Radoslav the Redeemed
Saint of Imprisonment, Redemption, Hope, and Purification
Titles: The Redeemed, Father Chernusha, The Pagan Penitent, The Mad Monk, Bearer of the Cross of Tsepsha, Lord of the Revolution, The Eyes within Stone, The Everdead
Favored Weapon: Great Club(Fashioned in the shape of an enormous cross)
Alignment: Light
Elemental Lord: Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence
Obedience: Spend an hour wrapping holy scripture around your wrists, bound with chain carved with the holy prayers of Radoslav. If you cannot do this, spend an hour in silent meditation calling out to Radoslav, asking for redemption and/or the power to bring hope and redemption to others no matter how small.
Effect: You may cast Good Hope and Crushing Despair 1/day each as Spell-Like Abilities. All locks, wards, or other means of 'sealing', 'imprisonment', or 'binding'(GM Discretion) you implement, cast, or put in place have heightened DCs depending on the type of effect in question(+10 to the DCs for locks, +5 to all checks required to escape bindings such as handcuffs, +5 to break and unlock DCs of doors, +2 on spell DCs that qualify, etc). GM has final ruling on the exact bonus to the DC.
Divine Domains
Sun, Good, Healing, Liberation, Repose, Death(Murder and Undead Subdonains Only)
Holy Books & Codes
The Blackened Scriptures
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A cross with a humanoid bound by chains on it, superimposed over the sun
Tenets of Faith
Chain the guilty. Lock away those who endanger themselves or others. Keep them sealed away until they serve their time or see the light and repent.
Reform the Corrupt. Deliver reformation unto the systems of corruption and those who serve them. Let the cogs of evil shine with holy light.
Give hope to all. In all you do, bring hope first and light the faces of the forlorn. Seek out the bringers of despair and see them dealt with.
Purify the wicked. Those who cannot or will not see the light must be purified - deliver unto them swift and merciful justice.
Redeem the Unredeemable. Ensure all things and creatures be given a chance at redemption, no matter how vile.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
To give all creatures a chance at redemption, and accepting light into their hearts.
To destroy and purify all those who would refuse the gift of redemption.
To see a shining, hopeful smile on every face in the world.
Relationships
History
Though how they met has been lost to time, it is well known that around six-hundred years ago, Osmantha encountered Radoslav the Redeemed back when they were both horrifically evil engines of destruction - Osmantha as the legendary "Heat-Reaping Demon" and Radoslav as "The Mad Monk" who wielded Blacksong to damn the souls of thousands to eternal torment. However, in the end, this relationship of terror was not to last - Radoslav the Redeemed was eventually redeemed at the hands of a cleric of Shen the Meek, and afterwards the two were said to come to blows in a confrontation that shattered the legendary Cross of Tsepsha - the personal artifact of Radoslav the Redeemed and symbol of his holy purity. The legendary cross carved of solid marble and inlaid with ivory was smashed in the legendary battle the two engaged in, which was said to level mountains and flatten entire sections of terrain into grasslands...though in the end, Radoslav the Redeemed proved mightier and bested his former partner in crime. Rather than kill her, however, he used the techniques that had redeemed him on Osmantha herself, teaching her the values of kindness as, unlike as with himself, no magic or alchemy could magically extract the evil from her - instead, he simply bound her and spoke to her at length...about what, none can say. But it bore fruit, and over their long conversations the legendary redeemer soon taught Osmantha that, perhaps, another path was yet open to her - one of atonement. And though Radoslav would go on to die tragically at the hands of the Danzou Theocracy which he tried so hard to redeem, his body beheaded and nailed to the front wall of the castle, his teachings not only lived on in his faithful followers, but in Osmantha herself, who saw how selflessly her savior had given his powerful, radiant life for the lives of so many creatures she saw as weak, selfish, and beyond redemption...and found hope.
Followers & Priesthood
As an Elemental Saint of Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence, Radoslav has a suprisingly diverse base of followers that surprises many who might judge him based on an initial first glance. His followers can come a great number of professions or walks of life, but are most commonly found as town guards, jailers, wardens of prisons, healers, those who want to simply "do good" in the world, and even the likes of rebels and revolutionists swear allegience to the of Father Radoslav - though he can be somewhat extreme for a saint of Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence, he is nonetheless a popular and far-spread part of her court of saints. His followers tend to be organized extremely well, and often form dedicated cathedrals and churches to his holy name - they tend to dress in white and gold garments worn over their normal outfits(or tend to color existing suits of armor or other uniforms or outfit), and universally they adorn themselves and their garments with crosses both upright and inverted(Symbolizing Redemption Achieved and Redemption Sought, respectively), and oftentimes wrap holy scriptures from Radoslav's holy book like enormous flowing banners attached to their wrists, ensuring such long flowing streamers of holy script stay attached to them with manacles, chains, and other implements of imprisonment. Especially devoted members of the faith often shave their heads to better represent the image of their Saint, who was reportedly bald most of his adult life after giving away his hair to children in need. Oftentimes, the faithful of Radoslav are not well-inclined to establishing the centers of their faith such as cathedrals and churches and other centers of faith inside of cities or other population centers - instead, they prefer establishing enormous complexes known as "Bastions" near or not far away from populated areas so they can operate within the purview of a country or law, but free of the constraints of city life and population centers. These complexes are often enormous hilltop cathedral complexes with many different buildings where redemption, imprisonment, reformation and the like can occur where those who can provide dedicated help can do so free of worry of intervention from a populated area. Oftentimes, the faithful will assist the local law enforcement of an area and work in tandem with them, supplementing the resources of the local militia or guard force with their own dungeons, prisons, churches, and the like.Ethics
Those of the Radoslavan faith are a simple people who abide by simple creeds - they believe in always giving chance to any creature no matter who that creature might be to accept the light and goodness into their hearts and be redeemed, and will often go out of their way to ensure all other creatures get that chance. Even if they reject that opportunity, what matters to the those of the Radoslavan faith is the act of giving them the chance - if they turn down the opportunity, what only needs result is their merciless execution and 'purification', as with the rejection they have proven themselves as undeserving of mercy and thus worthy only of death, that the world might be cleansed of their presence. The same merciless justice also apples to those creatures judged to be incapable of accepting a chance at redempting - typically applied to animals, beasts, mindless undead and the like, though certain zealous members of the faith apply this to those they believe are deranged or otherwise mentally inept of doing so as a justification to 'purify' them. They are also ardent believers of imprisonment, sealing, and binding as the ideal form of punishment for a creature that proves to be a danger to themselves or others - followers of Radoslav believe that by locking the guilty and dangerous away, they are given valuable time to think on their decisions in the pain of isolation, and are hopefully given sufficient motivation to turn their lives around while locked away. This makes them natural allies of law enforcement agencies and town guards and the like, who share a similar enthusiasm for imprisonment and confinement of troublesome individuals rather than outright killing them. In a similar vein, they also despise corrupt or otherwise criminalized systems, or excessively evil ones - they believe in cleansing these systems wherever they can be found, no matter the detriment to themselves or those assisting them, so long as such systems of and for the corrupt are purified, torn down, or destroyed, all is right in the end. Finally, and most importantly, Radoslavans hold hope incredibly close to their hearts - no matter the situation or place they are in, they believe in spreading hope and combating despair in whatever ways they can, no matter how minor. Even if they can only bring a smile to the face of a single child or inspire hope in a single creature, no act is more worthwhile - for while many are familiar with hardships, Radoslav's followers are more familiar with struggle, strife, and suffering and are thus more familiar than most with how much bringing hope or a smile to single creature can light up their life. The smallest acts, to the faithful of Radoslav, are the ones that light up the darkness the most - and are the ones that most contribute to driving back despair...for in a battered and beaten populace, or one plagued by oppression, no weapon is as potent as hope.History
A somewhat recent addition to the annals of Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence's cabinet of Elemental Saints, Radoslav was a Shao-zou man who lived some six centuries prior to the modern day of whom unfortunately little records remain, thanks to the vicious censoring campaigns ran by the Danzou Theocracy in recent years that have made great strides in erasing the Saint's achievements from the public record. Now, only the higher ranking members of the faith know the full and exact details of Radoslav's history, though some vague details have endure despite attempts to scrub them - from what little is known, Radoslav was born a simple pauper man in the slums of Kaisernacht, capital of the Danzou Theocracy, as a man whose parents abandoned him at birth and left him in poverty. He is believed to have grown up in the awful conditions of the Theocacy which, even then, were borderline anarchy - living and surviving on the lawless streets fighting other orphans and battling cartels and mafias to survive as he grew up doing anything he could to endure in the harsh, violent world he had been born into. Little is known of this time of his life - all that IS known is that it came to an end when it was staked through the heart by a rival while living on the streets, and left to die outside the bounds of the city he had been surviving in...but that was not the end of him. It was there, on his deathbed, that he embraced Blacksong into his soul and was consumed by The Witch Kings of Bhorsis-Razghûl - after which he became infamous as "The Mad Monk" once he joined a nearby Monastary and made a name for himself as a purveyor of black magics and witchcraft, able to heal the body and soul alike...while in reality, he was using the damning power of Blacksong to corrupt and consume the souls and bodies of others. His life of debauchery, destruction, and carnage lasted for decades - it was not until he somehow found the redeeming light of Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence by way of a brave cleric of Shen the Meek who managed to extract the Blacksong from his soul and give him a chance at freedom...which he took and found salvation in the bosom of Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence. Freed from his life of service to his damnable masters The Witch Kings of Bhorsis-Razghûl, Radoslav ended out the last decade of his life spread the good word of Vidixath, Lady of Luminescence to any who would listen and, in his final years, attempted to lead a revolution in the Danzou Theocracy that, while almost succesful, ended in his death at the hands of The Krovytsar(Better known as the Knights of Blood, AKA the royal guards of the Theocracy), who killed him, beheaded him, and nailed his body to the front wall of the castle and left it to rot for a month before burning it for daring to defy the Theocracy's government.
So doth he teach that no being, no matter their deeds nor beliefs, should be beyond redemption, nor hope - For it was he, devotee of Blacksong and its' wicked masters, who found hope and redemption beneath the searing sun, such that even his soul, black as pitch, was brought kindness. Even now doth he bear our burdens from beyond the grave - taking the world's blackest sins unto himself that they might be replaced with healing light. Let none be beyond your kindness. Let none be foreign to the touch of hope. Deliver unto all what they rightly deserve. And let evil rot away beneath the purifying light.
Divine Classification
Elemental Saint
Alignment
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Example Divine Oaths
Oath of the Lightbringer: Tear down, destroy, or reform systems rife with corruption wherever they can be found, and do the same to those who serve them. Seek out those who bring despair or serve those who do and redeem them if possible, and deliver swift justice unto them if not.
Oath of the Hopeful Redeemer: Never let a frown that you see go without attempting to cheer the person in question up. Always try to inspire hope in the hopeless and bring light to the despairing. Never allow another creature to be denied a chance at redemption.
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