Caelistis (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Organizations/Agares

=Church of Agares= The followers of Agares aren't always openly accepted enough to build churches around others. In their homeland, however, Churches dedicated to the God of Fearless Understanding are very abundant. Agares' worshipers are a strange sort, unlike worshipers to most other gods, they do not necessarily have anything in common, and many hate other worshipers for going "too far" with their taboo-seeking behavior. As such, there ends up being several churches in one area, where normally only one would suffice. This often causes small-scale civil wars to break out because of disagreements. Sadly, this ends up being yet another reason why most people distrust the Church of Agares.

=Those That Worship=

Faith: The Right to Know
All who follow Agares believe that curiosity is important to their life, for each of them has taken an interest in something that the rest of the world feels is bizarre, unsafe, or terrible. This, however, does not stop them. They have devoted their lives so much to the discovery or exploration of what others dislike enough that they have turned to Agares, sometimes called the Heretic God.

The church as a whole lets anyone in, but conflicts among members are not uncommon. As such, the church is often discredited in its ability to contribute anything, despite possibly having the widest knowledge base of all the churches. The in-fighting is usually caused by the induction of members that go against other member's not-yet-adapted idea of "right" and "wrong.". An example might be that a masochist who has been pushed away from his family and friends joins the church, believing that, as what he does causes no harm to others, he should be free to do as he pleases. Then, just as this person has begun to adapt to his freedom, seeing others making similarly taboo decisions, someone else joins. This time, it is a man who cannot help but desire the taste of human flesh. The church doesn't mind; as long as he doesn't kill other members, there shouldn't be too big of a problem, and even then, if he did, he'd probably be killed by someone practicing an extremely lethal but cruel art. However, this masochist, new and naive as he is, thinks this is too much. His masochism didn't hurt others, but eating a person isn't just some personal freedom. It involves killing or eating a corpse, and it just doesn't sit well. As such, a schism is made and conflict begins. Things like this are considered the all-too-true norm.

Because of the fact that it is composed of people with similar beliefs but opposing ideals, the "churches" to Agares are often more like small villages, where the members have made their own huts or laboratories, unable to hermit themselves but still keeping their distance. A village devoted to Agares is often relatively small, unstable, and the population is constantly changing as people die, leave, and enter. The kind of anarchy that rules it would normally invite crime, but the worshipers are usually busy with their own devices, meeting only for sermons or to do things like protect the town or its crops from invaders or strong weather.