The Church of the Seven

The Church of Halruaal has been a foundation of the country since the ascension of the first Archons to deities.  In its theological practices, The Church of the Seven recognizes the seven gods and goddesses of Halruaalan society. Each of them were once a wizard at the peak of their arcane study.  Church Doctrine states that in their later years, these Deities surpassed their mortal coil and achieved divinity. In modern understanding, there is a division among their chosen domains.

The Seven Deities of Halruaal are divided into two separate groups.  The Cardinals are four deities that govern the four elements of fire, water, earth and air and the principles regarding them. While The Body are three deities governing matters of an individual's embodiments such as the mind, the body, and the spirit.

Structure

The Church of the Seven is led by The Most Holy, a position that is elected by the various Bishops from the major cities. The Most Holy lives in the High Cathedral of the Royal Capital. He (or she) alone determines primary doctrine of the church and advises the First Archon of religious matters. They are elected by the vote of 12 of the Temple Bishops. While the title of Bishop is given typically to those who head a Temple, not every Bishop is the head of a temple. Several actually reside in the Craddle and attend to the Most Holy or can serve other tasks as directed. These task could often are to direct the city and township Vicars, who in turn administer a host of priest and acolytes. Overall, the faithful differ from those in the Senate in that they boast of various blessings and divine boons delivered from avatars, or through dreams, from their gods.

Culture

Officially, the Church, the Senate, and the Nobility work in conjunction with each other. In practice, because the church is not wholly a wizard body, there have been clashes between the other two organizations - as they all are extremely homogenous organizations. Both the Senate and the Nobility tend to work together to prevent the Church from gaining more power.

Otherwise the Church is a place for the faithful and devout.  Many of the adherents, priest, and worshipers find it to be a place of contemplation and succor.  The Church serves as a sanctuary and rest, and many people find it a rather peaceful place.

Granted the Church also controls it's own militant organizations which includes the Templars and the Inquisitorius. The Templars serve as the military and defensive arm of the church, protecting the faithful in the Temples. They are primarily made up of clerics and paladins. The Inquisitorius are a more secretive group of highly capable operatives. They track down heretics, blasphemers, and those not in line with Church doctrine.

Public Agenda

The Church advises on issues involving the moral fiber of the average citizen and plays an important part in the politics of Halruaal. The power of faith has been used for centuries to sway the opinion of the people but the church is not separated from political contribution. For example, while the Imperial Senate serves as the legislative body and the Noble Houses exist as the main executive body, the Church share responsibility with the two in a judicial capacity. Matters of material law appears before clergy of the Seven who are allowed to weigh in just as much as the Nobility and the Senate. In terms of divine law, the Church has nearly absolute authority, a fact that is contested periodically by the Eight Noble Houses.

Tenets of Faith

The majority of Church Doctrine stems around the idea of self-actualization through the examples and embodiments of the divine.  As each of the Seven focus on a particular trait or focus, adjuncts are encouraged to study from the body as a whole, but favored deities can be claimed by an individual.

Live life in the Seven

Church Services:

Those within the Church of the Seven (or those with the Acolyte, Cloistered Scholar, Faction Agent, or Sage background), the church offers a wide range of services, from food and lodging to spells and blessings.

• Parishes (in villages) - Offer of Cleric spells of first level and a poor lifestyle.
• Churches (within towns) - Offer of Cleric Spells of third level or lower and a modest lifestyle.
• Temples (within the Major Cities) - Offer of Cleric spells of fifth level or lower and a comfortable lifestyle.
• The Grand Cathedral (In the Craddle) - Offer of Cleric spells of seventh level or lower and a wealthy lifestyle

Vows of the Clergy:

Those within the church's leadership and are above acolytes, take three vows:

1. The vow of Obedience
2. The vow of Chastity
3. The vow of Poverty

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

The Church; the Faithful

Leader Title

The Most Holy

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Inquisitorius
• The Templar Order

Permeated Organizations

• House Aetius
• House Hanover
• House Odinson
• House Romanos

Divines

• Alphleatay
• Aquillia'Dante
• Azotyr
• Ignitus
• Initiumartis
• Shinatobe
• Terrac'oko

Location

The Craddle

Related Ranks & Titles

• Acolyte
• Bishop
• Priest or Priestess
• The Most Holy
• Vicar

Controlled Territories

• Sea Side Church

Related Ethnicities

• Ashlander
• Heartlander
• Keildener
• Necobian
• Northerner
• Plain-Dweller
• The Nauts Ethnicity

Church Ranks:

Renown	Level Requirement	Rank
1	1	Acolyte
5	3	Priest/ess
10	7	Vicar
25	13	Bishop
50	17	The Most Holy

Gaining Renown in the Church:

The easiest way to gain renown in the Church is serve the hierarchy in spreading church law. However, be advised, in order to go up in rank, the rank must be appointed by the rank above your current rank.  Going beyond the rank of bishop requires the previous Most Holy to be dead and at least 12 Bishops must vote to adopt you.

Gains	Tasks
+1	leading a successful religious service
+3	Completing a Church appointed task
+5	Every 5 levels of cleric gained
-10	being a divine soul sorcerer

Bishops of the Church of the Seven:

City	Name
Carteia	Caius Typhoeus
Corio	Sotiria Maridi
Demmanos	Christoforos Baratos
Duchnov	Maxwell Elliott
Egara	Claudia Capetian
Gianniri	Aleksandra Mason
Hurest	Leonard Wormwood
Kinu	Abaur
Kjarra	Sìlis Seagha
Lekos	Emilia Hamilton
Loriland	Diarmad MacRàild
Lunos	Ahmreen Naeem
Suga	Iwakura Yorihisa
Theyale	Musharraf Domki
Vibina	Sophia Burke
Xiangshu	Nanba Hisamoto
The Most Holy	Yamanouchi Yoriharu