Church of Light

## History

The Church of Light began in Kentor in the year 207 A.E., founded by King Ode I the Church was declared the official religion of Kentor. The teachings of Ode and the church spread quickly throughout the country, by the year 242 membership in the Church was mandatory, and in 261 any actions taken against the Church (including speaking out against Ode) was deemed illegal. By the time King Ode IV ascended to the throne the Church had completely overtaken Kentor. Because of this most nonhumans, who had primarily denied the Church and held their traditional beliefs, had fled the nation. Those that remained were forced to sign pledges of allegiance to the Church, swearing off any "old gods" of alternative beliefs.

## Creation

The chief deity of the Church of Light is the Bright King. According to the Church's beliefs, the universe was empty, save for rare shooting stars which flew through empty cosmos powered by primal magic energy. Eventually, two of these stars struck one another, and caused a magical explosion. From this The Bright King was born. For hundreds of years The Bright King wandered empty space chasing these shooting stars. From their bright, fiery flight he learned to bend light and flame to his will, mastering the first form of magic. After exploring the entirety of the universe The Bright King decided to create a home for himself. At the center of the universe he summoned a great light, a beacon which drew stars from all around towards it. Each star that stuck the beacon caused it to grow larger and larger, until the Sun itself was formed. The remaining stars in the galaxy froze in place, having expended all their energy attempting to reach the beacon.

## Fire

The Bright King now had a home, and was surrounded by bright, beautiful stars. However, he was still alone, and so he created life; drawing inspiration from the fiery heat and light of the stars, he created the spirit Fire. The two companions enjoyed quiet existence for many years and became close friends, however The Bright King knew that Fire longed for something more. By his very nature Fire longed to spread across the cosmos, bringing light and warmth to all the space around him, and to other, new friends as well. Fire quickly spread himself around the Sun, but after it had been engulfed there was no where else to go. Sensing his friends sadness, The Bright Lord made a new creation, Allaria, and filled it with new spirits, friends for Fire. Allaria was first filled with the spirits of the mountains, trees, flowers, and animals. Elated, Fire began to spread himself around Allaria, just has he had the Sun, but the new populace of the planet were not strong enough and could not bear the heat of Fire. The Bright King attempted to control Fire, but he moved to quickly and could not be slowed as he spread all around Allaria, killing the spirits one by one. In the hopes of controlling his out of control friends The Bright King created humans, soldiers meant to protect the spirits from the destruction that Fire caused, seeing this Fire grew angry with The Bright King, and began to spread even faster, not just out of excitement but for revenge as well.

## The Shadow Lord

Humans fought bravely, but were no match for the might of Fire, and so The Bright King tried again to create a being that could end this destruction. Knowing that his own magic had originally created Fire, The Bright King sought to create a reflection of himself, the exact opposite of his own being that would have the power necessary to stop Fire. So with great might, and force of will, The Bright King created his own mirrored reflection, The Shadow Lord. The Shadow Lord worked quickly, creating the spirits of Ice, Storms, Lightning, Rain, and those of the oceans. Each of these spirits weakened Fire more and more until he could spread no further. With Fire's damage nearly entirely removed, The Bright King was able to heal his friends and the spirits returned to Allaria. However all was not well in the cosmos, having surrounded fire, The Shadow Lord and his spirits prepared to strike the killing blow, but The Bright King commanded them to stop, Fire was only meant to be stopped not killed. The Shadow Lord ignored his King's commands and attempted to kill Fire himself. The Bright King came to his friends aid and he and Fire together fought The Shadow Lord and his soldiers, but the battle came to a stand still. The evil spirits fled along with their master, but the damage was done. Fire was dying and in order to save his life, The Bright Lord returned him to the Sun. Fire remains there to this day, surrounding the celestial body as he once hoped to surround Allaria. Learning from his mistakes, Fire now visits Allaria only in short, controlled bursts, and is chiefly an ally to humans and spirits.