Sorrento
The center of the northern branch of the Revisionist Church, Sorrento is a large agricultural community located in the south of the Irrian Plain. Sorrento began its existence as a region of farming hamlets and retains that atmosphere to this day. In fact, no traditional city exists in Sorrento. Rather, a small trade, visiting, pilgrimage and administrative center serves as the core of an expanse of farms, homesteads and small villages which forms the bulk of the city-state. These settlements are tied together by an extensive road and rail network and a subsidiary system of footpaths. Churches small and large dot the community, many of which were built to commemorate events in the Prophet's or Nathani's life. The largest of these is the Church of the Third Miracle which was originally established by early Revisionist and expanded by Nathani Reiss and his close acolytes upon their return to the community. The original Second Follower preached from a small and humble church, but it has been added to and extended over the centuries so that it now is a huge facility which serves as the center of the Revisionist faith. The largest addition was made in TN 1651, when the Fouadian Monastery was added to the structure. The monks of the Order of Fouad serve as the church's greatest scholars and are dedicated to serving as theological advisors and researchers for the Senior Reverends and the Second Follower.
The city-state of Sorrento itself is barely older than the Northern Lights Confederacy, but the area it covers has been inhabited since the eighth century. When Nathani returned to Sorrento during his Second Peregrination, he found a community that was living in terror. Badlands rovers and the warlords of Petropolis and other communities saw in the rich farms of the southern Irrian Plain a resource to tap. Individual homesteads were vulnerable to attack and few could withstand any concentrated effort by well-armed opponents. Nathani and his followers gathered together many of the local family heads and convinced them to put aside their differences and cooperate to preserve their region from external threats. The Gentle Word of Revisionism helped unite once fractious neighbors and tentative alliances were signed. Nathani established his community in his native hamlet of Sorrento and the surrounding communities eventually joined under the banner of "Greater Sorrento." Since the rise of the NLC and the spread of Revisionism across the North, Sorrento has grown and the original hamlet has now become the core of the modern city-state.
Despite major expansion, the city-state still maintains some evidence of its rural origins. Agricultural land separates the major hamlets, with homesteads and grain silos dotting the country-side. Defensive walls have been erected around some of the major hamlets, while others remain largely exposed to attack. Major paved roads have replaced what were once dirt trails, however, and a network of highways divide the various johar and wheat fields. Sorrento is also home to a series of small hills and rises, many of which feature prominent religious architecture. The Church of the Third Miracle sits on one such rise, as does the monastery of the Dorothean Order.
Demographics
City of the Chalice
Religion is everywhere in Sorrento. The central community which acts as the hub of the city-state is literally crowded with churches and accommodations for pilgrims. Four so-called Miracle Churches - built on the sight of miracles performed by the Gentle Prophet - create other knots of religious architecture, while various monasteries and church-run buildings complete the picture. In fact as much as 15% of the local citizenry are priests, monks or lay officers of the church. Despite this omnipresence, religion is not the be all and end all of Sorrentan life. The city-state is in fact a large agricultural region thriving off of johar and wheat farming. In day to day life, many of the locals are more concerned with the state of their crops than that of their souls. Recent downturns in the price of green johar (after bumper crops in Smolensk and the Northern Plain) has led to a certain amount of displeasure among the locals. Conflict between the agricultural and religious sectors of Sorrentan society usually remains at a low-level, but as the church gains more power across the league, some of the parties involved have decided to up the ante. The New Farmers Union, a local agrarian group linked to the People's Party, has recently taken it upon itself to push for a greater say for secular citizens in the affiirs of the city-state. The NFU is well aware that the church's political agenda means it cannot afford to fight a protracted social struggle in its own backyard and feels that Administrator Gujil will simply give in to minimize public attention. Gujil, however, is willing to take on some threats of strikes or unrest until he is forced to call on the The Prophet's Shield more shadowy methods, be it blackmail or something altogether more permanent.
Even among the farmers, however, matters of the soul are very important. The presence of so many religious sites, clerics and pilgrims inspires many locals to question and examine their own faith. Ironically, this tendency makes of Sorrento - the heart of the church- the greatest concentration of sectarian activity and alternative interpretations of the faith. Locals are hungry for further understanding of the Gentle Word and priests, wise-people and hermits who come with a new message can easily find adherents. The latest of these trends is Apostolic Revisionism, a small movement inspired by Adrianna Xing, an Easterner preaching in Massada
Government
Faith and Intrigue
Sorrento often seems a simple extension of the Byzantine world of church politics. The lay citizenry of farmers, merchants and retailers have their voice heard through small councils which represent groups of hamlets. These councils report and send representatives to the Community Council, which is chaired by Brother Ali Gujil, a monk charged with the day to day administration of the city-state by Second Follower Thor Hutchison; Gujil is also the Sorrentan envoy to the Council of Mayors. The Community Council also includes representatives from the major religious organizations, including the various monastic orders and churches. The council is a purely consultative body, with full powers being invested in the Second Follower and his delegate, but the church tries its best to respond to comments from the citizenry. I n terms of daily affairs, the system works quite well and the community of Sorrento is run rather efficiently.
The real power plays, however, occur away from the eyes of lay people in the heart of the church itself. The Second Follower's favor is constantly being curried, but he too must deal with the entrenched power of certain church sectors. The church finance department, for example, controls the purse strings and is notorious for its independence. The major monastic orders also have a great deal of power and their influence over the Senior Reverend's Council (the church's highest body) is legendary. The The Prophet's Shield, Hutchison's fundamentalist religious movement within the church, was founded to combat the labyrinthine politics of Sorrento which tend to paralyze the church and its leaders. Nevertheless, several powerful leaders have not yet fallen in line and a struggle continues for control of the faith. Hutchison's greatest political concerns are two powerful groups of monks, the Order of the Chalice and the Laukran Brotherhood. The Order of the Chalice is dedicated to the preserving and studying the glory of Nathani Reiss; they research his life, preserve artifacts from it and maintain many of the important sites of his life. This latter function gives them great authority in Sorrento and their research makes their theologians highly respected. The Order has started to issue statements that challenge the righteousness of political action in the name of faith, a thinly disguised critique of the Second Follower's agenda. The Laukran Brotherhood is a highly contemplative order (consisting only of celibate men) whose most prominent member is Maximilyan Bengali, who served as Second Follower from TN 1897 to 1899. Bengali, who believes in reunification with Massada and total pacifism, was forced down by Hutchison and remains a loose end in the Second Follower's agenda.
The dozen or so Apostolic Revisionist pose another threat. They claim that Adrianna Xing was visited by the Gentle Prophet and told to spread his word against destructive nationalism. A new revolutionary, anti-national brand of faith runs against Hutchison's agenda of exerting influence on the Norlight state. Hutchison has asked Reverend Mother Fajil, the director of the Prophet's Shield, to deal with these upstarts, little realizing that she is sympathetic to them.
Industry & Trade
- Agriculture
- Pilgrimage
The Economics of Faith
Pilgrimage and agriculture are the two pillars of the Sorrentan economy. Every cycle, hundreds of thousands of Revisionists travel to Sorrento to visit the sites that feature so prominently in the texts of the Khodaverti. They drink from the pure water at the Prophet's Well (see sidebar on next page) or be blessed by the Second Follower himself at the pilgrim service held every season at the central Sorrentan church. These pilgrims bring a great deal of income to the city-state, both by purchasing items and by donating money to the church. Sale of food, souvenirs, transportation services and most other items to pilgrims is permitted but strictly controlled by the church. It is considered sinful and illegal in Sorrento to ask a pilgrim to pay an elevated price for the necessities of his travels, so many find themselves having to sell with a very slim profit margin. The sheer number of pilgrims, however, makes their purchasing power great. Pilgrims also donate to the church, usually to special funds to maintain religious sites and preserve the community of Greater Sorrento. These funds are further supplemented by charitable donations from across the North aimed at preserving the prime pilgrimage sites in the CNCS.
Farming, and not prayer, is the basic economic activity in the region, however. Fully 70% of the local population is involved with working the land or processing its fruits and Sorrentan goods are exported across the NLC. Renowned as the breadbasket of the league, Sorrento not only exports raw agricultural goods (e.g. cut johar) but also processed foodstuffs. Sorrentan bread is especially well regarded and has been linked with the religious aura of the region. Most Revisionist serve Sorrentan bread as part of their Wednesday midday meal (Wednesday being a day of prayer and community service).
Sorrento has not escaped the rise in the underworld economy despite its holy airs. In fact, the quantity of travel through Sorrento (and to the Badlands pilgrimage routes) has made shady dealings a major concern in the city of faith. Policing Sorrento is the responsibility of the Dorothean Order, a large group of monks dedicated to protecting pilgrimage sites, with force if necessary. Dorotheans are trained in a wide variety of warrior skills (including a characteristic hand-to-hand combat style and a variety of firearms) and some are trained as criminal investigators as well. The monks are very good at protecting holy sites, but do not possess the expertise for anti-cartel operations. NorPol has recently moved in to try and break the smuggling operations already in place; the Order has allowed them to do so on the condition that a select group of monks receive NorPol training. The cartel war is uniquely subtle in Sorrento because of the obvious scandal (and backlash) that blatant warfare would cause in the holy city. Enemies are still eliminated and merchants intimidated, but these things occur in the shadows; bodies vanish in the endless johar fields instead of turning up on the streets. This subtlety has made it difficult for NorPol or the Dorothean Order to get active support form local victims of cartel activities. The criminals' tendency to remain hidden makes properly protecting informants and witnesses quite challenging.
Guilds and Factions
- Dorothean Order
- Laukran Brotherhood
- Order of the Chalice
- The Prophet's Shield
Points of interest
Place of Notes
Sorrento is home to a wide variety of important sites. Hundreds of pilgrim churches dot the landscape and monasteries join them in their silent vigil over the city-state. Perhaps the most important sites are the four Miracle Churches, which mark the four miracles performed by the Gentle Prophet while in Sorrento. According to Revisionist doctrine, Mamoud first purified the water supply south of Sorrento, made the fields of a bitter enemy grow plentiful (healing the man's anger at the same time), healed himself from deadly wounds while receiving a revelation, and finally calmed a tempest that was raging toward Sorrento. Each of the four churches welcomes many pilgrims, but only the Church of the Third Miracle has been allowed to grow to huge proportions.
Church of the First Miracle (The Prophet's Well)
Located slightly south of the center of Sorrento, a MacAllen access has become a pilgrimage site for Revisionist. Known as the Prophet's Well, this natural shaft descends straight into the MacAllen Network. The shaft is dry for the first fifty meters and ends in a large well of cold, clear water which scientists estimate continues for 200 more meters. The Well is reputed to be the site of Mamoud Khodaverti's first miracle, when he descended into the shaft thanks to a pulley system and dipped his hand into the pool of brackish and poisonous water at the bottom. With his holy touch, the water became clear and plentiful. In the centuries since then, millions of Revisionist have come to make pilgrimage, hand cawing a spiral staircase along the shaft-wall and building the small Church of the First Miracle.
Water from the Prophet's Well is gathered by pilgrims in exchange for a donation as well as by the monks and priests who run the Church. This crystal clear water is reputed to have healing properties and to aid in the growing of crops. Many local farmers sprinkle some of the holy water on their fields during the spring sowing.
Church of the Third Miracle (Gayras Rise)
The third miracle performed by Mamoud Khodaverti, and the one which most directly inspired the First Peregrination toward Massada, occurred on Gayras Rise, a small bluff overlooking the hamlet of Sorrento. According to the second book of the Khodaverti Mamoud had come to the bluff after locals, fearing his holy touch, had chased them out of the community. Wounded and delirious, Mamoud collapsed on the hilltop under the noonday sun. Nathani found him there and cradled his friend, whom he thought to be dying. Mamoud then received a revelation, an understanding that he must journey into the Karaq Wastes: Nathani watched as his companion spoke in tongues, directly to the Gentle Spirit, and as the Prophet's injuries healed at a miraculous rate. The two men left for the desert soon thereafter.
A small church was built on Gayras Rise while Mamoud and Nathani were still in Massada. After the Second Peregrination, Nathani's return to Sorrento, the Second Follower returned to the bluff and established his pulpit in the small church. Over the centuries, this church has grown to mammoth proportions, now rolling over the whole rise and able to welcome several thousand of the faithful. The church complex includes not only the Fouadian Monastary, but extensive quarters for the Second Follower and the church's Senior Reverends when they come to Sorrento. The central shrine of the church was restored after it suffered serious damage from orbital bombing in TN 1914 and now features several huge stained glass windows depicting the Four Miracles performed by Mamoud while in Sorrento. The front of the great shrine opens onto the pilgrim stairs, a set of broad steps which descend the bluff toward the main pilgrimage route through Sorrento. Pilgrims often climb these steps on their knees to attend service. The church is reputed to be imbued with a healing power and the sick often come to make prayer on Gayras Rise.
Dorothean Monastary
Located in the southern quarter of the Sorrento region, the high monastery of the Pilgrim Order of Dorothea stands guard over the old pilgrimage route to Massada. Build on a small bluff, the monastery features thick stone walls and tall guard towers. The order also maintains several stone watchtowers along the pilgrimage routes, stretching almost eight kilometers to the southeast.
The most famous peregrine order, the Dorotheans are warrior monks dedicated to the protection of the pilgrimage routes of the faithful. Sister Oorothea Forez founded the order in TN 1575 after the routes to Massada were cut off to the faithful by a series of dangerous Karaq Wastes bandits. Starting in TN 1576, well-armed groups of Dorotheans began escorting pilgrim caravans into the desert: within a few generations the Dorotheans had become a powerful independent military force, with monasteries in Sorrento and at several water-points in the Karaq Wastes. In TN 1672, the Norlight government reached an agreement with the church to limit the independent power of the Dorothean Order by associating them to the Norlight Armed Forces. Since that time, each monastery has only maintained a small defensive force for its own protection, while most brothers and sisters serve in border units of the NAF or Northern Guard. Since the War of the Alliance, this agreement has begun to fray. Many members of the order feel that the desert monasteries are not sufficiently well armed, and their forces have swollen over the last 15 cycles. The government has been hard pressed to complain about this militarization, because it is occurring in order to help guard pilgrimage routes which are indeed at risk. The Dorothean Order also serves as the local law-enforcement authority in Sorrento.
Maps
-
Sorrento
Comments