MAXWELL'S REVIVAL - CULT

Maxwell's Revival is a cult that exploded in numbers in the past decade, an unexpected consquence of the chaos following the wars between the Gladiolan Empire and the Guilds, as well as the ensuing riots in the capital. Although the story of Ancients surviving on the surface of Yumiris has persisted for over a hundred years, the cult had no name, no history, and no influence in many countries until recently.

With the rumors bubbling of an Ancient ship falling from the skies, a great many are turning to the new sect of Maxwell's Revival to explain the phenomenon of Fallen Lands, Yumiris's incredibly sophisticated magitech discoveries, and the clamor to find someone with snowy hair and unusual eye color. Although Yumiris has always been a world divided over its religious heritage, due to how many Summon Spirits supposedly exist and the difficulty of traveling prior to the creation of airships, both humans and halflings know of the story of the calamity that rocked the world before the Ancient's abandoned the surface of Yumiris, and that they left behind remnants of their incredible power in Ambrosia, where mechanical whales still storm the skies and sentinels roam free in the ruins of magitech cities.

There are also those who believe that the Ancients have the ability to stall—perhaps put a stop to entirely, if the myths are truly to be believed—the process of a land Falling, during which unstable mana pours from the inside of the planet and causes huge decay and radiation. This said, many are allying with Maxwell's Revival for a very simple reason:

The man who leads it claims to be an Ancient, from the star of Naos written about in Yumiris's oldest texts.

While this is largely considered a fabrication because the existence of Ancients as a historical fact is still disputed, new information is circling in the underground regarding his background. The man wears a mask to hide his distinctive features, but is said to match all he traits of an Ancient, and is incredibly well-versed in magitechnology and has control over all separate elements. Because this goes hand-in-hand with how Ancients are described in the legends, most educated people are baffled if perhaps he is the Ancient who supposedly escaped the military in Cirith.

The cult itself has few divisions, but this is due in part to their secrecy. There is an inner circle of individuals—headed by the leader, himself an enigma—that tightly control and oversee all the interactions that go on within Maxwell's Revival. Information is kept strictly to those that belong to Maxwell's Revival, and very little of their on-goings are known to the general public. They are unfailing loyal to their leader, a charismatic figure who talks of the End of the World as a process that must be underwent, and that those who follow the word and law of the Goddess Maxwell can transcend through obedience. In their teachings, destruction is a necessary precursor to the rebirth of the land, or “The Return to Beginnings.”

None of those who belong to the cult are free to preach about their views because the Gladiolan Empire is working to suppress the dissent appearing in the slums. This is in response to the extravagant lifestyles of the rich in the upper levels of the capital. Many impoverished citizens of the Empire are drawn to the powerful speeches of the cult's shadowy leader, who has proved able to stand against the Empire's guards, practices both violent and nonviolent means, and is an unsurpassed orator. He claims that punishment will be dealt to the avaricious in the upper levels, and that his followers will be rewarded through patience and piety to his cause.

- provided by samedi