 In
the present day, the Tetrimon are seen as a small fanatical
religious cult, that have been responsible for a number
of disturbing terrorist attacks against targets both
amarr and foreigners.
The truth of the matter is something that
the Amarr heirarchy would rather forget.
The roots of the cult lie in the year
21460, at the end of the reign of Zaragram Ardishapur
II, also known as the "Mad Emperor." At that
time the Amarr Emperor was the leader of the Apostles,
the first among equals, and his authority was channeled
through the Apostle Council. But as soon as he came
into power Zaragram started issuing decrees, most of
them religious in nature. Many of these decrees directly
contradicted the Scriptures, uprooting and eradicating
many of the most sacred traditions of Amarr society.
Zaragram gave himself the status of a God-Emperor, and
ruled the Empire according to his whims.
One nobleman of the Ardishapur family
grew so ashamed of what his own grandfather had done
to the traditions and religion of the Amarr that he
entered the "City of God" in the Shastal system,
and with his own hand killed the Emperor. Before the
nobleman was cut down by the surrounding guards, he
raised his bloody hand and cried "a manu dei e
tet rimon " - I am the devoted hand of the divine
god. ("Tetrimon" means "Divine Devotion")
The Council of Apostles, the rightful
ruling agency of the Amarrians, took back their former
power, and attempted to restore the Ammarian faith.
The nobleman was beatified as Saint Tetrimon, and the
Council of Apostles took heed of his actions, and created
an Order to reverse the corrupting influence of the
now deceased Emperor Zaragram II - The Order of St Tetrimon.
This Order was given the task of purifying
the Amarr faith, of preserving the original scriptures,
and of eradicating apocrypha and deuterocanonical chapters
(i.e. removing those chapters of the scriptures which
disagreed with the "canon" of the Amarr faith,
or those chapters which had been added to the scriptures
more recently.) The Order went on to ensure that the
decrees of Zaragram were reversed. All icons and pictures
of him were either destroyed or his face and name scraped
out, and his city was laid to waste.
During the moral reforms which took place
from 21875 to 21950, the Council of Apostles was stripped
of its powers, which were transferred to the Emperor
and the newly formed Privy Council. The Emperor was
elevated to the status of the Empire¡¯s spiritual
and worldly leader. Many of the Apostles¡¯ supporters
were strongly reminded of the Mad Emperor Zaragram II
some 500 years earlier, but many of those voices were
silenced, forever.
One of the nay-sayers was Tetrimon IV,
the current grand master of the Order of St Tetrimon.
Unlike many, he did not openly defy the Emperor, but
instead hid the records and artifacts of the Apostles.
The new Emperor, still insecure in his
newly elevated position, gathered those religious leaders
supportive of him into a special assembly to create
a new canon of scriptures that would increase the moral
authority of the Emperor. This assembly became permanent
and was named the Theology Council -- defenders of the
new religious and political order. Their Inquisitors
were much feared throughout the Empire. Under their
ruling fist many aspects of the Amarr faith were purged
and modified to fit the new political order of the Empire
- with the Emperor as the supreme and infallible voice
of God.
The Order of St Tetrimon survived in small
groups, often finding themselves at odds with the Theology
Council and the Privy Council, but still openly carrying
out their work of preserving the original liturgical
records of the Amarr faith. In 22762, with the breakup
of the Empire and the forming of the Khanid Kingdom,
the Emperor issued a decree suppressing the Order of
St Tetrimon, asserting that he did so to maintain peace
and tranquility within the Empire. Tetrimon houses and
colleges everywhere were seized by the local authorities.
Some Order members were imprisoned; some were driven
into exile. The Grand Master of the Order, Lozera Riana,
was declared a heretic and imprisoned in the holy city
of Dam-Torsad, where he died two years later.
The Order remained active in the Khanid
Kingdom where Khanid II, for his own political reasons,
would not allow the Imperial decree to take full effect.
There were also accusations laid against both the Sarum
and Ardishapur families concerning secret support for
the Order, but they retained enough power in the Privy
Council to ignore these accusations. Over the following
years, the Tetrimon were forced to learn to defend their
beliefs, and eventually were strong and skilled enough
to strike back against those who they felt were corrupting
the hearts and minds of the Amarr people. During the
slave uprising of 23216, the Tetrimon reappeared in
the Amarr Empire in force, and an agreement was reached
with Heideran VII, whereby the Order were allowed free
passage through the Empire in return for assistance
against Minmatar forces. Ships flying Tetrimon colours
became much feared by the young Republic Fleet during
this time for their fearless attacks and the suicidal
fury shown by their pilots.
During the remaining reign of Heideran
the Tetrimon were left untouched, on the understanding
that they would not attempt to undermine the rule of
Heideran. Quit they remained, aside from a few actions
taken against the Kor-Azor family -- specifically against
the Heir Doriam, who flouted traditions with his releasing
of slaves and liberal views.
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