Ministers [Monarchies of Mau]

Realms of Pugmire

One of the questions some folks had during the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter was the role that Ministers held — it seemed a little vague at the time. Here’s a snippet that talks about Ministers in more detail.

The ministers consider themselves the monarchies’ heart and voice, and it is a view most cats share. Medics, inspirations, philosophers, and bards, ministers fulfill many roles in cat society, acting both as ministers in a bureaucratic sense as a spiritual one. It is the power of their voices, words, and songs that often serves to soothe conflict between the Monarchies through diplomacy or raw magical power. Despite the reverence cats afford ministers, they need not be educated, noble, or possess raw talent: The ranks of ministers support their own, elevating each other to communal greatness.

Ministers guard the hearts and souls of their brethren. They maintain and enforce the Precepts of Mau to varying degrees of orthodoxy. When a minister first accepts the calling, the Precepts become their life’s mission, though some cats give younger peers a little wiggle room from strict judgement. More than law, ministers believe each cat’s personal spirituality is critical to the monarchies’ sustainability and growth. “Cats are independent creatures,” they say, “and we must help them all find their own spiritual journey.”

Ministers derive power from their faith in society, and the study of their spirituality. Many a minister excels at whipping up a crowd into faithful fervor, with recitation of the deeds of their ancestors, who some ministers believe still interact with the world through their descendants. They also appear within bands of traveling cats, for no other calling has the presence of voice to rally a weakened group, tend to wounds so ably, and withstand the slings and arrows of enemies with such fortitude.

Truly egalitarian, ministers may rise from nothing to prominence, based on conviction in their faith and the zeal with which they commit their words.

Typical minister: Ministers come in many forms, from multiple lifestyles, though they all receive schooling in the Precepts of Mau. From any age, a cat may join a temple and become a novitiate minister, and after months or years of training, depending on the cat’s conviction, a minister emerges into the world to spread the Precepts and support her fellow cats in the ways of her ancestors. Ministers rarely engage directly in combat, preferring to negotiate peace or deeper understanding of the present conflict. Ministers will often display their belief by taking several blows from an opponent, responding only with words. Although ministers are not pacifists, they view combat as wasteful.

View on the Precepts of Mau: Ministers live and die for the Precepts. Contrary to many cats’ beliefs, ministers are not all fanatics, and most demonstrate their reasoning capabilities. Crimes against the Precepts test this ability to reason, forcing ministers into damning polemics when another cat tricks an opponent in a duel, or displays disloyalty. In all things, ministers crave the order in which they receive education, and attempt to educate others. Freedom is fine, but the Precepts don’t stop at the monarchies’ walls.

View on other callings:

Champions : I spend a lot of time tending to the wounds of champions, but they defend our people, making the sacrifice of my time and efforts worthwhile.

: I spend a lot of time tending to the wounds of champions, but they defend our people, making the sacrifice of my time and efforts worthwhile. Footpads : I have little time for thieves. They mock the Precepts.

: I have little time for thieves. They mock the Precepts. Mancers : The other side of our coin. Their intellect cannot be doubted, though they are in it for themselves.

: The other side of our coin. Their intellect cannot be doubted, though they are in it for themselves. Trackers : We give voice to the wisdom they collect, though they could afford to be more faithful.

: We give voice to the wisdom they collect, though they could afford to be more faithful. Wanderers: To pursue life as an independent cat? It is a dream few follow for long.