The Church of Helm
The Church of Helm is a fragmented divine kingdom, in every country where Helm is God, the Kings are considered divinity blessed by the lord and thus part of the Church. Under the god Helm there are many different sects all of whom worships different aspects of the all seeing father.
The Patriarchy of Helm, resides in the capital of Baan and is the official head of the Church, all of the different sects adhere to the law and will of the Patriarch. The Body of Helm, resides in the capital of Helmvalst and the owner of this artifact is the divine leader of the Holy Crusade, leader of the Templari of Helm.
The current Patriarch and the so-called Matriarch of the Holy Crusade, is currently in open conflict which has split the Helmite world in twain with worshipers who follow the wrong self-professed singular ruler of all Holy maters, end up burned at the stake as heretics. As a faith you are expected to serve the all seeing Father as well as you can in this life so that your afterlife will be rewarded in the safety of the protection of the heavenly host.
Structure
The two main branches of the faith is between the Patriarch of Baan and the Matriarch of Helmvalst, leaders of the clerics and templari respectively.
The Church of the Patriarch is the main governing body of the holy empire of Helm, all other churches and the inquisition serve under the whim of the Patriarch. The other churches mainly consists of each of the countries respective churches, but there are also some special ecclesiastical churches that follow certain aspects of the teachings of Helm. The inquisition is the Patriarchs holy weapon against heresy, magic and daemons, and they know no borders as they travel through the lands with the Patriarchs blessing.
The Ordo Templari of the Holy Crusade, is all governed from Helmvalst which is the current location of the Body of Helm. Under the current Matriarch Dhalia Terenaz, there are 5 recognized major chapters of the Crusade, these are the holy armies of Helm. The five chapters have tens of thousands of trained Templari, waiting to wage holy war against the enemies of Helm.
Divine Origins
Helm wasn't one singular man, instead Helm was a name and title that passed from person to person in a 400 year period, each bringing forth aspects of the faith. The first Helm, lived in a world filled with heresy and magic, when rulers consorted with daemons and other evil entities. As such Helm ventured out into the world with only one thing in mind: Fighting the forces of chaos and evil. He gathered a band of followers, no more than 20 who followed him on the path of righteousness and together they started cleansing the area where they all lived (Baan) from heretical practices and vanquished many foul creatures from the material realm. It didn't take long before their fellowship grew in size and before Helm knew it they were a band of 300 where they had once been 20. When battling against the forces of Bairal, lord of the evil realm, the first Helm suffered a fatal wound before they could close the rift opened by Bairal. Thus the title passed to his most loyal follower, who took up the mantel, name and title of Helm.
And with that the crusade had lost it's first leader, but the fervor of their followers grew more and more due to the fact that they felt as if they were conducting a holy mission in a world without proper Gods. So the crusade continued and grew more and more in size. With each victory, the world seemed a little brighter, a little safer and a little bit less scary. The title passed from Helm to Helm, until the year 0 AH (after the fact) when the 13th Helm reached the far east country that today is called Helmvalst, the final resting place of Helm. This is where the 13th Helm ascended to Godhood as an amalgamation, all the previous incarnations of Helm fused into one being, the allseeing Father. But the physical body of Helm remained and was placed in a golden sarcophagus where it remains to this day. The crusade continued as the continent still had heretical enemies in all the corners of the world. The first Patriarch was chosen, it was the first time the title of Helm didn't pass to a mortal man, because now the followers of Helm had an actual god to protect them. The first Patriarch continued the Holy Crusade and as to not break with established traditions wherever the crusade went so to did the body of Helm.
And with that the crusade had lost it's first leader, but the fervor of their followers grew more and more due to the fact that they felt as if they were conducting a holy mission in a world without proper Gods. So the crusade continued and grew more and more in size. With each victory, the world seemed a little brighter, a little safer and a little bit less scary. The title passed from Helm to Helm, until the year 0 AH (after the fact) when the 13th Helm reached the far east country that today is called Helmvalst, the final resting place of Helm. This is where the 13th Helm ascended to Godhood as an amalgamation, all the previous incarnations of Helm fused into one being, the allseeing Father. But the physical body of Helm remained and was placed in a golden sarcophagus where it remains to this day. The crusade continued as the continent still had heretical enemies in all the corners of the world. The first Patriarch was chosen, it was the first time the title of Helm didn't pass to a mortal man, because now the followers of Helm had an actual god to protect them. The first Patriarch continued the Holy Crusade and as to not break with established traditions wherever the crusade went so to did the body of Helm.
Cosmological Views
In a world where all other races of the continent not only had gods, but had greater gods whom had given the breath of life to their respective races, the question always burned in the mind of the Käse population of old, who created them and where had that god gone if there ever was one? In searching for these answers many thought the first (and all of them) Helm to be an emissary of the lost god of humanity. But when Helm reached godhood the question was lost to time, because now humanity (the Homa species) had a god to protect them from evil so any search for any other entity was forgotten and replaced with reverence to the God that now protected all homa. According to the Helmeye (the holy scripture of Helm) the world was created for humans to rule and all other races were put on this world to hinder the rise of humanity. The followers of Helm thus view all other religions and races with extreme prejudice since they believe the world to be theirs by divine right.
Tenets of Faith
1. You shall serve no other God than Helm.
2. You shall not kill the faithful.
3. You shall not covet the non-believers
4. You shall honour your community
5. You shall serve willingly
Priesthood
The Church of Helm is fragmented into two main factions, the Church of the Patriarch and the Ordo Templari of the Holy Crusade. Once these two went hand in hand and the Patriarch ruled over both the clergy as well as the templars. But when the Church was facing it's destruction 100 years after the 13th Helm, due thanks to the actions of Bifrost and Anskar and the coming of the Orange-cloak, the status quo changed. Dhalia Terenaz, an old woman at that point in time and at that time thought to be the only legal heir to the Empire of Baan was bequeathed the Imperial Scepter due to the fact that her son whom had taken the throne of Baan died during the events of the Orange-cloak. The Imperial Scepter rejuvenated Dhalia who became a young woman again ready to serve the will of Helm. During the evolving chaos she managed to transport the body of Helm through secretive ways back to Helmvalst to keep the relic safe. Thus began the rule of two, the Patriarch in Baan and the Matriarch in Helmvalst.
Sects
The Church of the Patriarch is mainly divided into three factions, the clerics of Helm whom take care of the populace of any country where Helm has authority. The inquisition which roots out heresy within Helms domains with any tools necessary. And the Templars of the Patriarch, the Patriarch personal Ordo Templari whom in ages past recruited their members from the other templar orders of Helm.
The Holy Crusade (or Ordo Templaris) has 5 major factions within their ranks. The biggest order is the Century Sailors whom travel the known world protecting Helmites from danger, their cloaks are light-blue. The Closed Eye, the only faction that is allowed to practice mistweaving as ordained by the 10th Helm who was a magican, their cloaks are black in color. The Sisterhood, who not only crusade but also stay put to convert the liberated people to the faith of Helm, they only recruit women and their cloaks are deep-green in color. The White Cloaks, the pure templars that wage holy war where ever they go forth, these fanatics view themselves as the epitome of Helmites, and as their name suggests they have white colored cloaks. The last of the big five orders is called The Forsaken, they battle with unholy beings that try to force themselves into the material realm through rifts between the realms of existence, their cloaks have a wine-red color.
Óloi vlépoun Patéra - The Allseeing Father
Founding Date
403 AH
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Capital
Demonym
Helmite
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Theocracy
Power Structure
Semi-autonomous area
Permeated Organizations
Deities
Divines
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
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