The World Was Born In Fire
The creation story of the Teachings of Chantrel starts with the end of the world.
Summary
The world has fallen. But, through the love and grace of Chantrel the righteous will be redeemed, so says the Holy Universal Church of Chantrel. The faithful wait for her return, when she will separate the worthy from the unworthy, and be taken back to her heavenly sanctum.
The Teachings of Chantrel begin at the end, the end of the world. At the height of The Imperium of Man, The Races of The Sword Coast slid into depravity and decadence. With their great works and powerful magics they imagined themselves as gods. It was then, that Chantrel revealed herself to the world as the one true god, to teach a gospel of peace, humility, and forgiveness. Her ministry sought to lift all people from the hubris and vanity instilled into them by The Imperium.
As beings from all the races of all the world flocked to her message, many of those who wielded worldly power (the wealthy, powerful princes and potentates of The Imperium, the priests of the false gods) grew fearful and waged a war of extermination against Chantrel and her followers.
With their great and terrible magics, the war reached the heights of the heavens themselves. The skies were set aflame, the broken chariots of celestial warriors and the dead bodies of the most ancient wyrms fell to the earth, the land was broken, and the sea crashed against the mountains.
There were no victors, only causalities. In the end, The Imperium had fallen and Chantrel stood with immeasurable grief and horror over the ruins of the world, scorched and shattered.
Deeming that the world was not yet ready for her message, Chantrel gathered to her the righteous and the merciful and with them ascended to her heavenly sanctum. As she rose, she looked down upon those that remained, desperate and clamoring to be taken with her, and made The Solemn Oath, "As the flames of the fire are not the end of the oak, it may sprout new greens, so this is not the end of you. When all the peoples of all the races of all the world are shown the true path and they have proven themselves, I shall return. I shall separate the worthy from the unworthy and take the blessed with me to our home in the heavenly sanctum."
The Great Commission
With these words The Holy Universal Church justifies what it calls, The Great Commission, the task of converting "all the peoples of all the races of all the world" to The Teachings of Chantrel. The Great Commission is the main animating doctrine of The Church. It has inspired all their missionary work and every crusade they have launched over the last millennium. The clergy of The Church sees their task as nothing less than the redemption of the entire world, so that Chantrel may return and save us all. Since The Church views their mission in such apocalyptic terms, compromise with other belief systems is nearly impossible. To them, the fate of the whole world is at stake and The Great Commission provides no room for debate; every being in the whole world must accept The Teachings of Chantrel if any of use are to be saved. If all but one person persists in apostasy, then all people are condemned.Historical Basis
While the official doctrine of The Holy Universal Church of Chantrel is that The Story of the Rebirth as they call this story is literal truth and historical record, there is disagreement with in the Church as to how literally the story is to be taken. Views range from historical literalists to those that say the story is a set of metaphors and allegories meant to guide the spirits of the people.
The full story does correspond to indisputable historical events such as The Fall of The Imperium of Man, with its concurrent warfare and ecological disasters (man-made and natural). The remnants of the Old Imperium litter the landscape, from the mile markers on The Long 100 highway to the flooded city ruins in The Sea of Dreams. They speak a silent testimonial to the ancient holocaust. Of more dubious accuracy is the claim that the Dragonback Mountains are the remains of a great wyrm that crashed to the earth after it was cast down from the heavens or the claims that The Moons used to be only one heavenly body that was shattered in an celestial apocalypse.
Non-scriptural records from the time are scant, either they were lost in the fall or The Imperium had methods other than parchment and manuscripts to record their history, perhaps lost magics. As such most of the accounting of the events of The Fall and Chantrel's revelation are shrouded by the vagaries of times and oral tradition.
Spread
The Story of Chantrel's revelation and The Story of the Rebirth is perhaps the most well known story in the known world. As the foundation of The Holy Universal Church. To make the world ready for The Holy Lady's return, The Church is commissioned with spreading her holy word to "all the peoples of all the races of all the world". Only then they believe, will Chantrel return to the world to deliver the righteous from wickedness. As such, it would be a difficult task to find a person in the known world that was not at least aware of the story.
Variations & Mutation
As The Story of the Rebirth is so closely linked to the the fall of The Imperium of Man, many cultures have incorporated elements of it into their own narratives. For example, Unitarians hold that while major elements of the story are true, that the essential message of The Great Father, has been corrupted by the inevitable wickedness of mortals. They hold that Chantrel was not a god, but a servant of The Great Father. Followers of The Old Gods have also incorporated their own characterization of Chantrel, who they call Chætral (goddess of love and mercy), into their pantheon. Also, they have incorporated elements of The Story of the Rebirth, into their assorted myths and legends. While the Followers of the Old Gods have no single holy text, the various local legends and myths do correspond with each other with tales of a war in the heavens bringing about the fall of The Old Imperium.
In Art
The revelation of Chantrel, her ministry, and ascension to the heavenly sanctum are the most widely represented subjects in the art of the realms of The Holy Lady. Her churches are adorned with stained glass, statues, frescoes, and paintings depicting her and these events. The same can be found in the halls of kings, in the homes of the wealthy, or commissioned for public view by city officials.
Date of First Recording
unknown - The first testaments in The Holy Word of Chantrel are of unknown authorship and date.
Date of Setting
0 to 50 AHL
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