Sufok Aj

The Sufok Aj ("Alabaster Folk" in Idrstrasi) was a Sasatanl'c activist movement and cult founded and headed by Uc Praani. The movement was critized for their agressive and at times violent public displays, and was classified by the Deysachni government as a terrorist group. In 22 PC, the movement was made defunct with the arrests of the majority of its leadership. The group is notable for being the last major Sasatanl'c movement in Deysachin as of the present.

Background

The Idrstras people had, for centuries prior to the rise of Modhes, worshiped the goddess Zuar-e, the mother of the land, as well as her eminations Z'patuhr-nu-e, the daughter of light, and Ielna, the lady of sand. In ancient times the region was ruled by various kingdoms, the most dominant of whom would claim the title of Ash King, signifying their dominance over the whole of the region.

The local religion was supressed, as with all other Sasatanl'c faiths, under the control of Deysachin. The Idrstras region however was particularly a hotbed of such activity following the deliniation of provintial borders that split it in two (Idrstras and East Idrstras), each half combined with other nearby unrelated groups.

The Praani family are said to be descended from an age old priestly line, but there is insufficient documentation to prove this. What is known is that Drmakha Jaloi, the matriarch of the clan, was a practicianer of the faith from a young age and was regarded by many as a local expert on the subject. There is very little known about Jad Praani, her husband, other than he died not long after the births of his two sons.

History

The formation of the Alabaster Folk was not a formal thing. Accounts differ, but some time in the summer of the 9 PC, Uc Praani, alongside his brother Lem, invited some friends in the religious underground to partake in what he claimed was an ancient ritual, passed down through generations. The group burned items of Modhesian propaganda in a great pile, then stripped nude and covered themselves head to toe in the resulting ash. The group then marched in a circle and chanted in Old Idrstrasi (whether any in the group actually knew any of the old tongue is unclear). It was at this point, it is claimed, that Uc Praani began to breath fire, and annointed himself and his fellow worshipers as "The New Kingdom of Ash." He took the title of Sufok Nche ("Alabaster King"). From this day, the group would regularly meet and conduct similar such rituals. It began to acrew members, and develop cult-like behavior. Uc Praani was said to be only the first among equals but it was he who determined all of the group's activities and ideas, though it has been suggested that behind the scenes there was heavy influence from his mother, and some from his brother.

Public activity

The first public display by the Sufok Aj took place on 23-8 10 PC on the streets of Eldibant. The Folk by this point had taken to wearing some coverings during their ash-covered marches, to prevent indecency. In this, as with all future marches, they paraded on the roads chanting a combination of Idrstrasi and gibberish, playing tricks of flame, waving multicolored banners, occasionally assaulting those who visably wore Modhesian symbols, and knocking over random objects. The local law enforcement were called in, but the group quickly scattered.

Many other such marches would take place across various cities over the following years, though they would become less frequent as law enforcement became keen to watch for them.

Influence throughout Idrstras

Besides the marches, the main activity of the Sufok Aj was in covertly spreading their influence throughout Idrstras and East Idrstras. In theory, they were attempting to secure the ability for practictioners of the Zuarean faith to worship together in peace, and were working against what they saw as the opressive regieme of the Modhes. In practice however, the behavior of the Folk has been likened to a mafia, as members would inact harsh vigilante justice for perceived slights on a regular baisis, and many used the opperation as a means to aquire wealth through illegal means. Uc Praani is himself known to have partaken in the black market trade of firearms into the country and distribution of alcohol and qillom.

Fall

The Deysachni government had been working to take down the group from the start, and on 29-10 22 PC conducted a large scale bust of the movement. Almost all prominant figures were detained, save only for Drmakha, who had died the year prior, and Uc, who fled the country with a small contingent of low level followers and a large sum of wealth just as the crack-down began. How Uc came to know beforehand of the bust is unknown. The movement now remains effictively obselete.

Beliefs

The Sufok Aj lacked any formal holy text, instead spreading as a combination of word of mouth and mystery cult, and as suched lacked concretely defined beliefs. The central tenants of the faith which members were required to commit to were that Zuar-e is the one true benevolent diety, that the Ashen Kingdom would rise again, that those who follow Zuar-e's word, and the word of her emissaries, would be granted salvation in the holy dead world, and that the Idrstas people would be unified by any means neccisary.

According to speeches by Uc Praani, Zuar-e had mandated the creation of a new kingdom across Idrstras, which would crush the Modhes in the region, and begin a revival of Zuarean faiths across deysachin, dividing the continent into holy kingdoms. Once the Sufok Aj were strong enough, Uc to publicly declare this kingdom founded, and upon that point the spirits of the ancient Idrstras would rise from the dead to aid in their war. It was also stated that those who died would be rewarded in death with a seat in the "celestial kingdom of the sun", a nationstate existing in the holy dead world, ruled over by Zuar-e herself.

There were many rituals and rites that practioners of the faith were known to do, with little consistancy from regional branch to branch.

Organization

Uc Praani served as the supreme authority of the Sufok Aj, and his word was as law, but he was known to take the advise, and sometimes commands, of his mother and brother. Below the Sufok Nche was his close circle, The Ashen Court, who distributed his dictates and ensured the regional branches stayed in line. Said regional branches, distributed throughout Idrstras, were headed by Ash Dukes, who nominally were to serve Uc Praani but were largely self serving. Below them were the Knights of Ash, the equivalent court to the dukes, and below them were the low ranking soldiers, refered to simply as alabaster folk. Membership as a folk was granted as according to a ritual, which varied from branch to branch, and required periodic membership fees, which were kicked upwards in rank. At the Sufok Aj's largest extent, it was estimated that the organization had up to 2,500 opperating members, though it has been unsubstantially claimed by former members that it numbered as many as 50,000, and that some branches continued past the collapse of the organization, into the modern day.