Law
The shield protects the body, the Crown protects the realm, and the Church protects the soul. All as ordered by Law.
Law is the eternal and unyielding foundation upon which all order, hierarchy, and civilization rest. It is not a god, nor a philosophy, but an absolute truth, a force that shapes the world and binds it to structure. It is present in the turning of the heavens, the rule of kings, the rites of judgment, and the sacred offices of the Church of Holy Law.
To uphold the Law is to preserve stability and righteousness. It ensures that each man knows his place, that each judgment is rendered in full, and that heresy is not suffered to fester. To defy the Law is to invite disorder, madness, and the slow unmaking of the world itself.
The Church of Holy Law teaches that the Law was established by the Architect, a divine being who imposed structure on Chaos and forged the world as a just and ordered realm. It is by his decree that oaths are binding, names have weight, and wickedness may be judged. The Church maintains the rites, courts, and inquisitorial enclaves that uphold his will in the mortal realm.
While kings and lords may rule by sword, seal, and crown, it is the Law that gives their rule meaning. Without it, titles are dust, and its temporary hold is ash in the wind.
Though scribes and scholars may debate the finer points of interpretation, one truth remains: the Law does not change. It is the same in every age, even as empires fall and rise.
A newer philosophy known as Monadism, taught among some Awakened dwarves, speaks of the Law not as divine command, but as the internal logic of the World Machine—a unifying principle that orders all things. While suspect, Monadism remains cautiously tolerated by the Church, as its tenets often mirror doctrine, even as they veer close to dangerous abstraction.
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