Church of Kol
"If the King of Light himself is Threefold, should not the Church itself be so? And if in those Three Folds, we can see Three clear Roles, so much the better. So do not be troubled whether you be called as Paladin or Oracle, Cleric or Inquisitor, or even if you become a High Seeker. For none is superior to the other, though one may need to lead the other for a time..."
-Triune XXXV Rovana Karvo, at the graduation of the MLIX Seminary
Structure
At its most fundamental level, the Church of Kol is divided into three Aspects, with three Roles ascribed to each. The Aspects are that of:
- Grace, which acts as Priest, Inquisitor, and Largesse;
- Justice, which acts as Templar, Paladin, and Seeker; and
- Mystery, which acts as Seer, Pilgrim, and Keeper.
Public Agenda
The Church of Kol desires that all may one day join in the Church and the worship of the true of King of Light, that the darkness may one day be banished once more.
Assets
Trying to assess the full assets of the Church of Kol is difficult even for the accountants among the Keepers. Actual figures known by the church are kept a closely guarded secret, though many estimates abound.
- Finances: The church's finances generally zero out, as most funding is consumed by existing commitments and training. Remaining funds are invested in further charity or put towards the construction of further structures.
- Troops: Conservative estimates place the total military strength of the Aspect of Justice to range between three and five thousand men, plus an additional several hundred inquisitors.
- Lands: The church has come into the possession of a wide variety of ecclesial lands, and a full estimate is nigh on impossible.
History
The Church grew largely out of the work of the Prophet Jakar Al'Mudin, a traveler from a distant land, who preached about the need for Justice to prevail amidst an increasingly repressive Imperial regime. At this time, the Empire was in the midst of the 30-year Siege of Dwarfurt, and demanding ever more men and supplies from her territories. Al'Mudin reproached the Emperor, denouncing him as a false god, and a great betrayer of his people. This lead to Al Mudin's martyrdom in short order. It was not long after that the first waves of independence appeared in the North as the Empire found itself with a broken siege and a massive and unanticipated Temuj Invasion. The Church was instrumental in urging uprising in its secret meetings, urging the people to overthrow the unjust authority of a false god. After the Rebellion of the Twelve Kings, it was the church who first crowned the ten human kings, in the hopes that their reigns would transform the land for the better. The success of this measure is a matter of some debate.
Demography and Population
The church controls the city of Batar directly, alongside its many ecclesial holdings. The Prince-Bishop of Klamath controls by far the largest ecclesial holding, as the last Count of Klamath left it to the Church rather than let it be claimed by the tyrannical Kings of Vorsik.
Mythology & Lore
The Church of KOL teaches that in time immemorial, after KOL had created the world, chaos still reigned in the murky dark depth that would give rise to Tol-Lorak. The land was ruled by the mighty and wicked
Leviathan Zodiac. KOL, it is believed, vanquished the Leviathans themselves eons ago, casting their remains deep out into space. Death is seen as the invention of the Leviathans. By drawing souls to themselves, they endeavored to tear open the seals of their cosmic prison. KOL put an end to this plot, but has ever since been trapped deep in The Abyss, holding shut the gates of their prison.
Soon, the Church holds that the Powers that Be will lead a great Harrowing of Hell, destroying all of KOL's enemies and relieving him of this cosmic duty. Then, at the end of all things, KOL will gather all the dead unto Himself, freeing them from imprisonment either in the infernal halls of the Leviathans and their ken, or from the imprisonment of relentless reincarnation. KOL's fiery prescence will purge them of their iniquity, making them ready to sit at His side as co-regents to continue to subjugate the cosmos in the name of order.
Ethics
The Kolite faith is a strictly moral one which demands strong moral convictions from all of its followers, yet nonetheless grants grace to those who violate them... so long as they repent.
Three main concepts encapsulate most of Kolite ethics. First, Kolites hold that all human beings are guilty of heinous immoral acts, but this fact does not absolve them from the guilt of those actions. The second key to understanding Kolite ethics is to understand that the Church does not distinguish between sins of commission and sins of omission. In other words, knowingly allowing a bad thing to happen, or causing harm by inaction is comparably immoral to committing that sin oneself. The other major concept is that of the Nine Reprehensible Acts, a list of the sins considered most heinous by the church.
The first concept, Universal Heinousness, demands both mercy and action. That all are performing unspeakably vile acts demands mercy to those who commit terrible acts, so long as they work to change their ways. It further demands action to prevent those acts from damaging others, both by preventing the sin of oneself or others, or by mitigating its consequences. Each of the Nine Orders endeavors to accomplish these two tasks in its own way. The second concept, Collective Responsibility, motivates Kolites to work together to correct societal ills and directly to interrupt and to stand in the way of immoral activities. This makes Kolism a mass social movement as well as a religious one, and played a key role in the Rebellion of Twelve Kings. It continues to play a major role as the church seeks to perfect moral order not solely among its own followers, but to spread it to foreign lands as well.
The third concept, the Nine Reprehensible Acts, represents the concrete expression of the acts the Church tries hardest to eliminate within itself and without. These Acts are: Vainglory, Avarice, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Sloth, Blasphemy, Vengeance, and Oppression. Each of the Nine Orders is considered particularly vulnerable to one of these, and uniquely suited to combat another. This has lead to the formalization of the Iudex system of accountability, which ensures that members of all the Nine Orders are held accountable in particular for these sins.
The first concept, Universal Heinousness, demands both mercy and action. That all are performing unspeakably vile acts demands mercy to those who commit terrible acts, so long as they work to change their ways. It further demands action to prevent those acts from damaging others, both by preventing the sin of oneself or others, or by mitigating its consequences. Each of the Nine Orders endeavors to accomplish these two tasks in its own way. The second concept, Collective Responsibility, motivates Kolites to work together to correct societal ills and directly to interrupt and to stand in the way of immoral activities. This makes Kolism a mass social movement as well as a religious one, and played a key role in the Rebellion of Twelve Kings. It continues to play a major role as the church seeks to perfect moral order not solely among its own followers, but to spread it to foreign lands as well.
The third concept, the Nine Reprehensible Acts, represents the concrete expression of the acts the Church tries hardest to eliminate within itself and without. These Acts are: Vainglory, Avarice, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Sloth, Blasphemy, Vengeance, and Oppression. Each of the Nine Orders is considered particularly vulnerable to one of these, and uniquely suited to combat another. This has lead to the formalization of the Iudex system of accountability, which ensures that members of all the Nine Orders are held accountable in particular for these sins.
Worship
Worshipers of Kol may gather at any time or place, but most typically do so on Middleday or Churchday (or both) under the guidance of a member of The Priesthood of Kol, or, in more rural areas, a lay leader. In every community, services are offered every day, and the more devout tend to attend more services (though once a week is considered sufficient in Church teaching). These services consist of corporate worship by hymn and liturgy, and short exposition on the teachings of Al'Mudin delivered by the priest or lay leader. At the end of the service, those Witnesses who have passed through the Baptism of Flame participate in the Salutation, where they, together, ingest a small amount of strong alcohol as a reminder of the ministry, baptism, and the Martyrdom of Al'Mudin. The priest blesses each congregant by anointing them with water as they leave the service, in a formal display of both their worth, and their loyalty.
Priesthood
Clergy in the Church of Kol are drawn from the body of Witnesses as a whole, regardless of gender or race. Candidates voluntarily enter into a seminary for training, and they serve as clergy from anywhere from a few years to a lifetime.
Clergy are typically easily distinguished by their long white vestments inscribed with the sigil of their order. Clergy wear stoles in accordance with the Order they belong to: red for The Paladin Order of Kol, orange for The Templar Order of Kol, yellow for the Order of Seekers, burgundy for The Holy Inquisition, white, light green, or brown for The Priesthood of Kol, pink for the The Theological College of Kol, purple forThe Order of Witchhunters, dark blue for
The Order of Shrinekeeper-Pilgrims and sky blue for The Order of Seers.
In combat, clergy wear surcoats in the color and sigil of their order.
Granted Divine Powers
Because Kolism is a monotheistic and universal religion, each order of Clerics and Holy Warriors can gain a different group of divine powers.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Church of Kol has a domineering presence in the Marches, Nordradania, Bolar, and the Dwarkun Empire. It is the main institution that all the Kolite kingdoms share, and it has its hand in the selection and guidance of the leaders of each of these, if rarely in a direct or explicit way.
Lux Obumbrat
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
Church of Kol, Church of Lights, The Church, Kolvakar
Demonym
Witness
Leader
Leader Title
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Deities
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Items
Notable Members
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