Religion

The Arcana are influences on one's path to enlightenment, whatever that means for each follower.  They are not cosmic beings, nor are they deities; the Arcana represent stations on the journey from birth to death.  Some of the Arcana influence more directly than others do, and some people may be influenced by more than one of the Arcana at once.  Not all of them get along with each other.  There *is* such a thing as necessary evil, as indicated by The Devil or The Tower.  If a person on Om'Kraan is not a believer, it does not serve as a problem.  No individual is beholden to The Arcana, necessarily, but they do indeed hold sway in this setting nonetheless.  People's choices are their own to make.  Compared to more traditional gods, the Arcana are more ethically forgiving, because good and evil are relative to the path you walk in life.

## The Fool

There is no organized church of The Fool.  However, most christening/baptismal rituals and natal care services will have a priest/priestess of The Fool presiding.  Numerous clergy members of The Fool run various orphanages and homeless shelters with the utmost care and empathy for lost and wayward souls.  Some priests and priestesses of The Fool also serve as fortunetellers, regarded with esteem and prestige in many royal courts.

## The Magician

The Order of The Magician sponsors many formal educational programs for those who donate a tithe, ostensibly funded by nobles for other nobles.  However, a few clergy of The Order of The Magician have opened public libraries under the conviction that the lessons The Magician teaches should be shared to all with no regard to station, caste, or class.

## The High Priestess

   The Order of The High Priestess has numerous clergy members and laypersons dedicated to the study of the mind and the traumas of the heart and spirit.  A great many of them do not seek a life of adventure and instead dedicate themselves to the pursuit, education, and maintenance of mental health.  Even fewer serve in positions of great prestige as therapists.

## The Empress

The Hand of The Empress is a global faction that serves numerous mundane functions from striding with trade caravans to provide safe passage, to ensuring that Nature and Structure keep a respectful distance from each other.  Essentially, rangers the world over regard The Empress with much esteem.

## The Emperor

    If there ever is a coronation or inauguration ceremony in your lifetime, you can safely bet that clergy from the Conclave of The Emperor has overseen the proceedings.  The most recent true coronation was that of Haydn XV the High Emperox (pronounced EM-peh-roh).  The Conclave defends the Emperox and serves as emissaries, serving and administering their commands to The Alliance forces against the Invincible Overlord.

## The Hierophant

    Word of The Hierophant is essentially the title given to members of the collective assembly of senators, aldermen, and judicial council that serve and administer the laws of the lands.  Once a year, the Words of The Hierophant assemble in secrecy and hash over the meaning of the law on the granular level.  After this assembly, the international law is disseminated to the constituent nations of The Empire.  Some nations receive more culturally nuanced and contextualized updates of the law.

## The Lovers

If you seek political information and news, the various brothels and bathhouses under the auspices of The Lovers are available to share the findings of their information network, for a very generous donation.  Much more often than not, however, the Houses of The Lovers are happy to cleanse your body, purge disease, and perform rudimentary revivification services, if they have the resources available.

## The Chariot

Where the Emperor represents the elected sovereign of the land, The Force of The Chariot represents the empire's military might.  It is an extremely prestigious and high honor to count oneself in The Force of The Chariot, and many commoners raise their family name by joining.  It is also said that the fallen paladin called The Invincible Overlord was a high-ranking officer of The Chariot's legions.  In recent years, a power vacuum has left The Force of The Chariot in disarray and unable to answer The Conclave of The Emperor.

## Strength

    Strength is by far one of the most popular of the Arcana, even in the Wildlands.  Many raider clans and druid circles swear upon Strength to guide them in their hunts, trials, and rituals.  Thanks in large part to the Alliance forged centuries ago, many commoners equate Strength to the heart and soul of the Wildlings themselves.

## The Hermit

    The Hermitage is an arcane monastery and library reserve located in a transcendent place outside our world.  As one would expect, mages and martial artists seek the knowledge that has been collected by the monks and abbots of The Hermit.  The Hermitage has access to powerful spells, items, lore, and history.  The Hermitage also challenges one's meaning of mastery over self, and welcomes all seekers of mastery.

## Wheel of Fortune

    Much more often than not, the Riders of The Wheel of Fortune serve the land as couriers, lottery callers, and croupiers, maintaining an oath of neutrality in political affairs.  Yet there is also a group of mercenaries, combat specialists, free lances, and sell-swords who offer their service to the highest bidder (often The Chariot).  They are known in some circles as The Soldiers of Fortune, comically admiring the on-the-nose nature of the moniker.

## Justice

The Scales of Justice offer their holy services to those who seek punishment for far more personal transgressions than what is covered by The Word of The Hierophant.  They accept no coin.  They curry no favor.  They hold the line.  They draw the line.  They are the line.  Woe betides those who draw their ire.  They can be anything from investigators, to enforcers, to equalizers.  You do not join their ranks; they recruit you as a choice offered to change your ways.  Their testimony at court hearings is rarely ever doubted, even without the compulsion of Zone of Truth.  They are as much awed and feared as they are respected.

## The Hanged Man

There is no organized church of The Hanged Man.  However, there are various wandering monks and clerics of The Hanged Man who provide confessional services and absolution to those who have sinned against The Hierophant, as well as those who seek a clean karmic slate in general.  Their counsel and collaboration is often sought by followers of Justice, and Judgment, for execution rites.  They are also known for their vow of poverty.

## Death

The many Temples of Death provide bereavement relief and grief counseling as well as funeral services throughout the world.  As part of their holy charge, they also regulate the strictures levied on necromancy.  For a very generous donation, and likely a writ of authorization, they have access to Resurrection and Reincarnation ritual services.  Furthermore, there is an annual 7-day festival where clerics and monks of Death go out to celebrate the memory of those who have departed.

## Temperance

    The Church of Temperance provides arbitration, mediation, and advisory services in numerous civic fields.  They tend to focus more on commoner grievances, but also extend their purview to affairs of the nobility and civic law enforcement.  They also are the experts in preparing adventurers for the temptations and allures that define and pervade some of the other planes.  Because temperance can also provide a semblance of structure for life, the Forge Domain is pursued dutifully by Clerics of Temperance.

## The Devil

The Vaults of The Devil are actually temples that provide numerous sensory (and even carnal) indulgences to open up avenues of blackmail, racketeering, and profiteering.  Followers of The Devil usually tend to be people who were born of secret trysts, forbidden rendezvous, and are quick to guilt others of their indiscretions.  They *are* organized crime in the strictest definition, although they follow a version of a code of honor.  It is a moral imperative for followers of Order of The Devil to go out and proselytize the virtues and values of indulgence.  Should one be able to resist the temptation (or intimidation tactics), one may actually profit from their treachery.

## The Tower

The Cabal of The Tower is, in fact, a terrorist organization feared the world over.  Their methods are fluid and their targets share little in common.  They will destroy any structure they want, whenever they want, for reasons that they will not explain.  There is also a popular expression, “in the shadow of The Tower,” which means to be afflicted and beset by misfortune.

## The Star

The Order of The Star is one of the few institutions dedicated to healing of internal and external maladies of all sorts.  Where the Star truly shines is in rescue and relief efforts, and is the sole source of not only True Resurrection spell and rituals, but also the Wish spell.  Outside of their preeminent clerics and paladins, The Order of The Star also welcomes practitioners of the arcane arts to study ways of restoring hope to the world at large.

## The Moon

The Phases of the Moon is a group of rangers, blood hunters, and druids from multiple disciplines that has pledged to expose and purge feral blights of a monstrous nature.  These zealots are the slayers and monster hunters!  Likewise, they also have a network of thorough investigators who root out the influences of the infernal and abyssal.  Furthermore, there are rumors of clerics who utilize the Domain of Blood to fight fire with fire.

## The Sun

The Holy Order of The Sun includes the archetypal paladins and clerics that carry themselves with the bluster and haughtiness that is a brand signature.  While passionate and brave, much of their crusades against the forces that betray the Path of Enlightenment tend to leave most observers alienated and nonplussed, leading to speculation that The Holy Order of The Sun may in fact be a bit naïve and disconnected from their obligation to lead by example.  The Order of the Sunset, a splinter group of ascetic monks, actually do far more constructive work as spirit guides, gurus of various disciplines and trades, and as tacticians.

## Judgment

The Order of Judgment is extremely slow to move, slower to anger, and unstoppable by reputation.  They function as inquisitors, tax collectors, and executioners of capital punishment by the authority entrusted to them from The Alliance.  There is also a cadre of assassins that serve as the information network for The Order of Judgment.  While the Scales of Justice may be swift and severe in their method at times, The Order of Judgment is final, once invoked.

## The World

    There is no organized church dedicated to The World.  In fact, many scholars posit that The World functions as a power source attuned more for arcane spellcasters than divine spellcasters.  In fact, The Wonders of The World are the benign oddballs in The Alliance.  They follow no obligations to act.  They have no mundane compulsions, as they are people who have achieved Enlightenment.  If one of The Wonders of The World chooses to intervene in day-to-day affairs, it is their choice to act compassionately and sympathetically.  The other factions of The Arcana see them as an anomaly.