The Faith of Good Hope

**The Faith of Good Hope** (more commonly referred to within the **Valyntir Empire** as 'The Church' or 'The Faith') is a Human monotheistic religion centred around the concepts of a single benevolent creator called **God**, and that the souls of the faithful will ascend to spend an eternal afterlife with God in His perfect kingdom called **Haven**.

## History

The faith according to scripture is said to be as old as time, but the Church itself began in the mid 2nd Age, when the first Saint, a preacher named Abraham, told of the evils of men and that their creator had not intended for man to do wicked things like sin and magic. **St. Abraham** had lived as a poor shepherd, he rarely wore shoes and was infamous for using a long **cross** from the post of a fence as a crook due to his poverty. The cross would later come to be widely regarded as the **symbol for the faith** and the church. St. Abraham's simple life and teachings earned him a few loyal followers who were encouraged by the idea of an all powerful benevolent protector and that all would be provided for those who were faithful. He often told them of his dreams in which God would speak to him and that He had instructed him to build a church. After building a Church of stone, the congregation was met by a pair of armed highwaymen who aimed to rob the church. The story goes that St. Abraham spoke to the pair for an hour, asking them of their hardship and why they had resorted to stealing. Through his benevolence, St. Abraham converted the two men to give up their life of sin and join the Church where all would be provided. This is regarded as the first miracle.

It was the conversion of the two thieves, **Bartholomew** and **Zackeriah**, which caused the Church to gain a greater following. People travelled from many villages to hear St. Abrahams sermons and many would return each week, some would stay as devoted members of the church. The sermons were often about having peace, love, and compassion for mankind, and the benefits of giving up sin and magic. In his sermons, he would often repeat the phrase, "It is God's good hope that we have hope in God". This earned the Church the name The Faith of Good Hope. Churches of the faith began to appear in surrounding villages so that the faithful would not need to travel to worship. This attracted the attention of **King Syris**, a powerful **sorcerer**. When King Syris learned that there was a church preaching the evil of magic he ordered his guards to arrest the elder St. Abraham and imprison him in the palace dungeon. Hundreds of faithful gathered outside the palace demanding that he be released, but King Syris proclaimed that they had all been lied to, and that the old man will be executed for treason to prove there was no God. St. Abraham went without food or water for 3 days before being taken to a walled off block to be publicly executed. King Syris said that he would use his own magic to punish the old man. Many in the uneasy crowd held crosses in protest, yet some called for St. Abraham's death. It is said that as King Syris rose a hand to cast a spell, he stumbled, began clutching his heart and fell over dead. This is regarded as St. Abraham's second miracle and the moment of his ascension to **sainthood**. The divine stay of execution reached many kingdoms, and those who saw the event became devout followers of the Church. St. Abraham died in his chapel while sleeping some two years after at the age of 64. He had no next of kin.

The Church of Good Hope continued to grow into a major religion over the following 3000 years spanning two Ages. Shortly after St. Abraham's death the Church began to compile his scripture and would later add to the canon the stories of the **eighteen other Saints** who lived thereafter. This collection of scripture was called the *Deo Spem* (God's Hope) and still serves as the guiding principles and truth of the Church today.

The next living saint would not come for another 150 years after St. Abraham, when a boy named **Salem** also claimed to have dreams in which God spoke to him. Many had claimed as much, but none had ever demonstrated divine providence as Salem did. It is said that Salem performed his first Miracle at the age of 16, when he purged a bully of his ability to use magic, the first instance of this having ever occurred in Human history. The ability to purge the 'evil' of magic from a person is considered a hallmark of God's chosen and every Saint has had this ability, with the exception of St. Abraham of whom it is unknown.

The Church was deeply suppressed at the beginning of the 3rd Age upon the rise of the **Tylantian Empire**. The Tylantian Empire was ruled by **mages** and in the absence of a Saint persecuted and oppressed the religion. This tension gave rise to the militant arm of the Church, the **Templar Knights**. The Templars defended the Church from attack during the most violent period in Human history, **The Oppression**, late 3rd Age. The Tylantian **Emperor Nero I** (Mage) had turned a blind eye to the guards burning and sacking of churches, the imprisonment of Vicars and Cardinals, and the arrest of those wearing crosses of the Church. When the Templars took their own retribution on those responsible the Empire became a battleground for the two factions. When Emperor Nero I finally outlawed the Faith of Good Hope from the Empire (Spring 22, 2080, 3rd Age), the Templars declared a **Crusade** and **The Great Civil War** began.

Many Lords such as **Valyn Ashcroft** opposed the draconic rule of the Tylantian Empire, particularly their use of magic to kill and enslave at the leisure of the Aristocracy. The majority of these lords were not mages, however there were mage Lords who opposed the tyranny, some of whom would, despite their support of the Crusaders, be executed after the rise of the Valyntir Empire. The leader of the Templar Knights, **Ser Godric** was elected to be the **Vicar Superior** (leader) of the church after the ban was issued. Despite being the late age of 43, Ser Godric experienced his first dream in which God spoke to him. Emboldened by this experience, Ser Godric engaged a loyalist regiment led by a mage the following day. The loyalist mage used his magic to kill many Templars in battle, but when he came to Ser Godric he found that he was powerless, and was quickly killed by him. The Council of Cardinals discussed the event for 7 days before declaring Ser Godric, **Saint Godric I**. St. Godric and Lord Valyn Ashcroft and their forces together formed **The Crusaders**, and would go on to defeat the **loyalist forces** and win the Great Civil War. Valyn Ashcroft was crowned the new **Emperor** later that year, after having converted to the Faith.

Prior to the The Oppression the church was primarily non-violent. When the Templar Knights assumed a greater role during the Crusade, violence became admissible in the interest of protecting the church from oppression. After the rise of the **Valyntir Empire**, the Faith of Good Hope assumed a direct role in the governance of the Empire. The Templar Knights were allowed to maintain their crusader army parallel to the army of the Empire. The Templar Knights' primary concern after the Great Civil War was to hunt down and exterminate mages from the new Empire. This was due to a decree by **Saint Godric I** that, *"Witchcraft is the wicked tool of demons used to corrupt our good world... Their souls must be sent to God, or languish here in Ori to defile all that is good".* The cruel but accurate notion was that exterminating mages would eliminate magic from the bloodlines of mankind. The statute remains in effect.

The Church of Good Hope is entitled to have representation within the **Valyntir Senate**, as are the **common people** and **aristocracy**. This was to protect the church from any future oppression and to ensure the church would remain involved in the governance of the Empire in order to prevent the return of tyranny. The Templar Knights are sworn to uphold the Valyntir Empire for as long as it remains righteous. It is considered the duty of the Templar Knights to overthrow the Emperor and oversee the election of a new one by the Lords of the Empire should the Emperor ever fall to 'corruption'.