Moon Church

The Moon Church is a religious organization, arguably the most important in Nysian political landscape. It was founded during the second era, and scholars estimate it is now around two thousand years old. It has a large influence on Doujatar people and therefore on Doujatar Kingdom politics. Its leader is the Head Priestess. From its very beginning, it has been involved in fighting the Abyss in all its different incarnations, sometimes with even too much zeal.

Structure

The Moon Church currently consists of two sectors: research and spiritual. The research sector is involved in developing more powerful spells and sigils, and in finding a way to efficiently dispatch the Abyss. Everyone can enter it to study magic, becoming a mage and put their power at the service of the Goddess. Since the moon magic involves using possibly corrupting energies, looking for new kinds of spells and maximise price-effectiveness has always been paramount, especially in the last years. Moon researchers are also responsible for the newly found cure for demonic taint. The spiritual sector is the one involved in ceremonies, temples and prayers. Anyone in this sector must have a serving license. They must pay an annual tax on it, as for any other license, but for any rank higher than servant (which is the more common one) the tax is paid by the Church. The amount to pay changes with the rank, the highest being for disciples, the lowest for servants. At the lowest rank, there are servants. Anyone, thanks to Sim Lifrhich Louncheu Leva uf Rhevech-Tarin ta Kumirnuf, can become a servant. They help to tend temples and officing ceremonies but are restricted in what they can do. They are not required to offer their whole life to the Goddess and can have other jobs, as long as they maintain valid their serving license. Those elven ladies who decide to serve the Goddess for life must first spend one year as servants. After that, they can become disciples. In this position, they are priestess-apprentices: they have no different rights than servants, but they are now learning how to perform ceremonies and use magic. After three years, disciples must undergo an examination. If successful, they become priestesses. If they fail, they must first spend two other years as disciples before trying again. Priestesses can tend to temples autonomously, lead ceremonies and purify corrupted places and people, within their own limits. They are usually assigned to shrines in Doujate or the Free Lands, though sometimes they can express preferences. Some of them become itinerant priestesses and wander the land, going where there is need of their expertise, much like adventurers. In large towns with more than one shrine or in temples with several priestesses, one of them, usually the eldest one, is designed as the First Priestess and coordinates the efforts in her jurisdiction. It is rare, though not forbidden, for a non-Iruir elf to become First Priestess. The Head Priestess is the heir of Eleise. She is involved in war councils, designations of kings and new nobles and several others political matters. Only Iruir (female) elves can become Head Priestess.

Divine Origins

The Moon Church roots date back to the Second Era. A pack of demons was chasing a nomad community of elves in eastern Doujate, close to the Sieuch valley. Some of the elves decided to stay behind to let the others flee safely. Among the fighters there was Eleise, a young woman. The Goddess saw what was going on and looked at the girl's pure heart and gifted her the understanding of magic, allowing her to heroically risk her life to save the others. From that moment on, the community worshipped the Moon Goddess through the figure of Eleise. They did not think to themselves as a church, but rather as a protected group of believers: they did not want to convert other people to their faith. The community decided to settle on the river, founding Krylach. Nomads began joining the village to get protection, and, witnessing the power of magic through Eleise, they started believing in the Goddess too. During the first decades of the third era, many nomad groups came to the city asking for protection in exchange for manpower and believers grew in number. By this point, the organization was more structured, had a set of rules and several figures were already established, like Damparo and the Head Priestess. Though there is no officially recognized date marking the beginning of the church, Eleise is usually considered the first Sim Lifrych. The term "Moon Church" was widely used already in the first decades of the new era.

Worship

Regular ceremonies happen during the new and full moon nights, each once every month. During full moon ceremonies, priestesses purify artefacts, people or places, if need be, and thank the Goddess for her protection. They recall past heroic deeds and report the official position of the Church about remarkable current events. In the end, using magical catalyzers, they bless participants, invigorating their vital force. The blessing is said to extend lifespan and refresh physical strength. When a full moon happens during the winter solstice, year's longest night, it is called Long Moon Ceremony and consists of an all-night-long celebration. In large towns, it features a choir chanting old poems and epics and priestesses casting various blessings, possible thanks to the lasting presence of the Moon. New moon ceremonies have a more defensive tone. Moon's absence requires to cast sigils and spells to shield towns from abyssal energies. These rituals were much more meaningful during the second era, the beginning of the new one and those periods where the influence of the Abyss was more prominent, like during the nineteenth century. In small villages and close to the border with the Dark Lands, there is still much commitment to them. When a new moon happens during the summer solstice, year's shortest night, it is called a Sleeping Moon. It is considered a good omen for the coming months. When, on the other side, a new moon happens during the winter solstice, it is called a Dead Moon and the associated ceremony goes on the whole night. In these occasions, priestesses cast more powerful sigils using the collective energy of the people gathered for the ritual. If something goes wrong, for instance because not enough people gathered to cast a specific spell, it is considered the worst possible omen for the coming winter.

Granted Divine Powers

There is no correlation between worshipping the Goddess and using magic. People, both in Doujate and outside, learn how magic works in specialised schools or as apprentices of other mages (the latter usually only in wilder territories). In the beginning, the Goddess enlightened Eleise with the understanding of the magical veil, not with the capacity of using magic itself. Worshipping the Goddess has no evident effect. People are thankful for the protection she offers now and the help she gave before. Someone venerates her out of fear of losing this aid, others as a symbol of purity. Among those few worshipping her for her assistance in the past, many become priestesses or servants.