The Church of Three

Symbol of the Church of Three

**The Church of Three** is a religious organization in Apheon which centers on the worship of God through the three Great Conquerors, who are each widely believed to be children or messengers of God. Methods of worship vary between regions, as a conqueror from one region is more or less revered than the conqueror from another, but largely the faith is unified in its view on the three, and is mostly non-denominational. Its main tenets and beliefs stem from the *Lundia Vymerian,* which is an account of the life of the last of the three conquerors, Enyx Vymerian. The Lundia has since been expanded to include stories from the lives of the other two, Ieanbald and Losna, but those are less reliable due simply to how long ago they lived.

The Church was founded in the aftermath of Enyx Vymerian's Conquest, a campaign undertaken with the hope of conquering all of Apheon, though only resulting in Vymerian control of the continent's eastern half, and Enyx's eventual death in battle. However, Vymerian soldiers and knights had grown to revere their king and his family prior to his death, and began telling stories among themselves and among the people of the Vymerian realm. They painted Enyx as an almost god-like figure on his own. They described him as a noble and pious ruler, one that had died in combat in order to save his griffin, Sortan. This growing worship, coupled with the existing worship of the two previous conquerors, eventually ballooned into an organized faith which stretched across all of Apheon.

The Church is led by a group of three Sum Vincers, or high priests, who are elected from among the clergy, by the clergy, in the regions of the Lerant, the Losnata, and the Reha, the three regions from which the Three Conquerors originated. Each Sum Vincer serves as Vincer in the largest Vincerts in each region, but meets roughly three times a year to discuss matters of consequence to the faith. Their decisions and decrees are binding, and the clergy at large is expected to follow them to the letter.

## The Three

Followers of the church worship the titular three great conquerors of Apheon's history, each of which had a strong impact on the course of Apheon's history.

* **Ieanbald of the Bay,** the first of the three conquerors. Ieanbald was the first man recorded to have tamed the gryphons, and taught his clan the secrets as well. His conquest ended after all but one of his sons was killed at the Battle of the Barrier, and he was pushed back to West Lerance, where he had originated. Ieanbald founded the city of Leraster, the oldest proper city in Apheon.
* **Losna ni Reha,** the second of the conquerors. Her conquest was halted willingly, as it cost her a great many members of her family. Despite this, the kingdom she built did not fracture, and her family ruled it for over two centuries. During this time, the secrets of forging Dicortite were discovered, and gryphons gained a sacred status among the people of Apheon.
* **Enyx Vymerian,** the last conqueror. His conquest was the most recent, and heralded the rise of the Church as it is known today. He died whilst in battle over the Losnata, and so his conquests were delegated to his children. The realm he and his family built would fragment, and eventually divided into the modern kingdoms of the Lun, Westyra, and Thalyra.

## Organization

### Clergy Education

Clergymen and women are selected from among everyday church goers and voluntary converts. Part of a serving Vincer's duties include identification of good potential candidates for clergyship from among their congregations and the larger communities they serve. When a good candidate is identified, the Vincer will either, depending on the age of the individual, approach them or their guardians, offering them a role in the church. If the offer is expected, the candidate will then be sent to either a large regional Vincert or great cathedrals in a major city.

The candidate will then be taught necessary skills for a Vincer, like reading and writing. They will also be taught rhetorical strategies and social skills, being far better with people then an average person. They will continue in this education until they come of age and perform a rite of passage, in which the prospective Vincer will remove their right ring finger as a blood sacrifice, which is said to put them more in tune with the Conquerors who shed their blood. After this rite, they will serve as hands in the Vincert they studied under until such time that they are eligible to be given their own, typically when a standing Vincer dies.

### Leadership

The Vincers of the three largest cathedrals in Apheon are known as the Sum Vincers. They are the highest authorities within the church, though outwardly they are simply Vincers with a slightly different title. They are ultimately responsible for all promotions within the church's hierarchy, and their successors are only chosen jointly by the other two. They have some level of authority over all other Vincers, regardless of rank, and traditionally are the only Vincers allowed to crown Apheon's monarchs.

Three times a year, the Sum Vincers will meet and discuss matters of importance to the church, and jointly decide on courses of actions. The location these meetings changes with each meeting, cycling between the Gryphon Vincert in Leraster, the Cathedral of the Defiant Promise in Anathon, and and Chamber of the Nireha in Eldergrove, the capital of Drehan.

### Militant Arms

The Church does not officially recognize any militant forces acting in its name, but has historically funded three in particular: the Brotherhood of the Feather, the Ladies of the Lake, and the Bringers of the Fourth. These three orders would often serve as defenders and bodyguards to important church figures, but would become more militaristic in nature if they felt that the church itself was under threat. Most notably, during the reign of Gwyn the Grievous, all three of the aforementioned orders, as well as dozens of smaller ones, rose in rebellion when Gwyn destroyed the Losnatas Vincert.

#### Brotherhood of the Feather

The Brotherhood is a militant order founded after the discovery of Dicortite as a valuable resource. Their first Deputy Commander wielded a blade of dicortite, and the order initially sought to prevent the hunting of gryphons for their feathers. They succeeded, and eventually, taking feathers from gryphons became an extremely rare occurrence. Later in their history they became official guards for Vincerts in Drehan and Ertoi. The blade wielded by their first Deputy commander, Beak of Kings, passes from each Deputy Commander to the next.

#### Ladies of the Lake

The Ladies of the Lake were founded by the younger sister of Losna ni Reha prior to Losna's death as the personal protectors of the Nireha clan. However, after Losna died, and her sister was called upon to serve as regent to the former's young son, the order rapidly shifted directions, and the second High Lowborn, the order's leader, pledged herself and the order to the church. They typically serve as the church's bounty hunters, apprehending "heretics" and dissidents.

#### Bringers of the Fourth

The Bringers of the Fourth are a mysterious but prolific order of militant followers of the Three. It is unclear how long they have existed, as they keep no public history of their leaders or the events in which they were involved. They style themselves as the servants of the Fourth Conqueror, a prophetic figure who they claim will one day appear and unite the entire planet. They act in unpredictable ways, linked to both assassinations and rescues of important figures. However, they, like their sibling orders, openly fought against Gwyn the Grievous when he burned the Losnatas Vincert.

## Practices

### Worship

Worship of the Three is primarily done through prayer, reverence of idols and figures, and mild blood sacrifice. Vincers will lead their congregations in prayer, during which they will praise three aspects of each of the Conquerors worth emulating; Ieanbald will be lauded for his indomitability, pioneership, and skill, Losna for her compassion, value for family, and dignity, and Enyx for his humility, courage, and kindness.

Singing is considered the most holy form of self-expression, and as such is necessary in all faith-based proceedings. Vows at weddings will be sung, and at events such as funerals and wing days (birthdays), songs will be sung in honor of the subject of the event, be it the recently departed or the person to whom the wing day is dedicated. At standard church gatherings, a vincer will often lead his or her congregation in song before and after the service.

Minor blood sacrifice is also an aspect of worship. During services and wing days, vincers will invite members of a community to cut themselves, usually on the fingers, and offer a small amount of blood as an offering to the Conquerors.

### Holidays

There are three major holidays in the Faith of Three. Each is largely, though erroneously, believed to be the wing day of one of the three Conquerors. They are as follows:

* **Vainisen, Wing Day of Ieanbald -** Vainisen is a holiday celebrated in the summer months of each year, meant to commemorate the taming of the first Gryphon and the way in which that event represents progress and advancement for all mankind. The holiday is accompanied by a week long festival, during which martial competitions occur, as well as large educational summits between learned men and women in Apheon. As tradition, the monarchs of Apheon will submit themselves to one of the three major Vincerts for anointment on the last day of the festival.
* **Anaryn, Wing Day of Losna -** Anaryen is a holiday celebrated during the early fall, dedicated to the remembrance of the lives of passed family members, and the celebration of new births within families. It is celebrated by a day of mourning, during which times offerings are left at graves and blood sacrifices are made to ensure that the afterlife is plentiful, followed by a day of celebration, wherein members of the family born after the previous year's Anaryn are honored, and often presented at Vincert services. A communal feast is taken at the end of this day. Monarchs traditionally invite their lords to renew their vows at the end of the day of celebration, but this is purely customary and only sparsely done.
* **Elayn, Wing Day of Enyx -** Elayn is a holiday celebrated during the two weeks following the Winter Solstice, and is meant to commemorate compassion and new beginnings for all people. The celebrations include martial competitions among larger communities, in a special contest known by a different name in each kingdom, though it is most commonly called the Festival of Light. There is also a large communal feast in every town funded by the crown or local lord. Finally, there is gift giving on the very last day of the year. During this day, monarchs in Apheon will often attend feasts with their neighboring monarchs. For instance, the King of Thalyra will often dine with the Kings of the Lunate, Kidor, and Westyra.

## Afterlife

It is believed among followers of the church that there are three fates which await people after death, depending on their actions in life and the circumstances under which they die.

The First Afterlife, as it is called, is believed to be the home of God, and more specifically, a place among the growing army of the Fourth Conqueror. A person is believed to reach this afterlife under two conditions. Firstly, they must have lived their life virtuously, honoring their vows and offering kindness to the people they meet. Secondly, they need to die in some sort of battle, be it a pitched battle or guerilla warfare tactics. If these conditions are met, a person is said to enter the home of God and join the army of the Fourth and a warrior, living in bliss until the day comes when they must fight again.

The Second Life is the supposed reincarnation of those who do not qualify for the First Afterlife. Individuals who do not die in battle but lived well will end up here, as well as those who died in battle but lived neither virtuously nor maliciously.

The Third Hell is the afterlife granted to those who lived their lives maliciously, regardless of the circumstances of their deaths. Those who live their lives evilly are sent to suffer for eternity.