Gravelholdery

Gravelholdery is the dominant and official religion of the Empire of Red. Despite having been around since the 7th century BSB, it only rose to prominance when Emperor of Red Octracio I converted to Gravelholdery in 247 ASB.

## History

### The Book of Alder (714-684 BSB)

According to the Book of Alder, the seeds of Gravelholdery were sown when Amasant Enor was born to a noble family in Aldergrove in 714 BSB. However, after many years of living in luxury, she felt the need for adventure, and headed east towards the city of Usk, wherein she met with several members of the Order of the Golden Lord. They explained that the Golden Lord had created the land and all of its riches. Next, she headed south to the city of Drahokam, wherein several members of the Order of the Copper King who explained that the Copper King had created the sun to warm the land and bring forth plants and creatures. Next, she journeyed westward to the town of Oarecumton wherein several members of the Order of the Silver Giants explained that the Silver Giants had created the sea to bring forth fish and winds to cool the land in a coastal breeze. After these encounters, she returned to the town of Aldergrove to tell the nobles of this new information, but when she arrived, Aldergrove was no more than a flat patch of sand with little trace of its former glory.

When she asked what happened, the sole remaining resident told her that the nobles had thrown a party and invited the entire town to the palace. They had wine, and eventually drank so much of it that they became rowdy and damaged the palace. In particular, they damaged the three central pillars of the palace which held up the roof, drawing divine attention. First came the Golden Lord, who tore down the rest of the palace leaving naught but collapsed ashes in its place. Second came the Copper King, who incinerated all but the nobles. Third came the Silver Giants, who brought forth a strong wind, dispersing the ashes of the palace throughout the Red desert.

Distraught by the loss of many she knew, Amasant decided to head to an empty part of the Red Desert with hopes of finding them. She meditated for several weeks with neither food nor water, until a fourth entity appeared in the middle of the desert. This entity did not match the descriptions of the Golden Lord, the Copper King, or the Silver Giants as described by their respective orders. This entity was dark grey in colour, almost stone-like, and shifted ever closer to her night by night. On the 7th night of the 14th week, the entity presented itself to her.

It said: "I am the Gravel Heap. I am the sand, the clay, the silt; I am the creator of everyone and everything. I was there at the beginning of it all, and will be there at the end. What do you seek of me"

She responded: "I have meditated here for to seek knowledge. Why is there suffering?"

It replied: "I am the cause of suffering. It is through me that suffering comes into this world."

Shocked, she said: "For what do you do this? To what end did you send the Golden Lord, the Copper King, and the Silver Giants for to destroy Aldergrove?"

The Heap replied: "The Golden Lord came to reclaim his riches. The Copper King came to provide warmth. The Silver Giants came to provide winds. They each had their own reasons; I merely directed them, for the town of Aldergrove was a place of debauchery and evil."

Speechless, Amasant picked a stone from one of the Heap's many piles. It then turned around and uttered a single word: "Cease." But she would not cease, for she had found a way to enact revenge on the Heap; she took several more stones from its piles, and threw them into the desert. The Heap resisted, but it could do little more than attempt to shift away into the desert. After 7 days, the Heap became a pile. After 14 days, the pile became nothing.

Upon the separation of the Heap, the Golden Lord arrived. He bestowed food, water, gold, and clay upon Amasant, and instructed her to begin building a citadel in the desert using the gold and the clay. Next came the Copper King, who heated the clay into bricks and helped Amasant build the citadel. Next came the Silver Giants who blew away the sand, revealing the ancient city upon which she had built the citadel. Amasant named the city "Chapelure", and the gods agreed that it would become the centre of a new order on M3-05 684 BSB.

### The Book of Chapelure (684-663 BSB)

The Book of Chapelure documents how Amasant established the city of Chapelure, and thus brought about the religion of Gravelholdery. Upon creating the city, the gods began to collect the stones that had once been part of the Gravel Heap. Deep underground, beneath the citadel, they established a secret room to hold the stones and prevent them from spreading suffering throughout the Precious Metal Continent.

### Octracio I's conversion (247 ASB)

On M3-05 247 ASB, Octracio I converted to Gravelholdery. Two years later, he made Gravelholdery the official religion of the Empire of Red. This greatly expanded the influence of Chapelure, and thus Octracio was granted official control of the city of Chapelure, helping to expand the Empire of Red and unite the south of the Precious Metal Continent.

## Structure

The highest authority in Gravelholdery is the Prefect of Chapelure. The Prefect appoints fourteen Delegates, who select the next Prefect from amongst themselves. These Delegates appoint Ordinaries, who control the greater temples of Gravelholdery. The Ordinaries appoint Frugilies, who control the lesser temples.

## Role in the Empire of Red

When an Emperor of Red dies, it is the responsibility of the Conclave of Chapelure to chose a successor. In this conclave, the Red nobility determine the candidates to be the next emperor, whilst the the Prefect of Chapelure has the final say on which of these candidates gets to be the successor. Once the successor is chosen, there is a ceremony of Coronation in which the Prefect declares the validity of the new Emperor in the eyes of the Golden Lord, Copper King, and Silver Giants.