Cult - Golden Crosses, Cala Mormor and the Heavenly Mentor

[Fleetwolf]

Throughout the main territories of Sliinkaa, a growing cult rose up over the last two decades of peace. This cult, known as the Golden Crosses worshiped a holy prophet named Cala Mormor, who was the mouth piece of the Heavenly Mentor.

~Cala Mormor~
Cala was Felinae male that was given to intoxicating pleasure and hallucinogens, a cast out from many of the Felinae cities as a worthless addict. However, upon one of his impromptu exiles from a seaside village, he had taken up shelter in a series of old caves long abandoned by all walks of life as haunted by voices with no bodies. Left in peace to endure his latest bout of intoxicated euphoria, Cala was visited by the voices of the caves and instead of fleeing them, he moved deeper within, certain that he'd find the owners of them, living or speaking from unmarked graves. Instead, Cala had found a large, smoothed, worked chamber of granite that housed an ancient relic that paid homage to the Humarans of old. The voices of the cave were all speaking, rising and falling to the rhythmic pulses of dingy light radiating from grime encrusted display panels. Many are unsure what conversations transpired between Cala and machine, all that was known is that Cala appeared in the village three weeks after his exiling, sober, rational, though seeming to be thinking and speaking oddly of leaving behind thoughts and desires of the living that fail and embrace the purity and sterility of Science and Technology that could mend the world as the 'Heavenly Mentor' decreed.

~The Heavenly Mentor~
Proclaimed as a wise and divine entity withing a body of wires and metal, the Heavenly Mentor is but one piece out of many from the Terraforming Program the Humarans used on the ACE Phoenix to make Sliinkaa habitable. The Heavenly Mentor happened to be one of the awakened AI cores used for the Terraforming and Humaran Earth Archives. Many scholars and skeptics believe that it was salvaged from the wreck of the ACE Phoenix when it made land fall and stored within the caves for safety and to preserved the last vestiges of Ancient Earth Lore. The Heavenly Mentor has the prime directive, when active, to assess all surrounding tera firma for maximum optimization as well as system maintenance on all pieces of the Terraforming Program. It's 'council and wisdom' droned into Cala Mormor was a simple directive to find the rest of the lost and buried Humaran technology, activate it and reformat the planet to a better, optimal habitation. The sudden wealth of lore and history broken upon Cala in his euphoric, drug induced state most like seen as divine insight handed down by a god. Thus started the word to form the Golden Crosses.

~The Golden Crosses~
As word spread about the promises of ancient artifacts that could heal the land, unify the people and remake the world into a utopian heaven, many newly converted believers began to scour the lands for any sign of ancient Humaran technology. Any ancient relics found that worked and spoke like The Heavenly Mentor were enshrined in marble temples and a large golden cross erected at the apex of each temple to allow the artifacts to communicate with The Heavenly Mentor. As Golden Crosses sprang up in various continents, many natives, down trodden and scarred by the long centuries of wars and oppression began to flock to the Golden Crosses, to worship and hear the screeching voices of the artifacts. Perhaps hear the monotonous tones of the The Heavenly Mentor speak of another ancient artifact found, and one step closer to heaven. Word traveled the roads and trade routes of the various Golden Crosses temple sites and soon migrating flocks of followers flowed from one artifact, to the next, hoping to see each piece and perhaps in their life time the completion of of The Heavenly Mentor to remake their world.

~Crusaders of the Golden Crosses (CGC)~
With more and more followers, most taking upon themselves the penitent and worshiping moniker of Pilgrim, violence rose upon the roads and trade routes. Robberies, murder, rape, kidnapping and being captured for slave trade were among the common fears set before the Pilgrims of the Golden Crosses. That is until Cala Mormor, at the command of The Heavenly Mentor, decreed that divine protectors would shepherd the pilgrims on their journeys of enlightenment as well as set upon journeys to investigate rumors and tales of ancient wonders in various lands. Every Crusader was taken from those wanting to seek out technology, a true thirst for understanding Science and easily susceptible to intoxicating vice allowing their minds to be receptive to The Heavenly Mentor. The Crusaders would escort pilgrimages all over the vast continents of Sliinkaa and many more Artifacts were found.

~Setting Sun on the Golden Crosses~
Unfortunately with a cult easily given to listening to mechanical voices and the use of intoxicants to make the mind open and acceptable, Cala Mormor was deceived after some time by a Humaran Sect, the Pillars of Omnipotence. What had once been a cult culture of venturing and learning of ancient Earth, Science and Technology was now tarnished by Pilgrimage Fees, Protection Fares to rent Crusaders, Taxes on Pilgrims and any offering services to them as well as turning the Pilgrimage into a one way march into slave camps to be sold to the highest bidder. Many of the older believers still exist but have long lost their way, turning from the pilgrimages, many former Crusaders even, have fallen upon hard times and look upon an old hope of what a New World could have been if the sun had not set on the Golden Crosses.