Church of The Raven Queen

Introduction:

The Church of the Raven Queen has a strict structure, the most holy position being that of the Raven; when he gives a command it is to be obeyed as if The Queen had issued it herself. The clergy is split into 4 sects.

The Raven

The Raven oversees the church's coming and going on a grand scale. When the raven dies, there is a vote amongst the leaders of the sects as to who takes his place. The Raven normally resides in the temple at Snakes Canyon, but the current Raven: Connor Burton resides in Gnarr. Once a year, roughly a week before Winter’s Crest The Raven sits down to speak with the Lady of Fates to discuss matters of the church on the material plane. It is considered a special time within the church as The Raven Queen rarely communes with her followers outside of the Shadowfell. However The Raven announced last year that The Raven Queen did not come to him, this has lead to whisperings within the church that Connor is not worthy.

Dissent:

In the recent past there has been speculation that there should be a slight change in the doctrine of the Raven Queen. She has not revealed any such change to The Raven, but it is rumored that many of the clergy have had dreams... In these dreams the Queen bows her head in respect to Pelor and Turgon, and they bow their heads in respect to her as well. She then walks forward, and shakes Pelors hand, and then Turgon's hand. Suddenly an ornate desk appears between them, with a large tablet on it. The three speak words that are incomprehensible, then they simultaneously bow and write something on the tablet... Turgon carving with a hammer and chisel, Pelor writing with a slender Sparks of magical light from his fingertip, and the Raven Queen with a quill fashioned from the feather of a raven, its tip red with what would presumably be blood. It is speculated that the Raven Queen will be forming an alliance with those two gods, in recognition of the fact that order, death, and life are all different sides of the same coin. There are those in the clergy who resist these rumors with a vengeance, and there are those who secretly embrace them. What the future may hold for this new dogma, or what the greater implications may be, remains to be seen.

The Sects

The Sects of the church are founding structure and hierarchy of the religion, depending on the reasons you joined the church and your goals within, you would join one of the 4 different sects. The leaders of the sects are accountable only to The Raven. As a safeguard, if a leader of a tier is to be removed, The Raven or the leaders of the 3 other sects can unanimously issue an order and that leader is removed (demoted or executed, depending on the circumstances). This is never done lightly, and it has been centuries since the last time such measures were taken.

The Beak:

These are the preachers.They typically have high charisma, and tend to spend most of their time preaching to the folk of the land, and helping where they can. Worthy of note is the fact that members of The Beak control most of the money in the clergy, which gives them an edge politically, though not to the extent that they can be overbearing towards the other groups.

The Eye:

These are the information gatherers of the clergy. The eyes of the raven are in charge of keeping watch of events on a global scale, to watching out for events that affect the world on a community level, or trans-community level, to lower level Eyes that keep tabs on the street.

The Wing:

This is a small group of smugglers, transporters, venders, and magic wielding individuals whose purpose is the expedition of transportation for the clergy of the Raven Queen. Be it supplies to aid the church, to magical items (or in rarer cases artifacts) to The Raven.

The Talon:

The warriors of the clergy. Anyone can be a part of The Talon. Rogues, Fighters, Paladins etc. What matters is that they know how to fight, follow the Raven Queen, and do her bidding. Their duties can include:

• Guarding the shrines, temples, and sometimes even the homes of clergy.
• Hunting down the odd cult of Orcus
• Wandering the land in the service of the Queen.

Doctrine

There are a few fairly common books considered "holy" by those who follow the Raven Queen. "Comes the Night", "Winter Cleansing", "In the Name of the Queen", and "Winds of Fate" are the most well known. There are rumors that other, very rare texts exist, but if such books exist, their existence is not confirmed by the upper levels of the clergy. The basic doctrines of the Raven Queen follow:

• Death is not the end of everything... it is only a transition onto something different. Though we do not celebrate death, we respect it... even revere it. When some try to cheat death, or to usurp the will of the Raven Queen, it is our responsibility to step in and perform her wishes. This does not mean that returning one to life is wrong, it is the judgement of the clergyman to decide if they believe it is the deceased’s time.
• To put oneself above others in such a way as to demean them is to invite the ire of the Queen. Not that everyone must be equal in every way (even the ravens have a pecking order), but to elevate yourself so that you can look down at others at their expense is unacceptable.
• Fate has claimed some of us for her own. When we try to cast off those obligations, or nullify that relationship with fate, we risk the anger of the Queen. In doing so, we guarantee ourselves a quick reprimand for our actions.
• Orcus is the adversary. All things that belong to him must be claimed for the Queen, or destroyed. All of his followers must be converted or killed. All of his plans must be laid waste. Ultimately, Orcus himself must be destroyed.
• Winter is a gift. Only in death and winter can all things be renewed and made alive once again.

Death as sure as Winter.

Notable Figures

Connor Burton -The Raven

Matthew Cason -The Beak

Jon Livingston -The Eye

Ashley Paxton -The Talon

Barry Enfield -The Wing

Henrik Nicholson -A Talon

Amanda Fuller -A Beak

Issac Hicks-A Talon