Church of Athena

The Church of Athena is one of the largest religious organizations in Totania. Located in the city of Gremont, it’s influence is felt throughout most of the Human kingdom.

Origins of the Church

The Church of Athena was founded before Humanity appeared on Totania by the Giant Kingdom. The Giants worshipped three Gods, Athena, Leigong, and the Nameless God. At the time, this God was not nameless, but once the Giant's civilization fell, most records of him were wiped out. The final nail in this God's coffin was his defeat and death at the hands of a party of God-killers.

Eden Zunno by Jarhed

The only records of this nameless God that remain are in the Church of Athena, where the Giants originally worshiped all three of their Gods together. Major worship of Leigong, after their fall, split off and segmented, while the nameless God was gone, leaving only Athena as the major deity mentioned in the Church.
Goblins took over the Northern part of Elone, where the Church is, after the Giants. Due to worshipping a God of War, the Goblins tried to dismantle the Church once, but upon realizing how truly massive it is, the Goblins instead decided to party within its walls, as dismantling it would have taken centuries.
When Humans arrived on Totania, thanks to the clearing of Goblins by the first Court Wizard Varth Dreamless, all of the territory once owned by Giants and Goblins was now theirs for the taking.
It was Eden Zunno who first found the Church of Athena. Zunno was a young man who wanted to go further than Nerodil, so he went East. There, he found the Church of Athena. It was a gigantic structure, one of the few full structures that still remained from the Giants. He recognized it as a place of worship and respected it on his visit.
It was when Zunno saw what Athena preached that he decided to stay there. Zunno had seen how difficult settling a civilization could be, yet Athena's teachings spoke of civilization, law, and invention. The foundation of a new society was found right in Athena's text.
Much of Humanity soon followed behind Zunno, and Athena became the most worshipped God by a majority of the Human population.

Teachings

Athena's Holy Text is chronicled in a golden book with red lettering on it, known as "The Foundation." This book features all of her major lessons and preachings.
The most important teaching in it is as follows:

“Your belief is your foundation. It must never shake, because if it shakes, every part that is your being as a Follower of Athena and as a Person can crumble.”

— The Foundation

Belief in Athena is central to everything, and loyalty to her is desired above all else. With the worship of Athena, many paths are opened.
One of these paths is that of magic. Magic is seen as a gift of Athena, and is to be cherished by those that have it. Another path is that of family, as worship is central to a tight-knit family unit. Disobeying Athena's teachings is believed to make rebellious children and unfaithful spouses.
Another foundational teaching of Athena is conformity. Conforming to laws is standard for a Goddess of Law, as. itis necessary for a lawful society.

Cross of Athena by Yumedatchi

The Holy Trinity

The Church of Athena technically worships three Gods. First among them is Athena, the mother. She is the Goddess of Civilization, Invention, and Law. Then, there is Leigong, the father, God of Battle and Strength. Then there is the Holy Ghost, a nameless God who is long since dead.
The Church of Athena views these three Gods as extensions of Athena herself. They believe that to truly build a perfect society, one must have the strength necessary and know when to battle. This is where Leigong's teachings are introduced. The Jihdi Temple of Leigong in Baoying is known to distance itself from Athena's teachings, saying it is a heretical way of viewing their God, but they applaud them for trying.
The Nameless God has no followers, and little is known about him other than the fact that he created the Giants. He is viewed as the end of Civilization, and the symbol of what to avoid when running society. He is worshipped out of fear, believing that prayers to that version of Athena can prevent ruin.

Other Gods

The Holy Trinity is not, however, the only Gods that are believed to be part of Athena. As a matter of fact, the Church teaches that all Gods are, in some way or another, an extension of Athena and must be respected. However, worship of those Gods or intermingling in any way with them is frowned upon by most worshippers and even outright banned in the Church itself.

Related Items

• Cross of Athena

Athena's teachings, however, go beyond this. Her teachings wish for all people to conform in various ways that are up to interpretation but have led some zealots to attempt to make everyone conform with their ideas of how Athena wants people to be.
Zealotry is common in the Church of Athena, which has led some to call the Church corrupt. Many who say this do not live long, and are purged as heathens. Heathens are mentioned in the Foundation, as Athena says that Heathens are those that do not believe in Athena.
Yet the Foundation also states to forgive Heathens if they are not harmful and still conform to helping build a functional society. Interpretation of this text has led to loose definitions of these terms, but it is still followed, even if in a vague way.
Another important aspect of Athena's teachings are her holy items, Athena's Brick that grants Structure Magic, as well as the Cross of Athena, which forces people to listen to rules in a fight. These are both enchanted items with Athena's power, believed to be given only to her chosen. Those who carry these items are the carriers of Athena's will, or so the Foundation says.

Priesthood

Priests of Athena do not choose to become Priests. Instead, they are taken in by the Church at a young age. Those with magic in nearby Human settlements to Gremont, where the Church itself is, are kidnapped and taken into a sort of slavery to become Priests.
Many believe they are brainwashed in some way to want to stay there, while others believe that they are being forced to stay. Few runaways have refused to comment, or are perhaps not able to comment. Those that know of the Priesthood situation with Athena think negatively of it, yet do not try and change anything. Those with magic simply attempt to hide this fact from the Church.

Ram Rodraz by Jarhed

Priests are forced into a dress code where they have uniforms to wear. This uniform is red and gold, consisting of various swirling patterns on the robe. The Red represents the blood of life that makes up the foundation of a body, and the gold represents the light of invention and progress that keeps the world moving forward.
Head Priests of Athena are known to be very outgoing, visiting Human settlements often. They do checks on different people, going down a register of all known followers and visiting them. Once they have visited everyone, which can often take years, they begin again.
These checks are believed to be to search for mages and those disobeying Athena's teachings. It is also to spread Athena's word and keep her in the minds of her followers, as well as to spread the news to less connected followers who may seclude themselves from the world.
Followers of Athena revere and fear the Priests, who often wear masks and blindfolds when out and about (aside from the Head Priest and his coalition of High Priests).
High Priests are appointed by the Head Priest as potential successors, ones with strong views on the Church's future and how to build it further. The Church always wants progress, so varying opinions are welcomed, though many Head Priests do not listen to the High Priests.

Sainthood

The Church of Athena also has Saints, notable figures in the history of the Church that have done great deeds for the Church and Humanity in general.
Of these Saints, Eden Zunno is one. He is called the Saint of Discovery. Another is the Fire Giant known as Agnaus, who built the Church, who is the Saint of Creation.
Further Saints include:

• Fizar Nun (Saint of Communication)- She was the first to translate the entire Foundation into common from Giant, going through various ancient texts to fully understand the lost language of the Giants.
• Grol Shetsk (Saint of Invention)- Grol Shetsk was a famous inventor who created many inventions central to Humanity, such as the caravel ship.
• Alpha Prime (Saint of Law)- Alpha Prime was the first Human Judge of the World Court, and is thusly believed to be the inheritor of Athena's will of law.
• Rardan Remon (Saint of the Sea)- The first Human to make a round trip around Elone in a ship (Technically he was on land around the Great Dip, but aside from that he made a full round trip).
• Carvoll Pyrewood (Saint of the Sky)- The first Human to grasp wind magic to the level of achieving flight. She built a statue of Herself above the Church, and were recognized as a saint for teaching others her technique and boosting Humanity to new heights.
• Sovus Riz (Saint of Land)- They mapped out Elone and gave the map to the Church. Their map was not complete, as it was a rough outline and did not feature any landmarks in the desert, but it was enough to rocket them to sainthood for their contribution.
• Choril Rhimman (Saint of Foundation)- She was a structure mage that helped build up Martinau.

All of these Saints are featured on stained glass windows in the Church building, and many even have statues and ceremonies in their honor every year.

The Structure

The actual Church of Athena building is in the coastal city of Gremont, the invention capital of the World. It is a ridiculously large structure, almost half the size of the city itself, as it was built to be a common place for Giants to visit. The doors alone are said to "be able to fit the entirety of Humanity at once." This is believed to be an exaggeration to suit Athena's will and teachings, but no one has ever tested it, so it is possible.
The building is ornate, golden and decorated from top to bottom in over-the-top items of worship. As mentioned above, the windows are stained glass pictures of Saints, and the walls between the windows feature some important moments in Human history.

Rebellious Forces

For as beloved as Athena is, her Church can be controversial, especially when it comes to who leads it. Many question the current Head Priest, Ram Rodraz, for his interesting choices. Chief among them is Murphy S. Law, a farm boy who was lucky enough to escape his village to the Magic College before being recruited as a priest. He had many run-ins with Ram, who tried to force Murphy to join him.

Murphy S Law by RationallyUpset

While Ram was bestowed with the Cross of Athena, Murphy has the brick. These two men, with clashing ideologies, are both considered Athena's chosen. It is unclear who is truly the chosen one, but each has sworn to fight the other again.
Ram claims that they will meet again, and that Murphy will join the priesthood. He has even killed people Murphy has gotten close to, saying they were roadblocks, but now serve as building blocks that will be the foundation of a new, perfect civilization.
Murphy, for his part, has sworn as well. He swore to take out the "False Prophet" Ram Rodraz and make the Church how it should be. The two men are destined to clash, and it is anyone's guess who truly carries the will of Athena.
Another rebellious force towards the Church of Athena is that of a former Priest known as Mebror Dosse, who also attends the Magic College. He escaped his chains and looked to reclaim his magic to get back at the Gods, who he sees as a sham. He became disillusioned in the Gods after seeing that it seemed that Athena rewarded Ram for bringing children into slavery as her priests.
The truth was that Ram was faking getting a blessing from Athena, and when Mebror Dosse and Murphy Law killed Ram Rodraz, they were rewarded instead for their actions.