Uvaran Priest

Uvaran priests are the religious specialists of the Uvaran religion. They conduct rituals, act as spiritual and moral advisors, and coordinate community religious events and acts. Uvaran priests act as mediators, organizers, storytellers, doctors, and record-keepers for many communities. Often they are seen as having a special relationship with local spirits and it is the priest's job to maintain harmony with the land, animals, waters, and other natural features with spiritual properties.
Uvaran priests are as diverse as the faith is: some are formally educated, some have ties to institutional structures, some are entirely local, and some are more adjacent to organized religion than directly embedded in it. Despite the wishes of the Autumn Court, Uvaran religion is a mix between top-down formal practice and customary local practice. 
Regardless of their institutional relationship, there are cultural expectations and understandings around what an Uvaran priest is and how they should act. There are responsibilities to the community, the spirits, and the land that cross cultural boundaries. And there are shared rituals and norms around priesthood that cross the local-institutional and North-South divides. Priests who don't follow these are regarded more as mystics, eccentrics, or even "pagans".

Requirements

All Uvaran priests must complete an apprenticeship, whether they are a local or an institutional priest. Without the endorsement of a qualified teacher and the ritual graduation that comes with that, they are simply not a full priest. In local contexts, priests have been known to take their children as apprentices. It is not uncommon for a local priest to partially train a handful of other acolytes, to prepare them for an accelerated apprenticeship if the priest's primary apprentice dies or quits. Institutional priests often also have local apprentices, but may send some aspiring priests to clerical schools for more formalized education. 
Priestly training often starts at a young age for full apprentices. Training includes memorization of holy stories, correct rituals, and sometimes Druidic or Bardic magic.

Appointment

When an apprentice is ready to become a full-fledged priest, they undergo a four-day ceremony of renewal to spiritually transition from student to teacher. This is known as Investiture by many. The first day of Investiture, the apprentice demonstrates their ritual mastery by conducting minor sacrifices to all the main Gods and every local spirit. This first day is associated with springtime, the color green, and the Eastern direction. The second day of Investiture, the apprentice demonstrates their mastery of knowledge. They perform a ritual dance and recount the stories of the Gods and spirits. This second day is summer, yellow, South. The third day of Investiture, the apprentice demonstrates their skills - be it medicine, magic, a craft, script-writing, art, or otherwise. This is the day of autumn, red, North. The last day of Investiture is meditation, prayer, and serenity, total focus and self-control in the temple. This is the day of winter, white/blue, West. 
Once an apprentice becomes Invested, they are given a meal by the community and publically celebrated by their master. The community agrees to vouch for the priest's legitimacy, and the new priest swears to help protect it in return. This is their graduation ceremony. If the priest has institutional ties in the North, they might write a letter or even travel physically to a Rosgen to pledge their loyalty to the Autumn Court. In the South, there is a legal requirement for any teacher to notify the Imperial Clergy of any impending graduation, and the newly graduated priest sends a letter of oaths and gift to the clergy; the clergy is supposed to send a gift back to complete the binding.  
An invested graduate is not necessarily a full priest. Most communities don't have unlimited priestly needs; a village might not support more than one or two. A local priest who graduates but has nowhere to go uses their skill (as demonstrated by their test of the third day) to work as a craftsperson. They may work for the temple for a little bit, but are expected to build their own careers while they wait for a position to open. If they feel the priestly calling strongly, they may send word to neighboring communities looking for an opening elsewhere - someone, somewhere usually needs a priest. Institutional priests have an easier time finding a position, as there is a clear roster of positions and hierarchies to be moved through by one's superiors.

Responsibilities

An Uvaran priest cleans the sacred places, conducts community rituals, coordinates holidays, teaches the sacred stories to children, formally binds spouses at weddings, gives moral advice, oversees funerals, teaches apprentices, and communes with local spirits. They often also act as community mediator and community healer. 
Many local positions have particular responsibilities tied to local spirits, like blessing a spring or feeding an ancient creature. Often times, priests are also expected to grow healing herbs and dye-plants for their ritual and medical roles.

Accoutrements & Equipment

Uvaran priests wear multi-colored robes. Wealthier priests often wear fancier and more spectacular rainbow robes, while poorer priests may only have a monocolor fringe on ordinary grey or brown robes. It is forbidden for any priest currently serving in any formal position to wear black. Priests typically wear the symbol of the Uvaran religion, a rainbow circle (or a green circle in simplified and poorer circles), either emblazened on a garment or hanging from a necklace.

Grounds for Removal/Dismissal

Priests can be defrocked by their leading institution, old teacher, or community for violating taboos. Priests who break taboos or fasts on holidays of self-denial must seek forgiveness to perform a rite of absolution - or be defrocked. Priests are not expected to be celibate, but may be defrocked if found adulterous. Priests may own personal money and land, but are not to seek excess profit from their position (what that exact line is varies).

Type

Religious, Clerical

Form of Address

Teacher

Length of Term

Lifelong (unless defrocked)

Reports directly to

Rosgen

Related Organizations

• Uvara
• Autumn Court