The Church of the Living Flame

The main faith of the known world, the Church of the Living flame has many variations between countries.

The Faith of the Living Flame holds the hearts of every true and honest man, woman, and child in Cothenburg, or at least so they claim. Certainly, the faith of Enea is a significant factor in the lives of every imperial citizen, from the highest echelons of the imperial court, to the poorest northern hovel. The Imperial Church holds such significance that it holds electoral votes for the emperor, and more than one political deadlock has been decided by the will of Enea- or at least, those who speak for her.

Enea herself is a deity of immense power, represented by pure fire and blinding light to her mortal followers. She is a force of inspiration and purity, driving men to great deeds and good lives- but she is a distant deity. She is never described as loving, for she is harsh and exacting, and exists on a level beyond most mortal affairs- in the imperial tradition, she is responsible for holding back terrors and profane gods from the material realm, and so leaves most of mortal affairs to those she trusts to see her will done. These favoured people make up the priesthood and religious orders of the empire, as they bear her divine power to aid in their tasks.

Beyond Enea herself, the most significant figure in the Faith of the Living Flame is of course the Fireheart, the true example of Enea’s divine care for mankind. Now a semi-divine figure on his own, the Fireheart is much closer to mortal affairs than his mistress and is considered a direct link from mortal voices to the divine. Prayers often invoke his name to channel Enea’s will and power, and if not him, one of the angels of her service will take the place instead.

The Imperial church has thousands of representatives across the empire, from village priests manning a small local temple to the mightiest of bishops in the Cathedral of the Brightest Fires in the Cothenburg capital. Acolytes typically join the faith after some kind of calling in their early teens, and are raised through study and meditation to bring the light of Enea into their hearts. Not all are able to bear her light, and return to their old lives, but those that do gain a connection to powers that would be impossible to the common man. For most, this is limited in might to a few tricks and cantrips and maybe some healing, but some have greater strength, and grow in might as they practice carry out incredible feats- some have even managed to raise the dead, a miracle by any understanding (although resurrection outside of a very short time is considered taboo, for souls might return from the journey vulnerable to dark powers and tainting influences).

The faith is governed by two bodies that define all theological law and offer edicts of faith when they deem it necessary. The Theologian Council meets in the capital as a congregation of the highest-ranking bishops and cardinals of the empire, and is the primary governing body of the church. The vast majority of their members come from noble backgrounds, who always earn preferential treatment in placement after graduation from acolyte status- no divine explanation has been given for such favouritism. As such, the Theologian Council leans towards supporting stability, and rarely issues any edict that would change anything about the way the church is run.

The Celestant, meanwhile, is the cultural figurehead of the church. The position is one that is given through blessing, and there can only ever be one at a time (in Cothenburg at least- another Celestant position exists in a similar form in Arionne.). The Celestant is a divinely blessed woman, gifted with the power of the Goddess, and is seen as an aspect of the divine within mortal form. They serve for life, each carefully selected upon the passing of their predecessor and given the power to bear within them. They hold immense cultural and religious significance, and are seen as a mighty voice in all matters they lend it to- but, despite their power and their holy status, they rarely, if ever, challenge the Theologian Council. The Celestant is the face of the imperial church- her Council leads it.

Of final note is the treatment of arcane magic within the Kingdom and within the faith overall. Due to the abuses of the elves, and the general unpredictability of sorcery, arcane magic is firmly restricted. All arcane gifted children are required to be taken in and taught to control their power, undergoing a ritual known as the Sanctioning, an intensive abjuration spell that binds the magic of an individual into a controlled form, changing them from sorcerer to wizard. Adult sorcerers are illegal across the human nations, and are typically killed upon being discovered. In Cothenburg, the fear of sorcery is extreme, and wizards are forced to abandon all claims and cannot travel without a priest or religious knight in attendance, something Arionnics and Nardans consider extreme in practice. Nevertheless, most imperial citizens feel far safer with magic under heavy restriction.