Faith of Abrastis

The faith of Abrastis continues with its clerics praying to Abrastis par Farasta, or ‘Abrastis through Farasta’. Her priests are extremely rare, and those that exist tend to do so in the Holy City, where the Golden Throne once rested. As the priests become older and more powerful, they tend to suffer from the Eclipse, which is an echo of the madness suffered by Abrastis, and so the Holy City has sanatoriums for the oldest and most powerful of priests. Most powerful priests seek their ending in one last great adventure before they succumb to madness, and these Last Crusades are especially sacred.

Clerics of Abrastis are treated with respect, but a little pity. Those that serve him tend to do so due to familial tradition, or because they are indentured servants, or some are reformed criminals seeking to rehabilitate themselves. Often the third or fourth child of a noble family will be sent to a church of Abrastis, for the sacrifice can help a noble family gain respect and honour amongst the political circles.
Those young priests of Abrastis often make a name for themselves as travelling lawyers, taking on cases and adventures that others would not touch. They may be grave, distant and reliant on tradition, but priests of Abrastis will support those that the faith of Farasta considers too flightly or unworthy of help – providing they are of good or ordered heart.
People also pray to Abrastis when they are imprisoned, or suffering mental affliction – although in some realms it is considered bad luck to pray to him.

Tenets of Faith

• Obey the law, save when it is of extreme evil;
• Keep to traditions, for they protect us all;
• Law and justice are not passive, nor should crime be tolerated;
• Justice must be available for all, whether imprisoned or not;
• Follow your betters unless they would lead you to evil;
• Always oppose the Machine, for it has destroyed more than we can know;
• Always oppose the Blight, for it has tainted every part of our world;
• Mercy is available for all, but through the pathways of justice;
• Treat those with madness gently, for we all tread the verges of it.

Priesthood

Ranks within the faith:

• The Lawmaster, head of the faith, resides in the Holy City, protected from madness by the chains of office;
• The Council of the Iron Will, a group of young priests who assess the will of the Maddening to ensure decisions are not ill judged;
• The Council of the Maddening, a group of Bishops that are approaching the end of their cycle of life, who are closest to Abrastis and his will and who pass their inspiration to the Iron Will to decide;
• The Hourglass Council, a group of lay preachers of Abrastis, who will never go mad, but are powerful adventurers in their own right, who watch the whole of the faith for madness, and also ensure that Time and its strictures are maintained and protected;
• Archbishop
• Bishop
• Lawlord
• Lawkeeper
• Lawgatherer

Holy symbols / robes:

• Time pieces such as clocks, watches, hourglass; law books, scribes, justice scales, black robes, gold trim.

Approach to conflict within the faith:
Abrastis’ followers can and do disagree, but are forbidden from knowingly harming another follow of the Mad God.

Sects

Notable people:
The Lawmaster He has ruled over the faith of Abrastis for so long, few remember his name. Protected by his chains of office, and the enchantments within the Holy City, he alone of all clerics of Abrastis is free of madness. The long line of Lawmasters has remained free of madness due to these rare blessings, but it does mean that the Lawmaster can never leave the Holy City. It makes him powerful indeed, but inevitably he can only work through agents or intermediaries.
Samara Kherrid A powerful cleric of Abrastis, though still young, Samara has not yet returned to the Holy City despite being summoned to be assessed for the tell-tale signs of madness. So far, her position in the faith has not been called into question, for reports of her actions speak of nothing but good, and ordered, actions. She has helped hundreds of communities over her short career as an adventurer, and she has quite a following. Some say she is the hope that the Faith of Abrastis needs. Others, that she will lead to a great doom.
Bishop Dule Tharn One of the heads of the Council of the Maddening, and said to be very close to the Lawmaster. If the Lawmaster is lost before Dule’s own madness takes him, he is talked of as a possible successor.

Deities

• Abrastis