Warriors of Mameka
A Knightly Order of The Hierarchy of The Eternal Flame

Ideas and Morals

The Warriors of Mameka espouse the ideals of the perfect warrior. Obedience, silence and skill tops their list of requirements. Its members range from diabolical to law abiding in their morality. As a group they subscribe to the ideal that might makes right; but everything they do is heavily ritualized to restrict combat among its members.

Even the most diabolical among them obey the orders they are given for fear of reprisals. Their hierarchy permits little or no free will among the lower ranks. Failure and disobedience is often met with brutal punishment. And yet the hierarchy does send some on impossible missions.

Faith

The Warriors of Mameka have their own opinions of the gods. While similar to that of their parent order, they differ from their point of view. The other 9 gods in the pantheon, and their lesser followers exist to the Warriors. Only their place in the great hierarchy of existence is questioned. The Warriors have a pantheistic view of the other gods.

Tell me the truth about….

The following is a handout for all Warriors and priests of the order of Mameka. It explains the official doctrine against the followers of other gods.

Agrik :The Reaper commands his forces across a great battlefield. The Warriors pray to Mameka for strength and fortune in battle. If the Reaper is the general, then Mameka is the commander on the field. Mameka is a general in the armies of the Master of 10 thousand ways. Mameka oversees the forging of the army from the mass of humanity.

The Reaper is the ultimate test of a warrior, just as the smith's hammer tests the blade. If the edge is sharp, and the haft strong, the blade is rewarded with battle. If it breaks, the metal that made it is discarded into Baldashang to be reforged through pain and force.

Larani: For the injustice she did by refusing to battle the Reaper to the death so long ago her and her kind are the proscribed enemy. Larani sharpens her blade until there is nothing left with which to fight. Her blade is sharp like no other, but the haft is weak from so long against the stone. Her followers are not fools, but for warriors they have chosen the wrong side. Kill them quickly - for their skill equals ours, but their hearts are never in the battle.

Peoni: A shadow of Larani. Her forces are numerous, but unwilling to fight. They control the land, and thus are a necessity to life in this place. Leave them be for they are beneath our notice. They are the bones we cast off our plate. They help grow our bread, but are tools to be used, and replaced as necessary.

Halea: A vain woman who has no heart for battle. She is a pretty plaything that has no value to us in this lifetime. Do as thou wilt with her followers. They are the gold and the gems of this earth. Spoils to be taken in battle. If they are on the battlefield, they are to be discarded.

Naveh: They claim at the last battle only they will remain standing. This is a myth they tell each other to keep their fear at bay. Naveh is a knife in the dark turned aside by a mail coat. They are dangerous, but only to those as yet untrained. Their illusions are a morning's fog burned off by the Reaper's anger in the day.

Morgath: Is insane. Everyone knows this yet few will say it. His followers are delusional and in league with the enemy that will not die. Destroy his followers utterly. Purify the places where they fall with flame and holy words. We fear them not, but their nuisance cannot be allowed to interfere with our great war against Larani.

Sarajin: A northern warrior of great heart and little skill. His warriors scream and dance in battle, but they cannot hear the music. Their steps are misaligned and they are easily killed. Be wary for their strength and endurance may match ours - but their mouths are always open and their heads are always empty. Kill them quickly and move on. Their skills are not worth wasting our time.

Siem: A god that doesn't understand mankind's need for battle. Let the elves and the dwarves worship him. Honor the dwarves in battle for they understand the way of the blade as well as we. Avoid the elves for their ways are not ours and we have no quarrel with them. Siem's human followers are confused and should be converted by pain and fire to the true faith as quickly as possible. The other races are of no concern of ours.

Save-K'nor: A god with books and lore and knowledge. This too could be a form of blade. But they do not have any stomach for war. His followers are more spoils to be taken in battle. If they are on the battlefield kill them quickly less they addle your mind and make you loose your peace. Burn their books before their eyes to weaken them. Bury your sword in their hearts to stop their meddling.

Ilvir: Another mad god. This one is allied to our Master for it was he who helped create the V'hir, our Master's sons. His followers should be left alone whenever possible. If they dare challenge our right to the battlefield then they are our enemies and should be swept aside as we sweep aside any peonians.

Holy and Taboo

The following is taken from the Hidden text of training...

Battle is holy. We are in the process of creation. Born to this world, under the hand of Mameka we are being forged as mighty blades for battle. All things related to the blade are holy. Seek battle each day with peace in your heart and your head full of tactics.

There is no sin in challenging a brother to combat. Your reasons may be your own, and none need know them. Instead you can see if you are just through victory. He who wins has Mameka on his side. The tools of battle are the blades, poisons and tactics taught to us by our forefathers.

It is forbidden to question, to disobey and to be cowardly among your brethren. Questions may be asked to clarify an order, or to seek new information but obedience must be given regardless of the answers you receive. Death caused by bad orders is not your fault, and your obedience to those orders will be judged as equally by Mameka as to other orders from your brethren.

Ethics/Commandments

The ethics of the Warriors are simple, and all are related to the idea that each Warrior is a blade sharpened for battle. It is interesting to note - the Warriors do not consider themselves to be a sword, rather a blade - as found in a sickle, scythe, dagger and sword.

All blades are tempered. They have suffered the heat of the forge and the frigidity of the cooling bucket. They bear the scars of the heat beneath a shining surface. This tempering makes them stronger. Each blade is tested often during its creation. So we too must be tested time and time again. For our time here is nothing more than our creation.

All blades are sharp. For a dull blade is worse than useless. But even a dull blade can be made sharp again. Working against the stone, the unbeatable opponent, strikes off the dullness and replaces it with an edge that can kill. We are like the blade, our edge must be honed and kept sharp. A sharp blade can cut both its wielder and its enemy. We should be able to turn against ourselves just as the blade can turn against its wielder. By being sharp we can be victorious.

All blades glow with an inner sense of peace. Is a blade ever undecided? Does a blade ever hesitate? Neither should we. Cut deep, drink deeper and be victorious. A blade obeys its wielder. The Warrior is the blade, the hierarchy is the wielder. As with the blade, the wielder is both more and less than the blade.

"Be like the blade. Be tempered, be sharp and be at peace. Through this peace war will come. And the battles you are in require all your wits and all of your abilities. Be like the blade. Does it not sing in battle? Does it not drink deeply and either break or be victorious?

"Be as the blade."

Way of the Warriors

Sin/Punishment

Sins are the defeats in life. They must be purged from the blade as impurities are purged from the ingots. There are three tests of sin. They are the only way to judge if a warrior has sinned or acted by Mameka's orders.

"Mameka, our general, our master, his orders overrule those of the hierarchy. None can do wrong when obeying his words."

Way of the Warriors

The Test by Fire must be performed before the Eternal Flame of a temple of the Order of Mameka. If the tester is guilty he will be consumed by the ever present fire. Bathed in the holy oils of the Order, the tester must jump through the openings atop the pit. If the fire does not consume him, he is innocent. If he refuses, or balks at the necessity of this action, or if the flames do not die down at the end of the ritual invocation, he must jump none-the-less. His brethren are expected to help him should his courage fail. The guilty are cast down into the flames of Baldashang to be reforged as a new blade. The innocents are scared from their ordeal, but emerge as a new blade emerges from the forge.

The Test by Flame may be done around any sanctified fire. A priest of the Order of Mameka taps the logs of the fire with a purified hammer - to scatter them about a cleared area until a path of coals is made as long as the tester is tall. The tester must remove his boots and bath his feet in a purified oil. If he can walk among the coals calmly while chanting the blessings of Mameka then he is innocent. If he runs, jumps off the coals or fails to complete the blessing prayer he is guilty and must die by flame and sword within the day. He is granted a formal death of flame so that his soul can be reforged. Healing balms are permitted on the innocent warrior so that he can walk anew.

The Test by Combat is the most common way to challenge an order or an officer of greater rank within the Warriors of Mameka. A test of combat must occur with the permission of the presiding member of the Order of Mamaka. The challenge is noted, and a date and time set. The contestants square off inside a chalked octagon, and fight until an agreed-upon limit is met. This can be to first blood, first knock down, first knock out or to the death.

These tests of sin are, in and of themselves, a punishment. In the best case the sinner can expect to be scared, and in the worst case - killed. The priests of the Order assure these tests are never performed during a time that would upset ongoing activities.

Death/Afterlife

"And when the battle is lost, the soul returns to the forge so it may be once more cast as a blade. As the blade is reforged there is a chance that this will be its final forging. When perfect Mameka hands the blade to his master. And we become one more soldier in the armies of Agrik."

Way of the Warrior

The Warriors believe in a form of reincarnation. They believe with each reincarnation they grow closer and closer to perfection. Their souls spend time in the forges of Baldashang to remove further impurities. Eventually, when their souls are perfect they will be born as a creature of the Master of the 10 thousand ways.

As this new creature they will take their place in their Master's army, and spend the rest of eternity as a perfect warrior. Should the Warrior fail in life to meet with the expectations of the Order, the Warrior will simply spend longer in the forges of Baldashang.

The Warriors believe that only the best of humanity is chosen to be Warriors, and that all other fighting orders of Agrik are only lesser versions of themselves. Eventually all Agrikan warriors are born as Warriors of Mameka.

This page was last updated on 30 June, 2000
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