Temple Belligra

Temple Belligra is one of the main Religions of the Virasana Empire, charged with protecting the faithful.

Its main temple is the Ordensburg on the southern habitable fringe of Svansgard, where they have extensive training facilities overlooking the Shrine of Saint Ulrich.

## Tenets of Faith

To the Belligra, God is a benevolent but testing deity, offering salvation to all, but their particular love to all who help others on their path. All souls are threatened on their path to salvation, be it by sin or demons, eager to taint or destroy. The Belligra have taken upon them to help others either by defending those in need or destroying those who endanger others, until the day the universe reaches a state of perfect mutual respect and acceptance, a state they call Comity (occasionally also Amity or Serenity).

Their Faith is expressed through rigorous training and well defined liturgy, with manifold numbers of Saints and Angels, all of them named, sorted and categorized. Services tend to be brief and practical affairs with the flair of a quick battlefield fix.

Personal property is generally allowed, but encouraged to be limited to no more than can be carried into battle. Belligra are free to love whoever they desire, but are not allowed to marry as to keep them free of obligations that might keep them from moving into battle.

## Vestments and public perception

The heavily armed and / or armoured battle priests of the Belligra are the Empire’s most formidable fighting force. And yet, as an army of highly independant, morally educated individuals, it is rarely used for political purposes. Highly skilled and devoted, they are all but impossible to control and even harder to reign in.

Everyone knows their white tunics, often bearing the symbols of individual orders or Saints, and can tell a heavily armoured Shield from a Sword who barely wears more than that tunic.

Their buildings, armours and clothings seem to be invariably white (or rather, off-white and ivory), stark and pristine at the same time. And yet there is a stunning, unbridled beauty to their highly stylized, garishly coloured icons and religious art that may be simplistic, but is none the less deeply emotional and easily accessible. So while many Belligra see themselves as rather crude tools in the service of God, most hold a particular place of respect for people who create beauty - be it art, music or a meal prepared with love.

As it hinders the way to Comity, any kind of unnecessary violence, cruelty or oppression is seen very critical by the Belligra. Actively preventing an innocent from feeling safe and secure is considered a cardinal sin by the temple.

## Politics

If there is something like a head of the order, it's Father Caradini, the Archbishop of Svansgard.

Technically, the Temple can ordain a Grandmaster in times of war, but Father Caradini has so far rejected all attempts. The process of annointing a new Grandmaster is clearly defined in the Temple's scriptures, and so streamlined that it can be concluded in a matter of minutes as long as all necessary participants are present.

In most of the cases, Temple Belligra leaves the issuing of *bannbullen* to Temple Verata. In rare instances, the Belligra have seen it fit to formalise the legal framework of their faith. Some of the most relevant Belligra *bannbullen* include:

* the Condemnation of the Souleaters, Ex Edicto Ostracismo Cibi Animarum
* the Edict of Saint Cornelius, Ex Edicto Fraternita Religionem

## Training

All Belligra monasteries accept applicants without looking at rank, age, gender, race or any other social distinctions. As long as you get through the initial training, anyone can join them - though a lot hopeful young people have dropped out once they learned that it's not only physically demanding but also setting highest standarts of mental, emotional and ethic qualities.

Once accepted, novices are trained either to become Shields (defensive focus), Swords (offensive focus) or Patches (Reconnaissance and Infrastructure).

Novices in training are free (within reason) to chose a name for themselves and even change that one to reflect their growth. A final decision has to be made only before ordination.

Once ordained, young priests are expected to roam the empire (and maybe beyond) to give God a chance to put them in the place they are needed. This time is expected to last no less than a year. After that, priests are free to attach themselves to any cause they see fit - join a monastery or parish, work as a confessor to a noble family, or join a military operation. Most Belligra will attach themselves to a cause at some point in time, though some will remain wandering priests.

Their deep, personal devotion to protecting the world from evil brings them a unique, almost uncanny sense of justice. If a Belligra can be persuaded to preside over any sort of legal proceedings, their judgements have almost always proven to be profoundly balanced and even wise. In a Triecclesial Court, they usually take the role of prosecution, as their investment in general, brotherly justice for everyone is so well known that their determination to do everything in their power to help the victim will stand unquestioned.

 Brother Riccardo Father Caradini Saint Cornelius Saint Ulrich | Notable Holdings

## Other Articles on Temple Belligra

 Edict of Saint Cornelius Ex Edicto Ostracismo Cibi Animarum