Origins of the Priesthood

*"Our founder was a child of the Goddess, gifted with her power, Light Magic. He bestowed that power to the rest of us, nurturing the Goddess's will within us, and manifesting our own powers of Light. Before him, Arkland did not know the Light. Indeed, Arkland knew little of the powers of magic outside of the nobility who became addicted to the Spirits. Thus, the very first Light of Arkland showed the people of Arkland that by following the Goddess, even the common man could become something more and do it without a reliance on the disdainful Spirits. His chosen manifested Light Magic on their own, and under the guidance of the Prime Disciple, Sebastian Aveline, those that had been chosen went out into the lands of Arkland to find more of their kind. Even after the first Light of Arkland disappeared, the Prime Disciple continued his work of spreading the light, becoming the new Light of Arkland, dousing the flames of those other disciples who were poisoning the faith, and raising the priesthood up from the ashes."* - **Taken from the Founding of the Priesthood.**

## The First Light of Arkland

The first native Arklander to ever manifest Light Magic was Alexis Duclos, now formerly referred to as the First Light of Arkland. Alexis was the child of a commoner family from the Barony of Wyrenelle. As he came of age, he traveled to the Barony of King's Wald where he hoped to find work in the lumber trade. He was able to do so, and spent a couple of years learning the trade of logging and replanting that was required of all workers in the Ironwood forests. Alexis's birth date is unknown but records indicate that he first came to the King's Wald somewhere around the time of 812 AF.

During the third year of his new career, the history reads that a disaster befell Alexis while working a wagon line which was carrying Ironwood loads from the forest to the mills. A wagon to which he and a friend were near, hit a rut in the wagon path and began to tip, with tons of logs stacked up on it. Unable to move fast enough, Alexis bodily shoved his friend away from the toppling logs in an attempt to save him, while knowing he would be crushed, but in that instant of fear as his life flashed before his eyes, Alexis manifested the first Light Magic spell the world had seen. The intense heat he radiated vaporized the logs around him leaving him unharmed. However, in the chaos of it all, his friend was also vaporized by the spell. Horrified that he had just killed his friend and afraid of what he had become, Alexis turned and ran from the wagon line while others around the area, dumb-founded and too scared to chase after him, watched him disappear into the nearby wood.

Alexis, unsure of how he had manifested such a terrible feat, scared of reprisal or of being accused a murdered, and ultimately, unsure of if he may spontaneously explode again and thereby hurt or kill others, refused to return to civilization. He did not even contact his family. Eventually, it was assumed that Alexis had died, but in reality, he had disappeared deeper and deeper south, beyond the King's Wald, and became a hermit, living off the land. Over years, Alexis realized that he, like all magic users, could detect the presence of Magic Energy in or around his body. Over time, he began to learn to control the power of Light Magic, developing some of the first spells through trial and error. With nearly seven years having gone by in isolation, Alexis finally determined that he was in control of his powers and no longer a danger to others. As such, he began to slowly move back towards society, visiting tiny, nearby villages to where he had sequestered himself in the wild. In doing so, with the pull of magic beckoning him, he met another in a local village in whom he could detect the propensity to become a magic user. At first, scared that there may be others like him, it occurred to Alexis that if others were to spontaneously manifest Light Magic as he had, that they could be responsible for great damage, destruction, and loss of life. Deciding that he could atone for the life of his friend, Alexis set it upon himself to find others like him within Arkland and train them to use their powers such that they would not be a danger to others.

Thus, Alexis began to gather disciples. He would approach those whom he could sense also had the propensity to sense magic and demonstrate his powers, telling them that he wished to tutor them in their own abilities. To do so, they would need to give up their current life and follow him on a journey throughout Arkland to find others. Some that he approached were terrified and refused, but others, excited that they may be magic users, decided to follow. Thus, Alexis began to lead an ever-growing band of disciples across the countryside of Arkland. At first, this band was small and no one took any notice, but overtime, the band grew larger and word began to spread that there were magic users born of Arkland descent somewhere in the baronies.

One such disciple that Alexis met while in the Barony of Chavriselle was Sebastian Aveline. After agreeing to follow Alexis and learn to hone his skills, Sebastian became a devoted disciple. He mastered his own form of Light Magic, learning spells from Alexis and others, but Sebastian also proved to be a powerful adept, creating new spells and learning to manifest Light Magic in ways in which even Alexis was incapable. In a couple of years after their first meeting, Sebastian had become the most powerful magic user of the disciples that still followed Alexis on his journey. One day, Sebastian approached Alexis and asked if Alexis thought that perhaps they were gifted their powers by a God. Alexis, horrified that any divine being would gift them with such destructive tendencies, remembering how he had killed his own friend, told Sebastian that no, their abilities were a product of nature. However, Sebastian, being so powerful, had begun to feel that he had within him the power of the divine. Such a truth would mean that he, and others like him, were actually minor deities, and if that were the case, perhaps Arkland or even the world, really needed to come to understand that the users of Light Magic should be lauded or even worshiped. He began to express these feelings to other disciples, many of whom saw that if they could make the case for divinity that they could rise to stations far beyond their current wandering lives. They began to ask of Alexis and others that if their powers were not of a divine origin, then what exactly made them different from others?

## The Schism

It was in a dream that Sebastian first claimed to hear the voice of the Goddess. She came to him to explain that it was she and her protector, the Red Sun God who had gifted them all with the powers of her light. It was through her that the intense heat and energy of Light Magic was manifest. She told him of the Trickster and how the earth, a gift for her protector, had been poisoned by the Trickster. She had first gifted Alexis with her power, and through him, the rest of the disciples had all manifested their divine power. Armed with this knowledge of the divine, Sebastian awoke and immediately confronted Alexis about his dream. Alexis was perplexed by Sebastian and told him that his dream was not at all something of the divine. Sebastian, convinced otherwise, continued to question Alexis on the matter and spoke with many other disciples about his dream. It was a week later when the second dream came, and Sebastian learned the truth. The Goddess returned to him and told him that Alexis had been poisoned by the Trickster. That like the world, even though Alexis was her first chosen light, the Trickster had found a way to poison his mind to her influence.

When he awoke, Sebastian again approached Alexis, this time telling him that the Goddess had returned and told him that Alexis had been poisoned by the Trickster. He pleaded with Alexis to face the reality and to try and cleanse himself of the darkness. Alexis was enraged and terrified of Sebastian, but Sebastian knew that this was all due to the Trickster. Unable to persuade each other, Alexis banished Sebastian from his disciples, but Sebastian did not leave easily. Many of the disciples, convinced that Sebastian's dreams were in fact evidence of their divine gifts, followed him. For his part, Alexis, terrified that somehow he had been responsible for Sebastian, took his remaining disciples and disappeared back into the countryside. He would never again attempt to find any new disciples.

Sebastian established the priesthood, declaring his disciples the first Priests of Light. Together, they traveled between villages and cities, espousing the new divine words of the Goddess and teaching the dogma of their priesthood. The message of the first priests struck a heavy chord with the commoners, many of whom related well to the ideas that those who were good in the world were those who were humble, hard-working, and dedicated to their beliefs. Pockets of the new religion began to grow up around wherever Sebastian traveled. His ability to manifest Light Magic before the bedazzled eyes of spectators easily drew crowds, and the teachings of his disciples were widely accepted.

## The Return

As the priesthood grew, Sebastian established himself as the new Light of Arkland. He became the leader of the religion and began to direct its operations as it grew bigger. His disciples found more magic users and trained them to be priests. Soon, the religion had grown large enough to attract the attention of the local nobility. Unsure of what to make of this, but certainly not amused by the way in which the priesthood would rile up the commoners, the nobility of the local area, at the time, mostly around the Barony of Chavriselle, banished Sebastian and his priesthood from the area. This created some uproar in places where the commoners had already converted, and some riots ensued. When the nobility was forced to call in its banners to restore order, graciously, Sebastian agreed to leave and took his flock with him.

They traveled by sea, the nobility happy to be rid of him, and they crossed the Bay of Kings into Felderelle. There, they once again began to establish the priesthood. However, this time, Sebastian, having grown much wiser about the political inner workings of the nobility, first approached the nobility of Felderelle in an attempt to demonstrate his powers and his new religion. Although most turned him away, he was able to gain favor with House Ouvrard, who saw in him a great power should they make him an ally. House Ouvrard agreed to let the priesthood establish a base of operations which would later become the fortress monastery of Felderelle.

Even in isolation, Alexis heard of the newly established priesthood in Felderelle. He felt responsible for it, and decided, along with his disciples, to travel to Felderelle to confront Sebastian. Knowing full well that Alexis was the First Light of Arkland, even if poisoned by the Trickster, Sebastian let Alexis and his disciples approach so that they could parlay. However, Sebastian was still unable to convince Alexis that the Goddess was the source of their powers and that Alexis needed to accept that he had been influenced by the Trickster. Although he offered Alexis sanctuary and even offered to let him become the Light of Arkland should he turn away from the Trickster and show the flock that redemption was possible, Alexis still refused.

Unable to show Alexis the way, Sebastian further decided that he could not allow Alexis or his disciples to leave. Demented by the Trickster, they would surely spread darkness, and Sebastian could not allow for this. Thus it was that Sebastian, the Second Light of Arkland, was forced to battle Alexis, the First Light of Arkland. Their disciples also engaged. The original monastery was almost completely burned to ashes as Light Magic enveloped much of the area, including many of the magic users. Onlookers from down the mountains report of that day that the brilliant flashes of light and thunderous noises could be seen and heard for miles.

Sebastian was victorious on that day, recorded as 847 AF. The disciples of Alexis were disintegrated, and those that remained were loyal to Sebastian. What became of Alexis was unknown. He was never found, and it was assumed, although none claimed proof, that he had been disintegrated in powerful magic.

## The Second Light of Arkland

Through the power of Light Magic, Sebastian was able to keep himself alive for many years to come. He finally succumbed to death in 927 AF, a time of great mourning throughout the priesthood. Before his death, the priesthood had grown to national fame within Arkland. King Geran had issued the Edict of Light and the construction of the monastery in King's Crossing had also been completed. The Light of Arkland touched the lives of hundreds of thousands throughout the Bay of Kings.

Sebastian had appointed his successor to be Abraham Cailloux, the Third Light of Arkland. Under Abraham, the priesthood continued to flourish and gain in political power and stature. The reach of the priesthood continued to extend beyond Arkland, igniting conflict with neighboring peoples and enforcing the slow conversion of Arklanders to the path of the Goddess. Abraham Cailloux died in 986 AF, and the current, fourth Light of Arkland, Matthias Gardet has ascended to the role, hand picked by Abraham.

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--Neil (talk) 21:12, 21 October 2016 (AST)