Church of Yvolda (Church of E-Vole-Da)
Structure
The church is overseen by the Star Speaker, an individual usually with some level of precognition and whom presides over the rest of the church. From here it goes into 3 branches: the Golden Guard, the Speakers, and the Bright Seekers.
The Golden Guard are Hunters and soldiers - originally formed by a group of Hunters who opted to serve the church upon the defeat of the Alethir. They always wear gold on some part of their armor, hence the namesake. They are the protectors of the church, holy crusaders who strike down evil wherever that may be. In this case, the evil is the Alethir and their servants, in which the church's enemies are convienently included.
The Speakers are the main body of the church, healers, preachers and priests. This branch includes everything from civillians newly initiated to high ranking priests who hold large amounts of influence. Speakers are also generally those who represent the church.
The Bright Seekers are an offshoot of the original Seekers. They, in theory, seek knowledge for the betterment of humanity. They also, in theory, are commanded by the greater church. In reality, the Bright Seekers are a group of highly secretive researchers who use their findings to seek the evolution of humanity and their own power within it. They also have a higher authority than the Star Speaker in many matters, but never officially, of course.
Culture
The Church follows the Three Laws of Purity - Generosity, compassion and conviction. Supposedly following these grants enlightenment. "We must show generosity unto others, as is the duty of Us to share in Our Light - We must show compassion unto the world, as is shared emotion the basis of shared mind - We must show conviction unto Ourselves, as is Our Light strenghtened and brightened." Although the ability of the church to carry out these laws is questionable, the average Yvoldan believes in these laws and tries their best to facilitate them.
An annual ritual of the church is the Great Lighting, in which everyone lights a handcrafted lantern to show devotion to Yvolda. Certain idividuals are said to gain some semblence of shared consciousness through this act - this is commonly percieved as being brought closer to the Light.
Public Agenda
Assets
History
The Church formed from a collapsed Evolden Empire which was the result of a war with the Alethir. After a tribe of humans first came there through a naturally formed rift, they lived peacefully unaware of the aproach of the Alethir. While some took to a strange force known as the Void, others observed a being in space upon nightfall creating trails of bright light. After being contacted by this entity within dreams they started worshipping it. This came partially of human eagerness to believe in a higher power, and partially of slight provocation to do this by this being.
This being made itself known as Yvolda, the Herald of Light. This is when the religion of Evoldism, and subsequently the Evolden Empire, came into being. It wasn't until the arival of the Alethir that the church was founded. In order to combat them after the empire's collapse, Evoldens came together into an organization headed by the first Star Speaker and a few strange individuals known as the Children of Light. These magically gifted individuals gave the humans the ritual to create Hunters, who played an integral part in the war with the Alethir.
After the defeat of the Alethir, the Children stayed around for a small while and then disapeared. Because of them the church gained renown for being instrumental to saving humanity. A group of the hunters swore themselves to the church, becoming the first Golden Knights. The church's influence and power grew until it became the continent-wide juggernaut it is as of modern times.