The Fire Church

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circle info req sam.png Please note: The following information is scarcely known. As such, you cannot assume to be aware of this information unless taught about it in-character.
The Fire Church
FireCultCoatOfArms.png
The Fire Church Organization's Coat of Arms
Religion's Location:

Reza, Haense (Originally)

New Reza, Haense (Formally)

Blazengard

Group Governance: Theocracy
High Prophet: Apollo Venlic
Fire Lords: Ar-Baruk of Fenn, Silvius Hope of Curonia, Apollo of Haense
Martyrs: Ar-Baruk of Fenn

The Fire Church, also known as the Fire Cult or Fire Heresy is a religious organization that believes that the Fire God is the one true God who rules above all. The Church originated in Reza, Haense back in Arcas but has continued on into the succeeding continent and is now spread throughout Almaris. The Leader of the faith, the High Prophet is believed to be able to communicate directly with God by their followers.

History (WIP)

The Embers Organization

The Embers Organization was founded in approximately 1726 by some friends who lived in New Reza, Haense at the time. They wished to make a name for themselves, and wanted to have land of their own. So they formed this organization to do odd jobs and such to earn funds, and recruit more people to their cause to accomplish their goal. The organization was quite successful, and they raised tens of thousands of minas in only a short few years. After many years of hard work, it appeared that their goal was about to be accomplished. They found a great spot in the volcano lands in Arcas and had enough funds to terraform the land and build a settlement. Thus the Leader of the Embers Organization set off to prepare the necessary arrangements.

The Fire Church

In the absence of the leader of the Embers Organization, the second in command, Henry Venlic took the reigns. He proclaimed to the members of the organization that until then that they were all following a fake God, and that he had seen the true God, the Fire God. So he declared himself the High Priest of the Fire Church. Henry believed that a common religion would be important for unifying the people when the settlement was built. In a surprisingly short amount of time, he convinced the other members to switch to his religion.

The Fire Heresy/The Fire Cult

Henry and many other members went around preaching the word of the Fire God. This upset many people in Kingdom of Haense greatly, and so they were dubbed Cultists, Heretics, and criminals. So the members had to be discreet in their recruitment efforts. Although being discreet slowed down their efforts, it was still somewhat successful. They welcomed in many new members to the organization and the church. The High Priest decided that they would now require more funds to accommodate for the new members. So Henry, and most of the members went around banditing various places such as Fenn, where Ar-Baruk was unfortunately caught and burnt at the stake. However, their luck would shortly run out.

The Hanging

One day, Finn Hope told Henry Venlic, and many other members that he found more people who were interested in joining, and that he needed help getting them set up within the church and the organization. At the time, Finn and a few others were in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl as it allowed them to gain valuable information to avoid detection, and getting caught. However, when they all met, they soon learned that Finn had betrayed them. Members of the army, accompanied by the Palatine surrounded the cultists. The Palatine ordered them to be hanged at once off the very bridge in-front of Haense where they stood. So all the members of the organization that showed that fateful day to meet Finn were hanged, with exception of Henry, and one other as they were also in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl at the time. This was a narrow escape for them though, and they were put under surveillance after the event. Many religious activities and recruitment were temporarily put on halt as the risk of discovery was too high.

A Tavern & A Bastard

Henry would continue to lead the faith for a few additional years after the events that occurred during 'The Hanging', although this did appear to be challenging for him at times as the Brotherhood of Saint Karl as well as military forces from other nations were highly suspicious of him and believed that he had a connection to the Fire Cult stirring up so much trouble. One day during a recruitment run in the Fenn Tavern, the High Priest was surrounded by guards and who yelled at them to answer their questions or else. The man, realizing that there was no escape decided that he would not betray his comrades and would not tell the guards anything. Henry quickly drew his blade, turning it not on the guards but himself. The blade thrust into the mans stomach, as he turned it to ensure a fatal wound. Shortly after, he would collapse and perish from the mortal realm. After hearing of the distressing news, the Fire Lords convened and elected the late High Priests bastard, Stephen Venlic. They believed the Venlic dynasty to be a mighty one and believed that his son could accomplish great things just like is father.

The Historic Scholar

After the unexpected passing of his late father, Stephen realized that death is always creeping up upon everyone. Any member of the faith could pass at any moment with no notice at all. After much thinking, the man came to a conclusion. The religion had been mainly relying on the word of mouth to spread the beliefs, rituals, and all aspects of the religion. Few religious texts existed, with only some members of the clergy holding them. Stephen believed that over time, aspects of the religion may be lost or distorted. To ensure that the religion continued onwards, without the core beliefs being altered, the man wrote a wide variety of religious texts. Each member of the clergy was issued religious books guiding them on a variety of different things, depending on their position and duties. Non-clergy books containing a wide variety of information regarding the faith were also issued. Due to all the important texts that Stephen wrote, he was dubbed 'the Scholar' by his peers. One day, on a day that seemed no different from another, another religious text was released. However, this would be Stephen's last religious text as High Priest as he would mysteriously disappear shortly after its release.

The Stagnation Period

The Stagnation period occurred upon the mysterious disappearance of High Priest Stephen Venlic. With no clear successor to take up the mantle of High Priest, the Fire Lords declared the position vacant until a suitable replacement was found. During this time, the religion was ran by the Lords as a Council. However, disagreements between the Council Members were frequent which often stopped progress and led to some mismanagement of the religion. WIP.

The Minority Leader

After many years without a High Priest, Tom Hope the Fire Lord of Curonia summoned the Fire Lords to convene for an important meeting with all due haste. During the meeting, he explained how many years without a Leader caused mismanagement of the religion and how it was taking a terrible toll on it. So Tom proposed a solution to the Lords, that being to make him the High Priest. Chatter arose, a few members outraged at the proposition. After many hours of discussion, Tom was elected to the position Interim Leader as a Minority Leader of the faith after failing to reach a significant majority, but received enough votes to be elected due to several members abstaining. After leading the faith for a brief two years, Tom decided to retire from the position as the constant pressure from his peers was too much for him to take. During his short tenure, he recruited several new members to the faith and held rituals and ceremonies frequently in secret below Kingsway III, Reza, Haense in the sewers.

The Second Stagnation Period

Upon the retirement of Tom Hope, the stagnation of the religion occurred once again, thus marking the start of the Second Stagnation Period. The religion was once again ruled by the Fire Lords as a council. WIP.

A Familiar Phantom

WIP.

The Reformationist

WIP.

Members

Leaders

The Leader of the Fire Church is elected by the Fire Lords from amongst themselves upon the end of the previous Leaders tenure. When a candidate has a significant majority then they undergo the necessary ceremonies and ascend to the position of High Priest. When the Lords elect someone by a slight majority, then they can opt to give them the position of Interim Leader instead. The purpose of Interim Leader is... WIP...! Each Leader of the Fire Church is permitted the right to bare the Church's Coat of Arms or their own iteration of it as their personal Coat of Arms during their tenure. The Leader of the Fire Religion is the ultimate authority within the organization. They are in-charge of various important tasks such as: ensuring rituals are haven, ensuring the religion expands, declaring hostility, brokering alliances, and much more. Due to the importance of the job, the Leader is treated with great respect within the religion.

House Venlic

House Venlic was the first ruling house of the Fire Church. The Fire Church was founded by Henry Venlic, who would appoint himself as the High Priest after proclaiming an encounter with the true God, the Fire God. He would go on to write a variety of different books on the religions beliefs and rituals to appease the Fire God. After his unfortunate demise, he would be succeeded by his son, Stephen Venlic. Stephen went onto write more religious texts and finish some unfinished works left behind by his father. Under Stephen, the religion prospered, and received many new members. House Venlic would lead the religion for many years before the unforeseen mysterious disappearance of Stephen Venlic. The disappearance left the religion in shambles, and the mantle of High Prophet remained vacant for many years.

Name
Tenure
Portrait Titles Birth Death Coat of Arms Succession Right Successor
High Priest Henry Venlic 'The Founder'

1728 - 1738
HenryVenlic.jpg High Priest of the Fire Church, Protector of the Fire Faith 3rd of of The First Seed, 1724
Reza, Haense
1738 in Fenn's tavern, death by seppuku FireCultCoatOfArms.png Title Created Stephen Venlic (as High Priest)
High Priest Stephen Venlic 'the Scholar'

1738 - 1754
StephenVenlic.jpg High Priest of the Fire Church, Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska, Protector of the Fire Faith, Supreme Commander of the Faiths Guard 20th of Malin's Welcome, Unknown,
Reza, Haense
Missing/Unknown FireCultCOAKnowledge.png Elected by Unanimous Fire Lord Support Tom Hope (as Interim Leader)

Henry Venlic (as High Priest)

House Hope

The Fire Lords were quite ecstatic by the success of the previous two Venlic Pontificates and wished for the third High Priest to be of the dynasty as well. Unfortunately for them, they could not find another Venlic at the time. This led to the long vacancy period for the mantle of High Priest. After man years, Tom Hope, the Fire Lord of Curonia called all the Fire Lords together to convene for a meeting to elect a new leader. Upon being summoned, he petitioned his case, to ascend to the position in-front of his fellow Lords. Although, the Fire Lords were still hesitant to elect anyone without the Venlic bloodline. A significant majority could not be reached, so they opted to promote him to the position of Interim Leader, granting him limited authority over the religion, as the new head. The Lords hoped that this appointment would lead them into finding a new High Priest. Whether that would be Tom proving himself, or him leading the religion until a better successor was found. However, his tenure was rather short, as he decided to retire two years later. Thus the position of leader of the religion was once again vacant for many more years.

Name
Tenure
Portrait Titles Birth Death Coat of Arms Successor
Interim Leader Tom Hope 'the Ambitious'

1754 - 1756
TomHope.jpg Interim Leader of the Fire Church, Fire Lord of Curonia, Knight of Blazengard 24th of Snow's Maiden, 1742,
New Reza, Haense
Unknown TomHopeCOA.png Henry Venlic (as High Priest)

House Venlic

Suddenly, what appeared to be out of nowhere, Henry Venlic the first High Priest of the Fire Church returned as a phantom in New Reza, Haense. After hearing of the news, the Fire Lords were quite ecstatic and convened at once in secret. Finally they thought to themselves, there was someone worthy to take up the mantle of High Priest again. So with a one hundred percent majority, Henry Venlic was elevated back to his former status as High Priest. Thus House Venlic was pronounced the ruling house of the Fire Church again. The Phantom Pontificate would go on to lead the religion for many years from the shadows, working on various religious texts, and plotting the religions uprising. The man one day would come to the conclusion that to ensure the religions success in the future, it was time to find a successor. Although the Fire Lords and higher echelon of clergy swore their absolute, undying loyalty, some of the new members weren't resonating with the idea of following someone always hidden. With the religions numbers dwindling, Henry decided that this would be the best for the religion and ordered many guards of the faith to set out and look for Venlics. Until one day, a guard stumbled across Stephen's bastard child, Apollo, a devout member of the Church, just like his father. He was immediately summoned in-front of the Fire Lords, and after many days of deliberation, was elected to the mantle of High Priest, with Henry stepping down. Apollo would go on to make a variety of different reforms to the religion, such as the changes to the ranking hierarchy, marking himself as the first High Prophet.

Name
Tenure
Portrait Titles Birth Death Coat of Arms Successor
High Priest Henry Venlic 'the Phantom'

1790 - 1800
HenryVenlicGhost.jpg High Priest of the Fire Church, Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska, Protector of the Fire Faith, Supreme Commander of the Faiths Guard 3rd of of The First Seed, 1724
Reza, Haense,


Re-appeared as a phantom in 1790,
New Reza, Haense


First Death (as a Human): 1738 in Fenn's tavern, death by seppuku


Final Vanquishing (as a phantom): Alive / N/A

FireCultCoatOfArms.png Apollo Venlic (as High Prophet)
High Prophet Apollo Venlic 'the Reformer'

1800 - Present
ApolloVenlic.jpg High Prophet of the Fire Church, Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska, Archbishop of Blazengard, Bishop of Blazengrad, Protector of the Fire Faith, Supreme Commander of the Faiths Guard 10th of the First Seed, 1758,
Karosgrad, Haense
Alive FireCultCOAKnowledge.png N/A

Notable Members

  • Henry Venlic - Henry Venlic was the Founder & First High Priest of the Fire Church. The man dedicated his life to expanding the religious organization and the writing of the original basic religious texts. ✝
  • Stephen Venlic - Stephen was the second High Priest of the Fire Church. During his tenure the religion prospered and had many new additions to their religious texts.
  • Ar-Baruk - Ar-Baruk was an Orc who was extremely loyal to the religion until his last breath. He would carry out any mission he was ordered to, no questions asked. When he was captured by the guards in Fenn, he was given the option to renounce the faith or perish. He refused their offer, and as a consequence of his actions, he was burnt at the stake. Upon hearing of his unfortunate demise, the High Priest, and the Fire Lords proclaimed him as the honorary Fire Lord of Fenn, and a Martyr of the faith. To this day, his is used as an example of a great believer, and role model of the faith. ✝
  • Eherster Merc - A Doctor bearing a plague mask who was learning various medical techniques to further the Fire Cults abilities. ✝
  • The Loyal Darien Einnar - Darien served as a warrior for the religion. He would take out anyone no questions asked in the name of his God. ✝
  • Merek De Bolbec - WIP ✝
  • Icao the Sly - Iaco was known for being quite cunning. He worked undercover in the Brotherhood of Saint Karl for many years, gathering intel and moving through the ranks. His cover was so good, some fellow members didn't even believe he was a member of the faith some days. His work helped the Religion escape and avoid the authorities of Haense many times. ✝
  • Finn Hope - Finn hope worked as a spy for the Brotherhood of Saint Karl in an attempt to take down the Fire Cult from the inside. He ratted out his friends. ✝

Fire Lords

Fire Lords of Hanseti-Ruska

   High Priest Henry Venlic (1728-1738), Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska
    │
    └──> High Priest Stephen Venlic (1738-1754), Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska
          │
          └──> High Priest Henry Venlic (1790-1800), Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska
                │
                └──> High Prophet Apollo Venlic (1800-Present), Fire Lord of Hanseti-Ruska

Fire Lord of Fenn

   Martyr Ar-Baruk, Fire Lord of Fenn

Fire Lords of Curonia

   Finn Hope (???), Fire Lord of Curonia
    │
    └──> Interim Leader Tom Hope (???-1800), Fire Lord of Curonia
          │
          └──> Silvius Hope (1800-1808), Fire Lord of Curonia
                │
                └──> Title Lost (No Successor)

Ranks/Titles

Current Ranks, Honors, Titles

During the start of the Church's reform, the High Prophet Apollo Venlic alongside many of his close trusted clergymen worked on restructuring the religion's ranking system. He believed that the old system was slightly dated and that updates were necessary. After many months of hard work, a new system was completed and put into immediate effect.

Clergy Ranks

  • High Prophet - The High Prophet is the Supreme Authority of the Fire Faith and is believed by their followers to communicate directly with God.
  • Arch-Bishop - Arch-Bishop's are high ranking members of the faith who are put in-charge of an Archdiocese. They are responsible for overseeing the Diocese's in their region and ensuring the religion's success within their designated territory.
  • Bishop - Bishop's are representatives of the church that oversee a Diocese. They are responsible for ensuring the religion's success and activity within their assigned land.
  • Priest - Priests are responsible for holding ceremonies and rituals, recruiting, and spreading awareness of the religion.
  • Acolyte - The entry level clergy rank of the faith. They assist Priests and other members of clergy with a variety of tasks.

Honors & Other Ranks

  • Saint - A deceased member of the faith who performed miracles on Gods behalf during their lifetime.
  • Matyr - A true believer in the faith whose perished for their beliefs, not regretting or denying their faith until the very end.
  • Holy Knight - A Holy Knight is a Knight that fights and serves the faith. They can use the prefix Sir or Dame and mark the end of their name with the initials of their Knightly Order.
  • Fire Lord - Fire Lords are historic titles that were granted by the High Priest in the original ranking system. The titles were bestowed to individuals who showed exceptional dedication and contributions that exceeding most other members of the faith. Gaining the title granted you a wide variety of privileges such as: overseeing the religious activities in your designated nation, electing a High Priest when necessary, as well as a variety of other rights and powers. However, during the various reforms carried out by High Prophet Apollo Venlic, the role of the Fire Lords changed significantly. WIP.

Original Ranks & Titles

During the first iteration of the church, a variety of different positions and titles existed. Although many of these titles have changed in recent times to reflect changes in the church, some historical titles have survived and are still used presently.

  • High Priest - The High Priest is the Leader of the Fire Religion and is believed by his followers to be able to communicate with the Fire God.
  • Fire Lords - Fire Lords are appointed by the High Priest if they show exceptional work as a Priest. They are put in-charge of overseeing specified lands, and ensuring the religions success within them. Upon the end of a High Preists tenure, they are tasked with electing a new one.
  • Priest - Priests are responsible for holding ceremonies and rituals, recruiting, and spreading awareness of the religion.
  • Acolyte - The Acolyte's are responsible for the enforcement of the religion's policies. They hunt down members who attempt to abandon the religion and send them to meet the Fire God to repent by executing them.
  • Ember Warrior - The Ember Warriors are tasked with guarding various places owned by the religion. They also vow to take up arms against others if they are ever called to do so.
  • Enlightened - This is the lowest rank of the Fire Cult. Anyone who joins the religion and pledges themselves to the religion is known as Enlightened.