Faith of Omnu

Faction Type: Religious Cult (Pantheon)
Patron Deity: Omnu (God of Life, the Sun, and Agriculture)
Demonym: Omnists
Central Body: The Dawn Council
Leadership: Grandmasters of the seven recognized orders

Overview

The Faith of Omnu is the Pantheon cult dedicated to Omnu, God of the Sun, Life, and Peace. Its members are called Omnists. Because Omnu is one of the Trinity — the three most powerful and popular gods and their cults, alongside Avei and Vidius — his faith is among the most prominent religious institutions of the world.

Unlike most Pantheon cults, the Faith of Omnu is notably centralized. Where other cults do not necessarily exercise control or supervision over worshippers of their god on distant continents, the cult of Omnu unifies all of its different orders under a single central body. Even minor orders of Omnists, beyond the seven formally recognized orders, adhere to this central administration.

The values Omnu embodies — the Sun, Life, and Peace — manifest in different ways and are sometimes in conflict with one another. As a result, the different orders that pray to Omnu give different emphasis to which values matter most, producing a faith that contains both strict pacifists and peace-inclined martial artists.

Goals and Mission

The Faith of Omnu is oriented toward life, growth, healing, and peace. Its mission, as expressed through the conduct of its orders, emphasizes:

Service to others: The Omnists maintain a strong service principle, providing institutions such as homeless shelters and food pantries. Their humanitarian services — especially in the wake of crises such as the Battle of Ninkabi — are regarded as a critical cornerstone of the cult.
Peacemaking and diplomacy: Omnists are widely regarded, even by other faiths, for their diplomacy and peace-making abilities. Hands of Omnu are, by tradition, natural and trained peacemakers.
Cultivation and sustenance: Reflecting Omnu's portfolio of agriculture, Omnist monks are known for working in the field with plants, and are reputed for the habit of feeding people — especially strangers.
Preservation of knowledge and life: Several orders are dedicated to preserving knowledge, ministering through healing, or providing meditative support to the rest of the faith.

Organizational Structure

The Dawn Council

The central administration of the cult is the Dawn Council, composed of the heads — appointed or elected — of the seven recognized orders that follow Omnu. These heads carry the title of Grandmaster.

Among non-Omnists, the Dawn Council has a reputation for being stuffy, lethargic, and steeped in doctrinal and dogmatic issues. It is generally inclined toward inactivity, a tendency described as "bowing to inevitability" only after waiting to be certain what that inevitability is.

Major NPCs

The Dawn Council is composed of the Grandmasters of the seven recognized orders:

Grandmaster	Order	Notes
Niontu	Cultivator Order	A human from Onkawa
Eshii	Radiant Order	A plain elf
Laura Mueller	Briar Order	A human from Stalwar
He	Open Hand Order	—
Srivastariphan	Golden Book Order	—
Vadyevitch	Preservers Order	—
Akili	Keepers Order	—

Other figures associated with the faith:

*Tobias "Toby" Caine* — Hand (paladin) of Omnu, called in 1179. A natural and trained peacemaker, and a student at the Unseen University. The only current paladin of Omnu.
Brother Cavin — A monk of Omnu who served as a teacher for Toby Caine.
Chang Zi — A Hand of Omnu produced by the unrecognized Sunset Way Sect, who strived to lead by example.

Membership

Omnists are, by reputation, quiet and unobtrusive people with a pacifist streak. Their careful and polite manners are exhibited to all they encounter. They are generally simple and straightforward sorts, with little regard for station or ceremony, and are well reputed for equanimity under pressure. Omnist monks in particular are known for being humble and industrious.

Practices and Observances

The Omnists have a strong service tradition: feeding strangers, running food pantries and homeless shelters, and providing humanitarian aid after crises. A signature of the cult is Omnist vegetable stew — bland but filling, and well known for being easy to make, inoffensive, and plentiful.

The faith encompasses both contemplative and martial practice. Some Omnist traditions are strictly pacifist; others are peace-inclined martial artists. The Open Hand order originated the Sun Style of combat and maintains a strong tradition of piety and respect for one's masters. The Keepers maintain a meditative tradition.

The Seven Recognized Orders

Cultivators — Heavily concerned with agriculture and service to others; frequently minister in food pantries and homeless shelters. Perhaps the prototypical and best-known version of Omnists; their formal robes are widely recognized as the appearance of Omnu's cult.
Briars — A smaller group of survivalists; an order of wanderers who help out in rural places. Sometimes derided as "vegetarian Shaathists."
Radiants — The Omnist tradition of magic; generally a more proactive group.
Open Hand — Martial artists who originated the Sun Style of combat; strong tradition of piety and respect for masters.
Golden Book — A scholarly order dedicated to preserving knowledge. Sometimes derided as "poor man's Nemitites."
Keepers — The meditative tradition; provides support services to other Omnists, with a more monastic and cloistered habit of staying in or near temples. They wear robes like the Cultivators.
Preservers — The order most inclined to healing; ministers to other Omnists and, like the Keepers, is generally cloistered rather than independent or proactive.

Beyond these seven, there are other sects and traditions that are not formally recognized. Most are small but are not to be underestimated — for example, the Sunset Way Sect, a strongly pacifist tradition.

Bases of Operation

Omnist temples are traditionally built as ziggurats.

The cult's centralized structure means the seven recognized orders all answer to the Dawn Council rather than operating as independent regional bodies, distinguishing it from most other Pantheon cults whose worshippers on distant continents (such as Sifan, Shengdu, and Glassiere) fall outside any central control.

Notable Details

Reputation among the faithful

Omnists are described, even by other faiths, as insufferably nice — diplomatic, polite, and equanimous under pressure. This reputation cuts both ways: the same temperament that makes them trusted peacemakers makes the Dawn Council appear, to outsiders, too holy and too slow to involve itself in worldly affairs.

Relationship with the broader Pantheon

As one of the Trinity cults, the Faith of Omnu is among the most powerful and popular religious institutions. Omnu is also one of the gods who has regularly and publicly called paladins (Hands), a practice not all Pantheon gods share.

Sources

https://tgab.fandom.com/api.php?action=parse&page=Omnists_(Faith_of_Omnu)&prop=wikitext&format=json&formatversion=2
https://tgab.fandom.com/api.php?action=parse&page=Omnu&prop=wikitext&format=json&formatversion=2
https://tiraas.net/cast-list/