The Order of the Architects

The Order of the Architects is the religious holy order that worships and relays the teachings of the goddess Amarise.
The oldest established religion in all of Vinesia, the Order of the Architects primarily centers its powerbase in the East, in the continent of Louthia. The influence of one of the longest religions in the Louthian continent have not gone unnoticed, even when the first human explorers touched down in 314.
In contrast to some of the new-age religious movements, the Order of the Architects enjoys the physical presence of their goddess from time to time, as Amarise is known to wander throughout the continent.

History

The Order of the Architects is one of the oldest religious organizations centered around a god/goddess in existence, having been established in 13 by Amarise herself.

Mythology & Lore

The Order of the Architects and the majority of its sects possess the following mythology:

The Origin of The Louthian Races

Although humans, elves, dwarves, and the deities apparently began existence at approximately the same time, some of the other races (namely the Croxwie and Darien therianthropes) and some of the diminutive sapients (such as the Praxel faeries and the Atxi gremlins) can directly attribute their creation myths to Amarise's machinations.

The Chalice of the Architect

The Chalice is of divine origin itself, created by Amarise as a first demonstration of her power over creation to her first followers. The virgin waters that flowed from the Chalice's cup and that was imbibed by her first faithful altered them, granting them some of her own power of Creation and marking her first Chosen - the Inventors of Amarise.

The Amarian Vulgate

The Amarian Vulgate was devised by Amarise herself, to give her followers and their disciples a reliable ethereal foundation to develop their innate talents, and that was not as volatile or as difficult to understand as the Ancient Runescript tended to be. Elder Drafters may note the similarities in some of the advanced arrays compared to artifacts that depict Ancient runes.

Divine Origins

The Order of the Architects is attributed to Amarise herself, and her love for the mortal races that constantly seemed to flock to her. Swayed by their insistence to learn at her side, she took on the best of them, and began to teach them about how to create their visions, their worlds, according her standards.

Ethics

Your forefathers speak of ethics, but I will tell you the truth, Cardinal - Lady Amarise does not care for the laws you impose on yourselves or on your flock. Everything the gods and goddesses do is for their own entertainment - no more, and no less. Your cult's attempted coup was nothing but a sideshow to her.

King Rupert Mitfield to newly appointed Cardinal Sean Hillbringer, 1809

The laws of the Order of the Architects are relatively few, in such that they emulate much of what Amarise appears to do when she walks the earth. The following are known Laws of the Architects:

• Life is a gift - do not take life when it can be avoided;
• Refrain from the destruction of another's work unless it threatens work or life;
• Be mindful of the exercising of your blessings and remain humble.

Priesthood

The clergy of the Order is divided across the following hierarchy:

	Description
1	The highest of the Order are the Creators - those who have been directly blessed with a portion of Creation's power by Amarise herself. These gifted individuals follow after their goddess, and wander throughout the rest of Louthia and beyond, utilizing their abilities to aid their common man. Their blessing is such that all offensive Amarian-based workings will not affect them, and foreign expressions will be dampened in their range and potency.
2	Inventors are the day-to-day primary officers of the conclaves and workshops of the Order, formally appointed by a Creator to take care of the faithful in a given area. Blessed with this appointment and a tinge of the Creator's gift of Amarise, the Inventor takes care of the ritualistic aspects of the Order within a given area, including the handling of rites, teaching of spiritual disciplines, and providing comfort and correction to those below them.
3	Drafters are the common clerics of the Order, acting as the scribes. They painstakingly record divinations, histories and events, theories and research, and teachings from Amarise or one of her blessed. The Drafters ensure that these are committed to something more solid than mere word of mouth, so that the future generations can benefit from the wealth of recorded knowledge, and to add onto the Order's repository of collected and forgotten lore.
4	The Hands are the lowest of the officers of the Order, and the most numerous. Best thought of as apprentices, they assist the Drafters and Inventors wherever they may go, while performing the more mundane and practical aspects of the Order's services.

Granted Divine Powers

All of the faithful will be at least adept in the usage of the Amarian Vulgate, with greater mastery of the ethereal runes as one ascends the hierarchy of the Order. There are also runes blessed by Amarise that are only permitted to be used by the Drafters and Inventors, which enhance the effects of existing runes.
The Blessed of Amarise are gifted a portion of her direct power over creation and its aspects, enabling them to perform rapid acts of construction and destruction in an area around their immediate vicinity.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The Order of the Architects, in contrast to the cults that have shot off from it, prefers a hands-off approach to the handling of the local authorities where their conclaves and workshops reside.
Despite this, they are actively sought out by the citizenry for their dedication to the art of crafting and for the blessing of their goddess for good fortune, thus attracting the eye of authority towards them. Most of the Order's officers handle the crowds with deference, thus establishing goodwill with the authorities and demonstrating a healthy respect for the rule of law, particularly in territories where religious overstep is viewed with open hostility.

Sects

Even the cold-hearted officers of the Louthian Purity Commission thought they were doing right, by their own holy laws. The Empire was just a mask that the Cult of the Great Design were going by to enact their own horrific version of an apocalypse and salvation.

Sir Ernest Mitfield, to Kalas Yvren, 1634

As one of the longest-lived religious movements in all of Vinesia, the Order of the Architects has undergone multiple divisions and schisms. The majority of these splits were based on racial differences, though certain sects and cults that have taken root have demonstrated malignant shifts in ideology.

To Life and to the Six Aspects of Creation

Founding Date

13

Type

Religious, Holy Order

Alternative Names

The Church of Amarise, The Devoted of Amarise, The Church of the Chalice

Successor Organization

• The Church of the Great Design

Demonym

Architects, Amarians

Deities

• Amarise