CHANTRY (Chantric or Chanter)
Plenoty
Children of Mercy
Doctrine of Edifice
Children of Mercy
Doctrine of Edifice
One of the most dominant religious organizations on Askeron. It is based on the Chant of Light, a series of teachings written by a prophet of The Maker, Andraste.
The Chantry's goal is to spread the Chant of Light to all four corners of the world and to all beings. The view of the Chantry on non-humans is that they need saving—they have turned even further from the Maker's grace than humanity has—a view that has lead to much of humanity to look down on them. Once all peoples have accepted the Chant and practice its teachings, the Maker will return and restore the world to its former glory. As such, it can be described as deistic in that the Maker abandoned the world, and he will not heed prayer or perform any other function until his favor is regained.
BELIEFS & PRINCIPLES
The Chantry's faith is rooted in four core principles:
The sun represents the fundamental goal of the Chantry: if all lands under the sun raise their voices in the Chant, then the Maker's eye will turn back to his Children.
Fire is a symbol of purity in the Chantry, following the example of Andraste, 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 Cathedral in Brettonburg, Agathora. Chantry 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.
EXALTED MARCHES
With so much influence over the people, the Chantry can exert considerable political pressure on the ruling classes in many areas of concern. In extraordinary times, believers may be moved to declare an Exalted March - a religious crusade that mobilizes armies of thousands to destroy the heretical enemies of the Maker. Exalted Marches have been the cause for hundreds of wars between Kingdoms. According to the Chantry, the faithful who give their lives to the Exalted March earn a special place at the side of the Maker as the "Exalted".
HIERARCHY
The actual priesthood of the Chantry is made up entirely of human women, as official Chantry doctrine stating that other beings are further from the Maker than humanity, and the Chant holding that men are more vulnerable to passion. Women also embody Andraste, mirroring themselves as a bride to The Maker. At the head of the Chantry is the Divine, who leads from her seat in the Grant Cathedreal of Brettonburg. Below her are the left and right hands of the divine. These are her personal agents and act as her voice if she is not otherwise present. Below them are the Grand Clerics who are the Chantry's highest authority in a country or a region. After a Divine dies, Grand Clerics are required to travel to Brettonburg for the Grand Consensus, a meeting where Chantry leadership unanimously elect the new leader of the Chantry. 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 Chantry, 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 only rank that men are allowed to have. The initiates take vows and receive an academic education.
Men are responsible for keeping the Chanty fed and in good repair, and also sees to the physical well-being of the faithful. Furthermore, the male role of High Father is one that works directly alongside the Divine and is in many ways her administrator and public gatekeeper. In this way, the Chantry's male acolytes allow their female counterparts to guide the souls while seeing to it that small but vital services are rendered to their material lives.
PRACTICES
The funeral rites of the Chantry involve cremation. As Andraste's body was burned, and her spirit ascended to stand by the Throne of the Maker, 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.
Chantry Sisters take turns singing in the choir tower so that the Chant of Light is heard at all times in all the corners of the world.
Many books are banned by the Chantry as well, usually those dealing with magic and other religions. Erotic literature is frequently banned as well.
CHANTRIES
Members of the Chantry often worship in buildings called chantries. Chantries deliver practical services to the community, caring for the sick and collecting alms for the poor. The Chantry provides hospitality to travelers and a public network of communications. Should an illiterate commoner need to send word to another town, the Chantry's educated priests write and send the letter for him.
CHILDREN OF SONG
A separate and growing dominant religion which broke away form the Chantry - fundamentally differing interpretations of Andraste and her teachings, especially regarding magic. The Children of Song, whose clergy is entirely male, teaches that Andraste was actually a witch of great power and that "magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him" merely meaning that mages must use it responsibly.
The Chantry's goal is to spread the Chant of Light to all four corners of the world and to all beings. The view of the Chantry on non-humans is that they need saving—they have turned even further from the Maker's grace than humanity has—a view that has lead to much of humanity to look down on them. Once all peoples have accepted the Chant and practice its teachings, the Maker will return and restore the world to its former glory. As such, it can be described as deistic in that the Maker abandoned the world, and he will not heed prayer or perform any other function until his favor is regained.
BELIEFS & PRINCIPLES
The Chantry's faith is rooted in four core principles:
- Magic is a corrupting influence in the world.
- Humankind's sin of pride brings destitution to the world and creates disease, starvation, and suffering - terrible embodiment of that sin.
- Andraste was the bride of the Maker, a prophet and martyr whose ultimate sacrifice must be remembered and honored.
- Humankind has sinned and must seek penance to earn the Maker's forgiveness. When all people unite to praise the Maker, he will return to the world and make it a paradise.
The sun represents the fundamental goal of the Chantry: if all lands under the sun raise their voices in the Chant, then the Maker's eye will turn back to his Children.
Fire is a symbol of purity in the Chantry, following the example of Andraste, 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 Cathedral in Brettonburg, Agathora. Chantry 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.
EXALTED MARCHES
With so much influence over the people, the Chantry can exert considerable political pressure on the ruling classes in many areas of concern. In extraordinary times, believers may be moved to declare an Exalted March - a religious crusade that mobilizes armies of thousands to destroy the heretical enemies of the Maker. Exalted Marches have been the cause for hundreds of wars between Kingdoms. According to the Chantry, the faithful who give their lives to the Exalted March earn a special place at the side of the Maker as the "Exalted".
HIERARCHY
The actual priesthood of the Chantry is made up entirely of human women, as official Chantry doctrine stating that other beings are further from the Maker than humanity, and the Chant holding that men are more vulnerable to passion. Women also embody Andraste, mirroring themselves as a bride to The Maker. At the head of the Chantry is the Divine, who leads from her seat in the Grant Cathedreal of Brettonburg. Below her are the left and right hands of the divine. These are her personal agents and act as her voice if she is not otherwise present. Below them are the Grand Clerics who are the Chantry's highest authority in a country or a region. After a Divine dies, Grand Clerics are required to travel to Brettonburg for the Grand Consensus, a meeting where Chantry leadership unanimously elect the new leader of the Chantry. 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 Chantry, 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 only rank that men are allowed to have. The initiates take vows and receive an academic education.
Men are responsible for keeping the Chanty fed and in good repair, and also sees to the physical well-being of the faithful. Furthermore, the male role of High Father is one that works directly alongside the Divine and is in many ways her administrator and public gatekeeper. In this way, the Chantry's male acolytes allow their female counterparts to guide the souls while seeing to it that small but vital services are rendered to their material lives.
PRACTICES
The funeral rites of the Chantry involve cremation. As Andraste's body was burned, and her spirit ascended to stand by the Throne of the Maker, 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.
Chantry Sisters take turns singing in the choir tower so that the Chant of Light is heard at all times in all the corners of the world.
Many books are banned by the Chantry as well, usually those dealing with magic and other religions. Erotic literature is frequently banned as well.
CHANTRIES
Members of the Chantry often worship in buildings called chantries. Chantries deliver practical services to the community, caring for the sick and collecting alms for the poor. The Chantry provides hospitality to travelers and a public network of communications. Should an illiterate commoner need to send word to another town, the Chantry's educated priests write and send the letter for him.
CHILDREN OF SONG
A separate and growing dominant religion which broke away form the Chantry - fundamentally differing interpretations of Andraste and her teachings, especially regarding magic. The Children of Song, whose clergy is entirely male, teaches that Andraste was actually a witch of great power and that "magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him" merely meaning that mages must use it responsibly.
THE STONE (Sharpers)
The dwarves believe that they are the Children of The Stone, born of the earth itself. They refer to the Stone as "she". Being practical, the dwarves venerate her, but do not worship her as a god. The Stone is believed to be a living and a shifting entity with a will that surrounds and guides the dwarves. She supports them, shelters them, and offers them the most priceless gifts of the earth, such as ore and gems.
Dwarves experience a unique and all-encompassing relationship to their progenitor, the Stone. They are born of it, they serve it in their deeds, and they feel its impact upon their lives in many ways. Some of them claim that they hear the Stone sing.
Dwarves believe living underground, surrounded by Stone, provides them with prosperity and a connection to The Stone that seals their lives and memories in the world forever.
The dwarves who leave the Stone's embrace to live on the surface are so reviled by their brethren that they are declared forgotten, stripped of caste/status and all memory - their histories erased. For this reason, many devote dwarves remain underground their entire lives.
The unworthy such as the casteless or surface dwarves are said to be outright rejected by the Stone so that their failings may not weaken her. Even during their lifetime, the surface dwarves lose their connection to the Stone - until their death, where their souls are rejected by the Stone are believed to be unable to rest, and after their death they become rock wraiths or other restless creatures wandering remote caverns.
Dwarves believe that the Stone is not pure, for she bears a corruption as old as balance. For the dwarves to prosper the gangue — the waste and unstable rock — must be cut away from the raw Stone. Each dwarf must carve the worst of themselves away, but bears a unique responsibility to protect the Stone herself from the darkness that afflicts her. The gangue can also be translated from Old Dwarven as "impure spirit-of-the-stone" and manifests as lost souls bound into the rock.
Dwarves experience a unique and all-encompassing relationship to their progenitor, the Stone. They are born of it, they serve it in their deeds, and they feel its impact upon their lives in many ways. Some of them claim that they hear the Stone sing.
Dwarves believe living underground, surrounded by Stone, provides them with prosperity and a connection to The Stone that seals their lives and memories in the world forever.
The dwarves who leave the Stone's embrace to live on the surface are so reviled by their brethren that they are declared forgotten, stripped of caste/status and all memory - their histories erased. For this reason, many devote dwarves remain underground their entire lives.
The unworthy such as the casteless or surface dwarves are said to be outright rejected by the Stone so that their failings may not weaken her. Even during their lifetime, the surface dwarves lose their connection to the Stone - until their death, where their souls are rejected by the Stone are believed to be unable to rest, and after their death they become rock wraiths or other restless creatures wandering remote caverns.
Dwarves believe that the Stone is not pure, for she bears a corruption as old as balance. For the dwarves to prosper the gangue — the waste and unstable rock — must be cut away from the raw Stone. Each dwarf must carve the worst of themselves away, but bears a unique responsibility to protect the Stone herself from the darkness that afflicts her. The gangue can also be translated from Old Dwarven as "impure spirit-of-the-stone" and manifests as lost souls bound into the rock.
LUMINOSITY (Light Seekers)
Any action at all is a sin, and people should be content in witnessing the rot of the universe while taking no part in it. Even with other people dismissing it as a lazy point of view, believers object to this line of dogmatic thinking. They believe there are an unknown amount of multiple Makers, called the Enkindlers, god-like beings which shrine a light for which to observe a dark and sinful world.
Once a year, they practice a holiday called The Spark which lasts a full thirteen days and revolves around celebrating the gift of speech, which they attribute to having come from the Enkindlers to help pass the time during the rot. It is a mixture of contemplation and competition, with the faithful engaged in stylized debates, poetry duels, and other traditional art forms.
Once a year, they practice a holiday called The Spark which lasts a full thirteen days and revolves around celebrating the gift of speech, which they attribute to having come from the Enkindlers to help pass the time during the rot. It is a mixture of contemplation and competition, with the faithful engaged in stylized debates, poetry duels, and other traditional art forms.
The Divine Order
The Divine Order is a belief system that views dragons as the embodiment of The Maker's will. The Divine Order does not view dragons as The Maker himself or as deities in their own right, but rather as tools used by The Maker to express His intentions. Each type of dragon represents an immoral act, known as The Ten Vices:
1. Greed: The Tethy
How these representations are viewed vary within the religion. Many believe The Maker created the dragons to consume all acts of these vices, to cleanse the world of its wickedness. When a dragon attacks a city or individual, it is doing so to either scare out of them their immoral behavior or to remove it from Askeron completely. Most believe dragons are still free thinking organisms, thus not controlled by The Maker, but that their purpose is to deliver His order. This creates sway, allowing for the idea of dragons to be wild creatures capable of causing harm without specific, divine intention guiding all of their behaviors.
There are some, likely extremists, who believe The Maker does control each and every dragon. When dragons fight one another it is viewed as The Maker's inner conflict. When dragons attack humanoids, it is The Maker directly deciding on this decision. These extremists tend to believe that The Maker is an angry god, filled with disappointment in his creations and they strive to satisfy Him by proving they are capable of being pure: free from the ten vices. Some, rather delusional believers, will sacrifice themselves to a dragon as an apologetic gift to The Maker.
The Divine Order is a belief system that views dragons as the embodiment of The Maker's will. The Divine Order does not view dragons as The Maker himself or as deities in their own right, but rather as tools used by The Maker to express His intentions. Each type of dragon represents an immoral act, known as The Ten Vices:
1. Greed: The Tethy
- A selfish desire for wealth, power and/or food; demanding a person's total attention and love
- Overindulgence or dependency on an addictive substance
- Feeling or expressing violent, uncontrollable anger
- Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities; having excessive, erotic interest in oneself
- Desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable attribute belonging to someone else
- Guilty of being deceitful and untrustworthy; falsely damaging a person's reputation with slander; keeping secrets
- Vulgarity, indecency, pornographic and other offensive or damaging behaviors
- Acting without thought or care; lack of attention, becoming too eager
- Unlawful killing; chaotic activity; mental corruption in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality
- Avoidance; Keeping away from all others; detachment and an unloving or unwelcoming attitude
How these representations are viewed vary within the religion. Many believe The Maker created the dragons to consume all acts of these vices, to cleanse the world of its wickedness. When a dragon attacks a city or individual, it is doing so to either scare out of them their immoral behavior or to remove it from Askeron completely. Most believe dragons are still free thinking organisms, thus not controlled by The Maker, but that their purpose is to deliver His order. This creates sway, allowing for the idea of dragons to be wild creatures capable of causing harm without specific, divine intention guiding all of their behaviors.
There are some, likely extremists, who believe The Maker does control each and every dragon. When dragons fight one another it is viewed as The Maker's inner conflict. When dragons attack humanoids, it is The Maker directly deciding on this decision. These extremists tend to believe that The Maker is an angry god, filled with disappointment in his creations and they strive to satisfy Him by proving they are capable of being pure: free from the ten vices. Some, rather delusional believers, will sacrifice themselves to a dragon as an apologetic gift to The Maker.
Limbo
Spirit
Demiticus
Avernos
Argenelle
Hell
Heaven
Souls
Ghost
Spirit
Demiticus
Avernos
Argenelle
Hell
Heaven
Souls
Ghost