Holy Orders of Darmon
Long ago, Darmon told the founder of the house system, “Never give one person absolute authority to control what is most important to you, for such control will someday deny you the freedom I wish for you.” From this simple phrase, the house system was created, whereby the faith is practiced and promoted without any central authority.
The Darmonite tradition is one of debate and constant re-examination. The members of a house decide who serves as its high wayfarer. Once selected this leader is introduced by title and house—“High Wayfarer Vynald of the Wittenburg House of Darmon,” for example. The high wayfarer inducts the most devoted members of her house as subordinate wayfarers (addressed as “wayfarer,” and introduced in the same fashion as the high wayfarer) and these people serve as spiritual leaders for those who come to the houses. If members of the house determine they are no longer satisfied with the high wayfarer’s leadership, they can vote to strip her of her title. No high wayfarer from one house is more important than any other, and no member of the faith, no matter how senior or powerful, can order another into service. Decisions are made on a broad scale when high wayfarers from various houses congregate to debate religious matters. They do this often, as the Darmonite faith is not a finished thing, and is always expanding and changing its doctrines.
The Darmonite faith is not evangelical, but those who practice it can’t help but offer others guidance through the teachings of Darmon. Darmonites believe all places of a reasonable size should host at least one house, preferably several, as the worship of Darmon, and debating his teachings, forms the most useful of religions. “What use is dogma to a person with a really thorny issue?” they ask. “Teach a person to think for themselves, and you’ve really improved their life.”
Established houses help nearby communities build their own houses, and aid them through their first few years of operation with money, advice, and even by sending them spiritual leaders. Other than this, the houses are not terribly active in politics, and really have no need to be. Travelers donating money and asking for Darmon’s blessings on road, and rich merchants tithing and donating property for the house’s upkeep and growth, all keep house coffers full. Houses also earn income from their message services.
The three holy orders of the Darmonite faith are the clerics, heroes, and runners. The clerics and the runners are often involved in local house politics and debates. The heroes wander, more concerned with adventure and travel into the unknown, than with the affairs of one town or another.
The average house has about eighty members, ten of whom are wayfarers, and one high wayfarer. Many have
no clerics present, but those that do have at least two, and often as many as twenty the largest houses of major urban areas. Houses on important roads have at least six runners in residence, though they are often out delivering messages.
The Houses of Darmon
The churches of Darmon are called houses, and his faithful are Darmonites (DAR-muhn-ites). Houses litter the landscape, and few of them are particularly grand. Many are banks, since banking was invented by the houses, though many banks not affiliated with the Darmonite faith. No central authority oversees the houses, and even their spiritual leaders are rarely ordained, or even formally educated. Instead, the church keeps a vast oral history of the faith, including secrets passed through rote memory, along with books of aphorisms and tales. The houses serve as meeting points for any interested in the teachings of Darmon. They sponsor fairs, teach languages and other skills, offer counsel and advice, sell items both wondrous and mundane, and resolve disputes among those who cannot, for whatever reason, seek resolution through legal channels. Houses often wind up as havens for thieves, which brings them into conflict with legal authorities, especially the courts of Maal. A house’s most common function is to provide a communication network. Not much is required to found a house. One must simply get a community of dedicated Darmonites together, erect a structure, and elect a high wayfarer. Houses crisscross the civilized world. For a modest fee, Darmonite houses will send a message from one house to the next, and from that house to another, until it reaches its destination. Runners might carry the messages, but houses also train carrier pigeons and other suitable birds to carry small notes. Some houses use magic to send messages. A message might be passed using several methods before it reaches its destination. Generally, Darmon is not terribly interested in religions, and among the gods, he has the least need to be. He is celebrated in every culture, and prayed to by all those who travel. The houses manage only a fraction of the worship he receives from the mortal races, as even those who are steadfast worshipers of other gods pay him respect and homage. That said, he does help those who worship him, here and there. Whenever he walks among mortals, he is sure to talk with one of his worshipers, and even goes to houses to join debates over things he said in ages past. He is fond of his worshipers, and wishes to see them succeed, but he rarely, if ever, issues edicts sending them on great quests or holy wars. If ever some pressing threat came up against the general happiness and health of the mortal races, though, Darmon would not hesitate to use his worshipers to stem the tide of such evil. He only recently started supporting clerics, providing them with great power, at the urging of his beloved sister, Aymara, who reminded him Asmodeus threatens all joy. Thus he supports his servants, keeping in mind he might need to call upon them in the future, to commit great deeds for the good of all mortals.Tenets of Faith
Doctrine
“Each one of us is as different as the many faces that adorn the coins of countless nations. To judge one man by the actions of another is as foolish as valuing one coin by the weight of another.” —High Wayfarer Vexx Dragonsaddler’s interpretation of Darmon the Traveler’s oft-recited statement, “I am not gold; I am more valuable yet.”When someone seeks advice from a high wayfarer, the response is often, “That is a very good question. What do you think is the right thing to do?” The Darmonites encourage free thought, self-reliance, and wit. Darmonites who are serious about the teachings of their god understand that life is too short to be miserable. Joy and laughter should fill one’s days; mutual understanding and friendly debate are infinitely preferable to violence. They think of trade, diplomacy and the many other teachings of Darmon as the best ways to encounter as many cultures and people as possible. They crave new experiences, knowledge, and awareness. Slavish devotion to dogma is unheard of, and any who cling to doctrine would be subjects of scorn and ridicule. All of them agree: Darmon wants them to be free, happy, and prosperous. Beyond that, the faith is as varied as the houses that observe it. If one were to try to categorize a universal Darmonite doctrine, it could best be described with four principles: debate, aphorisms, names, and freedom of organization.
Debate
The Darmonite faith is a constant quest for self-discovery and insights into the secrets of the spirit. On the surface, and as practiced by most casual participants, it is a simple religion that teaches mutual respect, love, joy, and freedom. Beneath that lies endless debates between its elder practitioners, in a quest to understand the countless teachings of Darmon of the Many Faces. Sometimes, learned members of the faith seem to enjoy thorny questions more than they do good answers, and one can commonly find a group of Darmonite elders debating some particularly obscure issue well into the night over many, many goblets of wine.Aphorisms
The Master of the Road had thousands of encounters with mortals before the Compact, and in each of them he offered mortals tidbits of advice meant to enlighten them on matters of trade, love, happiness, career, and piety. Many of these sayings were captured in writing, but serious Darmonites might debate their meaning for hours upon hours, endlessly discussing why the Lord of the Ways chose this word over that, this phrase instead of the other. It is this principle of the faith that most easily transfers from house to house. All Darmonites delight in learning a new saying of Darmon’s, and discussing its meaning.Names
To better understand Darmon and his teachings, more mystically inclined Darmonites take new surnames at various times in their lives. These names are either based on or duplicates of the many names Darmon took while walking the earth. In her youth, Krys might be called Krys Boneblade because legends say Darmon called himself “the Blade of Bone” when he taught people how to fish. At some point in her life, Krys will learn why Darmon took that name—perhaps she sees a bone in an ancestor’s skeleton that looks like a blade, and understands Darmon was saying that all things die, and we shouldn’t fear the end. Perhaps she has some other epiphany, but whatever it is, she’s learned something from that name, and now takes another.Freedom of Organization
Debate and taking on new names are important to most Darmonites, but not all. Many see the religion as a system by which to justify their poorly lived lives. Thieves often understand Darmon’s teachings as “Have a good time, live out your passions, and die young.” This completely misunderstands of the Champion of Heaven, but without any centralized authority, there is no one to crack down on such errors. Indeed, the freedom of the houses to determine their own structures and beliefs is the very heart of the faith, but it means one is just as likely to find a high wayfarer who preaches, “The rich have had too much for too long, and it’s time they get what’s comin’ to ‘em,” as one who says, “We are all of us brothers, and should strive for joy and mutual benefit.” The former is common in more chaotic locales (in the city of Freeport, for instance, Darmon’s house worships him as the god of pirates), making the Darmonite faith unpopular with authority figures.Worship
Darmonite Prayers
The worshipers of Darmon do not engage in common prayers as most religions do. As the religion is based on the nearly limitless aphorisms of Darmon, their version of prayer usually involves the recitation of one such aphorism followed by vigorous debate—with one’s self or others—about its meaning. Here are some sample sayings of Darmon, to give players and GMs an understanding of the ease with which they can be created:"Do not use three words when you need only one: ‘Yes.’”
“We paint our houses different colors for a good reason.”
“No number is the best. Three builds better than two, two loves better than one, one thinks better than three.”
“Wait for the good, seek out the bad.”
“A man is not a rocking horse.”
“Wheat is better than dust, but dust is better than nothing.”
“No matter what the wicked say, I always know my mother loves me.”
“Do not seek what you do not want.”
“There are twelve houses in the river. They will all sink in the end.”
Priesthood
Saints
The Darmonites believe all mortals are saints—that within everyone lies the ability to become skilled and virtuous. “You spend your lives whittling away at your better selves,” Darmon once said, sadly, to a man repenting for a life of evil on his deathbed. There is no need to beatify the truly good, for they have only lived up to their potential.While not a church of cowards, the Darmonite faith is not exactly a proponent of martyrdom or glorious death. Darmon was once encountered at an oasis by a nomad who had wandered the desert in a quest for enlightenment.
When the nomad asked what is necessary for a good life, wily Darmon said, “Live. Laugh. Love.” And when asked which of these was most important, Darmon said, “This above all else: Live.” No believer honors how one of their own died, and instead celebrate glorious lives.
Type
Religious, Holy Order
Demonym
Darmonite
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
