The Church of the Silver Flame
Members of the Church of the Silver Flame are known as the "Purified". Unlike many other faiths, the doctrine of the silver flame is not about believing in metaphysical properties of the world - the flame physically exists in Flamekeep. Rather, the doctrine of the church is a command to action, to fight the tide of supernatural evil that plagues Khorvaire and beyond. While the average farmhand does not go out and hunt down zombies, they are capable of helping the needy and otherwise being virtuous - refusing to give darkness and temptation a handhold on their soul.
The Church of the Silver Flame is divided into three types of organizations - Ministerial societies, Templar orders, and Friar fellowships. Each type serves a unique aspect of the Church's central mission, to protect the people of Khorvaire. Above all others is the Council of Cardinals, and within the Council is the Diet of Cardinals, the thirteen-member governing body of Thrane that rules in conjunction with the Keeper of the Flame.
Mythology & Lore
Foundations of the Faith
The Silver Flame was forged in the Age of Demons, and heroes of many cultures have wielded its power over the ages. The following principles form the common foundation of the Flame, regardless of whether you’re a Ghaash’kala orc or a templar of Thrane—though extremist sects pick and choose which tenets to follow or discard. When dealing with followers of the Silver Flame, keep these in mind.A Power, Not A God
The Silver Flame is a force created during the Age of Demons to bind the overlords. It has a concrete purpose: it is the cage that keeps apocalyptic evil at bay. The Sovereigns and Six are deities, believed to influence every facet of daily life. The Silver Flame is different. It’s not seen as an anthropomorphic entity; rather, followers recognize it as a pure force of celestial energy. It doesn’t influence the world on its own, and can only empower champions who will use that gift to protect the innocent. The Flame itself doesn’t speak to people; instead, it is the Voice of the Flame that guides the faithful. Ultimately, the Silver Flame is a resource; if you seek to protect the innocent from supernatural evil, you may be able to draw on the power of the Flame to aid you in your fight.Eternal Evil
The Silver Flame was kindled to bind the fiendish overlords, immortal spirits that cannot be destroyed. The overlords are the embodiments of hatred, fear, greed, cruelty—and, like the overlords themselves, these things can never be permanently destroyed, only held at bay. The message of the Silver Flame isn’t that evil can ever be permanently eradicated. It is that we must be ever vigilant and prepared to deal with evil when it arises. Even in the most peaceful moments, a new terror could emerge from Khyber, or a gate could spill shadows out of Mabar. And even in a town of virtuous people, someone could be corrupted by greed or anger. The templar stands ever ready to fight the physical threat, while the minister seeks to keep their people on the virtuous path.Afterlife and the Voices of the Flame
The basic doctrine of the Silver Flame doesn’t promise punishment or paradise after death. But its faithful commonly believe that the souls of those who live virtuous lives pass through Dolurrh unharmed, merging with the Silver Flame itself. By strengthening the Flame, these souls continue to protect the innocent of generations to come. Merging with the Flame is generally depicted as a transcendent union with those who have gone before, a state beyond mortal understanding—seen both as a reward and a duty. Typically, souls that merge with the Flame don’t return to the mortal world. However, it is possible for a spirit within the Flame to maintain its identity, guiding or advising the faithful from beyond. The Church of the Silver Flame calls out Tira Miron as the Voice of the Flame, who stands between eternity and mortality and guides the faithful toward the light. However, the Ghaash’kala and the serpent cults existed long before the sacrifice of Tira Miron, and they have their own Voices of the Flame—heroes who guide the faithful of these cultures.Divine Origins
At the end of the third century YK, the province of Thrane was overcome by great darkness in what is known as the Year of Blood and Shadow. A pillar of crimson fire split the ground, and those who came to investigate were confused at first but clearly felt a strong malevolent presence. Over time, this fissure grew and fiendish creatures congregated around the dark flame, eventually leaving to terrorize the land.
The shadows in Thrane began to whisper dark thoughts of betrayal, turning brother against sister. The religious Vassals engaged in witch hunts in the name of finding those who trafficked directly with the fiends, but only did Bel Shalor's work as they drowned, stoned, and tortured the innocent. Feuds and vendettas escalated into a breakdown of the social order. The Kingdom of Galifar attempted to intervene, but the knights and bureaucrats only fell under the sway of Bel Shalor as he bent the boundaries of his prison.
In the Western reaches of the province, a paladin of Dol Arrah remained uncorrupted by Bel Shalor's whispers, fighting against the wicked whispers that plagued her homeland. She exorcised and fought demons, rooted out human corruption, and brought people together under her leadership. One of the first to join her quest was the human Cleric of Arawai Maliah Sharavaci. They were soon joined by the Elven Avenger Samyr Kes, the Dwarven Bard Turanank Noldrun, and the Gnomish Monk Cassia Canatar Clebdecher.
The party adventured throughout Thrane until Tira received a vision in a dream one night - a rainbow-winged serpent explained that the source of this evil was the strange fire in the east, and that a terrible evil would emerge from the depths of Khyber. The serpent guided Tira and her compatriots on their quest, traveling far and wide to retrieve the sacred, Couatl-blessed relics they would need to fight the forces of darkness. The most holy of these was Kloinjer, a greatsword with a flawlessly cut Khybershard embedded in the pommel that she won as a gift from the Ghaash'kala. Wielding these holy relics, the party rallied the people of Thrane in an epic conflict against the darkness, defeating the forces of Durastoran the Wyrmbreaker.
Her allies gravely injured from the confrontation with Durastoran, Tira carried on to the now enormous chasm. There, Bel Shalor's avatar rose from the chasm, a cloud of darkness and fire. The rainbow serpent from Tira's vision dove down from the sky, wrestling with Bel Shalor. Frozen in horror, Tira watched as the two struggled, the demon incrementally winning the conflict. When Bel Shalor struck a crippling blow, the Couatl drew upon its final power and constricted the Overlord while sinking its argent fangs into his throat, sending a plea to Tira. Tira knew what she had to do, leaping into the pit and burying Kloijner in Bel Shalor's form as the three fell back into the pits of Khyber.
With Tira's sacrifice, a wave of radiant energy swept throughout the land, freeing those still under Bel Shalor's influence. The chasm almost entirely closed, the hot crimson fire transformed to the cool silver flame that exists to this day.
In the aftermath, the members of Tira's party formed the Church of the Silver Flame. Maliah Sharavaci founded the original Society of Ministers and became the first Keeper of the Flame, Cassia Canatar Clebdecher founded the original Order of Knights Templar, and Turanank Noldrun founded the original Fellowship of Friars. Publicly, Samyr Kes was assassinated before the final battle by an agent of Bel Shalor. In truth, the night before the final confrontation he was charged by Tira to keep the nascent Mironite church (as it was then known) free of corruption. To fulfill this sacred duty he founded Miron's Tears.
Tenets of Faith
The Hierarchy of Evil
The Silver Flame empowers mortals to fight against evil. But not all evils are equal, and different threats call for different approaches. The Church of the Silver Flame defines the hierarchy of evil as follows:- Entities of alien evil. These are the children of Khyber, encompassing all manner of fiends and aberrations. These beings are fundamentally unnatural and innately malevolent; even their presence is seen as harmful to the world.
- Entities of unnatural evil. These are beings once native to Eberron that have been corrupted by alien forces. Undead and lycanthropes are the most obvious examples of this category—innocent people transformed into monsters. Like the followers of the Undying Court, the Church of the Silver Flame maintains that undead are inherently unnatural and harm the living simply through their existence.
- Entities of innate evil. This is the most contentious category on the list, and it is the idea of monsters—that there are creatures native to Eberron who are evil by nature. In the past, the church has placed medusas, harpies, trolls, and similar creatures into this category, asserting that through no fault of their own, these creatures are vessels for supernatural evil and pose a threat to the innocent.
- Those who choose evil. This encompasses all humanoids who are born innocent but choose to follow an evil path. Because such beings aren’t evil by nature, the goal of the faithful should always be to lead them back to the light.
- The evil within. Every follower of the Flame must recognize their own capacity for evil action; only through awareness can they guard against it. The Shadow in the Flame is always whispering, and it is arrogant and foolish to ignore that threat.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Heresy
The Church of the Silver Flame represents just one path of the faith. It was built on the teachings of Tira Miron, but less than a year elapsed between her vision—leading her to embrace the Flame and rally an army—and her final sacrifice to defeat Bel Shalor. Thus, it wasn't her own words that established most of the church’s traditions and doctrines, but the words of those who fought alongside her during that year. These were refined over time by priests who’d never met her—despite the passage of time, it’s believed these priests were guided by the Voice in the Flame. The Keeper of the Flame is tied specifically to the official Church of the Silver Flame. The Keeper’s power is based in Flamekeep, and the fountain of fire they keep marks the spot where Tira Miron gave her life to restore the bonds of the overlord Bel Shalor. Some people mistakenly assume that this fountain of fire is the Silver Flame. While it’s a focal point where the Silver Flame’s power bleeds into the world and a conduit for those who seek the guidance of the Voice of the Flame, the Silver Flame itself is far more than a spark in one cathedral—its power stretches across Eberron, binding overlords on every continent. The Church of the Silver Flame celebrates the Keeper of the Flame as being both the vessel of the Voice and the channel for the power of the Flame. However, the faithful of other cultures—such as the Ghaash’kala of the Demon Wastes—see the Keeper as a powerful priest and nothing more. The Church of the Silver Flame is largely willing to overlook the divergent beliefs of groups like the Ghaash’kala. In the church’s eyes, these northern orcs are a curiosity and their unusual beliefs don’t threaten the faithful of the Five Nations. Likewise, the Council of Cardinals has taken no action to suppress the extreme beliefs of the Pure Flame, even going so far as appointing the puritan Archbishop Dariznu as governor of Thaliost. In part, this is because the Pure Flame came into its own over the course of the Last War, and the cardinals of Thrane had little ability to enforce their will over the faithful of Aundair. Dariznu’s appointment was an effort to ensure that the followers of the Pure Flame would accept the authority of Flamekeep. Despite the church thus far taking no action against the Pure Flame, Keeper Daran is deeply troubled by this sect and is considering the best way to address the problem. There have been times when heretical beliefs divided the church, the most infamous known as the Time of Two Keepers. In 497 YK, a peasant woman calling herself Melysse Miron challenged Keeper Kyra Danth for control of Flamekeep and the Church of the Silver Flame. Melysse claimed that Tira Miron had revealed she was Tira’s direct descendant and the rightful Keeper. She challenged many church doctrines and claimed it had strayed from its path. And like Keeper Danth, Melysse was shockingly able to wield the power of the fountain of fire in Flamekeep, performing miracles no lesser priest could match. This triggered a deep schism that lasted for years, until Melysse was finally revealed to be the chosen hand of the Shadow in the Flame—it was not the Silver Flame, but rather the overlord Bel Shalor, that strengthened her in Flamekeep. Because of the fear that her death would allow Bel Shalor to choose a new Anti-Keeper, Melysse wasn’t killed; instead, she was petrified and placed in Dreadhold, where she remains to this day. More recently, the church was divided in 914 YK when Keeper Serrain was invested with temporal authority over the nation of Thrane. While many celebrated the idea of a kingdom founded on the noble principles of the church, there are many—even some in Thrane itself—who believe that investing cardinals and Keeper with political power distracts the church from its proper mission and serves as an invitation to corruption. This served as justification for the foreign templars who fought against Thrane in the Last War; they argued that they continued to respect the spiritual authority of the Keeper, but that the church shouldn’t rule a reunited Galifar. The priests of Stormreach went so far as to condemn the theocracy and Keeper Serrain. In the wake of this division, Stormreach was formally severed from Flamekeep; it receives no support and Flamekeep doesn’t acknowledge its priests within the church hierarchy. As such, Stormreach has become a haven for those who believe in the principles of the Flame but question its doctrine.Sects
The Common Faith
Templars, friars, and ministers are all part of the formal hierarchy of the Church of the Silver Flame. But you can be a cleric without being an acolyte. You could be a ranger who trusts in the Flame to sharpen your aim even though you have no formal role within the faith. Most of the commoners of Thrane fall into this category: people devoted to the faith, but not part of its structure. What role does the Silver Flame play in daily life? A few basic tenets guide the faithful masses. As a farmer, you may not have the strength to fight alien evils, but you can always guard against the evil within and help those around you to choose light instead of darkness. Church doctrine urges the faithful to act with empathy and compassion, seek to understand the troubles of those around you and to lighten their burdens, resist responding to anger with anger, and turn to violence only as a last resort. Not everyone can live up to these ideals, and the Last War was an inherently violent time. But the faith still urges everyone to resist the evil within, and instead to embrace the virtues of generosity and compassion. Recently, human supremacist positions like the Silver Torch and general corruption and wealth seeking have created a church that calls for large tithes of its members and offers little beyond its hierarchy. The church also emphasizes unity against supernatural threats. The world is a dangerous place, and those who have strength should always use it to defend the innocent. Every village in Thrane maintains a militia prepared to defend the community from the unnatural. Archery is a common devotional practice among the faithful; some say the rainbow-feathered arrows represent the couatl defending the innocent, but they also reflect the practicality of remaining as far away from danger as possible.The Flametouched Folk Hero
You don’t have to follow the faith of the Silver Flame to draw on its power. Tira Miron herself was a devout paladin of Dol Arrah when a couatl set her on the path to the Silver Flame. Ultimately, the Flame is a pool of divine energy that can empower anyone who seeks to defend the innocent from supernatural evils. It could be that your powers came to you unbidden when you leapt into danger to protect a group of strangers from a ghoul. Or it could be that you hear a voice guiding you on the path to virtue: is it the Voice of the Silver Flame? Or perhaps a couatl with a specific purpose for you? Either way, you could be a champion of the Silver Flame who not only has no ties to the church, but who doesn’t even know anything about the faith or acknowledge it as the source of your divine power. The manifestations of your abilities will likely be obvious to any religious scholar; your spells might manifest with silvery radiance, and your guardian of faith could be a couatl. Are you simply ignorant of the source of your power, or do you have a different name or explanation for it?The Ghaash’kala
The traditions of the Ghaash’kala are not only older than the modern Church of the Silver Flame, but predate human civilization itself. The warriors and priests of the Ghaash’kala guard the vast network of canyons that separate the Demon Wastes from the rest of Khorvaire, preventing both fiends and the barbarians of the Carrion Tribes from threatening innocents. The Ghaash’kala began as orcs, but over the course of centuries, members of other races have been drawn to this sacred duty. An outlander or hermit of any race—especially half-orcs—could assert that they served with the Ghaash’kala. The Ghaash’kala revere Kalok Shash, “the Binding Flame.” While they follow the same basic principles as other forms of the Silver Flame, they are fighting a brutal, never-ending war in a harsh and deadly land. As such, their focus is more on fighting supernatural evil than on using compassion to guide mortals to the light. Even so, they risk their lives every day to protect all mortals from the evils of the Wastes. They typically consider the people of “the south”—meaning everywhere south of the Demon Wastes—to be weak and naive, but still see it as their duty to protect these innocents from evil. They don’t care that they receive no acknowledgment for their eternal vigilance; it is a war that must be fought. As a character tied to the Ghaash’kala, consider why you’ve left your post and ventured south. Do you have a specific mission? Are you guided by divine visions? Or have you been exiled from the Wastes for some reason—and if so, have you shared the truth with your fellow adventurers?The Pure Flame
An extremist branch of the Church of the Silver Flame, the Pure Flame rose in the aftermath of the Silver Crusade. Aundairians whose families had suffered through decades of lycanthropic terror embraced the Flame as the weapon of their liberation, but as a faith born in battle, they have a distorted view of its principles. The core principle of the Silver Flame is to defend the innocent, but those who follow the Pure Flame see it as a tool to punish the wicked. They see no room for compassion; while they accept the idea that the overlords and the Shadow in the Flame drive people to do evil, they focus not on treating them with compassion, but on burning the evil out of them. The primary defining traits of the Pure Flame are this harsh violence and an uncompromising sense of justice. There must be no compromise with the wicked, and there is no hierarchy of evil; no evil deed can be tolerated. Most followers of the Pure Flame are exceptionally loyal to the Voice of the Flame and believe the Keeper to be a divine being. However, many also distrust the cardinals of Thrane, and should the Keeper make a proclamation that goes against their beliefs, they’re quick to attribute it to the corrupt cardinals putting words in her mouth. A movement in Thaliost urges Archbishop Dariznu to rally forces and seize Flamekeep in order to “liberate the Keeper,” though the Pure Flame doesn’t have the forces, resources, or training to pull off something like this. Members of the Pure Flame are intolerant, bigoted, and violent, rejecting the compassionate principles of the faith and denying that all are equal in the light of the Flame. However, because of their fanatical devotion to the fight against evil, they might offer adventurers assistance against a real supernatural threat.Serpent Cults
Serpent cults are the Silver Flame’s oldest tradition, though they’re virtually unknown in the present day. Rather than venerating the Flame itself, serpent cults honor the countless couatl whose sacrifice brought it into being. A common myth says that the couatl were formed by the last breath of Siberys, unleashed to contain Khyber’s evil. These cults maintain that the Silver Flame was formed when the couatl sacrificed their individual existence and bound their celestial energy together to bind the overlords; research suggests that this is true, though it’s not in the common doctrine of the church. Rather than revering a Voice or Keeper of the Flame, the serpent cults listen for the guidance of couatl themselves. A few couatl did remain separate from the Flame in order to serve as guardians or carry out specific missions, and it’s also possible for couatl to temporarily serve as spiritual guides; this was the case with Tira Miron, and could also be the case with an aasimar tied to the Silver Flame.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Permeated Organizations
Notable Members
