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The Temple of the Voice is the religious and, recently, the governing body of the Kartanin Dominion.
Belief[]
Voice of Ardustaar[]
Since eternities, Kartanin prophets hear what they refer to as the Voice of Ardustaar. They belief it to be soul of the stars, and often describe it as countless, everlasting whispers, speaking of events far away, present, past and future. The priests teach that all Kartanin may, in theory, be able to hear the Voice. However, to do so requires one to neglect their predatory, feral nature, and learn rigid self discipline and serenity beyond what most Kartanin would ever be able to achieve, simply by their very heritage.
Death and the Afterlife[]
Organization[]
Voica[]
The Voica are the most accomplished of Kartanin prophets; sages to guide the Kartanin people through the currents of the future. They are seven in number, and the Kartanin offer them enormous reverence, to the point that insulting them may be interpreted as a challenge and insult to the species as a whole - often reason enough for ordinary Kartanin to try and restore their honour in single combat.
They reside within the Great Hall of the Voice, and working in telepathic concert, are able to sense many events across the galaxy, and can often predict the outcome of many major plans with years to come. This is by no means an exact science, and not all future possibilities can be easily avoided. They rarely reveal much about what they hear among the whispers of the Voice, not even to their own priests. Only the prophets, and to some necessary degree the Asanatira, are privy to a small amount of information.
Temple Priests[]
Priests are the most numerous members of the clergy. They are initiates in the ways of the Voice, versed in its philosophy, but yet limited in its application. Many of them are empathic, and all are disciplined warriors. The most talented among them are eventually considered for prophet or Asanatira training.
Prophets[]
Prophets are selected among those priests with a talent for cosmic scrying. They can predict events in the near future, and are often able to grasp strands of information about many things from the whispers of the Voice. Some eventually develop telepathic abilities, and it is from those the Voica have risen during the centuries.
Asanatira[]
Asanatira are the most martially inclined members of the Temple. They serve as protectors and inquisitors throughout the Dominion, and the word of an Asanatir is law. Neither military commander nor the head of a member government may belay their instructions. They do not have the prophets talent for cosmic scrying, and their talents are of other, more immediate nature. They are highly empathic, and develop an ability very similar to what the Jedi call Battle Precognition. These skills, perfect body control and decades of martial training have turned them into the best warriors the Kartanin have to offer. Normal Kartanin often feel uncomfortable watching them in combat - patient, calm, and eerily quiet even in the most heated battle, striking with deadly accuracy.
Sapphire Guard[]
The Sapphire Guard consists of exactly three Asanatira. These are the most accomplished among the Asanatira, and bear the three sapphire blades of Ardustaar. Their rank does grant them tremendous honour, but no further authority - though "normal" Asanatira typically defer to their experience. At present, the guard consists of Shiana-Merr-D'hios, Daro-Merr-H'ay and one other.