Order of the Golden God
Originating from the city of Ardentwyd in the Eastern Bluffs, The Order of The Golden God is a religious organization that believes the Anorian Gods (called Patrons) are the children of The One God (called The Golden God), sent to watch over the world while he is away. The Order is spearheaded by knights and priests who spread the message of The Golden God around Winhem. Though they mostly stick to the Eastern Bluffs and the surrounding settlements, they have slowly been spreading their influence further and further in recent years.
History
Sometime during the second generation in the growing city of Lysium, a warrior priest of The One God saw the great imbalance that was plaguing the people of Winhem. Futilely praying to his God that he knew could not influence the world from so far away, he begged for a miracle to save his race. Weeks passed with no results, and soon the man became disheartened. But just as he was losing faith, news came that his wife was pregnant. And not just that, women all across the city were becoming pregnant too. He realized that the false gods of the Anorians must have had a hand in this, and came to the conclusion that these powerful beings were children of the One God sent to Siliren to act in his absence.
Over the years, he preached of his discovery and of the need to accept these new beings, which he had called Patrons. Though he did accrue a small following, most in the city were not fans of his religion and found his teachings problematic. During a ritual ceremony dedicated to the Patrons, a group of people led by the man’s former priest companions attacked. Though many were injured, the man and his followers won the bloody battle with only a few causalities. As a direct result of the battle and the countless other problems his preaching had caused in the city, in 71AC the man and his followers were exiled to the wilds of Siliren.
In the year 73AC the group discovered the race of Hellbends around the same time as other humans did. Seeing that these people were children of the Patrons who were in turn the children of God, the group readily accepted them and began learning and teaching all they could from one another. One family of Hellbends, in particular, took a liking to the ideology of the group and joined them. The Hellbends taught them everything about the Patrons and quickly became just as respected as the warrior priest and his family. The group continued traveling around Winhem for many years, only settling down briefly before setting out once again.
Ten years later in 83AC, while traveling through the forests of the Eastern Steppes the group discovered a lone, decrepit, chapel. To the average person, the building would simply be ruins from a bygone era, but to this zealous group, it was a sign from The One and the Patrons. They settled down at the site and began building the settlement of Ardentwyd, named both for the way the symbol atop the chapel shined and for the passion of its inhabitants. Leaving their old lives behind them, the families in the group took new names from words found in the religious tomes that had been left in the area. Of particular note were the names of the warrior priest’s family and the hellbend family, Aurea and Chryso respectively.
Over the next few decades, the town grew and the people lived happily. Calling themselves The Order of The Golden God, they would often venture out to spread word of their religion and convince others to join them. Tragically, during one such outing in the Summer season of 114AC, a group of Ardentwyd priests were attacked and killed in a village of One God worshipping humans who believed their religion heretical. In this attack, the Aurea warrior priest was killed. Devastated over the loss of their founder, The Order swiftly retaliated and razed the village. Soon after, they stopped venturing out of Ardentwyd and contact with the outside world was sparse, carried only by the occasional merchant or traveler. This is the way things continued for nearly a century.
In the year 209AC, a large group of peasants came to Ardentwyd begging for help from the well armed, rigorously trained knights and priests. Their nearby village had been attacked and was now occupied by bandits. After a few internal arguments of varying degrees, The Order sent out Ardent-Kin to deal with the problem. Upon killing the bandits and returning the village to the grateful people, they realized that spreading their faith was originally one of their sworn duties. Over the next century The Order would become increasingly less secular while spreading the word and will of The Golden God further and further.
Starting around 290AC, the main purpose of The Order became sending out knights and priests to aid and convert the people of Siliren through the will and word of The Golden God. Knowing that the outside world was full of temptation that could sway anybody, the superiors preferred to keep the Ardent-Kin on a tight leash. As they soon discovered in the following years though, some leashes are prone to breaking.
Government
The Order is run by a small group of ranking members from the High Knighthood and the High Clergy. Chief among them are the Lord Paladin and Arch Cleric. This group, usually known as just ‘the superiors’ have a hand in deciding everything that happens within The Order, from naming to marriages, from teaching to missions. The right to become a member of the superiors is gained solely based on merit and as such can hardly, if ever, be lost. It is possible however to be outranked by a member who has done more than you, and it is not too uncommon for the reigning Lord Paladin or Arch Cleric to be replaced by a younger, more able member.
Ranks
Initiates:
Postulant-Brother/Sister
Pious-Brother/Sister
Clergy:
Word-Brother/Sister
Prayer-Brother/Sister
Priest(ess)-Fated
Priest(ess)-Familiar
Priest(ess)
Priest(ess)-Faithful
Priest(ess)-Fervent
High Clergy:
Cleric
Cleric-Superior (5)
Grand Cleric (3)
Arch Cleric (1)
Knighthood:
Will-Brother/Sister
Battle-Brother/Sister
Knight-Aspirant
Knight-Apprentice
Knight
Knight-Adept
Knight-Ardent
High Knighthood:
Paladin
Paladin-Commander (5)
High Paladin (3)
Lord Paladin (1)
Misc Info
Ideals
The ideals of The Golden God, while not explicitly stated in any texts or teachings, are said to be uniting the people, slaying the wicked, and spreading the word and will. These ideals can be interpreted different ways by different members, such as one member spreading the word by preaching of The Golden’s kindness while another member preaches of the damnation of heretics.
Money/Payment
The Order gets most of its money from taking on jobs (called ‘missions’ in The Order) and sending their knights and priests to do them. Ardent-Kin are expected to give all coins earned from the job to the Ardentwyd treasury. Another large portion of money comes from Ardent-Kin inside of the town buying goods and services, as there are no private businesses in Ardentwyd. The last portion of money comes from tithes given by converted settlements and donations from outsiders. Most of the money goes to paying Ardent-Kin for their work, supporting converted settlements, and providing for The Order’s sick, weak, and old. The rest is decided by the superiors, and usually goes to buying supplies for Ardentwyd.
Since Ardent-Kin don’t get directly paid for missions, many of them take to looting their fallen foes and enemy camps. Additionally, when not on missions, most of them take private jobs where they are allowed to keep what they earn.
Conversion
The Order doesn’t allow forced conversions. If a settlement refuses conversion, The Order simply leaves them alone. Slowly, they will take the support of their knights and priests away from the area and leave them to deal with bandits or other troubles on their own. Depending on the situation they will return to attempt conversion again in a few weeks or up to a year. Though some members have began catching on, this method is only officially known by the superiors and has only recently been employed.
Settlements that have officially converted are supported at all times by Ardent-Kin for free(ish), but in return are expected to worship only the Golden and the Patrons and to pay a small tithe to The Order each season. If a converted person wishes to move to Ardentwyd they are always allowed, but they must become either a priest or a knight.
Crime/Punishment
Crimes done by a member of The Order, to a member of The Order, or by those who are particularly wicked are punished severely as deemed by the superiors. In cases of things like unjust theft, 5x the amount of the stolen item(s) must be repaid. In the event that it cannot be repaid, The Order will pay the abused party and the criminal will be sentenced to hard labor until the amount is payed off. In cases like unjust murder, the criminal will be publicly executed by ‘Divine Justice’: being stripped, placed on their knees, having their hands tied to two posts with their arms in a “V” shape, and running them through with a sharpened golden pole. Beforehand, the executioner is made to drink, spun around, and then blindfolded, which will wildly change where the pole hits (this is the ‘Divine’ part of the justice, the Golden and the Patrons will decide if it is a quick or drawn out death). No matter where the pole lands it is left and not moved until the criminal is dead. This leads to initially non-lethal hits resulting in bleeding out and complete misses to be death by starvation, dehydration, the elements, animals, or whatever else nature decides. Only three members have ever faced divine justice, though there have been a number of outsiders who were executed in this way. This has led to a few problems with The Order and the outside world, who don’t believe The Order has the right to decide this.
Holidays
Holidays from the outside world aren’t celebrated in Ardentwyd. There are a few small holidays recognized throughout the year, but the biggest by far is Patron’s Dawn (also known as the Dawning Fest). Patron’s Dawn takes place from the 60th to the 87th of Spring. During the first 27 days the Patron are celebrated, each getting their own day of prayer and celebration. If it is a day dedicated to one’s Pledge-Patron, they are expected to celebrate in some special way that the patron would approve of. On the 28th day, the anniversary of the Change Days, Ardent-Kin have the biggest celebration of the year. On this day they celebrate The Golden God and all he stands for in any way that they see fit. During Patron’s Dawn, many Ardent-Kin travel around Winhem to celebrate. Specific days are referred to as [Patron’s name/Golden]’s Dawn, e.g. Nysem’s Dawn, Issias’ Dawn, Golden’s Dawn.
Naming
Ardent-Kin begin their lives with given names that would seem normal anywhere on Winhem. After they officially complete their first few missions for The Order, they are given their ‘true name’, taken from words found in a tome when Ardentwyd was first discovered. Since no real translation of the tome exists, the words are given arbitrary meanings that relate to the individual’s skills or personality.
Miscallaneous
Like most hellbends, The Order worships all Patrons equally even though some might stand for “immoral” things.
Though the Aurea and Chryso family names carry respect, they have no special privileges and must gain their rank the same as everyone else.
‘The Order’ refers to all worshippers of The Golden and The Patrons while ‘Ardent-Kin’ refers specifically to the knights and priests of The Order, who all come from Ardentwyd.
It is unknown when exactly the split between knight and priest happened. Strangely enough, and confusingly for outsiders, they basically do the same thing. There are a few key differences though. Most of the time priests forgo heavy weapons and armor in favor of more welcoming and comfortable clothing and easily concealable or less threatening weapons. They often know more spells and have more charisma to help convert others. Knights, on the other hand, are never seen without their easily accessible and typically heavier weapons and will often wear at least a helm. They tend to be better at fighting and things related to it. Also of minor note, knights are said to spread the ‘will’ while priests are said to spread the ‘word’, which in reality are one and the same. They will, however, correct anybody who says the wrong one.
Almost all Ardent-Kin have a very close bond with one another. Ardent-Kin who grow up or operate together are particularly close and will often call each other Battle-Brother/Sister or Prayer-Brother/Sister instead of by their formal titles. This, however, is very rarely done with members of the High Clergy or High Knighthood or those much older than you.
Ardentwyd’s main language is Common, which is taught to all Ardent-Kin growing up. Most are also taught the basics of Rigarian, but only specialized and high-ranking members are expected to learn more of the language.
Speech Quirks
• Being a religious group, members of The Order speak often about The Golden God and the Patrons
• All Ardent-Kin have a classic knightly speech pattern
• When on a mission or speaking to people they are unfamiliar with, members tend to speak more formally and to give their full name and title
• Members of The Order have their own unique slang that often confuses those from the outside world. These slang words are usually in the style of kennings
Article Credit to Mizfortune
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