The Church of the Lady Rose

The Church of the Lady Rose is the oldest and most organized religion in Girasol. Its founding is mired in controversy, with some believing that it was founded by the Lady Rose herself as she completed her Cave of a Thousand Roses and others claiming that it is a more recent invention from the minds of mortals. Similarly, its organizational structure and legitimacy is subject to scrutiny, with two distinct orders both claiming to be the actual church.

Beliefs

The Church of the Lady Rose, at its core, is founded on the belief of divine protection. The Lady Rose is said to shield all her followers behind her protecting thorns. In the same vein, followers of the Lady Rose are called to protect the weak, to heal the sick, and to shield the innocent from danger. There are frequent and intense theological debates about who, exactly, is in need of protection and who is undeserving or must be protected against, however. These intrafaith debates are commonly held within the Mortal Church, while the Tagetan Order abstains from ant subjectivism on what the true meaning of following the Lady Rose entails.

The Tagetan Order

Led by the Protectorate Maryanna Tagete, the Gilded, First-by-the-Thorn, Hammer of the Bursting Sun, Herald of the Succession, the Florinian Order boasts the strongest claim to legitimacy of the many sects of the Rose Church. A Florin herself, Protectorate Maryanna Tagete is the trusted lieutenant of the Lady Rose and her prime emissary on the physical realm of Girasol. The Lady Rose has not interacted directly mortals in thousands of years, so Maryanna acts on her behalf and carries out her orders. Most recently, the Tagetan Order has established a foothold in the Open Territories in the ruins of Schnifflestein, from which they intend to launch what they have called the "Succession," a holy war against the human empire of Microsia.

Structure of the Tagetan Order

The Tagetan Order is, for all intents and purposes, a military order. They are in service to a deity and perform all the expected rites and ceremonies, but they are also deities and sub-deities themselves and are hierarchically structured similar to a divine army. Leaders rise through the ranks based on merit and recommendations from their battle comrades, and are then ordained by the Lady Rose in her court. The highest honor within the order is the rank of Protectorate, known to be held by only three individuals.

The Mortal Church

The various sects and congregations of the Church of the Lady Rose that are followed by mortals are collectively referred to as the "Mortal Church" and are not a wholly homogeneous organization. Most mortal worshipers of the Lady Rose are human, though there are significant congregations in the Dwarven populace of Coranthia and even some adherents among the gnomish and halfling villages. Very few are Girasolan Elves, and the mortal Rose Church is often aggressive towards elf communities given the fraught history of the mythical Horaflurian Revolution.
The Mortal Church stakes it claims to legitimacy around the priests and most faithful congregants receiving visions from the Lady Rose and acting on them. They view the Tagetan Order as part of a grander pantheon within their religion and are skeptical of the true existence of the Protectorate Maryanna and her troops. The Tagetan Order has not had an overt presence on Girasol in any meaningful capacity in many years, preferring to leave the mortals to their devices, so the Mortal Church is not entirely unfounded in their dismissal of the Tagetan Order's existence.
Although the visions that Rose Priests receive are rarely proven true or false, they are nevertheless believed whole cloth by worshipers because of the power assumed to be bestowed by the Lade Rose. Humans especially have sought to use this assumption of power and authority to their advantage. The only known human in recent history to have received a genuine vision from the Lady Rose is the Disciple, Lav Tash, the Miraculous.

Expansionism Among the Mortal Church

The Mortal Church often stands accused of being expansionist and proselytizing. This is especially true in parts of Microsia where the church has been co-opted by the emperor or otherwise has succumbed to imperial power-seeking motives. The Microsian Church especially prefers to target Elves for conversion, and Ramaria Asahinae's family fell victim to such efforts.

"May her thorns ever shield us."

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

The Rose Church, The Protectoracy of the Thorn