User:Haydizzle

= Overview = The Aut'akh are a decentralized, leaderless religious movement and society. Formed by a group of scientists and engineers on Ouerea after the Contact War, they took the Th'akh faith to extremes through ritualistic augmentation in the pursuit of self-actualization. After revealing themselves to the galaxy, these transhumanists seek to carve out a small space for themselves wherever they can seek refuge. Many disabled and elderly form these religious communes that seize and control their own spiritual destiny, and many others who feel displaced by society - Guwan, those who claim their bodies and souls do not align, and even those of other species - they are found within these communes as well.

However, this cultish movement does not go unanswered: the Sk'akh faith publicly ridicules these tech worshipers, calling them "soul mutilators" and "a disgrace to sinta." On top of this, though being based on the faith, most if not all Th'akh shamans adamantly denounce the religion as honor-less Guwan. Finally, their inherent belief in leaders being antithetical to the nature of roaming spirits, each commune faces unique challenges in trying to fulfill their own lifestyles and adapt to different climates.

Job Restrictions

 * Due to a mix of religious and political views, Aut'akh are barred from command roles.*

Unorthodox Names
= Religion = Unathi of this religion has many aspects that deter from more conventional and traditional faiths. The Aut'akh faith, due to its polarizing and radical nature, doubles as a form of lifestyle for everyone who truly prescribes to its philosophies. More of the core tenets can be found here. (DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS!)

Lifestyle
Each group of Aut'akh, formally referred to as communes, are clan-less and leaderless societies that seek to avoid putting power into any one individual. Responsibilities that require consolidated power are never solely on one person; any specific role has a rotation of people from the commune that pass off responsibilities after a certain period of time. Such roles might be managing and keeping track of credit stores, managing community projects, or even jobs that lack any true form of power over others but need to be done regardless, such as delivering and sending mail. Aut'akh shamans are the only considerable people of power, and are usually go-to figures when a commune needs representation in a matter. However, many Aut'akh are divided on whether or not these shamans are truly necessary outlets of the faith.

Besides such roles, each person leads a simpler life in the commune, where everyone is responsible only for themselves. Trading is normalcy for each commune as most people do not have the skills or time to perform each task they need done themselves. In older, more established societies, these trades come down to routine due to familiar interactions with a small populace. While credits are still held by the commune as a whole for purchasing power with the outside world, material wealth is something that is avoided; most wealth goes towards attempting enlightenment via augmentation.

Rarely do non-Aut'akh know any concrete information about these communes; as a result, many rumors are spread about Aut'akh, only demonizing and alienating them further.

Augmentation and Prosthetics
Connecting with your spirit requires true emulation of a spirit's nature. In addition to living a life devoid of authority wherever possible, many commune denizens put great effort into art or shows of self-expression. The truest form of self-expression, however, is connected to an Aut'akh's choice of limbs, augments, and similar. Much like how people commission artists for paintings, Aut'akh request prosthetics from a capable roboticist in the commune. Such figures that are able to make prosthetics are sometimes the shamans themselves; however, as many shamans aren't capable of such, and thus many requests are sent out to other communes, namely the Factory (INSERT LINK HERE).

The process of creating a limb for an Aut'akh is involved and painstakingly done, as there can be no room for error. The flesh can be flawed, inert, or disabled; prosthetics should only ever be an improvement, not a downgrade, as a house for the spirit. However, the spirits have petty squabbles and disagree upon many things, and similarly, many different communes have grown apart on how perfection in prosthetics is displayed, with even some more minor disagreements within the same commune. An Aut'akh's first responsibility, however, is making sure that new tech is made to their own liking, and nobody else's.

Routines
Many Aut'akh find that, through trial and error, different things appease and displease the spirits they come into contact with during day to day life. As most spirits are free and chaotic in nature, many Aut'akh emulate this and are hardly slaves to routine, unlike their Th'akh worshiping cousins. However, what unique routines they do keep are very important to them.

Cleaning
Cleaning and maintaining prosthetics is arguably the most important thing for every Aut'akh. As augmentation is committed to a unathi to appease the spirit inside of oneself, it is important to make sure they are kept clean and shiny. Many Aut'akh develop their own ritualistic activities for before, during, or after one of these maintaining events. Aut'akh usually have unique rituals that are either passed down from parents, or developed over time for themselves. However, even though all Aut'akh have prosthetics, most still do not have the knowledge to fix them or even repair basic dents. It is the important role of the shaman to be the one to repair and fix prosthetics in a way that will appease the spirit housing these mechanical augments.

Communing with Your Spirit
Unlike Th'akh, most Aut'akh believe that, since the flesh and blood are imperfect, there is a disconnect between what the mind wants and what the spirit wants. All Aut'akh, in their striving to attain enlightenment, attempt to commune with their inner spirit whenever an important decision needs to be made. Whether a new augmentation, finding a partner, or something as major as leaving the commune for any reason, Aut'akh attempt to commune with their spirit as best as they can. These events are rather varied; they can usually include traditional methods such as meditation, but also have the potential to carry into extremes, like overindulgence (giving into desire, as what the spirits often do) or keeping away from the outside world for many days.

Ritual of Shards
While the commune embraces anyone that accepts their teachings, the reality of resource management means that they cannot provide the full-body augmentation that all its members strive for. Priority is given to unathi that are maimed or otherwise physically handicapped, and especially in the Polar Commune, the steady stream of Wastelanders means that the waiting list is very long for healthy initiates. However, a fully healthy unathi of at least 16 years old can ask any Paradigm to conduct the Ritual. What it is varies by the Paradigm, but the requirement is always the same: It must be difficult, dangerous, and typically selfless. Most early initiates were sent hiking the frigid cold in basic gear to deliver food to a reclusive Paradigm in the more extreme north. In modern times they are typical quests, large or small in importance, that would try the abilities of any unathi. If the Initiate survives they are celebrated and immediately offered full body augmentation through the Ritual of Rebirth.

Ritual of Rebirth
This is the process of acquiring a fully augmented Aut’akh body. Individuals who have already experienced great pain in their life, such as being maimed or disabled, may be allowed to receive their Ritual of Rebirth, since they have already had a Ritual of Shards and the Ancestors.

Unathi who complete a Ritual of Shards, even if they are (usually) unconscious, heavily injured, or extremely exhausted, will be put into a Sk’au in a Ritual Chamber where it will treat most of their ailments via limb replacement as well as enhance their ability to survive. The individual is kept unconscious within the Sk’au. An Aut'akh shaman, completely covered in energy harnessing runes, will assist in powering the Sk’au during the process and remain next to them for anywhere from a day to a week to help them adjust to their new body and life.

Sk’au Sarcophagi
The original Sk’au were known as Sepulchres by the Mador, but this term has been replaced with Sk’au Sarcophagi, or just simply Sk’au. They resembled a stone sarcophagus with finely chiseled holes that conductive metal would run through. It’s believed based on Mador runes that they held a spiritual or medical purpose. They could have been used to rejuvenate their drying skin, or to try and make their bodies more like the southern Sinta’Unathi to let them survive in drier environments, but the true intention is unknown. Modern Sk’au are very similar to cryotubes made of metal and glass. When filled with cryoxadone, it allows the related Implement to direct the internal components to begin the process of safely performing the full body augmentation of the unathi inside. When the unathi wakes, they have their new metal body.

= History = Aut'akh came to prominence around the 2450s as more and more unathi caught wind of these unorthodox zealots.

Damage from the War
Outline how this cult came to be: - Set the scene: many unathi lost limbs or received permanent damage to their bodies as a result of the Contact War. - Many unathi didn't feel whole; prosthetics were extremely rare and largely unheard of due to being relatively new. - A handful of these disabled unathi felt extremely bitter towards the Hegemony for the atrocities of the war, and thus grew distrustful of most governments, including ones in the wastes.

Arrival of the Conglomerate
Outline the arrival of the Conglomerate on Ouerea: - The off-worlders arrive; due to the recent Contact War, a lot of distrust from then current Hegemon S'kresti means that, even though they offer aid, the Conglomerate and many others must do so through Ouerea. - Some unathi (outlined before) are introduced to prosthetics that can help them become whole again. - The Techno Conglomerate is the first real introduction to unathi for a sort of transhumanist ideal.

A Cult is Born
Outline the development of the cult: - As a culmination of prior factors, the first Aut'akh commune was developed and started in the now-ostracized Aut'akh Valley. - The first unathi were bitter war vets that managed to get prosthetics; however, the first shamans and roboticists to join this community is what helped jumpstart the cult's underworld growth. - The cult sees society as a way for people to hold power; clans were just a way for clan-leaders to control others; nobility was a sham created to hold authority; all authority stemmed from the work of evil spirits inhabiting the flesh, which is easy corruptible due to its imperfect nature. - Due to their beliefs on the clan structure, many people who feel they do not fit into society's ideals for each sex (including unathi who feel their soul does not match their body), Guwans, those who lost limbs or are/were horribly maimed, and others that feel ostracized or different are more prone to join, making up many members of these cults.

The Forsaken Sinta
Outline how society reacts: - As a result of Aut'akh, this leads to and will explain why sinta hate synthetics and prosthetics. This opinion developed by the Sk'akh church and the Izweski Hegemony is designed to keep Aut'akh down, as they can be a dangerous movement if they get enough ground due to an anarchist nature. If done right, this should effectively tie in hatred for these two points and tie off a loose end in the lore. - Aut'akh usually opt towards things that are unnatural for sinta: non-monogamous relationships, clanless societies, on top of their heresy they are committing. Aut'akh as a word thus becomes a catch-all term for people who are seen as problematic or with prosthetics, those that try to step out of line in society, and similar aspects that might disrupt the order of society.