Moon Priestess
Moon priestesses have been the backbone of Doujatar society for a millennia. Virtually every settlement, no matter how small, contains at least one temple of the Moon a priestess tends to. Nobles consult priestesses of various ranks for political reasons, while ordinary people ask them for advice on personal matters.
Career
Qualifications
While everyone can become an adept and serve in a temple, requirements for priesthood changed considerably in history. At first, as it is nowadays, only female Iruir elves can access the actual religious career and become priestesses. During the fourth century, however, Sim Lifrhich Louncheu Leva uf Rhevech-Tarin ta Kumirnuf tried to reform access to the priesthood during her mandate, opening the servant position to non-Iruir and the pristehood to Iruir male, though most of her reforms were reverted as soon as possible. The idea behind the restriction is that the priesthood (and, by extension, magic) was a gift to the Moon Goddess bestowed upon Eleise, the first Head Priestess, who was a female iruir.
There is no other restriction to accessing the priesthood, though social research showed nobles are much more likely to pursue this career. To explain this difference, researchers proposed that noble ladies see the priesthood as a less dangerous political career (which is not far from the truth) since priestesses rarely walk near battlefields and have been, historically, less prone to death by poisoning, at least in the early stages of the career.
Career Progression
A priestess' carrier is tied to her age, the people she helps and her lineage. The more trustful, experienced and noble the priestess, the larger the city or the temple she is assigned to, with the greatest honour being to serve in the High Temple of the Moon. Recommendations from nobles or other visiting priestesses are essential to better the Church's opinion about oneself.
Apart from being assigned to a more central temple, religious carrier also means climbing ranks in the Church. The first step is becoming Overseer, the priestess supervising a grouping of the temple. Among Overseers too, there is an informal hierarchy, with some groups of temples being more relevant than others.
For those priestesses with more valuable political aid, the Council of the Church is often the goal. Members of the Council hold significant political power in Doujate and inside the Church. Among other things, they deliberate about the king's heir and the head priestess designations.
Perception
Social Status
No profession gives more social benefits than priesthood, except for highest-ranked priestesses and high-ranked officers in specific military groups, such as the Silver Wings. People ask for support, life advice, magical help for curing sickness, offering in exchange food, consumable items or whatever they can. Since priestesses do not receive a salary from the Church, they must survive on followers' offerings. Since priestesses represent the Goddess walking among people, everyone is eager to ensure her protection through serving and revering her representatives.
The higher the priestess's rank, the more important and noble people will ask for her advice on progressively more critical matters. For instance, the Doujatar king has always consulted the Head Priestess for permission to start a war or mobilise the army. Local nobles might ask for advice to designate their heir or a vassal.
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