the targeted item, or the spell will fail. The Spellcaster must understand that an idea exists before it can cast the spell. Usual methods for discovering anothers ideas and knowledge are helpful, but liars have better protection from the spell than others.

Each spell point can destroy one specific personal opinion ("I love to feel the cool breeze on my face in summer.", for example). More complicated ideas are destroyed by larger spells. Belief in objective facts, and shared beliefs ("The Sky is Blue.", for example, or "We are the Adaran clan of the Solanthi.") can be destroyed in a mind by stacking spell points equal to the victim's INT. Spells can be destroyed on a point for point basis, but costs for destroying Rune Magic are doubled. Knowledge of skills is destroyed at a rate of 2D6% per spell point stacked, although the spell points must overcome the victim's INT on the Resistance table.
In all cases, the victim's MPs must be overcome.

Void SIZ                        1 Point

Ranged, instant, stackable, reusable

This spell reveals a portion of the physical world to be a Lie, and turns it into Nothing. 1 point of SIZ is Voided per spell point stacked. The target must be clearly defined before spellcasting. If insufficient points are stacked, the spell is lost. The MPs of the target, if it has any, must be overcome, even if the target is willing. The spell is one-use when used against targets possessing POW, holy things, and hero things.
The spell cannot be used against True Dragons, adamant, truestone, or gods.

It also fails against captain Sheng-Yuan, the famous warrior of the Fourfold Fists of Lightning Fire school of martial arts in Tung Shui An.

Void Spirit                        1 Point
Ranged, instant, stackable, one-use

This spell reveals a spirit's existence to be a Lie, and turns it into Nothing. Each point stacked annihilates 1 POW, but enough spells must be stacked to affect the whole spirit, or the spell will fail.. The spell can also be used to annihilate 1D6 MPs per spell stacked, although this has no effect upon the victim's ability to regenerate them. The target's MPs must be overcome on the Resistance table. The spell is reusable when used against targets which don't have POW. The spell cannot be used against True Dragons, adamant, truestone, or gods.

It fails when used against Li Yu Yu Shan, master of the White Strike Monks of Tung Shui An, and Sheng-Yuan's great enemy.

VI NOTES ON THE CULT OF DISILLUSION DISILLUSION AS ANTI-ILLUMINATION
    DisIllusion is, in many ways, the opposite of Illumination. Where the Illuminate, upon understanding a dichotomy, uses it to broaden his spirit, the DisIllusioned One denies the dichotomy as inherently false, and annihilates it in the spirit. A hole is thus created, through which Aarquong can enter Glorantha.

DISILLUSION AND KAJABOR
    "Outsiders to DisIllusion call it the cult of "Kajabor", and invent fairy tales to describe it. These are stupid and evil lies, which they use to control people with. "Kajabor" is just a lie. Do not believe it. There is no "Kajabor", there is no "Rufelza", and there are no gods at all."

                a the UnNamed, Glamour, 1632 S.T.

DISILLUSION AND CHAOS
    DisIllusioned Ones do not register as chaotic, unless they are tainted by some other form of Chaos. However, most anti-chaos spells will work against DisIllusioned Ones.

DISILLUSION AND UNHEROQUESTING
    DisIllusioned Ones are incapable of the faith needed to enter the Hero Plane. But the Void itself is part of the God Plane, and a DisIllusioned UnHero is not an absolute impossibility. There is no evidence that such UnHeroes have ever existed, but such proof would necessarily be non-existent.

Kudos to Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen, and Stephen Martin!


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