Hestan

Hestan is the monotheistic religion of Amaroth and the surrounding area. Their god Hesta speaks through their monarch The Smiling Prince, and pushes for civilisation, trade, and self-improvement.

## Religious Origins

The Hestan religion came to the Selva region over 600 years ago with the arrival of the Roth people from across the Cadogan Mountains. Not much is known of the origins of the religion, although non-human sources hint that Hesta may once have been part of a larger pantheon of humanoid gods. The priests of the Roth deny this, although there are a suspicious lack of any records going back much further than The Founding and some gaps in the history seem almost manufactured.

The known history of Hestan generally starts with The Founding, a book composed of around 50 years worth of accounts from different clerics describing the initial construction of Amaroth. A mixture of personal experiences and pronouncements from Hesta himself, the book is treated as part history and part spiritual guidance.

## Modern Practice

By law, Hestan is the only religion allowed to be practiced within the walls of Amaroth. It is a part of daily life for the inhabitants there and it's hard to walk further than 100 metres without running into a small statue or shrine. Visitors are often rudely awoken at dawn by the chorus of the Asities singing songs of praise from their rooftop flower gardens. Churches are a common sight across town, manned by Hestan priests in stiff cloth armour imitating the armour of their god. Prayer at least once per day is expected, for which petitioners are rewarded with one *brick*, the religious currency of the town which can be exchanged for food or minor blessings.

While The Founding is still read as a book of history and instruction, it has largely been replaced for current day practitioners by The Wall and the Gate. The Wall and the Gate is a series of straight forward tenets and moral stories published and widely distributed in small pamphlets by the Smiling Prince some 100 years ago. It cements key ideals such as praying daily to power the building of the wall, encouraging exchanges with all other races, and creating a standing army to patrol lands pledged to Hesta and increase the spread of civilisation.

The Wall and Gate also formalised several old traditions into distinct religious holidays. The Pledge is a period of 30 days in the middle of the dry season. On the first day of the Pledge there are a serious of religious gatherings in the churches across the city, and adherents pledge that over the next 30 days they will work to achieve a specific goal. This can be something directly related to Hesta, such as praying 3 times per day or volunteering to patrol the walls every night, but more often a Pledge is a personal goal. Examples include learning the basics of a new language or trade, perfecting the craft of one specific type of item or travelling somewhere the individual has always wanted to go. The emphasis is on setting an achievable goal that when completed will improve the life of the individual and therefore the city around them. At the end of Pledge there is Fulfilment, a widespread celebration throughout the city as families and congregations are encouraged to gather and tell each other the stories of what they achieved over the Pledge period. While it's expected that most people will have fulfilled their pledge, there is no penalty for not doing so and a large part of the holiday is celebrating the success of others, so everyone can enjoy a happy Fulfilment Day.

A significant portion of The Wall and Gate is devoted to the concept of 'The Gate' - the idea that although there are walls to protect the city, there must also be gates to let in trade and knowledge from others. This is epitomised in the Welcome Festival, a three day celebration during the start of the wet season. During the festival any visitor is allowed to set up a stall and ply their trade without paying the usual taxes to the city. Residents are also encouraged to open up their homes to visitors and treat them like family. If a visitor doesn't get invited to stay with a friendly resident, all of the churches are open 24 hours with beds and free food for all. The atmosphere for the three days is that of vibrant celebration as the city swells to twice its usual size and there are so many parties spilling into the streets that they merge into one city-wide revel. The Welcome Festival is also one of the few times the Smiling Prince is seen to leave his cathedral, appearing at the close of the third day to bless everyone present and grant them luck in the year ahead.

## Religious Structure

There are plenty of written records of Hestan clerics, especially in the times before the founding of the city. Clerics worked with paladins and priests as an informal network of teachers and protectors back when the Roth people were nomadic. However, in the modern day there are no known clerics of Hesta other than The Smiling Prince. Whereas the clerics of the past were immensely practical and seemed to regard their magic as another way to serve and protect their people, The Smiling Prince rarely publicly uses his magic. Instead he delivers 'miracles' (magical boons) in exchange for large amounts of religious currency, but only within the guarded halls of his cathedral. Petitioners can queue for hours or even days to see the Prince, and there are no guarantees that he will accept their offering and grant their plea.

While the Hestan religion has no clerics, it does have a large and complicated structure of paladins and priests to enforce religious order and teach inhabitants of Amaroth. Priests make up most of the civilian side of the church. They run ceremonies, maintain the church buildings and distribute the religious currency. Priests are largely Asities and humans who wear cloth armour and a decorated tabard. They have their own hierarchy for civilian matters which goes up to the High Priest, who deals with any important issues of doctrine that do not need to be escalated to The Smiling Prince.

Paladins make up the martial side of the church. They are typically recruited from the most promising trainees of the Amaroth army, and they function as an officer class in both the town guard and the army itself. It's rumoured that to be a fully-fledged paladin, initiates must pass some sort of test with the Prince himself - although it's not clear what happens to those who do not pass the test. Paladins usually wear white armour with gold chasing, as well as a decorated tabard. Paladins have ranks within the army and the town guard, but they also have their own internal hierarchy governed by their Knight Commander who deals with internal disputes. Both the Knight Commander and the High Priest ultimately answer to The Smiling Prince, who enjoys a unique position at the very top of every power structure in the city.