Maudesian Ministry

*For the Ministry headquartered out of the Argent Tower in the City of Adamantium, see Adamantine Ministry. For general information on the religion, see Sibyllism.*

## Maudesian Ministry

### Ranks

Matron
Grand Cleric
Revered Mother
Mother
High Chancellor
Elder
Brother/Sister
Affirmed Sister/Affirmed Brother

### Races

Humans
City Elves

The **Maudesian Ministry** is the dominant religious organization in Morgaea. It is based on the Holy Tome, a series of teachings written by Sibylla, the prophet of the Watcher, and her disciples. It was founded by Caecilius Volantus, the first emperor of Maudet. The Ministry's followers are known as Sibyllans.

The Ministry's goal is to spread the teachings of the Holy Tome to all four corners of the world and to all races. The view of the Ministry on non-humans is that they need saving; they have turned even further from the Watcher's grace than humanity has. This view has led to much of humanity to look down on them. There are no known Sibyllan Orcimar. The elves worshipped, and in some cases still worship, the elven gods, and dwarves venerate the Stone-Mother. Once all peoples have accepted the Holy Tome, and practice its teachings, the Watcher will return and restore the world to its former glory. As such, Sibyllan religion in Morgaea can be described as deistic in that the Watcher abandoned the world, and he will not heed prayer or perform any other function until his favor is regained.

The Maduesian Ministry calendar is used everywhere in Morgaea, save for the Adamantine Imperium.

## Teachings

The Ministry's faith is rooted in four core principles:

* Magic is a corrupting influence in the world.
* Humankind's sin of pride destroyed the Golden City and created fiends, the terrible embodiment of that sin.
* Sibylla was the bride of the Watcher, a prophet and martyr whose ultimate sacrifice must be remembered and honored.
* Humankind has sinned and must seek penance to earn the Watcher's forgiveness. When all people unite to praise the Watcher, he will return to the world and make it a paradise.

Until the Watcher's return, the faithful believe that, as His name implies, He is but a patient observer rather than an absent god. They do not believe the Watcher will perform miracles on their behalf, but that he will shed a tear for the suffering of those who do not deserve it. The Ministry's interpretation of Sibylla's teachings emphasizes death, guilt, and the difference among races and genders. Elves, dwarves, and orcimar are deemed to have strayed further from the Watcher, making them unsuitable for the priesthood. The Ministry sees women as the purer sex, while men are all judged by Thetsoll's betrayal; as such, the Ministry does not allow them to rise to any senior spiritual role.

### Symbols

The sun represents the fundamental goal of the Ministry: if all lands under the sun speak the words of the Holy Tome, then the Watcher's eye will turn back to his Children.

Fire is also a symbol of purity in the Ministry, following the example of Sibylla, who was cleansed of her sins as she burned at the stake. Each temple maintains a brazier lit with eternal flame in her memory; the most famous of these is the Holy Brazier at the Grand Temple in Ducailles. Ministry members may also ritually burn themselves, passing their hand over flame or burning a paper upon which their sins are written. In extreme cases, the faithful may undergo branding or self-immolation.

## Ministry Hierarchy

The actual priesthood of the Ministry is made up entirely of human women, as official Ministry doctrine states that elves and dwarves are further from the Watcher than humanity, and the Holy Tome holds that men are more vulnerable to anger or passion.

At the head of the Ministry is the Matron, who leads from her seat in the Grand Temple of Ducailles. Below her are the Left and Right Hands of the Matron. These are her personal agents and act as her voice if she is not otherwise present.

The position of Right Hand is normally reserved for Knight-Paladins of the Templar Order, but exceptions can be made. The role of the Right Hand is to do what hands are capable of; it gives, it takes, it beckons... it makes a fist. While the Right Hand's actions are more public, the Left Hand's actions are generally clandestine. The Left Hand's role typically involves investigations, political manipulations, and assassinations. The Left Hand protects the Matron by keeping an eye and ear out for dangerous situations, identifying threats, and dealing with them.

In summary, the Right and Left Hands extends the Matron's reach beyond the Grand Temple and go where the Matron cannot.

Below them are the Grand Clerics who are the Ministry's highest authority in a country or a region. After a Matron dies, Grand Clerics are required to travel to Ducailles for the Grand Consensus, a meeting where Ministry leadership unanimously elect the new leader of the Ministry.

Beneath the Grand Clerics are the mothers, who are responsible for administering to the spiritual well-being of their flock. If a mother is in charge of a local Ministry, she is called a Revered mother.

Beneath mothers are the brothers and sisters, consisting of three main groups: affirmed, initiates, and clerics. Brother is the highest title that men can aspire to have. The initiates take vows and receive an academic education. Those who seek to become templars additionally receive a martial education. Initiates are simply people who vow to dedicate their lives to the Ministry and in doing so become men and women in training; whether in academic knowledge or the martial skills of a warrior.

Clerics are the scholars of the Ministry, and they are often found in Ministry archives. These sages preside over libraries of books and arcane knowledge. The most senior of these clerics, placed in charge of such archives, receive the title of "elder," which is, however, beneath that of mother.

Brothers and sisters are the rank and file of the Ministry, and initiates not assigned to the clerics or templars act as an invisible army working to maintain the Ministry. Some of their duties include ensuring meals are delivered, repairs are made, managing the lucenium storehouses, and ensuring that the faithful are tended to. The male dominated position of High Chancellor is a brother who controls who is permitted an audience with the Matron, handles her correspondence, delivers her word to the rest of Morgaea, and serves as her advisor on matters which may be mundane but cannot be disregarded. Despite the High Chancellor's relatively low position in the Ministry hierarchy compared to the clergy, he enjoys a considerable amount of influence due to being in the Matron's inner circle.

Some followers become affirmed brothers/sisters (a.k.a. affirmed-bretheren), those who live and work in a local Ministry to live a life of religious contemplation, yet are not a part of the priesthood or even an initiate. The Ministry supposedly provides assistance and safe harbor to any who seeks it. Affirmed brothers/sisters are those who affirm their belief in the Watcher, Sibylla, and the Holy Tome. They do not take vows however. Often affirmed-bretheren are people who have led a difficult or irreligious life and have chosen to go into seclusion, or even orphans and similar unfortunates who were raised into the Ministry life. The affirmed take care of the Ministry and are in turn afforded a life of quiet contemplation, no questions asked.

### Men's Roles in the Ministry

Men are only able to become true priests in the Adamantine Ministry of the Adamantium; in the rest of Morgaea they are judged by the betrayal of Thetsoll and found too passionate to lead in matters of spirit. Nevertheless, male members of the Ministry can and do play a vital role in its workings.

Though men are generally assumed to be merely templars, ministers or scholars, they also comprise an "invisible army" that keeps the Ministry fed and in good repair, and also sees to the physical well-being of the Sibyllan faithful. Furthermore, the male role of High Chancellor is one that works directly alongside the Matron and is in many ways her administrator and public gatekeeper. In this way, the Ministry's male acolytes allow their female counterparts to guide the souls of Morgaea while seeing to it that small but vital services are rendered to their material lives.

## Practices

*See also: Sexuality and marriage and Funerary rites*

Offertory is part of the Ministry service.

The funeral rites of the Ministry involve cremation. As Sibylla's body was burned, and her spirit ascended to stand by the Throne of the Watcher, so too will the spirits of her followers. The practice of cremation may also be to ward off the possibility of the corpse becoming the subject of demonic possession. The pyres of peasants are often small and ringed with stones. Such burnings occur within the settlement, despite the fire risk, rather than at a distance. Criminals may be burned in a mass pyre.

The Ministry hosts a Ten Year Gathering, in which pilgrims journey to the Grand Temple in Ducailles to pray for peace.

Certain members, called Ministers, speak only in quotations of the Holy Tome. Ostensibly this is to spread the word of the Watcher far and wide.

Although the clergy, such as a Revered mother, can ask for donations to their local Ministry, the Ministry can also demand tithes on estates in regions where they hold political influence.

As specified by the Anderan Accord, the Ministry's ranking representative holds authority over the local templars and is also able invoke the Right of Nullifcation. Typically, the ranking Ministry representative of a country or region is the Grand Cleric. Should a Grand Cleric be incapacitated, authority over the templars would transfer to a de facto successor.

The Ministry strictly controls the supply of lucenium in most of Morgaea; and Ondrathum sells all the processed lucenium they don't use themselves to the Ministry. From the Ministry, it is dispensed both to the templars, who make use of it in tracking and fighting maleficists, and to the Institute.

The faithful who give their lives to the Crusades earn a special place at the side of the Watcher as the "Exalted". A still greater honor for service, the defenders of the faith are sometimes given the title of "Anointed". The Anointed are seen as the hands of the Watcher and the title is exceptionally rare.

Notable Anointeds include:

* **Caecilius Volantus I** – first Emperor of Maudet and founder of the Ministry
* **Hector** – one of Sibylla's loyal followers and Lord of the fortress of Anderlay from which she was captured after Thetsoll's betrayal
* **Lontan Kaulden** – first King of Nordain
* **Athilde of Crechy** – a warrior renowned for defending the innocent
* **Mhemet** – a Ghalleni Templar whose love of killing elves pushed him to many victories during the Second Crusade.

## Scholarship

All initiates receive an academic education, and notable among them are the clerics. Clerics are the true academics of the Ministry, being men and women who have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of knowledge.

Many of Morgaea's most prominent scholars come from within the Ministry's ranks. The Ministry actively encourages its followers to read books other than the Holy Tome. The Ministry is not above history revisionism and censorship, however. After the Second Crusade, the Chronicle of Febrion was removed from the canonical Holy Tome and all Ministry art depicting elves was ordered destroyed (save a single mural depicting Febrion, whose ears were cropped). Many books are banned by the Ministry as well, usually those dealing with magic and other religions. Erotic literature is frequently banned as well.