Church of the Iron Coffin
The Church of the Iron Coffin is the largest and most dominant religious institution in the galaxy, a faith that has fused war, technology, and divine purpose into an unshakable doctrine of steel and fire. The Church teaches that mechs are humanity’s saviors, the ultimate protectors against the now-extinct alien threat that once sought to annihilate mankind. Though that enemy has long since been vanquished, the faith endures, preaching that humanity must continue the eternal war—not against a specific enemy, but in honor of the machines that once safeguarded civilization.
Saint Tiberius, the Unyielding Bastion – Held a critical world for 400 days alone, his mech reduced to a walking ruin before finally succumbing to an enemy duel.
Saint Rhea, the Martyr of Fire – Charged into an impossible battle knowing she would perish, igniting a solar flare that obliterated an enemy armada while allowing allied mechs to escape.
Saint Vorn, the Twice-Forged – His mech was destroyed in honorable combat, but his salvaged frame was reforged into a new war machine that continued to fight for another century.
These saints are prayed to before battle, their names invoked in the hope that a pilot’s mech will earn a place among them in the Great March of Steel—the Church’s vision of the afterlife, where mechs stride forever across a celestial battlefield. Many pilots will go so far as to etch the stories of these heroes into the hulls of their mechs, or simply just engrave the name of the saint somewhere in ornate text.
“I swear to fight with honor, and to grant my foe the sacred death of war.”
“If I fall, may my machine be reforged, its spirit carried into battle anew.”
“If I triumph, may my name be spoken among the Saints of Iron.”
“And if I am destroyed by dishonor, let my wrath be carried forth by the Church, until my vengeance is made steel once more.” With these words, they march to war—not merely as soldiers, but as martyrs of the machine, forever bound to the faith of steel and fire.
Doctrine & Beliefs
The Church holds several absolute truths. Mechs are sacred vessels, the divine avatars of war that carried humanity through its darkest hours. To pilot a mech in battle is to walk the path of righteousness. Every engagement is a holy sacrament, a test of both man and machine. A mech destroyed in combat against another mech is an honor, akin to a knight falling in a noble duel. Such machines are given ceremonial rites, their remains either sanctified in vast ossuaries or reforged into new machines to carry on their legacy. A mech destroyed by any other means—be it sabotage, artillery, or orbital bombardment—is an unforgivable heresy. To deny a machine its rightful end in combat is to desecrate its holy purpose. Those who commit such acts are declared Blasphemers of Steel and become the targets of the Church’s righteous vengeance. Mech duels settle all disputes—within the Church’s sphere of influence, war itself is seen as a sacred act. Political or economic disagreements, territorial disputes, and even matters of faith are decided through ritualized mech combat.The Mech Saints & Their Legends
The Church reveres Mech Saints, legendary pilots whose deeds in battle have transcended history and become sacred scripture. Their machines are often enshrined in great cathedrals, immortalized in towering stained glass depictions and massive statues carved from the wreckage of their fallen machines. Among the most famous saints are (from left to right in the below picture):Saint Tiberius, the Unyielding Bastion – Held a critical world for 400 days alone, his mech reduced to a walking ruin before finally succumbing to an enemy duel.
Saint Rhea, the Martyr of Fire – Charged into an impossible battle knowing she would perish, igniting a solar flare that obliterated an enemy armada while allowing allied mechs to escape.
Saint Vorn, the Twice-Forged – His mech was destroyed in honorable combat, but his salvaged frame was reforged into a new war machine that continued to fight for another century.
The Gothic Cathedrals of Steel
Where the Church is accepted, it erects colossal cathedrals—monuments of blackened steel and stone, adorned with towering spires, flying buttresses, and vast stained-glass windows depicting the most legendary mech duels of the era. These sanctuaries of war are equal parts temples, fortresses, and places of worship. Inside, great halls echo with the prayers of warriors and mechanized choirs chant sacred battle hymns. Beneath the cathedrals lie armored crypts where the remains of fallen mechs and their pilots are enshrined, preserved as relics of past holy battles. Every cathedral also serves as a training ground, where young Church pilots undergo both spiritual and combat instruction. Here, they learn not just how to fight, but how to revere their machines, treating every maintenance cycle as a sacred ritual.The Warmechs of the Faith
The Church does not merely preach war—it wages it. Across its hidden foundries and consecrated forges, the Church produces its own fleet of mechs, distinct in both form and purpose from those of secular factions. These divine war machines are among the most feared in existence, their very presence on the battlefield a herald of holy reckoning. Church mechs are unlike any other. Their chassis are built in the likeness of cathedrals, towering structures of baroque steel, adorned with ornate detailing, flying buttresses, and reinforced armor shaped like great vaulted arches. They are covered in stained glass plating, through which the inner sanctum of the mech glows like divine fire, and their weapons are inscribed with sacred texts. Among their most terrifying features are the myriad candles and braziers affixed to their carapaces—some ceremonial, others kept burning with the last breath of heretics executed in the Church’s name. These machines stride across the battlefield like walking cathedrals, their thundering cannons the tolling bells of holy war. The highest-ranking clergy, known as the Archriders, command the mightiest of these machines, their war hymns broadcasting through huge speakers with enough volume to rise above the din of battle and rupture unprotected eardrums as they charge into battle.Enemies of the Faith
Despite its vast influence, not all embrace The Church of the Iron Coffin. Certain factions reject the absolute supremacy of mechs, favoring tanks, infantry, or orbital firepower. These groups are seen as heretics, their reliance on non-mech warfare viewed as sacrilege. While the Church does not enforce its doctrine through open conquest, it does not forgive blasphemy. If a mech is destroyed by artillery, orbital bombardment, or sabotage, the Church will respond with violence—launching Holy Censures against the offenders, dispatching elite mech warbands to punish those who deny a machine its rightful end. Even the most powerful factions fear angering the Church, for though its true numbers remain unknown, it is widely believed that its hidden foundries produce more powerful mechs than any empire, corporation, or warlord in the galaxy.Final Oath of the Iron Pilgrim
Before battle, every faithful pilot recites the Final Oath, a sacred prayer sworn before the machine: “I kneel before the Throne of Steel.”“I swear to fight with honor, and to grant my foe the sacred death of war.”
“If I fall, may my machine be reforged, its spirit carried into battle anew.”
“If I triumph, may my name be spoken among the Saints of Iron.”
“And if I am destroyed by dishonor, let my wrath be carried forth by the Church, until my vengeance is made steel once more.” With these words, they march to war—not merely as soldiers, but as martyrs of the machine, forever bound to the faith of steel and fire.
“Steel is our salvation. The Mech is our martyr. In battle, we are made whole.”
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Permeated Organizations
Divines
Organization Vehicles
Notable Members
• “A pilot may die, but a machine’s purpose is eternal.” • “A mech’s destruction is a funeral, not a tragedy.” • “Steel does not lie, nor does it betray.” • “Better to die in a duel than rust in peace.” • “There is no heaven, only the Great March of Steel.” The Church of the Iron Coffin is not just a religion—it is a force of unrelenting, unshakable conviction. It has no gods, only the machine, and in its eyes, there is no greater truth. To pilot is to worship. To duel is to pray. To fall in combat is to ascend.
Rival Religions With Some Shared Beliefs
Though the Church views the Caliphate as unclean heretics, the two powers share core beliefs in mech worship, sacrificial warfare, and divine authority through steel. Disagreements center on pilgrimage rights, mech duel protocols, and the Church’s rejection of slave warfare. Temporary alliances occur during Holy Concords, particularly when punishing shared enemies or purging AI remnants. The notable exceptions to this are The War of the Iron Wills and other clashes between the two religious factions.
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