A swirling mass of colours powerfully slamming into each other and forging great spirits of potential and dreams. Anarch is sometimes called the Chaos Sphere or the Sphere of Destruction, but while these are true at times, in true essence it lacks the malevolence of either name.
Anarch is the Sphere of change and of growth. As the wave grinds away the stone and the fire burns off the dead wood and heralds an explosion of new life, Anarch is a Sphere that draws in spirits who spent their life as dynamic challengers to the status quo. It is best exemplified by those who forge a new and better place for themselves and others throughout history by burning away their challengers, overcoming their weaknesses, and standing strong against all comers. In doing this, they will be forged anew, ever more powerful and ever greater, and the world and institutions they leave behind will ever benefit from the ingenuity and rigor brought by their constant challenge.
Anarch - The Sphere of Elemental Chaos
See Anarch Ceremonies for more information.
Doctrine of Anarch
Challenge the Strong
That which is untested cannot be said to be strong. In pursuit of strength, only the strongest of challenges are worth undertaking, and therefore should be sought at every opportunity.
You are your Truest self at your Most
Life is the storm, the wildfire, and the earthquake. Live it with the power and depth of your strongest emotions. Love, hate, strive, and succeed at your most.
Your World is not Your Limit
A river is not contained within its banks, and fire will flow over any obstacle. Do not be content to dwell within your comforts, but strike out and see everything there is to see.
Weakness from Strength is Failure
Challenge the world whenever you can, but if you leave ruins in your wake then you have failed. The world pushes all people to grow, just as we are the Sphere’s instruments to change it.
What Anarch is not
Stupid
While followers of Anarch can be impulsive and emotive, they are not stupid. One is, indeed, perfectly capable of being an intellectual or academic while still following the path of Anarch.
Malicious
Everyone’s challenges and paths to their truest selves are their own. One does not grow by attacking one’s lessers, and to mistake slaying your competitors for rising to the top fundamentally fails to comprehend that Anarch is the Sphere of Growth.
Priests of Anarch
Anarch priests are both their own champions and champions of others, living life to the most while ensuring that everyone is brought along in their wake. To live as a priest of Anarch is to know that each incident of destruction and harm (while harmful in the moment) is also an opportunity to not just repair that which was broken, but to build it up better than before.
To oppose stagnation within the persons of their congregations, even as they call on those congregations to oppose stagnation within the institutions they serve and represent. To actively build up and change those around them for the better, never leaving even the most abhorrent or downtrodden citizen behind. To actively seek out issues within people, and actively move to push them to a breaking point where things will be either reinforced with confidence, or broken to be reforged anew.
With these many tasks, it is no wonder that Anarch priests can be seen by those they are trying to help as chaotic or disruptive. Above all of the other Spheres, the ministrations of an Anarch priest can be considered on occasion to be bad luck, since it is very hard to live a quiet life with a person (it can very well be believed) trying to ‘ruin’ it. Of course, this is not the intention, and as relationship counselors, life coaches, and hairdressers, it is the way of a good Anarch priest to leave a person better when they move on, it can simply be hard to see that whilst the walls of the status quo fall around one’s ears.
High Priest of Anarch
The High Priest of Anarch is the ONLY member of the church who is permitted to post motions for a Veto on the Church board. This Veto can be aimed at any formal decision or vote made by any Concordian chamber or election in the summit so far. The motion for the Veto can be voted on by anyone with votes in the Church, and requires a Greater Majority in order to pass.
Unlike all other motions, the High Priest of Anarch may at any time request a Curate to take the motion down and check to see if it has passed the requirement of a Greater Majority. If it has, the veto is actioned immediately, with the Civil Service informing the relevant individuals. If it has not reached the requirements, the motion fails. If the High Priest does not resolve the motion early, it will be announced at the Council of Six as with all other motions.
The High Priest of Anarch may make any number of motions on the board for these Vetos, but only one is ever permitted to pass, and in the case of there being multiple Veto motions passing at the same time the High Priest must select one to be actioned. This Veto is separate from the one that specifically relates to the Senate which is in the hands of the Council of Six, and both may be actioned in the span of a single summit.
Followers of Anarch
Followers of Anarch come in many forms, but what they all share is a dynamic love of life and a drive to push everyone around them to their limits. An Anarchist might be found protesting a despot in the streets with a lit torch and an angry mob, they might be found leading a suicidal charge to glory, they might be found on the front lines healing champions of The Concord so that they might continue the fight.
In all these cases, and many more besides, the key of an Anarch aspirant’s action is growth, testing, and improvement of the person, institution, or whatever it is that they set themselves to. To destroy simply for destruction’s sake, without considering the ramifications or the path to reconstruction is not the Anarch way.
Chaos and destruction are inherent within the Sphere, but equally so are rebirth and growth, and the hope that tomorrow will be better than today. This is why it is so closely tied with patriotic revolutions - not to simply throw down the despot, but to raise a better and more just government in its place. Not to sit on the sidelines while others build it either, but to get elbow deep into building up what one helped to tear down.
Spheric Beings of Anarch
Symbols and Aesthetics
The symbol for Anarch is varied. Where there is space and funds for artistry, you will often see symbols of a whirlpool wreathed in flame. However this is often simplified down to stylised flame when there is either insufficient space or expertise. Beyond this, the three Eternals of Anarch are represented by a Smith’s Crucible, ablaze from within; a Phoenix with wings outstretched, rising from the ashes; and a Volcano, angry and alive.
Common Worship of Anarch
Rites of Anarch tend to be extremely individualized, and commonly made up by the priest if not on the spot, then certainly from a spur of the moment thought. Such things can involve the crafting and breaking of objects, the breaking and crafting of objects, a hunt for things of interest in the world nearby, or (just to change things up) a very neat and orderly religious service that would be perfectly at home in a high cathedral. It really all depends on the day and the priest.
Common Prayers of Anarch
The Crucible
To be either whispered or screamed. Most of the time....
To burn, to break, to rend, to melt, to crush, to shatter.
To sift, to forge, to gather, to mend, to combine, to recreate.
All this and more, O Crucible. All this and much more, on and on and on forever is your teaching - forgive us that in our mortality we cannot ever truly embody the purity of your teachings.
Cleanse our Blights and Failings in the heat of your gaze, and return us to the path of the Journey.
In the Spheres’ Light, we pray
The Phoenix
*Only to be said at sunrise or moonrise. Most of the time.*
From the fire’s cold ashes, we rise with you!
From below the horizon, we rise with you!
Unto new heights and towards the distant goal, we rise with you!
Let that which holds us back or pulls us down be destroyed forever as we strive to grow beyond our limits!
Burn with divine fire within our chests, O Phoenix, and let the promised rebirth carry away our Blights and Failings, leaving us better for their destruction.
In the Spheres’ Light, we pray
The Peak
*Never to be said with a calm heart. Most of the time.*
Fill our ears with the sounds of your presence, O Peak, let the pounding of blood and the sound of the wind fill my ears and show me your guidance for the path of my feet.
*Wait 30s in silence, listening to the sounds around you for guidance*
Take our Blights and Failings, and guide us that the journey of our feet should prepare us for the Journey of the Spheres.
In the Spheres’ Light, we pray