One of the Da'at Yichud (Art by Nicolas Poitou)
The Da'at Yichud were an ancient mystical secret society that designed and created inventions centuries ahead of contemporary times and were the first to worship Mekhane, one of the Sentinels of Creatio. They were the original offshoot of the Church of the Broken God before the latter branched off from them.
Overview[]
Much like the cults that were centered around Mekhane, their practices are based on pure reason and are described as a way of understanding the inner workings of creation through knowledge and natural law but in a more benevolent light. Their creations never had a purpose beyond the act of creation and were nothing more than a method of communing with Mekhane and other transcendent spiritual beings. As such, they were never intended to be used, no matter how powerful they are. Their creations were said to be a perfect blend of science and magic.
Despite their harmless nature, many individuals, including their own, criticized their laws and way of progression as they would not use their inventions to help turn the tides of say war and other catastrophic events. The elders within the Da'at Yichud explained that use of their inventions would only lead to further devastation and destruction especially at the hands of those who only seek more power. Furthermore, they were fully aware that hidden within the unconscious of others is an insatiable desire for conflict so even if those others would use their inventions for good they would be seduced by the sheer power that lay within them to spurn only further conflict.
Description[]
One extraordinary fact about the Da'at Yichud is the invention of sophisticated technologies would lead to the later creations of machines such as as anti-gravity engines, directed-energy weapons and mind control devices during pre-industrial and post-industrial eras. This would come to be known as technomancy, the ability to meld both science and magic into one and were the first to utilize such form of magic. One example would be the earliest schematics made by the Da'at Yichud and their peers that were uncovered would help inspire and lead to the invention of many incredible and remarkable devices that would benefit mankind during the 1700s to the 1800s by renowned inventors like Nikola Tesla, Kirin Jindosh, or Ada Lovelace.
Despite a good amount of their technology falling into the hands of the Nazis, the Da'at Yichud's advanced technologies still can resist the Nazis. Many Nazi reports show that a lot of Nazi scientists, engineers and technicians perished from handling excavated Da'at Yichud artifacts improperly. One officer bled out from touching an artifact; a technician was disintegrated after dropping a Da'at Yichud artifact on the ground and the person stood next to him got a third degree burn. This could perhaps indicate that their technology carries the essence of Mekhane's will who could read the intentions of an individual upon contact with her gifts.
History[]
Background[]
The Da'at Yichud is older than the modern religions, and is thus likely several millennia old spanning since ancient Mesopotamian times. They first formed when a piece of Mekhane was uncovered after the machine god was presumably destroyed by the hands of the Scarlet King during his bid to destroy creation itself. From these fragments of Mekhane, the Sentinel managed to communicate with the Sumerians, opening their eyes and exposing them to the true wonders of the machine cogs that help creation run ever so beautifully and flawlessly. From that moment in time, the Da'at Yichud were formed though they were unaware that Mekhane needed them to advance humanity's progression so as to defend themselves from the coming threats.
The Da'at Yichud have presumably always believed in a monotheistic belief system whereby technological and scientific progress helps them get closer to their god and also sparked the Bronze Age in all its glory which also held the contribution of other civilizations who took hold of their inventions. Since the Da'at Yichud is this ancient, it is possible that their technological creations have inspired later variations in Sumerian myths such as the Anunnaki who were worshiped as "extraterrestrial gods" due to their bizarre otherworldly nature.
Decline[]
As centuries pass, many began to branch off from the Da'at Yichud due to their pacifistic ways of not using their inventions or just outright not using them at all. Those that separated themselves from the sect formed their own cult which soon came to be known as the Church of the Broken God, whom still worship Mekhane but now with the intention of using Mekhane's gifts properly which in this case find a way to establish contact with the Broken God in order to rebuild her. The Broken Church was said to have migrated to Mycenaean Greece.
Legacy[]
As time passed, the Da'at Yichud began to fade into obscurity though it is believed that they wished this especially with how many civilizations were on the rise and eyeing their trinkets. They separated and scattered across the world, each creating a vault that contained their knowledge and inventions around the world, and each vault has a gatekeeper. They were never heard from again.
But unfortunately for them, their schematics and vaults would be found to be used for either nefarious or beneficial means. Much of their technology was either confiscated or be put to use by the Global Occult Coalition or the Federal Bureau of Control who were able to acquire their technology through various confrontations with the Church of the Broken God or by discovery of the many vaults that the Da'at Yichud created around the world.