View source for The Voices From Beneath

{{Group
| name = The Voices From Beneath
| image = Placeholder.png
| status = Active
| members = Numerous
| allies = ???
| enemies = ???
}}

<blockquote>
''"We have been here for centuries. We were called here, with a piece of the Heart that was lost from its greater whole. And over these centuries, we have learned to be one with it, and live in this land, alongside it." --Priestess Ilma''
</blockquote>

The Voices From Beneath, or simply 'The Voices', are a religious organization devoted to following a being they refer to as 'The Heart'. Many have drawn parallels between The Heart and the entity known as [[The Heart Below|'''The Heart Below''']], but nothing about this connection has been explicitly confirmed just yet.

== Mission Statement/Principles ==
The Voices appear to follow 'The Path', a way of life that places the Heart at the center of all actions and mannerisms.

The Voices tend to speak quietly and are sensitive to sound. They also appear to augment themselves using sculk. The more sculk one bears, the higher up in the organization they likely rank, as augmentation with sculk appears to be a ceremonial practice done to reward those who serve the Heart well in some significant way.

There are many rituals and practices that the Voices perform, including a ritual meant to numb the sculk to allow for safe harvesting. However, details about their lifestyle remain closely guarded secrets, only to be shown to those who are choosing to follow the Path.

The group seems to organize itself into ranks, each rank coming with a title. 'Vessel' is one of the lowest ranks, seemingly followed by 'Vein'.

== Members ==

There are many more Voices, but the ones that the Pathfinders know about are listed below.

=== Shay ===
'''[[Shay]]''' is a 'Vein', the first of the Voices that the Pathfinders met during The Infernal Signal event. Shay is an archaeologist, now serving as the ambassador between the Voices and the Pathfinders due to his connections with several Pathfinders (especially Xeroc). Shay is someone who does not appear to rank especially high in the organization, but is useful to them nevertheless.

=== "Visor" ===
With their true name unknown and kept secret, the Pathfinders have taken to calling them 'Supervisor', or just ''''[[Visor]]'''' for short, due to their initial task being to supervise Shay's work. Visor is a small sculk creature, who has explained that their job in the Voices is to be the one directly communicating with the Heart. They appear to be someone important in the Voices' ranks.

=== Priestess Ilma ===
[[Priestess Ilma|'''Priestess Ilma''']] is a priestess of the Heart, of unknown rank, though presumably ranking above Shay due to her manner of speaking with him. Priestess Ilma's interactions with the Pathfinders have thus far resulted in her preaching the Path to them during a small information exchange.

=== The Aorta ===
Little is known about the Aorta. Priestess Ilma has divulged that they are one of the leaders of the Voices, though not the one at the very top. Visor claims they are rather loud at times.

=== The Stillheart ===
Little is known about the Stillheart. Priestess Ilma has said that they are the top leader of the Voices.

== History ==
According to information gained from several Voices, the Voices have been on Locus Astra for a long time, though the Heart has been there even longer. Priestess Ilma claims that the group has been around for centuries, passing down their way of life through generations after being 'called' to Locus Astra by 'a piece of the Heart'. Upon finding the Heart on the sphere, they settled and adopted their way of life that they call The Path.

Little concrete information is known about the Voices' past, though several of them often refer to the ancient cities as structures created by 'the oppressors' that the Heart has since driven out. Whether the oppressors actively oppressed the Heart, the Voices, or both, is unknown.

== Extras ==

=== Trivia ===

* The Voices were renamed early in development, and for a while were just called 'scultists' as a combination of 'sculk' and 'cultists'.
* The names and organization of the Voices were created by Kareena (I'm very proud of the names all being heart related)
* Shay was not supposed to survive the Nether event, but he grew into a much more important character due to player interactions.

[[Category:Groups]]
[[Category:Information]]