Church
History
The Church was founded before
written history by Imithia, great-great-great-granddaughter
of the Offspring Pasiphae. Last of the sons and daughters
of Sinope and Callisto, Pasiphae had lived many hundreds
of years and was beloved by many of the gentler humans.
To commemorate her life and mourn her passing, Imithia
held a ceremony in some forgotten place called the Rite
of Passing. If such a complex organization as the Church
has a beginning, this could be said to be it. It should
be pointed out, however, that the Church of Imithia consisted
of nothing more than some devout friends gathering to
give thanks to the Gods for a soul as pure and beautiful
as Pasiphae.
In time, the Church grew to
represent the forces of Goodness, Light, and Order and
fought to push back what they viewed as the ever-growing
chaos and evil in an increasingly complicated and modern
world. To this end, the Church built the Chrysalis Basilica
on the isle of Delos, which sits in the middle of the
Zaphar river south of the Ithmia forests and founded
two orders with which to spread their belief system.
The Church also vowed to support the Divine Orders of
the Gods that would favour them and who represent the
forces of order rather than chaos.
The first order, the Priests, were founded to be scholars
and healers. It was they who would go amongst the peasants
to recruit for the Church and build goodwill amongst
the populace of Sapience. The second order, the Paladins,
were to be the enforcement arm of the Church. They would
be on the front-lines in the battle against the chaotic
forces of the land. With the healing abilities of the
Priests to support them, the Paladins became the most
effective fighting force in the land. Their discipline
and cohesion as a fighting unit were and are unparalleled,
though their numbers have always been small.
Soon after this, the Archprelate
Raphael I embarked upon one of the most expensive and
forward-looking ventures in Achaean history. Under his
direction, the Church began construction of a series
of highways crossing the land. Raphael had a number
of reasons for doing this. First was that the Church
needed revenue and by charging tolls on the use of the
highways, and specifically on the bridges they built
across the mighty rivers of Sapience, it could bring
in a steady stream of money. Second, the Church needed
the highways to extend its influence and power more
effectively into the growing cities of Shallam and Ashtan,
the two most powerful and ancient political and economic
entities on the continent.
The citizens of Shallam and
Ashtan were very grateful for these highways, as they
knew that more and more products would flow into the
cities, feeding their lust for new and exotic items.
So, when Raphael I requested permission to build Church
outposts in the cities, the leaders readily agreed.
The Church's budding influence was sealed and Raphael
I went down as the greatest Archprelate of the pre-modern
age.
Today, the Church is not much
changed from the rule of Raphael, over nine hundred
years ago. It is still a force for order but has developed
enemies committed to bringing its influence and power
to an end. One important difference, however, is that
the Church began, about five hundred years ago, to allow
non-humans to be members and there is no distinction
by race made within the Church today.
Although the Church is not officially
committed to any particular God, as various members rise to power within it, the amount of attention
it might give to any single God waxes and wanes with
the attention the members individually
give. Naturally there are some Gods who are utterly
opposed to the Church and who direct their mortal forces
to seek its destruction. The Church is a very wealthy
organization and has been accused of corruption by its
enemies, though as with everything, the source of the
accusation must be taken into account. Though many dislike
the Church, many others consider it one of the greatest
institutions ever formed for the benefit of mortalkind.
The Church leadership eventually
petitioned Sarapis to move the Crysalis Basilica from
Delos to Shallam, and Sarapis consented.
In the years of 287-288 AF,
a large chest was opened by the Occultist Shakti Devi
which sent a massive arrow of fire into the heart of
Shallam, destroying the Basilica and leaving a smouldering
crater in its place. Undaunted, the Priests and Paladins
continued to pilgrimage to the site, keeping the Holy
Codex placed on a pedastal near the entrance of the
crater.
In the years following, the Church
saw the addition of the Goddess Lorielan to its
supporters, and through the collective efforts of the
Lady and Pentharian, God of Righteousness and Light,
a new Basilica was placed in Shallam.
Recently, the Church chose Tarah, Goddess of Compassion as its patron. Lorielan, who is the Goddess of Knowledge, and Miramar, the Goddess of Justice, also aide and advise the Church.
The guild of Paladins has recently become the House of the Guardians of Light, and the guild of Priests has formed the House of the Empyreal Assembly. |
