(08-09-2014, 01:18 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: Thaumaturges are actually deeply invested and connected to their Citystate and it's practices. The Arrzaneth Ossuary and the Milvaneth Sacrarium are deeply rooted religious centers for Ul'dah. But beyond that, Thaumaturges offer a wide variety of services to the denizens of Ul'dah. They perform all funeral rites, including physical and religious preparations for a person's travel into the next realm. Thaumaturges also carry out Last Wills and Testaments - even should they exact vengeance upon another.
There's a great deal of fortune and wealth to be made as a Thaumaturge and devotee to Nald'thal, which is how Dewlala the Director of the Milvaneth Sacrarium became one of the Syndicate. Whether that be from extorting money from the religious and wealthy or by "reclaiming" items belonging to the deceased.
But to even become a Thaumaturge in the first place, you have to devote yourself to the teachings of Nald'thal and do massive amounts of reading and study on the subject of life and death. So much so that it is said that a skilled and studied thaumaturge can actually return someone from dead and glean their deepest secrets - if only for a few moments.
But the thing is, even if THMs are followers of Nald'Thal, I always got the impression that they had a lot in common with Shadow Priests in WoW:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Cult_of_Forgotten_Shadow
In other words, I always thought the main difference between the "teachings" of Nophica and Nald'thal was that Conjurers (and by extension White Mages) absorb greatness from nature and reflect that onto others, while Black Mages believe that power comes from within themselves; they use this power to shape the universe.
In the story Ququruka actually calls the brothers of the guild out for being heretics and not showing true faith or devotion.
