Priests of Light

*"The Goddess is the bringer of the light. It is she who has established all of life, and you can see her works not only here on the world but also in all of the stars in the sky. She is divine and all that is good. She is the mother, the bringer of all life, the humble giver of all that we hold dear. We, however, are not the direct servants of the Goddess, even though it is through her that we draw our power. We are the protectors. We are the divine warriors who serve the Goddess, and we draw or strength from the divine warrior, the red God who encircles our mother and protects her from the darkness of the Trickster. Never forget that you have begun life as a product of the Trickster. You were put here to poison this world that the Goddess created for her son, the protector, and that by taking this path you have chosen to right this grave injustice. You have chosen to turn away from the dark and instead to bring the light to this world into every nation, every home, and every mind. For once we have driven out the dark, this world will be once again as pure as the day the Goddess created it, and we will join the Mother and the Protector in the heavens. So, go forth to the people of Arkland and spread the word. Show them the gifts that the Mother has given us, and teach them to turn away from the dark. And if you come across those who refuse to turn away from the Trickster, banish them to them darkness."* - High Priest Tristan Dior in a speech to the newest graduates in 989 AF.

The Priests of Light are a religious order within the Kingdom of Arkland who are also mages that can control Light Magic. They hold the belief that they are a divine power directed by the Goddess to spread light across the world and to extinguish darkness and evil. More of an inquisition than a religion of peace, the Priests of Light are a martial force within Arkland who also fuel the manifest destiny of the people of Arkland who believe that they are the one rightful rulers of Indagar.

## Dogma of the Priesthood

Although many other peoples had long ago learned to harness magic, it wasn't until the first Priests of Light became known to Arkland that the people of Arkland discovered that they too could bring forth the power of magic. The Priests of Light believe that they are able to wield their powers through the divine presence of a creator deity known as the Goddess who is embodied in the yellow sun around which the World orbits. They believe that it is through a gift of the Goddess that Light Magic is given to those who are worthy. The bright light and the intense heat of Light Burn produced when manifesting Light Magic is thought to be but a tiny fraction of the power of the Goddess.

The Goddess is a deity which represents the mother and bringer of all life. It is believed that she was the first entity in the universe and gave birth to all the others stars in the sky. It is also through her magic that the red sun, viewed as another deity which the priests refer to commonly as the Protector or the Warrior, and the World's moon, referred to as the Trickster, came into being. The Priests believe that although all powerful, the Goddess represents pureness as well as humility, love, and compassion. The opposite of the Goddess is embodied in the darkness, physically manifested as the night and simply referred to as the Darkness. This is not an evil deity or being to the Priests but rather the symbolic nature of all the terrible things of human nature including hate, fear, coveting, and death. It is therefore believed now that the Trickster, at first having been a son of the Goddess, has become a servant of the Darkness, made jealous by the stature of his brother, the Warrior.

The Protector is considered to be the favored son of the Goddess, and he is embodied in the red sun. This red sun always stays close to the Goddess in the sky, defending her from the darkness. The priests believe that the world was a gift to the Protector, given to him by his mother to be his wife. However, the Trickster, jealous of this gift, poisoned the world, and it did so by creating mankind and other creatures as a blight on the world. Humanity, without the guiding presence of the Light of Arkland, the name given to the current leader of the priesthood, would inevitably become agents of the Darkness, but with guidance and by turning to the Goddess, it is believed by the priests that humanity can be cleansed and allow the world to be accepted by the Protector and the Goddess.

## The Reality of the Faith in Arkland

Although intensely mythological, the creation myth and dogma of the priesthood is preached, but most even within the order consider the story metaphorical. They do believe that the power of their Light Magic is drawn from the divine, and they do believe that it is their guiding principal to bring faith in this divine power to the rest of the world. The priesthood considers itself the Warrior, manifested by the red sun, and they consider the converts to their religion as the representation of the Goddess which they are duty bound to protect. Those who are not representative of the Goddess are therefore representative of the Darkness and must be dealt with.

The Priests of Light are priests before warriors, trained to give sermon, to council and teach the populace, and to instill fervor into their followers. Therefore, their reality is more one in which they use their powers as proof of miracles that their religion can provide, and most priests hold regular meetings for the followers where they preach the tenants of the faith as well as provide allegory for how one becomes good in the eyes of the Goddess and the Warrior. However, should a priest receive word of blasphemers or should he find himself incapable of converting a group of people to be followers, they may elicit their divine role as the Protector and use violence to enforce compliance. This, however, is quite rare in the day to day lives of Arklanders, and rather than fear the priesthood, most commoners simply view them as holy men and in fact, protectors of the common people.

The nobility of Arkland have a much more strained relationship with the priesthood. This is as a result of two factors. The first is that since the priesthood essentially places the power of the Goddess in the common man, the nobility do not typically look upon the ideas of the commoner becoming powerful as a good thing. Further, the priesthood itself has become a massive political force in the nation because the commoners are endeared to it. The religious fervor that this new religion creates runs deep, and many commoners zealously follow the teachings of the priesthood even to such a degree that they will grant authority to a priest over their noble land owners. It is therefore quite often that the priests squabble with the nobility, sometimes publicly.

Some nobility, however, became believers as well. This became a harder reality once King Geran issued the Edict of Light as he had become a zealous follower of the priest's faith. Once this occurred, the stature of the priesthood as merely a peasant's daydream suddenly catapulted into the political power struggles of Arkland. Future Kings and nobility all now must pay homage to the priests in one form or another as the religion has become the official beliefs of the entire nation. Indeed, the second largest and most ornate structure in King's Crossing, aside from the palace, is the glorious monastery of the Light of Arkland.

A further reality of the faith has been that it has given Arkland's more warlike nobles a cause to rally around in terms of growing the power of Arkland over Indagar. Using the faith, they have been able to condemn other peoples on Indagar in the eyes of the commoner, instilling in them the ideas that perhaps the faith should be spread, and thereby, the power of Arkland, across Indagar even by force if necessary. After all, what's good for the faith is likely also good for Arkland. This has created a simmering strife between Arkland and its neighbors as well as trading partners as the religion is sometimes used as a justification for violence and power grabs.

Lastly, since worship of the Goddess means to try and become like the Goddess, the religion has also spawned a wave of high morality and nationalism within Arkland. The priests teach the commoners that they are representatives of the Goddess, and through this, they must aspire to the greatest heights of goodness, humility, hard work, and dedication. As a result, the average commoner within Arkland now has also achieved a higher belief in morality, and as a further result, a higher degree of pride and nationalism about the state of Arkland. In part, then, the nation of Arkland has never before seen such support from its common-folk as it does now nor the degree of lawfulness and morality among its people as it now experiences.

## Believers

To be a believer in the Priests of Light means following their dogma in that the goal of humanity should be to become closer the likeness of the Goddess. The Goddess is represented as a divine being and embodies many of the best qualities of humanity including humility, faithfulness, hard work, sacrifice, and loyalty. To be a good follower means one devotes her life to the ideals of the human spirit. Believers are expected to tithe money to the priesthood. They are expected to act with grace and humility to their fellows. They are expected to represent goodness. The priests teach that murdering another believer and adultery are the worst offenses of the Darkness. From there, thievery and debauchery are also considered great evils.

The priests teach the commoners that they are to help and respect each other, and it is through that common bond that they will achieve glory for the Goddess. This also has the effect that the commoners are now more solidified than they have ever been. It is therefore not uncommon to find the peasantry leading volunteer efforts or drumming up support for the downtrodden, a community building effort which has largely benefited the peasantry in ways they had never before seen. This level of togetherness and communal work has empowered them and mostly been an improvement in their lives. The nobility who adopt the faith also balance their roles as land owners and leaders with the ideas that the common-folk are the closest representations of the Goddess. Therefore, they are more apt to treat the commoners with more humility and kindness than has otherwise been in the history of the Kingdom. It is through this that the average outlook of a commoner on the entire Kingdom has grown to lofty heights as the station of the commoner is now more respected, in general.

## The Organization

The Priests of Light are led by a single person known as the Light of Arkland. This person is a High Priest who is elected to the position. The monastery palace within King's Crossing, an enormous, ornate structure, becomes his or her home. From there, the Light of Arkland tends to the business of the order, managing its operations, its financial business, and its militant order. The Light of Arkland is also considered a holy person who is closer than any other towards achieving the status of the Goddess. As a result, the edicts issued by the Light of Arkland are followed by all believers, and the priests consider the word of the Light of Arkland to be above even the King of Arkland.

Beneath the Light of Arkland is a community of High Priests. Typically, High Priests are aged Priests of Light who have become both spiritual and business leaders for the order. The High Priests typically control some portion of the assets and business of the order be it in the form of local temples or perhaps just a large flock of followers. Most major cities within the Kingdom of Arkland support a High Priest, and it is the job of that Priest to manage the order within that city.

Below the High Priests are the Priests of Light. These are priests who have undergone training in the academies of the priesthood in Felderelle. Once graduating, Priests typically seek out a High Priest, perhaps the very same High Priests who nominated them for the academy to serve. They become leaders of the order, and direct either flocks, hold sermons, or execute the business of the order. Beneath these priests then are simply volunteers or workers that the order has hired in order to manage their assets. Aside from the priests, Monks also establish themselves within the great monasteries of the priesthood and act as the keepers of those enormous structures.

Adepts are the lowest ranking Priests and are the students who reside in the academies of the priesthood. When someone shows promise as having the abilities to harness Light Magic, typically discovered by a Priest, they can be encouraged to attend the academy and join the priesthood. Once in the academy, the learn the dogma of the faith, learn how to operate within the order, and also begin their magic and martial training.

Some adepts are much more gifted in the martial skills or simply choose to join the ranks of the Paladins. The Paladins are the militant arm of the order. They are seen as the true embodiment of the Warrior and are the protectors of the faith. Like all priests, Paladins are trained in the usage of Light Magic, but while at the academy, instead of turning towards the business side of the order, they continue down the martial path training to become hardened soldiers. Paladins are zealous and loyal without fault. They only serve the Light of Arkland and only thereby answer to any Priest or High Priest under the Light's orders. Paladins act as guardians with the largest contingent of Paladins acting as guards for the monastery palace in King's Crossing. Paladins are also sent to war to aid Lord Commanders in battle by bringing powerful magic and unmatched martial skill to the battlefield. When the order needs muscle, it calls upon its Paladins.

Paladins, by law, do not serve each other and so do not really maintain an organization or command structure. Therefore, Paladins may act as loners, but it is also not uncommon for groups of Paladins, such as the guards of the monastery palace, to form a loose organization which is based around veterans and strong leaders. Many Paladins may aspire to serve one of these smaller organizations.

## Becoming a Priest or Paladin

Individuals within Arkland are identified by Priests as having a natural propensity towards the use of magic. Once identified, a priest may approach the individual and try to convince them to join their ranks. If they accept, the new adept is sent to the academies high in the mountains of Felderelle to complete training at the fortress monastery there. Once there, priests are fully supported by the order, receiving food, meager clothing, and other necessities while they undergo training.

Training typically takes up to 4 years. During the first two years, all students are schooled in the dogma of the faith. They are also taught about the inner workings of the order. Further, their militant training begins as they learn martial skills. Lastly, they also begin their training on how to manifest their magic abilities in the form of Light Magic.

During the last 2 years, those who wish to become Priests of Light continue their magical training but also begin to learn many of the skills they will need to lead a group of followers. They learn how the business of the order operates, how to manage money, how to create localized temples, and how to draw people to their cause. They learn how to give sermons, how to summon zeal in the hearts of people, and they learn how to provide council. Priests learn how to use their magical gifts to summon the intense powers of body strengthening, healing, and other miracle spells that they can use to assist their followers.

Those who wish to become Paladins separate from the work of the order and instead intensely focus on their martial training. They become elite warriors and learn the arts of strategy and tactics. They learn to harness their magic to increase their power on the battlefield in terms of bodily enhancement or simply in smiting the enemy with flame. Once their training is complete, Paladins become frightening soldiers.

## Monks

To care for the monastery palace in King's Crossing and the fortress monastery in Felderelle, the priesthood enlists servants of the light who commit themselves, lifelong, to its ends. These monks inhabit these structures and are the caretakers of the grounds therein. In recent history, Arkland has also seen the Monks as a way to offload repeat criminal offenders, and sometimes the nobility use it to house political prisoners. Effectively, one can commit his life to becoming a Monk in the service of the priesthood, or one can face the sometimes otherwise deadly consequences.

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--Neil (talk) 16:23, 24 October 2016 (AST)