Title |
Alignment |
Weapon |
Portfolio |
The Aureate |
CG |
Longbow |
Freedom |
The Church of Celestine
To those that struggle to breathe the free air, those the yearn for a tomorrow without control, those that fight against an oppressive status quo, and any others that strive towards a more free and just future can count Celestine as one of their chief supporters. The sky itself is a constant reminder to worshippers of Celestine, as it was them that pulled back the sky that had darkened the world for so long when
Ballast ascended. It is for this reason that the golden color of the sky is sometimes referred to as aureate, after the god's title.
Without freedom, a Celestinian would maintain that no other good could be done in the world. To them, if one is not free from outside influence, then they are necessarily an agent acting for someone else's benefit. Since a person can only really trust themselves, the church maintains, being subject to the rules and orders of the world are a yoke that only makes it more difficult to act for the good of the world. Celestianians are asked only to do good always, which includes following at least the spirit of just laws, but many a worshipper of the Aureate have found themselves behind bars for protesting laws that did not rise to meet their standards.
Worshippers of Celestine tend to be pacifistic, but those that choose to take up arms and find themselves in conflict with another church have their most common foe in
Jilkathstirei. The Sootbringer represents the portfolio of Tyranny, which runs antithetical to the idea of freedom. Actions of the Celestinians against Jilkathstirei are more likely to be freeing slaves from the church than overt violence, but longbows and pikes have crossed many times since each god's respective creation.
Worship and Hierarchy
There is little structure to Celestine's church, as their followers each tend to pursue their own interests and myriad ways of making the world a better place. Leaders in the church are referred to with the genderless term Sunmother, and they tend to be wise, older locals with a broad smile and deep well of wisdom gained from their many years. No Created is known more for healing than Celestine, and their clergy are referred to by many people as Gilded Hands after the golden color of their healing magic. These healers often wander the land looking for anyone in need of help, and can frequently be found on both sides of a dividing line of war, tending to soldiers just the same.
Halflings are especially drawn to the Aureate's worship, and by and large run the global network that helps to free those in captivity. The Aureate is whispered along deliverance routes running south from Arnast, and all through the patchwork network of people in Elken that call themselves the Kommunat, the Elken word for "Free-breather."
Holidays
The Gleam. Celebrated on Octa 11, this event commemorates when the first light of Animatus shone on Enos as its apocalyptic skies parted for the first time in 2419QE. Every festival is different, but golden body paint, lanterns, and light are all common themes.
Traditional Dress
Given the scattered nature of the Aureate's church, their clergy and worshippers both tend to wear whatever is locally customary. As a result of this, Celestianians tend to blend in with a local populace, save for those few that choose to exercise their artistic freedom through their clothing.
Aphorisms
Our Tired Hands, Never Clean. The work that must be done to let freedom resound throughout the land is both taxing and often dirty in more ways than one.
Our Blood's In the Machinery. Celestinians are aware they frequently run afoul of the machinery of government's unjust laws and are constantly breaking them, but the price they pay is something they are willing to do time and again.
Different Uniform, Same Heart. Said when tending those on both sides of a war to remind everyone of the common traits shared by people trying to kill each other for someone else's gain.