by David Hall and Nick Brooke
History
The history of our church begins with the Creation. At this time the Supreme Deity, the Creator and Invisible God, manifested himself and brought all of the parts of the world into being. This was the Godtime when all of the gods accepted the Creator.
The Creator set one god to be above the others and called him Emperor. Emperor was to rule the Creator's world in his absence. At first Emperor ruled wisely and was generous to the other gods and demi-gods. His patronage saw many great and beautiful things created.
However, in time, Emperor grew giddy with his unlimited power and authority and thought himself the equal of the Creator. He experimented with his powers and brought into the world horrible things from outside, things that he could not control. Many gods complained, and in response Emperor grew angry and unreasonable, and dealt with them harshly and unjustly.
Eventually the actions of Emperor threatened the whole world and Orlanth and his brothers decided they must act to stop him. They confronted him at his great palace and listed his wrongs and injustices. In response Emperor sent his horrible things against the brothers to kill them and silence their dissent. But the brothers defeated the things (though one brother was sent mad by the horror of it) and cut down Emperor. This plunged the world into darkness, and Emperor's Chaotic things scourged the lands under the influence of his evil spirit which had by now become the Devil.
To save the world Orlanth began Lightbringer's Quest to find the Invisible God and bring his creative genius back to the world. Eventually they found the Creator and with the help of the other Gods of his Divine Host He created the world with the Great Compromise and with Time.
The Invisible God then named Orlanth to be First Amongst Equals, or King of the Gods. Orlanth pledged that his rule would be based on the common consent of the Divine Host and not on the tyranny of one.
However, during the First Age the chaotic forces returned to the world when ignorant humans allowed Emperor to return in the guise of Gbaji the Deceiver. He brought with him new monstrosities that again scourged the land in a new time of darkness.
When Gbaji the Deceiver held almost all of the lands of the world in his evil grip, in the West arose Arkat, Hero and Demi-god, to counter his evil machinations. Arkat was the son of Humakt and he led the united nations and religions of the West in a crusade against Gbaji. However, at the very point that he had freed the western lands he was defeated and imprisoned in the underworld.
From the lands of Dragon Pass there then came another hero, Harmast Barefoot, inspired by Orlanth to seek the Light in the West. After an epic journey Harmast found Arkat deep in the underworld and freed him.
With his new allies Arkat was strengthened and he led the combined forces to free Dragon Pass. Once the Pass was freed Arkat turned to Gbaji's great stronghold in Dorastor. However, such was his eagerness to destroy the Devil once and for all that he turned to the Darkness people for their help.
This betrayal of the Invisible God was only partially successful. Though Arkat found the power to destroy Gbaji and Dorastor, the cost was the souls of his most loyal friends and followers and the loss of the greater part of his own humanity. In addition the seeds of Chaos were spread into the black hearts of many of the darkmen and consequences of this have yet to be felt. In the end it was only through the divine intercession of the Invisible God that Arkat himself was saved.
After this Arkat founded and ruled a great Empire in Ralios which was based on the tenets and teachings of our church. The empire only fell when the foul God Learners conspired with Chaos and the Devil. However, the truths of the church survived in Fiesive where they were found and promulgated by our Holy Archbishop.
In the Third Age Chaos has returned in the guise of the Red Goddess and the Red Emperor. We must fight her and defeat her. It is not coincidence that the Church has become strong at this time. The will of the Invisible God has manifested itself in our church. He commands that we fight this new threat with the purity of our Faith.
Theology
There is only one Supreme Deity and he is the Invisible God. There are many other gods in his divine host who deserve worship for their aid and protection.
We follow the Law of Malkion including the prescription on tapping. Tapping is a Chaotic activity which spreads Chaos' evil seed across the world.
We believe that there are four classes of people: farmer, warrior, priest and lord. All are born into one of these classes, but have the freedom to change if they prove worthy.
The enemy of the Invisible God is the Devil, also called the Devil, Gbaji the Deceiver, and Tyrant, and he leads a demonic host of Chaos Gods and Demons. Chaos is evil and constantly fights to destroy the worship of the Invisible God. Chaos must be fought at every opportunity and in its every guise.
Women's role in life is different from men's role, but both are equal in spirit. The woman's role is that of the life-giver and nurturer, the man's role that of the protector and provider. Both need to work in concert for the good of Creation. The exact role each person takes in his or her life depends on his or her choice, so that women may become Axe maidens of Babeester Gor, or men may become White Healers of Chalana Arroy.
Hierarchy
The leader of our church is the Archbishop of Fiesive, Surantyr the Nonheretic. Each of the cities that has pledged itself to our church has a bishop who submits to the guidance of the Archbishop. Cities that have yet to pledge themselves fully to the church have Abbots who lead the faithful in converting their neighbours.
Important Gods and Demi-Gods
Malkion
Malkion brought the word of the Supreme Deity to the people and showed them how to survive during the great darkness. He taught how the duties of the people of each clan should be split into the four classes: provider, protector, guide, and leader.
Orlanth
Orlanth led the Holy Seven in combat against the Chaos Host to recreate the world. His actions led to the ending of the Great Darkness and the beginning of Time. When he returned the Invisible God gave him the title of First Among Equals and called him the King of the Gods.
Hrestol
Hrestol taught that the Brithini were wrong in their strict interpretation of Malkion's Law. His actions, and supreme self-sacrifice, showed that anyone could change their class if they were worthy. He is also known for teaching the laws of Hospitality and Honour.
Arkat Chaosbane
Arkat was a demi-god, the son of Humakt. His greatest deed was to free the world from the Chaotic evil of Gbaji the Deceiver. However, this perfect warrior fell into worshipping darkness gods in order to complete his task and was therefore lost to the Invisible God for a time.
Humakt
Humakt was the brother to Orlanth and the perfect warrior. He used his great powers of Death on the Lightbringer's Quest to show that Death could serve Life, and so that the glory of the Invisible God could be brought to the whole world.
The Lightbringers, the Holy Seven.
These were the six gods who accompanied Orlanth on his Quest to recreate the world. They lent their powers to Creation, and are revered for this. They were Chalana Arroy, Goldentongue, Lhankor Mhy, Trickster, Ginna Jar, and Humakt.
Siglolf Cloudcrusher
Siglolf is a son of Orlanth and an important demi-god who was trapped for many years by the evil Chaos Host. The great warrior Garundyer liberated him and now Siglolf stands at the side of his father, Orlanth, as a loyal servant of the Divine Host of the Invisible God.
Attitudes to other Beliefs
Rokari
This church has turned away from the freedom of the Creator back into the rigid castes of the Brithini. They deny the existence of the gods and of the Chaos host. They are dangerous for within their ranks chaos may seep in undetected.
Hrestoli
This church is enlightened as it accepts class mobility. However, like all of the other churches of the west, they have forgotten the other gods and the lessons of Arkat.
Darkness Gods
The Darkness gods are a host of gods who are not wholly chaotic but not wholly divine either. Their worshippers are the degenerate results of humans who failed to find Malkion or Orlanth during the Great Darkness. They are the dark side of humanity, a side which can just as easily turn to Chaos as fight it.
Arkat thought that by embracing this dark side he could use its great powers to kill chaos. He succeeded but at the cost of the souls of his loyal followers and the greater part of his own humanity. Only through the divine intercession of the Invisible God was he saved from turning into the very thing he craved so much to destroy.
Borists
The Borists are an evil sect that worships chaos by tapping chaos creatures. All Chaos is Evil! All tapping is Chaotic!
