[center:pylh8bzs]ARTEIA[/center:pylh8bzs][/color]
The word 'arteia,' derived from an ancient Edani dialect, means, roughly, 'synergy,' or 'virtue.' The group
Arteia was created by Jarn Garrat, a strongly anti-magic but pro-Mage Edani. He wasn't born wealthy, but his charisma and knack for gathering people who wanted to listen to his ideas won him quite a following. He limited his activities to public performances at first, but eventually, some forty-six years ago, he began a project: Edanith's first non-magical collective. He attempted to terraform a region of land using only technology, no magic at all. Those of his followers who were Mordecai did not use 'their' mages, but rather, 'freed' them. The decision not to use magic in terraforming was therefore a moral one, not made out of necessity. (It was also practical--they wanted to keep the mages under the governmental radar, lest they be repossessed).
The project failed. They weren't able to generate proper atmospheric conditions, and plant and animal life alike suffered. After several members of the group became ill and the government seized on the moment of weakness to reclaim the territory for Mordecai willing to complete terraforming, Garrat moved his people back to Tynova. He died several years later--thirty years ago.
In the thirty years since Garrat's death, Arteia has continued to flourish. Lots of conflicting myths about the founder have entered the popular belief system. Even the core values have mutated. Arteia has become merely a network of people willing to help each other with their goals. At its beginning, Garrat stressed the importance of pushing yourself physically: some Arteia members went on long survival journeys, or tried to live without technology. Those goals are now considered important but not necessary. There is a strong abolitionist bias, but not all Arteia members want freedom for Mages. Some Arteia members are anti-magic and some claim that Garrat was pro-magic and only wanted to test viability without magic to ease the transition period post-abolition of Mage slavery. Some want to topple all nation-states and live in pan-universal peace and harmony. Some just want to live in peace, full stop. Insofar as it embraces any particular religion, Arteia has slight overtones of pantheism, that is, the belief that God
is the totality of everything. Again, however, it's heavily focused on simple synergy: good living and happiness through connection with others.
Some subgroups of Arteia are politically active, especially in Edanith. Others are not.
Arteia has spread from Edanith to independent agents and, it's rumored, even a few Serunans. Its goals are as diverse as its members, who can do with it what they will. Most well-known is probably one of the street performance groups in Tynova, a direct descendent of Garrat's original initiative. They perform experimental art and sponsor philosophical discussion.
Arteia requires members memorize no special codes, though some subsets may impose such restrictions. Most, but not all, know the group's symbol, the letter 'A' inside of a heart. It's enough to mention the name of the organization, which, while widespread, is not widely acknowledged. You can find graffiti plugging the group (the distinctive 'A' encircled by a heart) around Tynova's alleyways, and elsewhere.
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There is only one rule to membership in Arteia: you must treat every member as family, regardless of nationality or allegiance, and if they are in need of help, you must provide it.There is an oft-agreed-upon addendum to that: 'Unless doing so would cause harm to someone else.' Not all members agree with the meaning of harm, so it's a matter of dispute.
Thanks to Sylph for the icon
