United Church of the Pentarchs

While the individual gods may have originally vied for territorial control with churches that worshiped them separately, once the Kingdom of Aleria solidified its control over most of Landivern and established itself as the Alerian Empire, the church unified into a single body, today known as the United Church of the Pentarchs. Though regional fondness for some of the minor gods still exist, the five main deities (or Pentarchs) are recognized as the ruling gods of the pantheon, with Aleria at their head. The only exception to this being the kingdom of Garrund. But as Garrund is the most loyal of the kingdoms, worships primarily the husband of Aleria, and serves as the vanguard against the lizard-folk, the Empire grants them an allowance.

Structure

Despite the unification of the churches, many factions still exist within it. Each god or goddess is allowed representation within the church, and a governing council of Primarchs, the heads of the clerical factions, makes decisions regarding the direction of the church as a whole. The Primarchs representing the five major gods retain enough power to overrule the smaller factions, and it is from these five that the First Primarch is elected when the current First Primarch dies, but the smaller factions are not so small that they can’t be ignored if they all band together for a common cause.

Mythology & Lore

From the Alerian Codex, Scroll I:
There are some who speculate that this land willed itself into existence. Others claim that Aleria has existed since before time itself, and that while she created the land eons ago, she only chose to reveal herself to us when our need was most dire. The wisest claim they simply do not know how this land came to be. What we do know, is this:
Before our gods revealed themselves to us, powerful creatures of great evil, seven titans of wrath and ruin, all of them foreign to this land ruled over all of creation. These titans saw the creatures of the land as their playthings, and granted them just enough power that they might entertain the titans with their doings.
For centuries, the titans ruled over their playthings. But a day arose when some among us who learned to harness and control the power of the titans. The gods had begun to manifest their strengths, and now, the folly of the titans would be their undoing, as these great leaders would turn the very power of the titans against them.
A great and terrible war was waged as we, the creatures of this land, joined together to rid ourselves of the yoke of our foreign oppressors. The titans were so taken aback by our rebellion, that time after time, again and again, we smashed back their forces. Those loyal to the titans soon found themselves without hope as their false gods abandoned them.
Desperate for their own survival, the titans withdrew their yolk and granted that the creatures of this land would be rulers of their own destinies. The great leaders of our rebellion took the divine nature upon them, and ascended to the heavens.
There they grant their mercies upon us, watching us, guiding us to the glorious and the divine. And we, the faithful, serve with all our strength against the taint of corruption and decay left behind by the titans. For if we are not vigilant, if we allow ourselves to become lax against the forces of evil, the titans will descend upon us once more.
And surely, their wrath will know no limits.

Tenets of Faith

The overall message that the church preaches is a blend of the five major deities: strength and honor in adversity, loyalty and duty, the pursuit and mastery of knowledge, agrarian responsibilities and pragmatism, and fiscal wisdom. It is a mixed message, to be sure, and most individuals find themselves gravitating towards a particular deity whose message resonates with them.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

The Pentarchy

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Church Vigilant
• The Crimson Church

Deities

• Aleria
• Humar