Holy Symbols of the House
The
House of the Seven Divines is the most predominant religion in the region (known simply as The House).
Some of its Priesthood is given a holy symbol that holds power of the particular god they worship. Because of the nature of their role, each
Watcher of the Divine House is given a holy symbol that contains the power of all the gods.
Training in the use of these Symbols takes months or even years but once completed, Priests and Watchers can draw powers from them - these include healing abilities and a range of defensive and offensive powers.
But these powers are not limitless. Every three months they must return to a House of his/her god, hand over their holy symbol and pray for three days. The holy symbol is returned and they may leave with the blessing of their god once more.
Ceremony vs Reality
The Priests are taught that the Holy Symbols are placed on a special House Altar and the resident priest prays over them. These prayers are to humbly ask the gods to, once more, imbue the item with their divine power. When successfully completed, the item is returned to the Priest or Watcher so they may go on their way, comforted by the knowledge that the power of their god is again with them. The House Altar is used for no other purpose beyond this sacred ceremony.
The physical reality of the ceremony surrounding this 'recharging' of power is superficially correct. However, the process by which the Holy Symbols are imbued with power is not what is taught.
The House Altars are indeed special, but not in a divine sense. When the Holy Symbols are placed upon them, the resident priest does indeed pray to the gods, for he/she knows no better. But the power does not come from the gods, but instead from storage vessels placed inside the altar that contain magical energy.
The Holy Symbol is therefore not imbued with divine power - for want of a better term, it is a rechargeable battery. Upon contact, magical energy flows from the altar into the Holy Symbols. A full charge will take three days to complete and generally lasts for around three months.
Discovery and Invention
Those known as
The Circle discovered the existence of magic and magical energy thousands of years ago. They coveted the power only for themselves and, with it, built an empire. But this was eventually brought down during the first great war that ultimately led to the
Devastation.
Eventually emerging from the Devastation, the Circle began to repopulate the world and rule it. Only this time they ruled it indirectly through a religion - The House of the Seven Divines. As the only religion that could demonstrate 'divine power', they were able to secure it as the most followed and feared. And that was enough to exert the control they craved.
A critical aspect of their success was discovering a way to store magical energy - so they themselves could draw upon more of it at will, but also to give the illusion of their own divinity. For the Circle, seven in number, are in reality the gods of the House.
Their first storage containers were massive and cumbersome. But after many centuries, they have perfected the art, and can now store significant power in a vessel no bigger than a standard prayer book. Something easily concealed inside a 'special altar'.
Watchers of the House know the truth. They are part of the inner circle that understands the true nature of their religion. As they visit the Houses in their jurisdiction they replace these vessels as needed. The Watcher will tell the resident priest they wish to pray at the altar alone to commune with the gods - during that time the Watcher will make the switch.
I love the contrast between what is believed and what is reality. If someone were to leak the truth, I could see it having disastrous consequences.
Thank you - I only had about three articles pre summer camp and it's nice now to have just about enough that I can start to link things together - SC really does act as a booster to make progress. :)