The Holy Hierarchy

"*Like a festering wound, the black hide taints us. It beckons to us. Pleading, it asks us to grant it emancipation. And yet, it whispers in the darkness. It plots against us, for it's primitive mind cannot realize that it shan't bite the hand that feeds it. But it knows, truly, that it cannot be free, for without the dark, there cannot be the Light.*"
—Boxer Harvus Krammy - Esteemed Glazic Author
The *Holy Hierarchy* is perhaps the only surviving institution of the old world, although some may argue that it was founded after the Undergod's invasion. Whatever the case, the *Holy Hierarchy* is the largest and perhaps only church of the Light remaining. Many view the *Holy Hierarchy* as the direct continuation of the Empire of Light, and the *Holy Hierarchy* themselves push this narrative to solidify their grasp on their subjects. Any who doubt its legitimacy are executed on the spot.

## History

The only known records to mention the *Holy Hierarchy* before the collapse of the old world are stored within the church itself, so it impossible for the average wanderer to pinpoint when the institution was founded. What is known is that the *Holy Hierarchy* has complete control over the *Town of Light* and the outlying *County Districts*, which are mere shadows of their former selves. The Hierarchy has long held these lands, for no person alive today knows a time when they did not.

Legend says that the *Town of Light* was founded many generations ago, although an exact number of years or even an estimate is not given. The *Town of Light* was built by the pseudonymous *Builders of Light*, and the walls were allegedly built with the corpses of many deceased priests and saints of the church entombed inside of them. Several ancient sources take note of the fact that the walls were impenetrable to the Begotten when first constructed, due to the inscription of Glazic runes and Bible verses into the walls. However, these defenses have worn with time, and Begotten incursions into the *Town of Light* are becoming ever-more common.

Official church history reveals that after the first Begotten incursion into the *Town of Light* which led to the sacking of the church by cultists and the ritual sacrifice of its scribes, the incumbent Pope ordered the creation of the *High Order of the Gatekeepers*. Equipped with ancient armor dating back to the time of the Empire of Light, these devoted servants of the Light manned the walls of the settlement, defending against any and all threats including the Begotten hordes. Eventually, as Begotten incursions became more and more common, the next Pope founded the *Lower Order of the Gatekeepers*. The Lower Gatekeepers lacked the armor and weaponry of their High Gatekeeper counterparts, but were much more numerous. These Lower Gatekeepers were initially armed with spears and lamellar armor, but due to numerous factors such as acid rain the Gatekeepers eventually evolved into the hooded, musket-wielding fanatics known today.

Today, during the reign of Pope Abyssa, the *Town of Light*'s population has dwindled and many county districts have been lost. The Gatekeepers are but a fragment of their former selves, and new threats have emerged, such as those of the Gores and the Satanists. The world continues to fall apart as magma canyons open on a monthly basis and volcanoes erupt world-wide, leaving the world in a perpetual darkness where the ash-filled sky is lit only by the fires below. Despite all of this, the *Holy Hierarchy* still stands.

## The Church

The main feature of the Town of Light is the building that houses the many scribes and priests of the *Holy Hierarchy*. This building is known by many names: the monastery, the holy sanctuary, and the gift of God, but most simply call it the church. The church itself is noted for its defenses, acting as a sort of citadel for the denizens of the town and the *Holy Hierarchy* themselves in case of a Begotten incursion. The front of the church consists of two sets of blastdoors as well as reinforced glass windows with steel bars in front of and behind the panels. The sides and back of the church are ordained with ornate stained glass, but these too are bulletproof. The walls themselves look innocent on the outside but it is rumored that behind the plaster and stone is reinforced concrete. Even though the church still intentionally bears the scars of the first Begotten sacking of the town, such as holes in the roof, it is still the most secure structure in the town.

100 feet beneath the church lies the Pope's royal bunker. This bunker is perhaps the church's most closely guarded secret, and aside from providing housing and other facilities for the Holy Hierarchy, it also houses a grand library and allegedly several nuclear missile silos, to be detonated in case of a fatal Begotten breach.