The only official religion of Fastheld, the Church of True Light worships the Light, a faceless, nebulous force that represents the purest form of the Church’s three pillars: Truth, Honor and Toil. The Church tirelessly combats the intrusion of lies, dishonor and sloth into Fastheld society, as well as the minions of the Shadow, the magic-bearing Shadow-touched.
Faithful believe that the Light separates their spirit, or ‘inner Light’, from the greater Light at birth, imbuing it into a body. This life is a test to avoid tarnishing this gift, so that at the end of this life, their inner Light might be allowed to join back with the greater Light. This is done through living a truthful, honorable life, and laboring with one’s Light-given gifts for the glory of the Church and Empire.
Contents
Vocations
Devotion to the Church can come in three forms: becoming a priest, becoming a monk or nun, or becoming a warrior for the Light.
Priesthood
Initiates
For six years, initiates of both sexes of freelander, merchant or noble status study at the Stanchion to become a priest. The first year, they meditate, reflect and attend classes in civilian garb, as the priests and initiate determine together if the initiate would make a good priest. After the year is completed, they receive their yellow initiate robes, and take vows of chastity and poverty. Then they take two years of intense philosophy, learning the faith from the ground up. Finally, they take three years of theological study, learning Church history, dogma, scripture and religious law. If they pass their studies, they receive the gold-trimmed white robes of priesthood.
Priests
Priests minister to the faithful in temples to the Light or on the roads, helping their congregation to become as Light-like as they can be. Once one is an official priest, they are assigned to a specific temple or the road, keeping vows of poverty and chastity as they preach. They wear simple gold-trimmed white robes.
Deans
Deans are the central figure of a temple or minor figures in cathedrals, and are the only ones in the temple sanctioned to give sacraments to the nobility. A priest becomes a dean upon a successful petition to their temple’s Patron to fill an empty spot (and often an interview with the Surrector), with their piety, administrative skills, and tact being considered. Once becoming a dean, they receive rank equivalent to a viscount, and end their vows of chastity and poverty. Thusly, deans are allowed to own land, and raise families.
Patrons
Patrons are the central figure at each of the five District cathedrals in Fastheld, and are responsible for the spiritual enlightenment of the citizens of their District, as well as deciding Church issues as members of the Church’s governing body, the Corona. Candidates must be male nobles, and are elected by the Corona when a spot opens up, though most must go through an interview with the Surrector. They have a rank equivalent to a duke.
Monastic Orders
Monasteries and convents provide the Church with needed goods and services, and the Stanchion is a coed repository of the Church’s historical and religious documents and its theologians to interpret Church doctrine.
Monks and Nuns
Monks and nuns are the standard resident of monasteries and convents. This vocation is popular with poorer freelanders, as it is a socially-acceptable form of indentured servitude for non-inheriting freelander children, teaching them a trade in exchange for ten years of piety, poverty, chastity and toil. While many of these establishments will take anyone who wants to take the vows, about a third have entrance tests for entry, often those involving high-cost training or sensitive materials. Those that qualify for positions at the Stanchion are almost always able to find high-paying jobs once back in the work force. Their garb varies by which establishment they serve at.
Deans
Deans are the administrators of monasteries and convents, and are chosen by the Patron of the establishment’s District, though most are run by the Imperial Surrector. Once becoming a dean, they receive rank equivalent to a viscount, and end their vows of chastity and poverty. Thusly, deans are allowed to own land, and raise families. Their garb is a white-trimmed brown cassock.
Abbot
The Abbot (or Abbess) is the head of the Monastic Orders, overseeing Church logistics, education, record-keeping and holy books. Their garb is a white cassock, and they hold a rank equivalent to duke.
Orders of Light
The Church of True Light has two arms for the destruction of the Shadow: the Shadowscourges and Shadowbanes.
Shadowscourges
Any citizen between the ages of twelve and thirty who wishes to hunt the Shadow may apply to become a Shadowscourge. They are put into strenuous (and age-appropriate) physical and mental testing, with the top twenty five percent being accepted. While possession of the Sun’s kiss gives a candidate preferential treatment in the testing process, many Sunkissed fail the testing every year. Those that succeed agree to devote their lives to this purpose. They are trained in military tactics, martial arts, whip use, and typically one or two other weapons that they show aptitude at. Those with Sunkissed abilities are trained to use these in tandem with group tactics. They begin their patrols after at least three years of training, though none leaves Sun's Keep before the age of 18.
Shadowscourges are the Church’s front line of defense against the encroachment of the Shadow. They serve in a variety of roles, including patrolling the roads of Fastheld, stationing themselves in places of high Shadow activity, converging on any Shadow sighting, taking statements from those who claim to have witnessed Shadowed behavior, protecting Church dignitaries, and other such activities. They are known for their platinum-colored armor and nine-tailed whips.
There are two 'levels' of Shadowscourge, Light-Sworn and Light-Proven, commonly called just Sworn or Proven. Sworn Scourges are untested in the field, while Proven Scourges have spent at least two, and often up to ten years in the field, and proven themselves to be level-headed and capable.
Right Hand
The leader of the Shadowscourges and chosen by the Light Maiden, this individual acts as a military general, coordinating movements of Scourges and planning campaigns against known Shadow targets. The Right Hand coordinates their movements with the Blademaster of the Imperial Blades, and they meet weekly so as to appropriately divide their groups' talents towards better serving the Realm. The Right Hand also serves as a voting member of the Corona.
Shadowbanes
Drawn from the ranks of Shadowscourge recruits, the Shadowbanes are tasked to root out the Truth at all costs. Only the Shadowscourges with even temperments that score extremely high in subtlety, social skills, and intrigue are chosen in this task, and two out of three years, no Shadowbanes are chosen at all. To this end, they go through four more years of schooling in the arts of disguise, intrigue and information-gathering, emerging as plain-clothes investigators of the Shadow.
Shadowbanes are the Church's spies and information gatherers, making contacts in all walks of life to find where the Shadow hides. High-ranking Shadowbanes are given large stipends to bribe those that require bribes in order to keep the information flowing. Once an agent of the Shadow is rooted out, Shadowbanes often gather information about the individual or group so that when the Shadowscourges are sent, they are well-informed about the target's abilities and likely hiding places.
Left Hand
The leader of the Shadowbanes and chosen by the Light Maiden, the Left Hand acts as a spy chief, analyzing incoming information and assigning Shadowbanes to tasks based on this information. They coordinate their efforts with the Imperial Spymaster in weekly meetings, dividing out their tasks based on their group's strengths and weaknesses. The Left Hand also serves as a voting member of the Corona.
Light Maiden
Always a female, the leader of the Orders of Light coordinates the actions of both the Left and Right Hand in the ultimate eradication of the Shadow. No rank or walk of life is immune from the Light Maiden's touch, from preventing a known Shadow noble from procuring a wife and passing on his seed, to rooting out a Shadow cult of peasants in the Shadow District and condemning them all to Lessening. The Light Maiden is a voting member of the Corona, and reports her actions to them monthly.
Light-Wed
Pious, Sunkissed women (whether in a vocation or not) are given the option to essentially marry the Church itself instead of taking a husband, taking a Sunkissed male within the Orders of Light to bed in hopes of bearing a Sunkissed child. In exchange for this service, the woman is cared for from conception until the child is two. In the eyes of the Church, the woman is still fully marriageable if she chooses a husband after this, and is even considered a virgin if she has had no other lovers. If the child is found to be Sunkissed at the age of 16, however, they are taken for the Orders. Some women turn this into a revolving door (colloquially called Light-Bearers), continuously bearing children in exchange for free room and board. A wing of Sun's Keep has been cordoned off for them and their children, kept entirely separate from all the Shadowscourges and Shadowbanes but those who are specifically sanctioned for being a good influence on children.
Aurora
Chosen by the previous Aurora with the nominal guidance of the Corona, the Aurora is the leader of all branches of the Church. They are ultimately responsible for the spiritual health of all of Fastheld, and hold this position for life, or until they choose a successor, though an Aurora was once voted out of office by a unanimous vote of the rest of the Corona. If an Aurora dies before choosing a successor, the Corona elects the Aurora. The Aurora stays in close contact with the Emperor and the Imperial Surrector, coordinating their efforts for the ultimate salvation and happiness of the citizens of Fastheld. The Aurora is also a voting member of the Corona, and serves as a tie-breaker.
Corona
The Corona is the prime decision-making body of the Church. It is made up of the Aurora, five Patrons, the Light Maiden, her Left and Right Hands, the Abbot, Imperial Surrector, and non-voting Guild and Nobility representatives. They make weekly updates to the group regarding their separate tasks, keeping the others aware of pressing events and news.
Ceremonies
Dawn Vigil
Light Wine - A blend of green and sundrop grapes, this sparkling, dry wine is often flavored with cinnamon. It is used as ceremonial wine for the Church of True Light Dawn Vigil.
Dusk Vigil
Dusk Wine - A blend of glossy star grapes, currants, cinnamon, and gooseweed, this heavy, sweet black wine is used as ceremonial wine for the Church of True Light Dusk Vigil.