SAMPLE

"Death is a neighbour to dread. Life is kin to be feared. Our god comes from us and returns unto the void. Anguish joins with light, shame conjoined with shadow. I merely stand before the exalted one and bring a single herb to my lips. Fear god. Fear self "

- SAMPLE followers

SAMPLE refers to various branches of a religious system founded concurrently in a number of locations across Europe during the 17th century. The cult was largely struck down by the Spanish inquisition for their heretical beliefs, particularly their worship of the torture and deaths of their "sacrificial Gods" -- children under the age of ten selected as scapegoats for their suffering. Despite being targeted by inquisitors and even a military order, sects of SAMPLE continue to exist across the world in the 21st century.

Beliefs and Practices
Due to arising in several different locations at the same time, with no link of communication, not all of SAMPLE's practices and doctrines are shared across the board -- Silis notes from her research that one sect, in particular, held that devouring the flesh of children granted immortality -- but each sect is united by a handful of common doctrines and their practice of child torture and murder. This practice is founded on the belief that God does not exist and that because God does not exist, one must be created: these tortured children are both sacrifices and Gods, and their agony itself is the target of worship.

Followers of SAMPLE seek, above all else, absolute peace of mind and absolute happiness. Through the centuries they have used various means to alleviate their own pain and suffering -- herbal remedies, drugs, even physical alterations -- but finding only means of lessening it, never erasing it, they have decided that they must send their pain somewhere else, separate their experiences of anguish from themselves fully, and so they create a God to suffer for them. Their Gods act as substitutes for their negative emotions; by inflicting pain upon them, they believe that they are being relieved of that pain themselves, and so they pray and give thanks during their torture.

The sacrificial Gods are generally chosen at their births and are immersed in both physical and mental pain from that moment onwards. Some sects, such as the one Illness was born into, believe that their suffering is more optimal if they are exposed to the outside world and given hope to be shattered, while others take the path of total isolation, but the end result is always the same -- a child subjected to brutal torture every day of their life until they are killed at the age of ten, all in the name of bringing joy to the people who inflict this suffering.

The shared doctrines which are considered the basis for all branches of SAMPLE are cited as: 'God does not exist', 'God does not exist. Therefore, we must make, construct, and create a god', 'Pain is the foundation upon which people build their humanity', and 'In order to eliminate heartaches, one must create a god within oneself to whom one must pray and give thanks'. The sect which plays a role in 2002 seems to be one which builds on its doctrines periodically -- the "Holy Book" which Bride describes is a binder filled with parchment dating back to the cult's origin and newer papers from more recent years. Given this, it is difficult to make a statement towards the sum of SAMPLE's values beyond these core beliefs.

1705: The Ironic Light Orchestra
In 1700, an enormous branch of the cult established in a European village is taken out by military order. Elmer C. Albatross, the son of two of these heretics, is rescued on his tenth birthday moments before the believers can ritualistically sacrifice him -- a process which was to involve boiling his lower body, burning his upper body, and twisting his neck. He is taken in by the church of Spain and heralded as a miracle boy, saved by the grace of God.

in 1705 he leaves the care of the church to pursue the study of alchemy in Lotto Valentino. Here he meets Monica Campanella and Huey Laforet, who see firsthand the myriad of scars across his uncovered skin -- knife wounds, picked apart flesh, and burns, all inflicted by the cult in his childhood.

2002: (B Side) Blood Sabbath
(Full Chronology Under Construction)

Known Members
Elmer C. Albatross: Sacrificial God (1690 - 1700)

Illness: Sacrificial God (1985 - 1995), Forty-fourth leader (2002 -- )

Bride: Forty-third leader ( -- 2002)

Viralesque: Supervisor