The Church

The Church is a religious organization with several divisions located throughout The Free Isles and beyond. 
The Church is comprised of those who have seen too much; those who have looked beyond, seen the faces of gods and only found fear. They see those worlds as those of pure fear, teaching, or enforcing, that same fear to others in order to avoid the eyes of those above. Their goal is to push and drive back the unknown and keep the world as intact as possible. They use fear and respect to obtain those results.
==History==
The Church is mysterious in origin however has existed for a very, very long time, with enough influence to spread across the lands. At some point, the church notably arrived in Renalan, where they would come into conflict with The Outriders. Relationships between the two were positive, with the Outriders serving as the muscle who hunted the monsters for The Church. However, the Outriders killed a particular monster, an old god of some kind. Following this, the church began speaking out against the Outriders, and began a mission to hunt down and execute all of them, with Gregor Hartway and Aryn being the only known survivors. A notable leading member in this event was a man known only as The Boar.
Outside of the Isles, the Church continues to bear influence. During the conflict in Freearch regarding Castle Crowhenge, a group of Church paladins and officials directly intervened for the purpose of containing it, directly opposed to and trying to stop the team of Nine Shrines Adventure Agency once they started working with it to an extent. However, through the power of some mysterious twisted blade, the Boar became the master of the Castle for a time before being defeated, though it would be revealed later that the Boar seemingly was not aligned with the interests of the Church, or at least one specific member who was overseeing the area. Afterwards, the Church seemed to slink into the shadows once again, and High Arbiter Adivian, who had been overseeing the situation, deemed it a lost cause and moved on to his next project. Adivian statedly had a plan in motion, however was beaten to it by the Nine Shrines Adventure Agency having resolved the core conflict there already.
They also had significant involvement in the Tannhauser conflict. Following the fall of The Clock Tower, the Church created a bubble around the outside of the country, preventing anyone from entering or exiting, apart from Xanthe for some reason in an attempt to also contain it. A group of the Church members present in Tannhauser were removed, sent to an unknown location, through the shadows of High Arbiter Adivian, who was overseeing the conflict. Once again, the Nine Shrines team would resolve the conflict before Adivian could enact his plan. Adivian would set out and try to contract the team, specifically through Gregor, claiming the two had shared interests in protecting the world from the unknown, and Adivian expressing irritation with the team resolving the problems before he could.
From what Adivian has informed Gregor, the Church has also become involved in an affair in Renalan.
==Paladin factions==
===Paladins of the Silver Thread===
The paladins of the Silver Thread bears a white, cross-shaped insignia. They are directly sponsored by The Church, and as such own a lot of money. 
They are described as the more classical "Holier than thou" type of paladins, and are also described as somewhat douchy.
===Paladins of the Crimson Hand===
The paladins of the Crimson Hand bears a red, hand-shaped insignia. They are a more borderline mercenary group, who's main assignments consists more of the Church's dirty work, their more unsavory business.
When parts of the group met up with some paladins during A Storm, Gregor recognized them as the faction that had dealings with the Outrider's situation in the past.
Whether this faction was the one behind the group's execution or if it was done by another unnamed faction has not been directly said, but it seems highly implied to be done the the Crimson Hand.
==Notable members==
*Adivian (High Arbiter)
*Graceland (Bishop)
*Vice Riptide
*Sam
==Trivia==
* The symbol present on Adivian's staff is also shown in the book in the opening animation during The Calm arc. Whether this symbol represents The Church or not is unclear.
** In the page the symbol appears in, it also contains a message, which goes as follow; "The unthinkable has happened - the eye has drawn open once again. Your presence is required at Steelarm. Rally your forces. Do not inform the hunters". It is unknown for whom this message is from, however it was likely directed to Adivian. 
==References==
Category:Factions