Faith of Iliaern

Iliaern is a very segmented, but strictly ordered faith. Each realm has its own High Priest, and they are expected to command utterly loyalty and love from their flock. The Council of Sacrifice, formed of the High Priests of each Realm (or at least those that can make it in time), meets once a year in the Holy City, where they seek to agree on matters of dogma that have arisen during the year. Every other time, the High Priests are utterly independent, and govern as veritable monarchs within their faith. Whilst not as regimented as Farasta’s faith, this does mean that (heresies aside), priests of Iliaern on one side of the continent will largely believe the same as priests of Iliaern on the other side.
Priests of Iliaern work to inspire others to do good works throughout the world, and as a result are often the first to volunteer to help those in need, they will often donate great amounts of coin to charity, and if there is a church that will set up an orphanage or charity, it will be the faith of Iliaern. Their services tend to be frenzied affairs, with people in the congregations inspired to donate sometimes even the clothes off their backs, which the temple then allocates to the worthiest groups. Priests of Iliaern believe that anyone, even the poorest, has something to give, and that someone in abject poverty who still manages to give of their meagre savings is experiencing the all-encompassing love of Iliaern in that act.

Tenets of Faith

• Give all that you can to those above you in the faith;
• Give so that it pains you, and revel in the love of that sacrifice;
• Embrace the love of those around you, and seek to inspire it in others;
• Counsel those who are broken-hearted, and show them new paths;
• Aid those in need, no matter how terrible the cost;
• Healing is not for all, sometimes suffering can be virtuous;
• Always make the world a little brighter, even if it costs you personally;
• Your love and loyalty to your superiors is the greatest gift you can give;
• Your love and loyalty to your inferiors is the quality by which you will be judged;
• You do not owe love and loyalty to those that mistreat you.
• Do not treat love carelessly or ill, it is a gift to be treasured;
• Oppose the works of fear, despair, decay and hatred, for these are the enemies of love;
• Your ultimate love must always be to Iliaern, and you must always keep enough back so that he can be served at the final moment.

Priesthood

Ranks within the faith: There are several different ranks within the faith:

• Council of Sacrifice (once per year, the body holds ultimate power)
• High Priest (based within a realm, holds ultimate power in that domain)
• First Heart (each province)
• High Heart, Head Heart, Senior Heart (ranks within temple hierarchy)
• Heart of Iliaern (local priests)
• Minder of Iliaern (local priest apprentices)
• Loyals of Iliaern (general worshippers)

There are also:

• Shield of the Golden Heart (order of paladins), led by their Lord Sanctity (appointed every ten years by the Council of Sacrifice)
• Blade of the Hidden Heart (order of rogues and assassins), led by their Lord Veil (appointed every ten years by the Council of Sacrifice)
• Circle of the White Heart (order of wizards), led by their Lord Arcanus (appointed every fifty years by the Council of Sacrifice)

Holy symbols and robes: Beautiful robes, golden threads, stylised formal heart patterns, demarcations of rank (hearts with more intricate threads denote a higher rank golden heart symbol; golden tear symbol, etc. They tend to keep their head covered around anyone of lower rank, and tend to remove their veils or hoods around those of higher rank.
Approaches to conflicts with other clerics Clerics of Iliaern serve their realm’s High Priest with their utmost loyalty, and this can lead to clerics of Iliaern in Tarsis, for example, fighting against clerics of the same faith in Kharasaki. Where possible, they will not kill each other, but sometimes the great schisms between realms has led to deaths on both sides. This is the reason the Council of Sacrifice meets annually, to ensure that respective High Priests communicate and support each other.

Sects

Notable people:
Ellis Vaughan, High Priest of Iliaern in Tarsis
Ellis is a pious man, who sacrifices of himself daily to Iliaern from the beautiful, gilded cathedral in Tarsis City. He has the ear of the Queen and her daughter, and has been tutor for her granddaughter. He is a good man, who has regularly aided the Realm against the Blight, but in recent years despite his young age he has been withdrawing more and more, and his underlings have been taking on more of the dangerous undertakings.
Liaesa, High Priestess of Delvia
Liaesa takes the self-sacrifice of Iliaern to an art form, and spends most of her days and nights in contemplation. She is part of the ruling aasimar family of Delvia, and so inspires utter abandon in her followers. She works closely with Ramelus, who considers her a close ally – and secretly, he does consider her beneath him.
Ariaste, High Priestess of Esk
Ariaste is rare amongst the priests of Iliaern, in that she has discovered the ancient texts that tell of Iliaern’s failure to sacrifice himself. She has decreed that in her realm, her faith will seek to make amends for this, and so, unheard of elsewhere on the continent, she has allied with the faith of Asaldine, conducting weekly ceremonies of contrition. She has been censured at the Councils of Sacrifice, but her prayers to Iliaern continue to be answered, so she has decided not to refrain…
Ramelus, High Priest of Kharasaki
Ramelus is the Highest of Iliaern, or at least he believes he is – and should be. He oversees the church of Iliaern within the greatest power the world has ever seen, the Empire of Kharasaki. He is seen as arrogant, full of certainty and has never had a moment’s doubt that his faith should rule the other High Priests. Nonetheless, he is also a traditionalist, and works to protect the faith of Iliaern against all threats. Recently, he has become aware that the Empire of Kharasaki is, perhaps, not what it used to be…

Deities

• Iliaern

Divines

• Iliaern