Heresy of Lost Omens (Apath)

With the death of Aroden in 4606 A.R., the human world was thrown into chaos. The expected glory of Aroden's return changed into disaster as humanity lost its guide and patron. The Empire of Cheliax was hit particularly hard, and when the church of Aroden spent its last resources on the Mendevian crusade the days of both church and empire were soon numbered. The empire split into a number of mutually hostile successor states as the central lands fell under House Trune's infernalism. To the faithful or Aroden, this was all a great chock. Arodeen died in a catastrophic event that disrupted the very thread of destiny. The prophesies of his return were proven wrong, and events undreamt of by any oracle came to pass—the Worldwound, the Eye of Abendego, the emergence of Osirion, Alkenstar, and Razmiran. It was indeed the Age of Lost Oracles.

Most of Aroden's faithful eventually accepted their patron's death and moved on, turning to other divine protectors—or oppressors. But over time a few of them came to see the disaster in a new light. Surely the death of mighty Aroden could not be a mere cosmic accident? The god of history would not have made such a useless and misleading gesture without good reason. There must be a purpose. And after decades of speculation, a purpose was found; the end of prophecy.

When Aroden failed to return, the Starfall Doctrine, one of the most powerful prophecies ever, failed with him. But this was just the first prediction to be broken, dozens of major and thousands of minor predictions have failed to come about in what is now called the Age of Lost Omens. Initially the fall of the Starfall Doctrine was seen as a failure on Aroden's part. He had promised to return and bring a golden age, but he broke his promise. Now the heresy of lost omens sees it a deeper truth in these events. They believe that Aroden deliberately broke the Starfall Doctrine in order to break the power of prophecy. And he did this to free humanity from a doom only he has seen. In effect, he sacrificed himself to free humanity from a doom so horrible that it was worth sacrificing his life and all the promised splendors of the age of glory. It was not a defeat at all, it was the greatest miracle since the creation of Golarion.

What could this horrible doom be? We can only speculate. We know Groetus is waiting for the end times, and likely it involved the end of the world, sooner rather than later. It does not really matter anymore, as Aroden's sacrifice broke the prophecy, freeing us all from this horrible fate.

Where does this leave Aroden himself? He absolutely needed to fail to appear in 4606 AR to break the Starfall Doctrine. But did he actually need to die? This is one of the great points of contention within the heresy. Some feel that his self-sacrifice to be his crowning achievement, others think he who survived starfall is sure to have made contingency plans to return once the Age of Lost Oracles was well underway. It might be hundreds of years before he can return, or maybe he already has returned in another guise?

These thoughts started circulating around 4670, and by then the church of Aroden was not even a shadow of it's former self. Aroden's capital of Westcrown, the birthplace of the heresy, was now part of the infernal nation of Cheilax, and anything having to do with Aroden had to be kept in the strictest secrecy. This is not a heresy to cause rioting in the street, it is a movement among scholars and theologians. Few inquisitors take an interest in the idle speculations of these savants.

The heresy lacks a divine patron to grant divine spells, tough a few oracles have muddled visions. Some clerics of Iomedale and Pharasma have shown an interest. There might also be a few heretic inquisitors that have converted to the heresy and now strive to keep it hidden from Order of the Pyre hellknights and the Asmodean church.

This is all the information I have been able to gather. Much still remains to be known about this sect, but it holds a glimmer of hope for humanity, a rare commodity in Cheilax these days.

By special commission for the Order of Pathfinders

Ailyn Ghontasavos

Pathfinder deep cover agent in Westcrown

The Heresy of Lost Omens in the game

The Heresy of Lost Omens is unlikely to have much game effect, it is mainly a piece of background. It can be used as a red herring for players who are conspiracy theorists, as contents of intercepted secret letters, or as the hidden motivations of scholars and higher-ups in the Pathfinder Society. Senior scholars might pay well for a mission to prove or disprove different parts of the theory. Hopefully it adds to the verisimilitude of the setting creates new opportunities for adventure. And that is what Golarion is ultimately about—adventure.

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