The Church of Saint Nora

"We believe in Silnos, the Infinite Universe, Creator of all,
who gave form and aspect to the Rena, to shepherd creation,
who planted Meliheal, the tree that binds the Universe together.

We believe in Nora, a shepherd of Meliheal, a creator of Vreathe,
She sacrificed herself to give Vreathe to us, to nurture and grow,
In her sacrifice, Nora was remade by Silnos, and became mortal.

Nora became a teacher to us all, leading us and guiding us,
When she died again, she became the Supreme Judge,
She sits in Meliheal, the Wellspring of Souls, weighing our actions in life.

So we must follow her example, live by her virtues, and heed her great cautions,
That we might have everlasting happiness. Let it be so."

- Profession of Faith in Saint Nora

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The humans of Eastern Vreathe are the only ones in the world that still follow the teachings of the Rena or the Elder Gods and Lesser Gods, and their religion is known as Silism. Just like the other two major religions (the Elves with Silic Universalism and the people of Western Vreathe with Sham-Kamarism) they believe in Silnos, which can be interpreted as the creator of the universe.

Humans have a belief that the workings of the universe is beyond their understanding. In order to interpret the word of the universe, believers look to the Rena to guide them. The people of Western Vreathe follow the Avatars of the Sun and Moon, while the people of Eastern Vreathe follow the Elder Gods.

There is a sect of the religion for each of the Elder Gods. Nearly all Silists are part of the Church of Saint Nora. Nora alone walked among humans for centuries at the beginning of the Iron Age while all the other gods abandoned the world, so her teachings became the most prominent. The other three elder gods haven't set foot on Vreathe in thousands of years, but people who disagree with the church have flocked to these other gods, even if their teachings are just modified versions of what Nora herself taught.

Church of Nora

Chief Deity : Silnos, The Universe
Theology : Monotheistic or Panetheistic

Founder : Saint Nora
Year Founded : 1 I.A. (2985 years ago)

Number of Followers : 100 million
Seat of Power : Semmitra

Scriptures :
Song of the Rena
Fall of Silver
Virtues and Cautions

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Church Organization

Saint Nora is considered to be the head of the church, even in death. The Archon is always one of her descendants, and has the ability to peer inside of Meliheal the World Tree to speak to Nora. Their word is considered the word of Nora and what they say is what happens to the church. They lead the people and set policies going forward. An Archon is voted for by the Archbishops and Exarches. The Archon then guides the world for a 100 year term until they pass away or leave office.

The Exarches are both heads of the church in their country, and that country's ruler. At least that was the original intent. Yurrimkil, Rinea, and Pellensk no longer have an Exarch, leaving the office vacant. Exarches are also direct descendants from Saint Nora herself and like the Archon, they have the ability to peer inside the world tree and speak to Nora directly. Exarches are allowed to make changes to religious practice in their own country, and these changes can sometimes be drastic.

Archbishops are heads of the church in countries that do not have an Exarch or are heads of the church in regions of large countries. Some larger nations like Cassel or Irrelith have an Exarch and as many as five archbishops. Like the exarch they lead the church in their home country. The changes they are allowed to make to religious practices is much smaller and requires a vote of the exarches to approve.

Below the archbishops are Bishops that lead a country or barony. They are often the ones performing religious ceremony at the local Cathedral. Below them are Priests, who perform many of the same functions at smaller area Churches. At the same level as priests are various orders of monks, sometimes nuns, who perform additional religious rituals.

Then there are the 13 Stratos or Knightly Orders. They were created at the time of Nora's Death. Not all of them are strictly military orders, but all of them perform functions that are not normally within the scope of the church. When not called for active duty, most rank and file members live their lives as monks, priests, mercenaries, soldiers in a nations army, and more.

Church Hierarcy

- Silnos

- Saint Nora

The Archon

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The Seven Exarches

Irrelith

Cassel

Galleska

Pellensk

Yurrimkil

Pikelandt

Rinea

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Archbishop

Bishop

Priest

Monks

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The 13 Stratos (Knightly Orders)

Phoenix

Leviathan

Stag

Doe

Drake

Wolf

Lion

Light

Abyss

Solars

Kalbeth

World Tree

Oryx

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Semmitra

Situated on the south side of the World Tree is the city of Semmitra. This city has been inhabited by humans since the beginning of time and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. It is also one of the largest cities in the world with a population of nerly a million people.

At the base of Meliheal is a marble temple. Inside this temple is a giant golden throne. It is said that Saint Nora sat on this throne as one of the rulers of Vreathe in ancient times. Currently a large statue of the saint sits here. Just to the right of this golden throne is a much smaller throne made of wood. Here the Archon sits. Elsewhere in the temple complex are various offices and sanctuaries for the many priests and bishops of the church stationed in Semmitra to perform their tasks.

Scriptures

As Saint Nora traveled around Vreathe, she told many stories to the humans around her. These stories were sorted and gathered into three holy books: The Song of the Rena, the Fall of Silver, and Virtues and Cautions. They function as historical accounts of Vreathe's history, starting from the creation of the universe until Nora's Death. Nora weaved her teachings about virtues and cautions throughout these stories, which makes reading them quite essential o get the full picture.

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Part 1 of Song of the Rena is an account of the creation of the universe, the planting of the world seed, the creation of Vreathe, the creation of the dragons, the war between all of the elder gods, and more.

Part 2 of the book is an accont of the awakening of the Gold Race, and the slow descent of Tarcur, from a benevolent elder god to an evil being that only wants to destroy. this part ends with the golden Race's destruction.

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Part 1 of Fall of Silver is an account of the first half of the silver age, the coming of the Olimians, the great cities and structured they built, and more. It also tells of how Tarcur slowly corrupted them over time.

Part 2 of the book tells of the Silver Race's successful rebellion against the gods. and how their actions caused their own destruction and almost destroyed everything. It tells of how the Elves, and other beings were made.

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Part 1 of Virtues and Cautions is an account of the Bronze Age, of humans and elves warring with each other, and gods that demanded worship. Vreathe was very nearly ended once again, but Nora had enough, sacrificing herself to save everything.

Part 2 has several dozen additional stories from all time periods, each with a single virtue as the theme of the story. At the end of each story is a collection of proverbs for each virtue.

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Beliefs

Followers of Saint Nora have six core beliefs: That Silnos is the creator and the Rena are aspects of this god, That Saint Nora gave up her power to save the people of Vreathe, that Meliheal is the World Tree and Wellspring of Souls, that Nora will judge you in the afterlife, that following her virtues and heeding her great cautions is how you get into the afterlife. Below is a summary of those beliefs as followers of the church would say them. For more information, read the article to the right.

Related Article

The Universe is God

"Silnos is the God of everything. They created the universe. They are the Universe. They created the Rena and the world seeds. They planned for humans to enter Vreathe through the World Tree. Their grand design is far beyond our understanding, so we look to Saint Nora to teach us."

Nora's Sacrifice

"Nora relinquished her power to save Vreathe. She stopped the war between the Rena and shut them out of the world and the world tree forever. For this, Nora was rewarded with a mortal human form that would grow old and die. She used the life she had to lead and teach the people of Vreathe."

The Wellspring of Souls

"Meliheal the World Tree, planted by the Rena long ago, connects all things. It houses all unwicked souls, both those yet to be born, and those that already lived their one life on Vreathe. Souls that are not within the wellspring are said to be forever suffering while those within the wellspring are said to be in a state of eternal bliss."

The Supreme Judge and the Afterlife

"After her death, Nora became the Supreme Judge, weighing the virtues and deeds of recently deceased mortals. When you die, you enter Meliheal to be judged by Nora. She alone decides if you are allowed into the wellspring of souls or be shut out of it forever. "

Nora's Virtues

"Following the examples set forth in the scriptures is how one can live a full life, and gain access to an eternal life after death. You have free will and there is no one correct way to live life on Vreathe, but Nora's great cautions must always be followed."

The Great Cautions

"In Nora's teachings, there were three common things that she cautioned people against. Several times in the scriptures, Nora says to: 'Beware the Cost of Magic, Beware False Prophets and Promises, and Beware the Silver Race.' We must strive to uphold her teachings and never stray from her path of righteousness!"