Anti-Xarinthians
A break away group from the Xarinthian Alliance, the AX were formed at the end of the Sentience War when Orpheus Regelus stormed the Parliament House and demanded the restoration of democracy.
During these monumental days, many XA joined this new movement. In the years to come, they would find themselves donning the black robes of their master, Orpheus, and traveling Communion Space in an effort to corral star systems to their cause.
All AX begin as shades and seek to rise to shadows. Orpheus and his first shadow, Musaeus, are the judges on who may be called a shadow. The selection process is painstaking and designed to drive the shades to madness and betrayal. In the end, only the most loyal become shadows. At the height of the AX, there existed only 156 shadows, compared to over 5000 shades. In comparison, the XA had upwards of 100,000 members.
In the first three years of the Fourth Schism, the AX flourished. They convinced many worlds to join their cause, but these worlds lacked military power. This led to Faust, administrator of the Sentienist political party, to send Orpheus into the secretive realm of Elder Space to find new allies to join the fight against the Militant Faith.
It was after the Elders flooded Communion Space that the AX began to splinter. Faust had clamped down on the AX whilst Orpheus was recovering from injury, and during this time he had swayed nearly all the shades into his command. However, the shadows remained loyal to their one true master – Orpheus.
The group thus separated. The shades were quickly demolished by the XA, having lost their way without Orpheus, whilst the shadows went with Orpheus into the stars.
These loyalists were few, but always followed their master. They became known simply as the Cult of Orpheus, and as their master became involved in esoteric practices such as mystic music, leaving the body, and inquiring deeply into the true nature of the Universe, they too began to study these ‘Orphic Mysteries.’
This organisation would exist long after Orpheus’ death, becoming a powerful force in the fight against the Empire of Olympus. In the face of terrible suffering, under the thumb of the false gods, they would wait for their master’s soul to return to the physical world. Much of their activity during the Age of Olympus revolved around the cultists seeking out their master. Other activities revolved around further pursuing the Orphic Mysteries and protecting innocents from the Olympians.