Temple of Habbakuk
“Habbakuk is the harbor who shelters all”
—Tempest domain
“Habbakuk shines on growth, and cries for decay, both with a loving smile.”
—Nature domain
”Habbakuk is the warming sun that starts your day, and at night, the trusty lamp that lights your way.”
—Life domain
—Tempest domain
“Habbakuk shines on growth, and cries for decay, both with a loving smile.”
—Nature domain
”Habbakuk is the warming sun that starts your day, and at night, the trusty lamp that lights your way.”
—Life domain
Structure
There are five ranks of clerics in the Temple of Habbakuk.
- The lowest rank is Initiate, who are not officially clerics, and only have their robes and holy symbols to represent them. These initiates are almost always either children or new converts, as most members easily reach the next rank within a few years.
- The second rank is Acolyte, who are the lowest official clerics of Habbakuk. They are represented by gray feather-capes in addition to their robes and symbols, and are capable of basic magic. These members often serve as the main priest in smaller villages, or as secondary priests in larger ones.
- The third rank is Defender, who are represented by blue feather-capes. These clerics are capable of much more powerful magic, and often travel long distance as representatives of Habbakuk. The rank got its name by how they are viewed as the ‘defenders of the faith’, either in battle or in politics. Aasimar chosen by Habbakuk himself usually advance to this rank immediately after completing their initiation.
- The fourth rank is High Priest, who are represented by pure white feather-capes. These are the most honorable, battle-hardened clerics of the entire faith, and there are only as many as there are temples, as each temple is led by a High Priest.
- The highest rank is Avatar, which is held by Habbakuk’s current Chosen once they have proven themselves worthy to the rest of their faith. Based on her father’s friendship with the god himself, as well as her status as an aasimar, Habbakuk’s current Chosen is believed to be Maxxine Imumbower. However, since she is currently only a Defender, the title of Avatar remains vacant. When there is an active Avatar, they are treated as Habbakuk himself in mortal form, and are represented by a feather-cape made from the Chosen’s previous capes. This random mix of gray, blue and white feathers represents all other ranks of the faith, symbolizing the Avatar acting as a personification of the faith as a whole.
Culture
The most notable custom of the Temple of Habbakuk is their initiation and advancement traditions, known as the Scavenge. In order to become official clerics of Habbakuk, Initiates must complete their own Scavenge by traveling around their region collecting enough bird feathers to hand-craft their own cape, by either salvaging them naturally, or with permission from birds directly via the spell speak with animals. Very few Initiates are capable of casting magic however, and thus have to rely on the former method, which can take years. These feathers must be collected by the Initiate themselves, however, even if they travel with other Initiates. This tradition repeats with each advancement to a higher rank, with the color of feather changing appropriately, from gray (Acolyte), to blue (Defender), to pure white (High Priest).
Each Scavenge is usually referred to by the color of feather being collected, such as ‘Gray Scavenge’, or ‘Blue Scavenge’. In the regions around larger temples, Scavenges are seen as special occasions amongst the general population, who often feed and host those along their travels. This is especially true for Initiates, as they are most commonly children, and thus are often celebrated during their Scavenge. Some villages even have traditions of gifting child Initiates with trinkets and charms made with blue and white feathers as a token of good luck to encourage them to continue to even higher ranks.
Public Agenda
The Temple of Habbakuk aims to spread worship of him by carrying out his will as opposed to preaching or missions. They believe that their actions, be it striking down undead or provide safe passage through a stormy sea, will spread his love better than any sermon could.
History
While worship of Habbakuk has occurred for centuries, it was always small, even after the first temple was founded in 3e73. However, after the OG events in 3e217-8, worship of Habbakuk spread greatly in and around Oberken. The temple in Smittir became the center of worship, and grew greatly in size.
Tenets of Faith
- Habbakuk abhors undead, but (barely) tolerates any made or “approved” by another nature god, such as Taboo. His followers eradicate undead wherever it can be found, outside of the aforementioned exclusion.
- Habbakuk naturally welcomes nature in all of its forms, and thus is open to any and all materials made from it - including drugs. The overall level of acceptance varies by the drug itself, based on how natural it is, and by it’s effect on the greater population. Drugs that are entirely plant-based, for example, aren’t even seen or treated as drugs at all.
- Since he is also a god of storms, Habbakuk is a protector of sailors. Many of his Tempest domain clerics can be found on sea vessels, being hired to help keep them at bay. However, if a storm proves to be too powerful for one of these clerics to hold back, it’s considered to be Habbakuk’s direct will, and they drop any and all resistance against it, even if it costs them their lives.
- Similar to undead, Habbakuk also demands that his clerics seek out and eliminate magical aberrations. However, while eliminating undead is viewed as punishment for their defiance (either their own or by their creator), the elimination of aberrations is seen as a restoration of a dangerous mutation back to its natural state.
Ethics
While Habbakuk is very black and white with his tenets themselves, he is surprisingly flexible with how they are carried out. He trusts the judgement of all of his clerics, as every situation they may find themselves in is unique. For example, a cleric of Habbakuk would be allowed to work alongside a necromancer to defeat an even greater evil, and could do so without hesitation. Habbakuk also allows his clerics to intentionally not act on his tenets if doing so would be a detriment to the greater good. For example, if a vampire is crucial to the survival of a village, a cleric of Habbakuk could actively ignore them for as long as that particular circumstance exists. However, Habbakuk and his clerics see these situations as postponement of his will, not neglect of it. To continue the previous example, once the village is no longer reliant on the vampire for its survival, then his clerics would be obligated to act. Furthermore, when Habbakuk’s clerics do exact his will, he expects it to be done without hesitation, and without mercy.
Worship
Followers of Habbakuk don’t worship him directly so much as they worship his tenets and ideals. Habbakuk personally feels that the energy given to praying could be better spent spreading his will, so while they do pray to him directly each morning at sunrise to refresh their magic, his clerics show their devotion to him through their actions, not words.
Priesthood
The priesthood of Habbakuk is very organic. Membership in the clergy is entirely voluntary, and there are no deadlines for initiation or advancement. The timing of advancement is organic as well, as Habbakuk intentionally gives his Initiates a desire to travel when he feels their personal growth has warranted the rank of Defender. Regardless of how long a cleric had been an Initiate, if they declare they are ready for their Blue Scavenge, they are not stopped or questioned.
For advancement to High Priest, Habbakuk influences the opposite. For a Defender he feels has served him well and should start slowing down, he will give them a desire to settle down, which always correlates with the retirement or dying of a current High Priest. Habbakuk grants his High Priest with the desire to finally rest, and the instinct to request their replacement to embark on their White Scavenge. By drawing the two clerics to each other, Habbakuk makes the transition between his High Priests very natural and peaceful. However, this isn’t always the case, because Habbakuk only grants his clerics
additional desires and feelings, he doesn’t change existing ones, let alone directly influence their free will. Thankfully, due to the nature of the faith the desires Habbakuk grants tend to accentuate already existing motivations. It is rare for any issues or conflict to arise, and none have occurred around the transitions between High Priests.
The rarest occurrence, however, is naturally the advancement to Avatar. Habbakuk has only had a handful of his Chosen advance to his highest rank, so there isn’t a standard practice, but there has been consistency between the previous Avatars. In each case, the Chosen was already a high priest, a proven hero of the faith, and was widely believed to in fact be the Chosen. In some cases this last part was obvious (such as with the circumstances around the current presumed Chosen, Maxxine Imumbower), but in others their belief as the Chosen was based on faith alone, as opposed to direct evidence. Then, the Chosen found themselves in some sort of position where they had to defend themselves, the faith, or the people - often in some sort of combat situation. Each time, in a moment of desperation, the Chosen would black out, only to come to with their white feather-cape having been combined with their previous blue and gray, and finding themselves already successful in their task.
It’s believed that Habbakuk himself took over in those moments, but even those able to directly speak with him are unable to get the truth out of him. Not surprisingly, events like these only serve to confirm what the faithful believed they had already known, and their ascension is celebrated in a ritual at the temple in Smittir. In each case, the new Avatar directly chose their replacement as High Priest, regardless of their previous rank.
Granted Divine Powers
Habbakuk grants his Clerics powers in either the Nature or Tempest domains, although once in a while one will be granted powers from the Life domain. Most of his Clerics first receive their powers upon satisfactory completion of their gray feather-cape during their initiation travels, at which point they are then allowed to return to the temple as official Acolytes. The main exception to this are his Aasimar, who often receive their powers at birth as a result of his blessing, in which case the completion of their feather-capes result in stronger powers instead.
Sects
There aren’t any true sects of Habbakuk, as his worship has only come into major prominence relatively recently. However, due to having Clerics in different domains, each tends to have its own purpose and reputation. His Nature domain clerics are usually perceived as direct guardians of the land, and the bane of undead, being treated more similarly to druids than to most other clerics. His Tempest domain clerics are seen as both the personification of nature’s vengeance, as well as its mercy, particularly in coastal regions. In the rare case of a Life domain cleric, they are perceived as the warmth of life itself, as they are healers of the purest sort.
Spread his will, and the faithful will follow
Founding Date
73
Type
Religious, Temple
Leader Title
Deities
Divines
Location
Notable Members
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