The Underground Church (Part 1)
The inner workings of Eolhcloak's newest "progressive religion".
Hello!
I’ve finally managed to get through the roadblock I hit with this post, and am here to share some of my development with the unusual cult featured in my Dark Souls inspired horror-fantasy illustrated novel.
I came to the decision recently that this project will best fit that ‘illustrated novel’ category; not quite graphic novel but not just straight prose. The work of a writer and artist I follow on here, Ireen Chau, is a good example of this. I love the idea of playing with the standard print layout, bringing some medieval influence into the mix and being able to emphasise moments in the book by having them illustrated alongside the text. I intend to do all of this myself, so I know it’ll be a long project, but it’s the most excited I’ve been about an art project in a while so I’m leaning into it.
Back to cults, though.
My goal this time was to work through the basics of a fictional cult; deciding how they operate, what they look like and who might be involved. I’m trying my best not to spoil anything that I might want to keep undisclosed for a certain portion of the story when I get around to drafting, so you won’t get all the information I have, but should get a good view of what this organisation is to the citizens of Eolhcloak. It isn’t a secret that the city is home to a large cult, and it is very likely you’ll recognise the tactics I mention through each section from common knowledge of famous cults and religious organisations.
If you haven’t read my other posts, as I mentioned at the beginning I’m currently working on a dark fantasy narrative project with eldritch horror elements. It initially was heavily inspired by a dream I had after a day of playing Dark Souls and Bloodborne, leading to the project name, ‘Soulsian’. Be sure to check out my other posts if you’re interested in reading more!
Up until the point of writing this post up, I’ve had zero ideas for the naming of this cult. Having now spent a few minutes thinking about their whole purpose and ideology, it would be fitting to name them something mission-adjacent, but not too wild so as to avoid immediate distrust of prospective members and authoritative bodies. The suffix ‘-ism’ could make sense here, but it isn’t very medieval or fantasy-sounding. Since Christianity was dominant religion through medieval England, to mimic this could be an alternative. Now, all I need is a noun that references the organisation’s mission or ideology. A couple terms that have stood out to me when searching are:
Aliform (adjective): having winglike extensions, wing-shaped
Alar (ajdective): relating to or resembling a wing or wings
From the Latin ‘Alaris’, from ‘ala’ - wing.
Though initially the thought of an ‘-ism’ term felt like it didn’t fit, the full term of ‘Alarism’ kind of does. With stress on the second syllable, the word gives an otherworldly feel that could work well. Spice it up a little with a few unnecessary letters to push a more medieval tone and we have a draft name for our religious cult - Aelaarism [el-AR-ism] - which gives the additional terms ‘Aelaarist - an adherent of the religion’ and ‘Aelaar - a religious figure or figures worshipped by Aelaarists.’ This is, of course, subject to change while in development, but will serve me for the time being in the place of countless boring references to “the cult” throughout my text.
This is what I love about using Substack to present my development - sometimes things are just made up on the fly and it helps my process a ton.
The Mission
The Aelaarist religion is rising in popularity through the lower levels of Eolhcloak, their main appeal being their mission to build a better society, one with less greed and wealth disparity and more focus on community. Members and curious prospectives meet at their small church in the Lower Quarter each week for a service, which might consist of a lecture, communal prayer and a short session for newer members on what the church might offer them. Once in the door, the bright stained glass casting about its rainbows and the cheerful greetings of the Aelaarists inside make it hard to want to return to the grim streets of the Lower. The seemingly humble yet progressive church pulls those intrigued by the change of view further into their welcoming grasp.
Climbing the Ladder
Aelaarism is a hierarchical religion, with only a handful of titles but a myriad of sub-ranks within this. These climbable ranks motivate members to deepen their faith, pray to their deities and spread the word of the Aelaarist mission. It is suggested that the higher the rank, the closer you are to your deities and the closer you are to enlightenment, which is a topic I’ll detail later on. From the outside it is much like a seemingly endless corporate ladder, with little badges for each rung to make you feel special and important. On the outside, some are very aware that this church is a cult. From the inside, each step is a proud achievement in bettering themselves and contributing to an elevated society, one that starts with them.
The Bilge Rats
The highest ranking Aelaarists have their fingers in many pies around Eolhcloak. In the fringes of the castle city, young children are targeted, with the incentive of a few coins, to carry out menial tasks around the outskirts of town. Their small stature and swiftness is valuable to an organisation that prefers to keep their less ethical practices under the radar.
These children are often colloquially referred to by members as their ‘little mice’, many of them remembering their days on the streets with an ignorant nostalgia, their parents either unbothered by their absence, too busy with work to notice, or just happy their kids were kept busy. At the helm, however, the Minister mockingly names them ‘bilge rats’. To her, they are each the dirty spawn of the dregs of human society, to be plucked and groomed into clean and obedient followers. These unassuming little mice may also be tasked with scurrying around town, distributing pamphlets to prospectives and newsletters to dedicated members of the church.
Students of the Aelaarist Faith School
A “bilge rat” may be pulled from their scurrying as they age and be awarded scholarship at the ‘Faith School’. This more respectable rank of ‘Student’, lifting many from poverty or neglect, is where the indoctrination begins. The parents of these children might even be pulled into the cult’s teachings at this point, the promise of free food, housing and education a very tempting offer. Current members of the church may also commit their children to the school. The more, the merrier, right?
Students are taught that their new mission is to mould society for the better, starting with their own community, nurturing it and letting it grow. They study the organisation’s religious texts and take part in classes taught by volunteer church members. A special piece of mechanical equipment is used in one-to-one sessions with elders to measure a student’s temperament; their ‘goodness’ as a citizen (yes, its exactly what you think it is). Regular check-ins keep students “on track to their enlightenment”.
Students often live within the cult’s partially-underground facility, contained and controlled, until they are deemed devoted enough to the cause to be given back their freedom of movement. According to the Minister and her council of Elders, to attain their new life as harbingers of elevated society - and to qualify for the free room and board the church offers - students must be isolated from their existing society. Most just accept this and dive head first into their new world, written out for them in beautifully bound books. The few that question are often quickly distracted by the benefits and soon forget they were ever unsure. The facility makes use of abandoned subterranean chambers carved into the cliffside, offering communal sleeping, eating, study and worship spaces.
Fully Fledged
When a student graduates, and is set free to roam among the people of the city again, they are placed on the very bottom rung of a very long ladder of achievement. Once earned, members will wear these achievements proudly in the form of embroidered badges, sewn to the short stole-like garments worn over their long robes. Each is a physical representation of a members dedication to the Mission and their work towards their own enlightenment. This middle-management-like web supplies the cult with free labour, allowing members to side-step into roles within their community, like teaching, crafting, cooking or cleaning, all in an effort to support the betterment of their little society.
As a fully fledged member, the church is your home, its members your family, its operations providing you with purposeful work. If you were to leave, you’d lose it all, since Aelaarists are taught not associate with “deserters”. To them, you have abandoned your own enlightenment and must have, in turn, given up on the betterment of society. For a friend or family member to act this way is a sore insult for the Aelaarist community.
Secondary Leadership
At the top of the long ladder sits a council of leaders, referred to as ‘Elders’. This group is comprised of the most dedicated members, who have earned their way to the top by proving their devotion through all manner of servitude (unproven rumours of heinous crimes often filter about the city) or have raised a certain level of donations for the organisation’s development (are wealthy and impressionable enough to have been persuaded to invest in Aelaarist activity). The Elders’ names and faces are protected, even among themselves, assumedly so as not to reveal that some of them really did earn their place while some of them merely paid for it.
‘Deserving’ members are supposedly personally welcomed into this upper echelon by their leader herself, though rarely. In an intimate audience with this mysterious and seemingly un-aging woman, known as Prophetess to her followers, a new Elder is anointed by an odd ritual, bestowing upon the new council member a symbolic pair of wings and a dark mask, similar to her own. Only those few at the top know the significance of these new adornments.
Among the lower tiers, the Elders are considered the closest to their own personal enlightenment. Of course, all is not what it seems. This true ‘enlightenment’ promised by the Prophetess is yet to be achieved for any devout Aelaarist, regardless of rank. Though still, the cogs keep turning and the machine continues to whir. To what end is not yet revealed.
The Prophetess
Like all individuals that find themselves at the helm of a thriving religious cult that bends to their every will, the Prophetess is likely a very charismatic manipulator, seemingly narcissistic in nature but endearing and convincing when she needs to be. Over decades, the Prophetess has stitched together this rather sizeable organisation, a now recognised religion, through her enchanting charm. Though the Aelaarist religion preaches the “betterment of society” and the “enlightenment of oneself”, the Prophetess’ own beliefs are at times unclear. It is evident, however, that she is using this beguiling veil to pull the most wealthy and willing into her web, where the strings are quickly attached. Then, her puppets enact the scene, to her direction. She herself often wonders how the end will play out.
Many Aelaarists, at one point or another, come to realise that the Prophetess does not seem to age as they do. While she dons various coverings in the company of others, it is noticeable that there is something otherworldly about her, though this only reinforces her teachings among members. Perhaps, if they reach enlightenment, they’ll be as lasting as their Prophetess seems to be. The Elders, as far as they know, are privy to the truth of her condition. A ‘secret’, kept only between these winged figures.
If you got this far, thank you for reading!
It’s taken me a little while to wrap my head around this part, and I ended up cutting a lot out of this post as I realised I was spoiling things that would be best kept until I actually write the book. Hopefully, after these cuts, I’ve given a good view of what Aelaarism looks like to Eolhcloak’s most critical citizens, without telling you too much.
The second part of this post will focus on the practices, rituals and aesthetics within the Aelaarist religion a bit more closely, and should include some concept sketches!