The Schism of the One
Prelude
The Schism of the One represents one of the first largest divergences in the mainline faith with the Church of the Flame. Its cause was thanks to one Monk David Molyngton, of the humble village of Satbury. It is said that David was going about his humble prayers, when he was informed that someone had put out the torch in the nearby sanctum. Being the fact that the Vestal Virgins were supposed to keep their eyes upon the torch, and for it to go out meant it would herald great doom, David rushed to investigate. However to his utter confusion, the torch was safe and alight, and the Vestal Virgins were utterly confused by his statements that the torch had gone out. Standing before the torch, David was about to leave until he suddenly started yelling and screaming incoherently as he writhed on the floor. As some of the Vestals started to rush to him, he suddenly got up and started making his proclamation. He had been put upon by the Flame's very wrath and dismay, for we, its mortal children, have misunderstood its nature. The Flame is not a trinity, with minor gods making up a pantheon, These gods are but misunderstandings of the Flame, for the Flame is one singular, and all powerful being. The way he spoke to the Vestals enraptured them, and they prostrated themselves before him as the Torch rose in ferocity with its burning embers reaching all corners of the room. Thus, the road to conflict was sounded as David and his new followers marched out of the temple and began to preach.The Schism
No major action would be done for some time, as the wider Church was unaware of this event until after, but during this time, David would begin to amass a following within the village of Satbury. Their symbol was now simply a great torch upon a circular cross, as more and more people began to believe David's words. If the Flame is truly so powerful, why would it be multiple separate entities? Why wouldn't it just be one great divine being, powerful in all things and representing all that is good? These believers soon became the dominant faith in the village calling themselves the One Flock of His Most Holy Flame, however a wandering merchant would go before the main stronghold of the Church of the Flame in Aramoor and inform them of the happenings. Outraged, the Pope, one Pope Pascoe the II, ordered a small contingent of the church's warriors to take David into custody and present him for trial. When the Church's warriors came to apprehend David, they found he had surrounded himself in his entourage of faithful converts, as they shouted and threw food at the warriors, decrying their show of force as barbaric. Monk David tried to persuade the warriors to simply just let him preach, that he wasn't preaching hatred for the Flame, just his wish to correct a mistake. However, supposedly a single shot was fired, neither side knowing who shot first, and then the warriors surged in and beat away any who got in their way, causing a massive scuffle. In the end, 12 people were dead, 20 injured, and David was hurriedly rushed away to the capital for his trial. Upon his trial, he was accused of heresy, for he had gone against the teachings of the Church and the Verses of Flame. The founders of the Church, who had been gifted visions by the god himself, were clear: the Flame was a trinity of spirts, both whole and separate at once, not just a single being. The other gods and goddesses of the Light Pantheon are but creations of the Flame, made to reinforce his dominance over the land. David countered that if the trinity was both connected and yet separate, how can it be anything but one divine being, for is the trinity merely not just interpretations of one god? In that same vein, couldn't all the other gods such as Rudvite and the like be not children but part of that same divine being? This turned into a complicated issue, as while David had grown a sizeable following (one that was protesting outside to let David free, with the church actually needing to be reinforced with mercenaries to keep the peace, though supposedly they just heckled and wacked anyone who came close with clubs) in truth some members of the church were considering joining him. There has always been some divide between the churches of each respective god and goddess within the Light Pantheon, and those of the maintain Flame saw this as a way to consolidate power. So they began dragging out the trial in anyway they could, having talks be interrupted by events, starting fierce debates within the courtroom (some of which became physically violent) and other such. This delayed the trials outcome, and eventually the protestors outside lost their patience, and suddenly a riot ensued within the capital of Ashenfeld. City streets burned with fire, as mass looting began, and as the guards struggled to contain the chaos, more and more got swept up in the chaos. Citizens who had no idea what the rioting was even for joined in the mob to loot, and other citizens had to use makeshift weapons to defend their property. All this chaos happened within a night, as the King was away at the time on important matters with deals with Diosia. However, by late afternoon next day, the King returned and was utterly enraged. He famously said to Pope Pascoe II: "My city burns and i have been made a mockery of, over this debate that you couldn't solve in a timely manner. Find the end to this joke of a court case, before I drain your coffers dry." The threat of financial and political blowback from the very king of Ashenfeld itself sent the church into a panic, and as the king restored order in the streets by enforcing martial law, and imprisoning those who didn't comply, the Church made a hurried end to the trial, and David was burned at the stake for heresy. Hi burning had to be well guarded from his mourning followers, as the Pope preached that this monk had lost his way, that his vision of a extinguished flame was trickery by demons to have him try and bring about the destruction of the church, and for this he had to be burned. Supposedly, David's last words were: "Though my flesh burns, my soul shall be with the one true god now, The One Flame"Aftermath
Though David's following largely died with him, as many of his followers were imprisoned and forced to publicly announce their guilt after torture, to this day the schism has caused animosity amongst the many churches of the Light Pantheon. Many became more secretive of their affairs from the other, even as Aramoor was forced to repair the damages that had occurred during the riots. However, to this day, some of the followers of the One Flock of His Most Holy Flame exist today, now renamed as The Flock of the One Flame, and still preach, though many face scorn or worse these days. However, they have been gaining some reputation, and its suspected that the mainline church (the church directly linked to the Flame itself) may be giving it secret backing in another bid to solidify its power. Only time will tell, however the most recent development is the surprise consideration of making David into a recognized Saint. This debate is currently ongoing, and appears to not be ending soon.
Date: 2435-2436