The Fists of Zuoken are members of an order of martial artists devoted to mastering their own physical and mental development while protecting psions and other psionic creatures. The fists of Zuoken believe that mental powers are to be nurtured in all who possess them. In addition to their formidable prowess in combat, fists of Zuoken develop mental powers that surprise and astound their enemies.
Almost all fists of Zuoken are monks who are affiliated with a specific order created to guard centers of psionic learning - usually fortresses in the middle of forbidding wastelands. Naturally, the monks learned from the psionic masters as well, and thus the fists of Zuoken were born.
Zuoken
Description
Zuoken appears a Rouran-Jin man of unremarkable appearance. He speaks very little.
Dogma
Zuoken encourages his followers to be disciplined and serene masters of both their bodies and minds. Zuoken's faithful are instructed to become adept in unarmed martial arts before graduating to weapons, as weapons are seen as an unwelcome distraction for beginning students. Zuoken's followers contemplate both sides of an issue before coming to a harmonious conclusion, for harmony is a prerequisite to perfection.Worshipers
Zuoken's followers are almost always monks or psionicists, and the most powerful are both. The god sends his followers into the world to improve themselves and advance the cause of psionics (known as Edel, the Gift of Fate, in the Rouran-Jin tongue). They may rescue psionic families from their superstitious neighbors, hunt down illithids, or search for psionic artifacts such as the Orb of Gerendelik. They attack the monks of the Scarlet Brotherhood whenever possible. Until recently, their consuming quest was to locate and rescue their deity from his prison.
Clergy
Zuoken's monks watch over psionic creatures, keeping them safe and offering mental training to those who show aptitude. They study at the feet of a master, with their training consisting of long dialogues between the master and students punctuated by intense physical training and martial arts practice.
A typical monk of Zuoken wears light, plain-colored clothing decorated only with a simple sash bearing Zuoken's striking fist symbol. They spend their days practicing their arts, meditating, and spreading the word about the value of perfection, although they may do this while completing quests for their deity.
Temples
Zuoken's temples are typically far from civilization, but are commonly known of by those who seek training in psionics. They are often guarded by an order of monks known as the Fists of Zuoken.
Rituals
Prayers to Zuoken are short and poetic, often using a strange sentence structure that tends to confuse noninitiates. A common beginning to a prayer is "Zuoken, me to the pinnacle take..."
Holy days
Zuoken's followers meditate every full moon.
History
In the early decades of the Rouran-Jin-Alukhai Wars against the alukhai, Zuoken was a mortal servant of Xan Yae who had mastered both martial arts (his unarmed style was called da'shon, or "falling hail") and psionics. With 38 other monks, all unarmed, he held off a crucial mountain pass for three days and nights against a vastly numerically superior army of alukhai invaders. Though he was the lone survivor, they were successful. After inspiring an entire generation of new monks, Zuoken traveled to the Pinnacles of Azor'alq where he passed the tests needed to become a demigod. It is said that Zuoken ascended to the heavens on the moon's silvery staircase. Many centuries later, Zuoken returned to earth to keep teaching his philosophy.Zuoken's imprisonment
In 100 AF, Zuoken stopped manifesting to his followers on Manheinn. His followers discovered that his essence was being held somewhere in the Kanum Kotan. Though the exact location is uncertain, Zuoken's faithful continued to seek their master.
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