GoI-3088: Further Information

Behavior and Organization Details

The goals of the Church of the Second Hytoth are:

To preserve of Rakmou-leusan's life through bloodletting rituals.

To spread the Ortothan religion and morals based on the actions of Rakmou-leusan.

To research the Ortothan pantheon, the First Hytoth, and unknown aspects of the Ortothan mythos.

To kill any and all Voruteut.

The organization is relatively small and pacifistic towards those unrelated to the Voruteut, though they are active on a global scale. Multiple churches are operated in major cities, the largest being in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, many of which exist in Way-accessible pocket dimensions. Secretive raids have been performed under Operation VIOLET LENSE but the recent inclusion of ritualistic cryptography systems in Way entrances has stalled further raid attempts.

Ortothan entities originating from other regions of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Second Messenger included, are prominent members of the group. Common origins of them have been the evacuation of their home star systems and attempts at interstellar proselytization. As such the organization holds vast amounts of knowledge on extrasolar phenomena and locations, more than the Foundation presently has. Human group members use alien technology routinely.

It is of note that, despite these connections to extrasolar life, the Church itself lacks any contact with alien Ortothan groups. Whether extrasolar Ortothans are even aware of the existence of the Church of the Second Hytoth or not is a matter of continued research.

Portrait of a Lone Andromedan by Ortothan artist Maria Nox-Eoven, 1950. The painting is presumed to depict either an ectoplasm-based or higher dimensional extraterrestrial entity.

Culture

Church of the Second Hytoth doctrine stems from a following in morals based on Rakmou-leusan's actions, commonly referred to as the organization's central tenets. Core to the tenets are the ability to think strategically, to remain curious about the world, and to display kindness and peace to those who are not enemies. The following of the tenets influences much of the actions taken by both Church members and the Church as a whole, causing them to avoid conflict unless no alternatives exist. In turn they are on neutral relations with a number of Groups of Interest and have a small percentage of members who are also connected to other anomalous religions.

The mingling of human and extraterrestrial cultures has been recorded, albeit only in situations where sufficient similarities exist. This has resulted in a unique cultural identity among the Church, where human members are receptive to alien concepts, even those that would normally be incomprehensible. Prominent concepts are the belief in latent non-dimensional "bridges" that link how entities familiar with one another perceive the world, greetings where individuals briefly turn sideways and avoid facing each other directly, the use of cybernetic LED implants that alter skin color as means of communication, "tasting" colors beyond the EM spectrum, and, in small subsects, the organization of individuals into hivemind-like systems.

Multiple holidays originate in extraterrestrial practices, an example being the "regrowth days" where group members isolate themselves from the outside world as much as possible to solely consume food and rest, derived from how certain alien species would enter "regrowth machines" to rejuvenate after long periods of work. These cultures are not ubiquitous through the Church, though, and it is encouraged that Ortothan practices take precedence for all members.

Subsects

While the Church focuses primarily on the worship of Rakmou-leusan and the other Koru-teusa, smaller sects with differing beliefs and practices exist within it. These sects often involve aiding the group's goals via the worship of additional deities in the Ortothan pantheon or ones beyond it, believing that all gods must unite in protecting the universe from the Voruteut. More rarely are sects that follow different moral practices while still adhering to the central tenets of the group, which are accepted but are viewed with disdain.

Ortothan groups not aligning with the Church of the Second Hytoth's tenets are ignored and excluded. In situations where an Ortothan group is acting in ways the Church views as bringing negative attention to the religion and is in conflict with their morals, an example being ritualistic murder to supply Rakmou-leusan with blood, warriors will be sent to stop the group's actions.

Thaumic lance projectiles generated by a theurgic ritual to Yorun-leusan, intended to combat a purported Voruteut threat. Event and coverup details are available in Incident DEAD ARIETID documentation.

Capabilities

Full capabilities of the Church are unknown. Most members are proficient in at least one form of occult practice, and members commonly attempt theurgy with entities said to be minor deities in the Ortothan pantheon. In combination with advanced technology brought by extraterrestrial members, the organization is believed to have high offensive capabilities, though there are no signs that this will ever be used against the Foundation or humanity as a whole.

Outside sources have claimed that the organization possesses knowledge of ritual needed to, assuming Ortothan mythos is correct, summon an avatar of Rakmou-leusan. Investigation into the potential for a Λ 0 Eschatological Scenario is being performed.

Language

The group speaks a combination of native languages and the Ortothan Extraterrestrial Language (OEL), which has been anomalously preserved since an unknown point in time. While spoken OEL varies heavily or does not exist among certain species, the logograms used in written OEL are largely consistent across all Ortothan cultures, regardless of the amount of separation between them . According to the Church, this is the result of a divine act by the Koru-teusa to maintain the unification of all Ortothan cultures in the universe.

Work on fully deciphering OEL as a means of efficient communication with extraterrestrial entities is in progress.