Broken Builders

Athas is a dangerous world where hope dies, wilting under the burning sun. Every day, its people face starvation, slavery, and tyranny. The burnt world of Athas is literally forsaken by the gods, and there is precious little hope of respite from its dangers. Why, then, would so many of its inhabitants cling to their meager lives when promise of rebirth is not so far away? All the people of Athas need to do is finish the job that was started long ago and destroy what is left of their surroundings—clearing the rubble of a ruined world so that a new one can be raised in its place.

At least, that is what the Broken Builders believe. The Broken Builders hold firm to the belief that the destruction of Athas up to this point has been merely a precursor to an even greater change, one that will occur only when the world has been utterly and completely devastated. Once that time comes, the ruins of Athas will be brushed aside and a new, verdant, cool world built where life is good and easy.

The Broken Builders originated in Raam as an elemental-worshiping cult. Followers worshiped elemental powers of all kinds. This was one of the many religions that Ablach-Re attempted to wipe away when she had her supposed revelation. When this happened, the cultists believed that Ablach-Re was specifically targeting them, which in turn reinforced their belief that, for some reason, their city-state’s ruler feared the elemental powers. The cultists fled into exile where, over the course of many generations, they came to believe that the reason Ablach-Re feared the elementals they worshiped was because, one day, elemental forces would clear away the ruins of Athas and rebuild a more perfect world. These cultists came to be known as the Broken Builders. Though the cult remains secretive, it has spread over the years so that it now has cells in each of the seven city-states.

The basic philosophy held by the Broken Builders is simple: they must do their best to ensure that the world becomes so utterly devastated that the elemental beings can fully shatter it in preparation for rebuilding Athas the way it was meant to be. Unlike most people on Athas, the Broken Builders have no quarrel with defilers. They believe that defiling magic was a flaw in the creation of the world. Flaw or not, defiling magic is reality on Athas, and although it is the reason for the sorry condition of the world, it is also a tool that the Broken Builders can use to bring about the remaking of the world by the elementals. Defiling magic will unravel Athas the way a loose string unravels a poorly-woven rug.

Furthermore, the Broken Builders believe that the world itself imprisons the elemental powers and limits their ability to remake Athas. In the Broken Builders’ view of the world, those scholars who label elemental forces as chaotic bringers of destruction do so from a fundamental misunderstanding of reality: the elementals are not bent on causing destruction, they are trying to free themselves—albeit violently— in order to make a better world. Rumors from Urik tell that some of Hamanu’s templars broke up a cell of Broken Builders and uncovered a plot to free a trapped elemental that has lain imprisoned since before memory.

From their beginnings as exiles from Raam, the Broken Builders have been forced to hide their true beliefs and affiliations in order to survive in the city-states. Part of what makes the Broken Builders so dangerous is that they look like anyone else; the merchant in the market, the templar, and the nobleman alike could be members of the Broken Builders. They come from all walks of life and are united only by a singular philosophy that transcends status. They aren’t necessarily evil people or malicious agents of chaos. Most are intelligent citizens who see little reason to cling to a world that is devastated beyond repair; they would rather see it ended entirely and reformed anew.

The Broken Builders have little in the way of identifiable practices, though most cells do some of the same things. Broken Builders offer shelter to arcane spellcasters, including defilers, and hide them from the templars. They use what resources and influence they have to encourage arcane spellcasting of all types. Broken Builder cells often have among them elemental priests, to whom they funnel resources in order to increase the presence of elemental power in the city-states. Cells with wealthy patrons (nobles or members of the merchant houses) sometimes set up secret schools where elemental priests teach other members of the cell to harness elemental and arcane power.

More active groups of Broken Builders take a stronger hand in bringing about their goals. Some have been known to openly attack templars and other servants of the sorcerer-kings in the hope of provoking an overwhelming, destructive response. Others have staged attacks on dune traders, merchants, and ordinary citizens in order to cause panic and set off riots. Other activities including summoning elementals in the middle of crowded areas, hunting down and attacking members of the Veiled Alliance (the Broken Builders seek the destruction of the Veiled Alliance in order to make themselves the only viable shelter for arcane spellcasters), and using rituals to call forth powerful bursts of elemental magic with the sole intent of causing as much damage as possible.