 Sarcacism, derived from the Greek sarx, or flesh, is a religious philosophical system that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Grand Carcestion, its defied founder. Adherence practice ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, capoeial augmentation, thaumaturgy, dimensional manipulation, and a formation of pact with otherworldly entities. Organic manipulation has allowed certain sarcosites to achieve anomalous states of being, transcending the physical limitations of baseline humans. Highly secretive, the general public appears to have no direct knowledge of their existence, the one exception being the Church of the Broken God, which views them in apocalyptic terms. Footnote 1, Note, Certain splinter sects such as the Church of Maxwellism generally view sarcosism as either destroyed thousands of years ago, or as simply an allegory for the imperfection of organic life and for those who are tethered to their base biological nature. Diseases viewed with reverence and sarket shrines have been discovered with offerings of swollen lymph nodes and tumors gross. Sarcic cults treat contagions as consecration, a means to cold the weak and purify the masses and thus actively seek to ensure their spread. The foundation divides known sarket cults in the two distinct strands, proto-sarket and neo-sarket. Proto-sarket cults can be found in insular communities throughout Eurasia's most isolated regions, its followers generally poor, if self-reliant, humble, and hostile towards outsiders. Which groups ensue modernity, display acute technophobia and are bound by superstition and taboo. In contrast, neo-sarket cults are cosmopolitan, publicly embracing modernity and showing no apparent qualms with technology. Their public lives differing little from others of their culture and social status. Adherents are primarily affluent families, rich in history and scandal. Both generally follow a single creed whose core beliefs include the following concepts. Apotheosis, the belief that an individual can ascend to godhood. It appears that Sarkicism regards Grandcars' Ion until a lesser extent his clavigar, as a being who has undergone apotheosis. For the proto-sarkite, apotheosis will be achieved in time and only through Ion. For the neo-sarkite, it almost appears that if one had the ability to usurp Ion, it is a right, if not duty to do so. The path to apotheosis is equal to the will to power. Will, the will to power is the primary driving force of man. The individual seeks to master all things when it is the main, exerting the direction of power, efficacy, while other individuals do the same, often in opposition. Will is the power as form is to matter. In turn, desire is the measure of all things. Footnote 2 Desires the measure of all things. Be unbound from mortal tethers. Do as you will, to whom you will. Sarkic proverb Theophagy Footnote 3 Theos, God, and the suffix, phagey, defeat on, to eat, devour. The sacramental consumption of a god, Sarkicism holds that there are many gods in the universe, none of which they worship, and that these entities can be devoured in some fashion. Humans ultimately believe that this parasitic relationship, whether literal or allegorical, is the primary source of their thaumaturgical abilities. Sacrifice Among proto-Sarkic cults, this appears to manifest as the sacrifice of the self for the benefit of the many. Neo-Sarkic cults, in stark contrast, believe in the sacrifice of the many for the benefit of the individual. Muscles suffer damage, only to heal and become stronger than before. The same can be said for the mind, though developing toleration against conventionally inconceivable things. Cycles of destruction and regeneration, strife according to Sarkicism, is the greatest of tutors. To shepherd the flesh It is believed that all living things descend from a single progenitor, further explored in the mythology section. Adherents hold that this shared ancestry is the key to caporal augmentation, further suggesting a singular understanding of genetics cloaked beneath layers of mysticism. Footnote 4 Wary English-speaking Sarkites will usually refer to this as the Blood. It is the right of the Sarkite to guide and cultivate organic matter. Proto-Sarkites appear to believe that Ion is in the process of achieving apotheosis, and upon the completion of his metamorphosis will destroy this flawed, stillborn universe and remake it into a paradise known as the Icanan, where the many will long last no salvation and joy beneath rose-colored skies. Neo-Sarkic cult notably diverged from this interpretation, holding that Ion has already achieved apotheosis, and that one should strive to be as Ion and become like the gods with the acquisition of power, the development of skill, and the severing of ethical tethers that limit the potential of the individual. They speak and write in a unique language that appears to be a syncretism of Proto-Uralic, Indo-European, and Chaos-Tongue, but primarily Proto-Uralic. Footnote 5 Greek-Chaos-Tongue A foundation term for a poorly understood language whose words commonly appear in Sarkicism and lacks any known human equivalent. It is speculated that such words were not intended for human vocal cords, and pronunciation is merely a close approximate. The term of Sarkicism or Sarkites do not actually refer to themselves as Sarkic, the term of prerogative employed by the ancient mecanites for their enemies. Footnote 6 Predecessors of the Church of the Broken God Thought to be their true name, it was adopted by the Global Occult Coalition, and later by the Foundation as part of Project Citra-Artra. In truth, Sarkic cultures refer to their belief system as Nulka, and under no circumstances are Foundation agents to use Sarkic or its derivatives from infiltrating related cults. Footnote 7 Proto-Uralic Noxley Plus Ka, meaning Hunger Through adopting mecanite terminology, the Foundation and Global Occult Coalition have unwittingly perpetrated the flesh-mecane-cosmic narrative of the Church of the Broken God, which is an inaccurate and gross simplification of what Sarkicism entails. Footnote 8 Quote I believe this relationship to be the result of self-fulfilling prophecy on the part of the mecanites. When Sarkicism was first encountered, it strongly resembled an end-times adversary foretold by mecanite schema, the flesh. Unsurprisingly, the mecanites made a connection that was hardly felt by the Sarkites in return. For Sarkicism, the mecanites were simply another people that stood in their way, not some prophesied spiritual foe, Dr. Lo. While this document aims to recognize and correct previous errors, Sarkic and its derivatives remain a normative part of the Foundation's lexicon. Based on available information, the speculated goals of Sarkic cult nevertheless represent an SK-class dominant shift, including the possibility of an SK-class end-of-the-world scenario.