Cordelians

The Cordelians, followers of the angel Duraniel and thus sometimes called the Duranihim, are many things to many people. To the Sepharihim, and those who are in favor of traditional interpretations of the Benalian faith and Testimonium, they are an abomination; heretics unfit to wear the cloth and make the claim of sharing a philosophical lineage with Benalus. To the Benalians who believe that their religion is in need of an updated perspective or unification, the Duranihim are potentially the architects of a long-awaited reformation of the Benalian faith. The Cordelians claim that they are shaping the word of Benalus into a more fair and inclusive religion, of which all can be proud to claim membership. None can argue that the Benalian faith has fragmented substantially over the years, with different sects interpreting the teachings of the Testimonium through their particular lens. However, the Cordelians are something else. Recognized as the leaders of a burgeoning social movement growing more powerful by the day, they are spoken of as harbingers of a schism the likes of which the Benalian faith has not yet known.

Centuries ago, in the mountains of Seravia, a band of holy warriors marched on a quest, the purpose of which is long forgotten. Set upon by vampire spawn in the middle of the night, many fell, torn to pieces, with only one of the warriors and her squire remaining alive- though only barely. She was Cordelia. Beaten and bleeding, on the edge of death, she looked up to find starlight revealing to her a hidden cave in which they could heal and take refuge. Within, she found seven stone tablets, each bearing seven laws, and though she was exhausted and bleeding, she remained awake until dawn reading and re-reading them. By the dawn’s light, the angel Duraniel revealed herself, bestowing great wisdom upon the hero and saddling her with great purpose. When she was released from the vision, she found the words from the tablets scarred into her skin, though she felt no pain. She knew then what the purpose of her life was to be, why she had been spared, and what she must do.

Her squire, Leon Fletcher, traveled with her for the next decade and scribed her teachings as she applied the 49 Laws to the injustices and tribulations they discovered on their journey. Many times along their travels they came in direct conflict with the movements of the Benalian Inquisition: the Sepharihim. Cordelia claimed that they followed a demon pretending under an Archangel’s skin, for no angelic being could tolerate such acts of viciousness as she saw. She helped innocents flee the fires of the Sepharihim whenever she could, and often slew the Inquisitors she held responsible while reciting their crimes against god and man alike. Wherever she went, she dispensed justice and spread the revelations of Duraniel, preaching the virtues of egalitarianism, integrity, and fair treatment under the law. When finally she was captured by the Inquisition and burned as a heretic, Leon fled with his completed tome and declared it the Gospel of St. Cordelia, the Inheritor, for he claimed none had better claim to be the successor of Benalus and his message than she. The Gospel is commonly referred to as “The 49 Higher Laws” by its adherents, or simply “The 49” when discretion is necessary.

The advent of the Duranihim forces Benalians to examine the roles and actions of even those Benalian sects that are held in high esteem and power. The Sepharihim, for example, will state that they are willing to place any sin upon their souls if it means that they are able to protect humanity as a whole. But the Duranihim argue that to be a priest of the Benalian faith is to hold oneself to the highest standard first so as to serve as an example to others. No immorality should be tolerated, whatever the end goal. The Duranihim label themselves and those that accept them as Cordelian Benalians, in an effort to distance themselves from traditional sects, and tend to label other types of Benalian worshippers as Orthodox. Thus, they set themselves apart as something new and yet closer to the traditional truths of the religion. They believe that other Benalians have allowed themselves to become lax in what the religion actually teaches, and have allowed the concerns of the modern day to give them license to make exceptions in doing what is right. They also believe that rather than truly take the lessons of the Benalian faith to heart, many Orthodox Benalians are hypocritically more concerned with pomp and ceremony than with actually daring to preach to those that need it, or to truly incorporate the teachings of Benalus in their everyday life.

The Duranihim are easily the smallest Benalian order that claims patronage of an Archangel, and given that their greatest numbers are in Seravia, they experience oppression as a way of life. Unable to practice their faith openly for fear of persecution or outright execution, many turn to vigilantism, particularly against the wealthy, political, or mystically powerful who might otherwise consider themselves untouchable. They never assassinate their targets, but announce themselves with the crash of their maces on doors or walls before announcing the litany of their victims’ sins and the punishment they will level against the unrepentant. Killing these priests does little good for long, as upon their return they simply add their own murder to the crimes for which they must punish the accused. They dream of a day when it will not need to be this way – when they can operate openly as judges, counselors, and advisors to governors chosen by the communities they live in. Until that day they settle for the dark work of correcting wicked acts, by iron and flame.

The nature of sin is at the core of Cordelian ideology, and the source of much of the tension between them and the other sects. They maintain that sin is bound to specific actions, be that assaulting your neighbor or stealing from him, and does not extend to states of being, such as being a follower of the Triumverate. Of course, actions that a Triumverati cultist performs must be judged if they violate other sins, such as the murder of innocent people. However, they declare that these actions are wrong on their own terms and not because they are done by a follower of the Triumverate or in the working of a Triumverati ritual. As such they tend to be lenient about the sin of Blasphemy, and are among the most tolerant of other religions and cults of all Benalians, though they do certainly recognize that some cults and religions are more prone to wicked action than others. Instead, they say that a greater sin than Blasphemy (and what the sin was intended to represent), is the sin of Inaction: that of standing aside as others violate the will of god without staying their hand or, failing that, bringing them to justice. In this they are entirely puritanical, and have a tiered system of castes within their ranks based on how closely they adhere to their philosophy. The Justified represent an aspirational state in which one does no wrong, the Conflicted is the most common state wherein one might do bad things for good reasons, and the Wretched which is an unacceptable state wherein one sins for their own benefit.