The Cognescenti
From Valiant Entertainment - The Book Of The Geomancer
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The Cognescenti is a multi-theosophic clandestine faction with a membership that numbers in the tens of thousands and controls every significant body in the world, from government to organized religion, which sole purpose is the destruction of Aram Anni-Padda, the immortal Armstrong. According to the Cognescenti, Aram is the devil incarnate and his existence will create an imbalance in the great wheel of karma that will topple the whole of existence.
The Foundation of the Cognescenti
The identities of the Cognescenti’s founders and the beginnings of their quest against Aram have been lost to the ravages of time, but there exist at least two accounts of its foundation that both originate with Aram himself… which, truthfully, leaves their validity in question.
Birthday Bash
The earliest account of the Cognescenti’s origin began in 48 C.E. in the trade-route city of Dedan, when Clovius, son of Upati–a–Hšu, met with monarchs from the known world, like an African King, an Arab Potentate, a Chinese Sage, a Christian Leader, an Indian Prince, and a Jewish Scholar. During this encounter of revered figures, Clovius related the story of how Aram had deceived his father into believing that he gained his immortality from a concoction of pig’s urine, goat’s bile, and a dollop of bitter herbs, a brew that he still begged him for on his deathbed.
Once they all shared their beliefs that Aram was a powerful demon who served Nebuchadnezzar when he laid waste to Makkah and Jerusalem whose mere existence unbalanced the wheel of karma and that he was a manifestation of Satan that tempted the Nazarene in the desert, the Arab Potentate suggested they all join his quest to destroy the incarnate evil. The Chinese Sage believed that their quest was their duty as sages and leaders, while the Jewish Scholar suggested they make a sacred pact that they would forever be allies against the abomination and come together as a multi-theosophic sect dedicated to his extermination that, at the urging of the Indian Prince, would remain secret lest they panic the rabble.
On that night, the monarchs pledged their followers and resources to their task and set out to spread the word among the learned, wise, and just, as well as to the courts of noble and powerful rulers that had the wit to comprehend and armies to commit to their cause. While Clovius declared that there would be no safe place in the world for Aram, the Indian Prince proclaimed that they must never speak the name of the great defiler, as doing so legitimized its existence, a suggestion that the Jewish Scholar noted made their cause more intriguing to those they wished to enlist. Once they all agreed to the tenets of their quest, the seven rulers placed their hands in a circle and blessed their secret sect so they might save the world and bring death to the demon whose name must never be spoken.
