Prismatic Unity Effect for Adherents: Your maximum insight is increased by 2 for every cultural literacy you have, to a maximum increase of 10 (this includes cultural literacies from the Study of Culture, as well as from accompanying party members).

“The death of truth is the beginning of wisdom.” -Anonymous, Prismatic Unity, vol. 2

    A modern offshoot of Nihilism, Prismatic Unity originated from the writings of those unsatisfied with what they saw as the inherent pessimism of that earlier philosophy. After the confusion of the Resistance War, it was easy to embrace the philosophical disillusionment common to all Nihilists. Still, the early Prismatics viewed this confusion not as a reason to reject active philosophical thinking, but to accept and see the value in all of it. To their minds, philosophical danger lies only in the formation of singular truths, particularly when those truths result in a grand narrative backed by powerful institutions. Rather than retreating into despair or hedonism, Prismatics advocated standing boldly in the multifaceted world of Lur-Asko, hearing and valuing all perspectives, lest closed-mindedness result in yet another devastating war.

    In the decades since, Prismatics have remained true to their values, consistently declining to formulate any grand narrative or agenda for the world. Most of their writings simply aim to foster communication between different cultures and even other philosophies, generally prioritizing lesser-known voices over dominant ones. Unafraid to criticize Rationalism in particular, Prismatics tend to view the legacy of Lur-Asko's shared Alacrian culture as a curse more than a blessing. Their historians have published the most scathing criticisms of the so-called "Golden Age" Alacris, and have also looked down upon the assimilation of the Vitur Roc into Hal'Tayat and the human tribes into Manusia. To a Prismatic, true Unity is only accomplished when diversity is valued; unity imposed upon others via a monoculture is shortsighted and hollow, and the grand justifications for such pernicious projects deserve ridicule.

    Despite all perspectives theoretically being valued by Prismatics, those other perspectives have not always returned the favor. Philosophies highly concerned with "truth," or those with grandiose plans for the world, view Prismatics as silly at best and dangerous at worst. Minority cultures "defended" by Prismatics sometimes resent the condescension, or being included in a "Unity" that also values their rivals. But perhaps the most hollow criticism is that it is a philosophy of detached or cowardly intellectuals; in fact, Prismatic adventurers are not uncommon in the modern day. Often, these individuals view the adventuring life as a practical way to live out their ideology and expose themselves to other perspectives, as both travel and diversity are hallmarks of many adventuring parties.