Convocation of the Flaming Heart

**Leader**
 **Important Figures**
 **Headquarters**
* The Hosts Militant of the Flaming Heart

The **Convocation of the Flaming Heart** is a fringe religious movement originally centered in Duskwood that has spread cells across the Kingdom of Stormwind. The Convocation believes that the soul resides in the heart of all people, and that the Light judges from within, knowing intent and thought as much as action and word. As penance, opposed to lashing or other more-traditional methods, the Convocation of the Flaming Heart supports the practice of ritual burning, believing that flame washes away sin as water washes dirt.

In spite of their heterodoxical views, the Convocation of the Flaming Heart declares itself to be in ardent support of the Church of the Holy Light, though they enjoy no official sanction, they do not suffer official denouncement, either.

## Purpose

The Convocation of the Flaming Heart was initially conceived by a local priest from Brightwood as the curse of Medivh began desecrating the forest and bringing a plague of undeath upon the people, destroying their ability to live safely in their own homes. This priest, Pèire Azalais, sought to harness the religiosity of the inhabitants of Duskwood and urge them to more fervently defend themselves.

Now, the Convocation of the Flaming Heart has spread far beyond Duskwood, with cells in every province of the Kingdom of Stormwind, though the largest now resides on the isle of Balor, where they have become an official part of the County of Carafonte. Though their methods are considered radical by many, especially their ritual immolation, they have proven to be a decently productive force wherever they appear, urged on by their religious fervor to aid the cause of the Holy Light wherever and however they can.

## History

### Founding

The Convocation of the Flaming Heart was founded in 597 K.Y. by Pèire Azalais, a priest from Brightwood, and Almaricus Beaumanoir, a member of the Night's Watch with a deep belief in the Holy Light. They and forty initial adherents went from the Grand Hamlet to the nearby fallen township of Fortaare, which had been overrun in 593 K.Y. by the Orcs and subsequently overtaken by the undead once the era of Orcish occupation drew to a close as a result of the intervention by the Alliance of Lordaeron. After nearly a full day of fighting the undead inhabitants of Fortaare, a pyre was lit that would signal the first and most integral victory of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart for years to come, as they turned Fortaare into a religious and military sanctuary that operated in Duskwood for decades.

Though they initially had poor relations with the Watch and the Ebonlockes as a result of Almaricus' desertion of the Night's Watch, their effective hold on Fortaare and the subsequent capture of other abandoned municipalities in the foothills overlooking the Grand Hamlet, such as Narthen, Rotherhold and Lutonshire, forced the less fanatical inhabitants of Duskwood to recognize their value and agree to some level of cooperation, leading to a close, if tense alliance between the Convocation of the Flaming Heart and the Ebonlockes.

### Growth in Duskwood

After a swathe of territory to the west of Grand Hamlet was captured, knowledge of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart spread through religious circles and drew more followers of the Church of the Holy Light to aid the people of Duskwood in their plight as the undead hordes began to grow in the years leading up to the Third War. As the numbers of the Convocation grew, so too did the populations of those they held under their protection, who flocked to the banner of the Flaming Heart in search of desperately-sought protection in the face of increasingly large armies of the dead courtesy of Morbent Fel.

During this time, Almaricus was left to defense the holdings of the Convocation in Duskwood, while the self-styled Bishop and Shepherd Azalais took to the faraway provinces of the Kingdom of Stormwind, visiting Westfall, Elwynn and Redridge, gathering converts enough to form cells of the Convocation in other provinces, before going to Stormwind City to declare the devotion of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart to the Church of the Holy Light.

### The Fall of Fortaare

During the pilgrimage of Bishop Azalais across the breadth of the Kingdom of Stormwind, while the Third War was in full swing, the armies of Morbent Fel were finally fully unleashed against the living of Duskwood in the hopes that they would snuff out the flame of life in the accursed forest, turning Duskwood into a realm of the dead once and for all.

To meet this challenge, and without the aid of his friend and mentor, Almaricus sallied forth with the combined strength of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart, obligating every man, woman and child to take up arms against the coming legions of the dead, guarding the southern frontier of Fortaare lightly, devoting most of their strength to protecting the Grand Hamlet.

With a flaming mace, Almaricus struck down the ghoulish servant of Morbent Fel, Lord Malathrom, but lost his right arm to the retaliatory blow of Commander Felstrom's axe, forcing Almaricus to withdraw from the battle while the Hosts of the Flaming Heart continued to defend the settlements of the living, holding off the dead at great cost until the collected forces of the Night's Watch arrived from Darkshire to destroy the depleted armies of Morbent Fel, refusing the Burning Legion their chance at a strong foothold in Duskwood.

Through the battle, over eighty-five percent of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart's number present in Duskwood was destroyed outright, and Fortaare was razed by the undead, forcing Almaricus and the remnants of the Hosts Militant to flee to Redridge, where Azalais had taken refuge, having heard of the struggle in Duskwood.

### Waning Years

Until the coming of the Stormwindian Civil War, the Convocation of the Flaming Heart was a disparate, fringe religious movement that had no deep roots in any one province, but cults dedicated to the doctrines of the Flaming Heart had cropped up, small as they were, in every province. Almaricus and Azalais both did their best to nurture the Convocation back to health.

Opportunity would present itself, however, when Azalais claimed to have another vision-- He witnessed the flaming heart descending from the sky, presenting itself to him, with the single grey iris at its center glowing with golden light. The Holy Light itself peered at him, and this eye-borne beam of golden light would become central to the next chapter in the Convocation's history.

### The Prophesy of the Clerical Countess

The Convocation of the Flaming Heart would next come to prominence when Azalais heard tell of the feudal dispute in the Duchy of Athlone, following the death of Alfonso Belrose. With all his flock, Azalais would travel to Balor Isle, to the County of Carafonte, soon followed by Almaricus and the Hosts Militant. With Azalais presenting himself to the golden-eyed Faustine Belrose, claimant to the titles of the late Alfonso, and officially transferring the comital titles of Carafonte to her in a religious ceremony in Sorieti.

When Almaricus and the Hosts arrived from the eastern passes, the war had begun, and the Belrose Legitimist armies had captured Soreto, granting them the perfect opportunity to encircle the opposing armies and rout them early, to give the Countess of Carafonte more time to prepare for the war ahead.

When the War of the Clerical Countess came to a close, the Convocation of the Flaming Heart had played an instrumental role, and were rewarded for their support with a place in the state of the County of Carafonte, with Azalais being made the Bishop of the county officially, and granting the Convocation of the Flaming Heart a true institutional place in the Church of the Holy Light, controversial as some of their methods were.

## Notable Members

### Pèire Azalais

Pèire Azalais is the prophet and leader of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart, leading the declared Church of the Flaming Heart in religious services and functions, and serving the County of Carafonte as court Bishop.

### Faustine Belrose

Faustine Belrose is the Countess of Carafonte, and the prophetic figure of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart, a woman blessed with the eyes of the Holy Light. For this reason, Faustine has been elevated to high status in the Convocation.

### Almaricus Beaumanoir

Almaricus Beaumanoir is the leader of the Hosts Militant of the Flaming Heart, a volunteer force of religious adherents that have devoted their lives to martial prowess in the interest of fighting for the interests of the Holy Light and the Flaming Heart. Though widely regarded as a brutal and vicious sect of the Convocation, their efficacy is unquestionable, counting many professional soldiers among their ranks as instructors.

## Gallery

Banner of the ConvocationRoundel Livery of the ConvocationLozenge Livery of the ConvocationOriginal crest of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart, before the advent of the Light's Golden Eye doctrine.