Faith of the Burning Crown
Zealous Followers Of Cir Who Distrust The Arcane.
". . . It was a quaint little town, and the folk there were nice enough. They hired us to clear out a bandit camp to the south so they could resume trade along the Bloodgold. Simple enough job. We found them easy enough, camping less than a mile from the village's only road. So we set up an ambush and cleaned 'em up quick and simple. Seemed a bit too easy, so we stayed the night to make sure. Good thing too, 'cause that night the bandits attacked.The followers of the Burning Crown believe that Cir is the living incarnation of the sun itself, come down to lead them to glory. He is the bitter enemy of the false god Leotheric the Fool whom he defeated in the founding of what is now the Sovereign Domain of Cireth. Since founding the empire he has left most of the governance to the heads of the branches of his church, whose descendants are the current dukes and duchesses. Because of the nationalistic nature of Cir's leadership, the Faith of the Burning Crown tends not to extend beyond the borders of the Sovereign Domain. Borders that have continued to expand since the empire's founding nearly 4000 years ago.We fought them for most of the night, it's a lot harder to kill a man the second time. Still, with a little strategy we were able to turn the fight around. Again, nothing we weren't used to. And then, just as the sun crested the horizon we heard it. I can still hear it, as I write this. It chills me to the bone. Some poor, poor fool had called the Lawbringers.I ran. I ain't ashamed to admit it. Exchanged looks with our thief, nodded, and ran. We saw the fires that night, and the smoke for three days. . ."
Ceremonies
The Basking
Now, Cir is rarely seen by his subjects, only appearing in person on the balcony of his massive temple in Melavik, Cirethean Archdutchy to make proclamations. His subjects carry on with administrative duties and with winning glory for Cir through battle with his enemies1. For anyone wishing to travel through Cireth, the soldiers winning glory on the Cirethian borders are not the only force to be wary of. Cir's will is enforced rather directly within the Sovereign Domain by the Lawbringers. They are secretive organization of warrior-monks who travel to places where black magic2 is being practiced3 and obliterate all traces of it.4History
"... So it was that Leotheric the Fool in the fullness of night was struck down by Cir, and Cir proclaimed, "Leotheric, you fool! Look what your betrayal has wrought!" and the sun rose in the sky with a flash. Full of horror Leotheric tried to speak, but so great was his loss that not a word left his mouth, and in full sight of both armies Leotheric the Fool and all his generals died into dust. With his enemy slain and defeated, Cir stood in silence, mourning the fool that had once been his friend. And then he turned to his armies and declared, "Let the Foolishness of Leotheric end here! No more shall my subjects practice in the pursuits of necromancy, darkness, or illusion. Let any who follow in these Foolish footsteps be burned to dust, just as Leotheric himself was." Thus, with this decree Cir founded the city of Melavik, and entered the Golden Tower, founding the Sovereign Domain of Cireth."
Priesthood
The Sun
Cir himselfArchbeacon
Cir's 9 most loyal followers, the first Lawbringers, and their descendants.Beacon
Each Beacon is hand appointed by the respective Archbeacon to preside over a city and its surrounding area.Flare
Flares are assigned by Beacons to preside over a specific temple.Lantern
Primarily functioning as teachers, the Lanterns train Candles and educate the populace.Candle
Lanterns in training.1 Official enemies of the Burning Crown include: the strange creatures of Chedonc and Smelyevets, Land of Oddity, the monsters of the Dead Lands, and the so-called Barbarian tribes of North-Eastern Lelalen, Cirethian Dutchy5, and any denizen of Vebedevia, Land of the Free Peoples foolish enough to cross the Watch Line with an army. 2 "Black Magic" in Cireth is a loosely defined term that encompasses any of a number of schools or disciplines of magical practices, depending on your exact location in Cireth. The most common practices to be marked as "Black Magic" are necromancy and illusion, for their association with Leotheric, but a practitioner of any magic would be well advised to keep up to date on local laws while in Cireth. 3 Whether whatever locally constitutes black magic is truly being practiced is rarely of any consequence when the Lawbringers are involved. In truth, many a town or even city has been razed on little more than a reported suspicion. 4 Truly, this point cannot be overstated. For examples, see A Conscientious Traveller's Guide's article on the city of Blokken. 5 For those outside Cireth, or those who wish to attempt diplomacy with these people, this people's true name, United Indigenous Free Peoples of Kerthrali will prove to be more useful.
