Church of the World's Lords
The largest organized religion that worships the long-gone Giants. Based on the largest artifical structure in the world, the Church is passionate in their preaching and ruthless in their defense of the faith.
Structure
The Church is led by the High Pontiff, also known as the Lord's Grand Tenant. The High Pontiff has access to all the resources the Church has amassed, and is considered the final authority in matters of faith, he is traditionally stationed in Verdenskronnen and any time where he leaves his throne is considered a imporant omen . Directly below them is the Council of Pontiffs, that take charge of the largest temples, regulate the number and size of all militant branches of the Church and select the next High Pontiff, usually from within their own ranks, they usually stand by the High Pontiffs side at Verdeskronnen but it is not unusal for them to travel across the land and directly oversee important matters, like the declaration of a Crusade or the discovery of a new Giant artifact.
The highest form of authority that your average citizen will encounter and interact with are the Confessors, these individuals are charged with managing Reclamied Seats or other sites of similar import, they also can double as military leaders when a Crusade is declared and can order around any order of Templars based near their jurisdiction, and much like their name suggests, they handle the confessionals held by the Church, where citizens confess their sins and are ritually forgiven by a direct servant of the Lords.
A Confessor is assisted in their duties by two or more Arch-priests, that run the day to day administrative duties in the Seat of their Confessor and guard any artifacts and relics found within the Seat, or are dispatched by their Confessor to manage a less important holy site in more remote areas. These Arch-priests then give orders to the Median Priests, who carry daily rituals of veneration and spellcrafting. And finally at the bottom of the official hierarchy are the Deacons, a broad classification that include anything from wandering holymen to the guides of pilgrimages
Culture
The Church of the World's Lords predicate that subservience to authority, both divine and secular, is the only path to rightousness and the favor of the Lords. To disobey, be it a parent, king or senior, is to invite disaster into one's life. The virtues of selflessness, humilty and courage are greatly valued and preachers push their followers to try and embody them in all paths of life
Public Agenda
The Church promises slavation in the eyes of their Lords and to serve them as faithful stewards the day they return to Verden, and to maintain any and all structures left behind by the Giants and whatever magical artifacts are found therein.
Assets
As a globe-spanning religion, the Church has access to massive resources and hold a strong presence in most regions of the world. As part of their remit, they are in control of a vast quantity of Giant-crafted infrastructure and magical artifacts that can and will be used if the Church stands to benefit. Donations from adherents ensure a economic power that can outmatch that of small nations and be used to sponsor a vast number of militant orders across the world, ensuring a vast number of combatants can be roused in defense of the Church's interests, though it must be said that the quality of these combatants can vary wildly depending on the order and place of origin.
Mythology & Lore
The Church holds that Verden was a savage, uncivilized place before the godly Giants arrived from their heavenly home and used their powers to elevate the creatures that dwelled in the land, sea or heavens. Some creatures, dubbed the First Ones, rejected the gifts of the Giants and fled to the center of the world, where they fester and plot to ruin the creations of the Lords and their servants.
As the Giants worked on Verden, they built structures of impressive scale, made grand relics of cosmic power, and created the Crafted Races set out to inherit all of these gifts, should they prove worthy of them. After some time the ancestors of most of the Crafted commited some unknown offense that made the Giants leave Verden, declaring that they would give time to the people to think and repent on their actions, giving authority to a chosen few to maintain their teachings so that the world would not go further astray. Thus, the Giants departed and entrusted the Church to guide the people in the path of rightousness
Divine Origins
The worship of Giants has a decentralized origin all across Verden, as their structures and the descendants of their servants are found throughout the globe. The specific sect of the Church of the World's Lords has its origin in the largest Giant structure ever found, Verdeskronnen. As people began to inhabit in and around the structure the leadership of the nascent community began to take more and more of a spiritual bent to assure their position, until it blossomed into a full, organized religion worldwide
Cosmological Views
The Church holds little regard for a cosmology beyond Verden itself. While they recognize the Giants as coming to Verden from another world, it is considered poor manner to speculate on the birthplace of the gods
Tenets of Faith
The Church holds a couple of Grand Declarations supposeldy made by the Giants as a moral compass, in the centuries since as lesser Saints become canonized a secondary subset of Declarations have become accepted by the Church, yet still held as lesser that the Grand Declarations. The Grand Declarations are the following:
Never doubt those rightfully above your station, for they have the Lords' blessing.
Never take excessive pride in one's deeds, for arrogance is a dangerous path to walk
As you serve those above you, be an example to those beneath you, so that the world might not be lead astray
Be wary of the First One's words, for they hold the righteous in contempt.
One's worth is determined by the deeds one does for others, never those done for oneself
Granted Divine Powers
Whilst worship of the Giants does not inherently grant one powers. The Church has a extensive understanding of magic in both the theoretical and the practical, and attaining a high rank within the Church grants you access to this knowledge. It is expected form every member that has reached the rank of Confessor to be a competent, if not above-average, spellcaster.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Since one of the key tenets to the Church is subservience to authority, many nations have adopted it as a state religion in order to ensure compliance from the citizens. Other Giant-based faiths tend to keep a low profile or risk being assimilated or destroyed, and faiths that worship something besides Giants (like Spirit cults, Fae ancestor worship, etc) is barely tolerated at best, and completely outrooted at worst.
Sects
The Church itself is a largely monolithic organization, absorbing or erasing deviant faiths as they come across them. What is more varied are the militant orders they sponsor. Nominally speaking the Church has few soldiers under its direct command for its size, but they utilize their vast wealth and connections to outfit and train several orders of knights, templars and other soldiers to "fight for the faith". This arrangement has the advantage allowing the Church to take the credit of any good deed done by one of the orders or to distance themselves if one does something considered unpopular or unethical. There are rumors of "shadow temples", secret gatherings of Curch-backed assassins and spies that are able to operate both outside the laws of nations and the stipulations of the Church itself. Officially the Church denies such accusations but everytime a declared heretic dies under mysterious circumstances, the rumors become louder.
The will of Lords is our only deed.
Founding Date
Exact date unknown to outsiders, earliest record show activity after the Sundering of the Dead
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Capital
Alternative Names
Lordites, Servants, Bootlickers (derogatory)
Demonym
Tenants, Servants
Leader
Location
Notable Members
Related Species
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