When the goddess Tari began enforcing her ideal of order on the world, struggling against Sarapis' attempts to overthrow her hold on the mortals, she found quickly that there was one ideal way of keeping the living creatures in line. A direct approach was too easy for Sarapis to intercept, and she found a more subtle way.
The Ateri are spirits of bland destruction, emotionless and uncaring. Their touch brings a calm, all-encompassing lethargy that erases the budding sparks of creativity and thought. Their main targets are the newly born, easing the young into the bland mindlessness that the majority of Arizide's mortals exist within.
As the aeons passed and Sarapis grew more desperate in his attempts to spark chaos amidst Tari's orderly settlements, the spirits created their own assistants: the Seekers. With only one goal, they scent out rumours and hints of individuals who do not quite conform, those who do not wear their masks unthinkingly. The Seekers took on many forms, usually predatory creatures, and were sent out amidst the populace to begin the hunt.
Slowly, they sought out the willful spark, and the Ateri followed in their wake, lulling those who would have looked about and asked "Why?" into drowsing into a placid lifestyle. They hunt still, searching further and further through the wastelands and the few pockets of civilization that exist. Any hint of thought, and the Seekers close in, sniffing about to detect the target. Soon after, the Ateri drift in, sloughing the mortals they possess in order to grant their Touch of Lethe to the mortals.
