The Sadic Order of monks is a sect of Avonistic monks focused around scholarship and traveling. Said to be founded by a descendant of the legendary St. Sadie, the monks are bound by a code of study and simplicity.
Monks of St. Sadie are bound by a shared belief in the sacredness of knowledge, which they prize above all else. Their principal aim is to share the knowledge with others through traveling scribes and storytellers. The first and most important of oaths that the Sadic Monks take is this: "I will not destroy, deface, or otherwise remove any knowledge from this world. I believe all written and spoken word is sacred and dedicated to Avon through the blessing of St. Sadie, given it does not seek to ruin Avon or the Saints. This vow I swear by my mind, the center of my being." The monks of the Sadic Order are notably anti-censorship, and have been a beacon of forbidden knowledge, even when the rest of the world attempts to hide it.
The second oath of a monk is this: "I will share what I have learned with the world through any means I can, by written or spoken word, works and deeds. No knowledge is forbidden to all people. I believe all knowledge is sacred and dedicated to Avon through the blessing of St. Sadie, given for the good of the people of this world. This vow I swear by my heart, the power of my being." This prompts many monks to become researchers and studious learners, and also provides the basis for the most important rite of passage: The Sadivera, or ritual journey.
The Sadivera is traditionally completed once every two years, giving monks a break from the isolation of the monastery and allows them to complete their second oath through the sharing of knowledge. It is an important rite for young initiates, who complete it for the first time around their 19th birthday. The monk works through the route they will take with their teacher, often following villages and roads determined by astrological positions of the stars.
There are four major ranks in the Sadic Order: Niltir, Adri, monk, and acolyte.
The Niltir are heads of the monastery, often referred to as Father or Mother. They are part of a system of religious governance beneath the Ventir, or regional leaders, and Bontir, who rule over entire territories. Their duties are to keep the monastery in working order, including keeping note of major visitors, calling monks to worship, and meeting with monks from other monasteries. They are recognized by their three braids, which may be extremely elaborate depending on the monk.
The Adri are teachers and monks who have achieved some act of spiritual significance. They are best known for being authors and illuminators of books, scientists, and great healers. It is their role to assist the Niltir in their duties, as well as to teach other monks. They wear their hair in two braids.
The monks are the laypeople of the monastery. They serve as gardeners and librarians, and many assist the Adri in their research or are in the process of studies of their own.
Acolytes are unititiated members of the monastery, sometimes in the process of becoming monks. In some monasteries, it is common for local peers to send children off to the monastery to be better behaved, in which case the acolyte never becomes an official monk and is unregistered in the list of monks.
The Sadic Order was founded in 821 by a pilgrim who claimed to be a descendant of St. Sadie, arriving at an Avonistic church late at night and preaching with a silver tongue and a thunderous voice. He spread his teachings everywhere he travelled, promoting the freedom of knowledge and simplicity of life. His words were taken up by many followers, who founded monasteries around Iksand and Civiel. The monks stayed mostly undetected and disinterested in political affairs when the Iksandi people first formed an empire. It wasn't until the Mage Wars when the monks became noticed again. Distressed by the knowledge that was lost with the destruction of the magefolk, the monks acted as a refuge for the fleeing mages, providing temporary shelter on the way to the Mari Valley and the hidden fortresses of the Dragonback Mountains.
This was not taken lightly by other Avonistic sects. When King Amos III caught wind of the Sadic Order's betreyal, he issued a law against them: Anyone caught harboring a mage; who most Avonists called Devons, believed to be unholy and posessed; would be sentenced to life in prison. As many of the most generous monasteries fell, the remaining monasteries adopted a more indifferent attitude toward magefolk. Treat them with as much respect as any other traveller, but do not mention magic around them. Magic gradually became a taboo subject, and while books on magic are still kept in libraries, it is seen as foolish to publicly study magic of any kind.
The real switch in ideology from accepting to rejecting magic came in two ways: First, the fear mongering of mages as Devons, leading to knowledge of them being seen as blaspheming against the gods. The second, an incident during the Mage Wars, when a refugee magefolk attacked three Iksandi soldiers passing through, violating the laws of hospitality and cementing the idea of mages as lawbreakers and Devons.
The distrust of mages in the Sadic Order is not as strong as in other monastic orders, but it is still present. To this day, most Sadic monks refuse to answer or ask any questions about magic, and hold the common view of the Mage Wars as a holy war against Devons.