House Rules, Interlude II - The Theology of Terrenor

      Every faith has its traditions and stories, and the Church of the Seven Saints is no different. In my previous post, I presented the faith as expressed in the framework provided by As The Gods Demand, but that in itself is simply framing things in game mechanics. The Church in my campaign is allegorical in nature, a nod to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. My apologies to any theologists, armchair or otherwise, out there. Things are not going to be perfect. Despite having a degree in theology, I'm still human, so things may be rewritten over time. For the record, Terrenor is just a bastardization of "terre noire" (black earth), and yes, I will be using bad Greek, bad Latin, and probably some other bad translations in this and future posts

 

     Before diving into the lore, I'm going to provide a short lexicon of terms you'll be running across in this post.

Adversary, The - See "Asmodeus."

Asmodeus - A fallen angel, former seneschal of the Host. Asmodeus led a failed rebellion against the Resplendent Emperor out of hubris, seeking to rule in place of the Resplendent Emperor.

Church of the Seven Saints - The hierarchical organization of the faith developed over the centuries by believers. Commonly known simply as "the Church," it has splintered in recent times into Reformist and Orthodox branches, both of which are vociferously (and sometimes violently) opposed to one another in matters of dogma and theology (this will be touched on in a future post).

Elder Law, The - The Elder Law, written during the Theïkíóra, dictates that the right exists for one to kill a traitor. This, however, is superceded by the Primordial Law. 

Flame Imperishable, The - The Flame Imperishable is the personhood of the Resplendent Emperor, who actively guides mortal believers to become closer to Him.

Godtime, The - See "Theïkíóra."

Host, The - See "Sabaoth."

Hratha, The - The name given to the fallen angels individually or as a group. It is also used as a derogatory term for Nightkin.

Primordial Law, The - The Primordial Law, written during the Theïkíóra, states that when an innocent and willing individual volunteers to stand in the place of a traitor, death itself is reversed.

Resplendent Emperor, The - Creator of the universe, initiator, and source.

Sabaoth, The - The holy servitors of the Resplendent Emperor. Also referred to as "the Host" or angels, the Sabaoth act as mediators between the Resplendent Emperor and the faithful, as well as defenders of the faithful. These beings take a variety of forms, some familiar, others alien, all awe-inspiring when seen by mortal kin.

Seven, The - See "The Seven Saints."

Seven Saints, The - The Seven Saints of the Church are the original disciples of Solanthius. One of the Seven, an orc named Desadro, betrayed Solanthius to a Knight of Veraxus, leading Solanthius to sacrifice Himself for the sins of Desadro, thus fulfilling the New Covenant written during the Theïkíóra.

Silver Dragon, The - See "Solanthius."

Solanthius - Son of the Resplendent Emperor, the silver dragon Solanthius is the Theologikos made flesh. Solanthius came to Terrenor to teach of the salvation offered through the Primordial Law and saved mortal kin from eternal damnation by sacrificing Himself.

Theïkíóra, The - Also referred to as the "Godtime," this era of history is of undefined length. Traditionally, it is recounted as the creation of Terrenor and the universe in seven "days," though time to the Resplendent Emperor is inconsequential.

Theologikos - Roughly translated, the "Word of God"; these are the holy scriptures of the Church of the Seven Saints.

Trinity, The - The Godhead of Terrenor, consisting of the Resplendent Emperor, Solanthius, and the Flame Imperishable. All three members are unified in essence and purpose, yet they remain separate persons and carry out specific functions within the divine Trinity.

Wyrm, The - See "Asmodeus."

A (Very) Short Creation Story

     In the beginning - the age known as the Theïkíóra, the Godtime - there was the Resplendent Emperor and the Sabaoth. In the beginning was also the Theologikos; the Theologikos was with the Resplendent Emperor, and the Theologikos was the Resplendent Emperor. The Sabaoth acted as guardians of mortalkind and intermediaries between mortals and the Resplendent Emperor. The Sabaoth - the Host - were of one mind with the Resplendent Emperor, maintaining order in the universe - at least until Asmodeus began plotting his ascendance.
 
     Desiring to become equal to, if not higher than, the Resplendent Emperor, Asmodeus swayed a third of the entire Host to his side. In the aftermath, Asmodeus and his most ardent followers swore to undermine and destroy the Resplendent Emperor's creation. Meanwhile, the remainder of the hratha dedicated their fading power to aid and nurture mortalkind or otherwise maintain some form of balance. Some do so in the misguided hope of earning redemption for their sin; others merely do so to soothe their wounded egos and possibly avenge themselves upon Asmodeus and their evil peers.

     To counter the spreading corruption, the Resplendent Emperor sent His son, the silver dragon Solanthius, the Theologikos incarnate, to guide mortalkind back to the path of righteousness through the New Covenant. Solanthius gathered around Himself seven disciples. He taught His disciples the wisdom of the Resplendent Emperor, and they, in turn, taught mortalkind of the New Covenant that was to be fulfilled by Solanthius.

     Among the seven disciples was one of the Nightkin, an orc named Desadro. Nursing a dark wound in his heart, Desadro secretly mourned the oppression of his people and the other Nightkin. He longed for the day when his people would be seen as equals to the other mortal kin, but he knew it would not be within his lifetime. Knowing of this flaw, Asmodeus tempted Desadro.

     At the time, the humans of the Pax Veraxus ruled over a wide swath of the civilized world. The Veraxians, having attained a significant amount of arcane knowledge, scoffed at the Silver Dragon's teachings and sought to undermine Him. In their hubris, the Veraxians ruthlessly oppressed the various mortal kin under their rule. The Nightkin were perhaps oppressed the worst of all, not just by the Veraxians, but also by other kin independent of the Pax Veraxus.

 

Fulfilling the Primordial Law 

     Asmodeus tempted Desadro to aid the Veraxians in capturing Solanthius in exchange for the freedom of all Nightkin. At first Desadro resisted, but soon, Asmodeus began fomenting dissent and rebellion amongst the Nightkin and other oppressed peoples, and they made ready to rise up against the Veraxians. Fearing his people would be destroyed, Desadro led a Knight of Veraxus and his squire to the forest where Solanthius and His disciples rested.

 

© 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission.

     One of the Seven rose up against the Knight, sword in hand. He struck the knight's squire, a man named Tymon, cutting off his ear. Solanthius warned his disciples against perpetuating the violence sparked by the Adversary. The Silver Dragon then blew a small flame upon His hand and touched it to Tymon's wound, healing and restoring it. At this, the Knight of Veraxus swore an oath by the Wyrm, and Asmodeus stepped from the shadows with the hratha at his heels.

     The Wyrm tried to debate Solanthius about the need for a blood sacrifice to counter the sin of betrayal committed by Desadro. Aggrieved, Desadro cried out for mercy, which Solanthius granted by offering Himself in His disciple's place. Asmodeus at first refused, but Solanthius countered the fallen angel's argument, citing the New Covenant, which was written before the creation of Terrenor in the Theïkíóra.

     One of the hratha pierced the heart of Solanthius with its black spear and the Silver Dragon let out a roar more terrible than the thunder as he died. Witnessing this, the Knight of Veraxus fled in terror, and Tymon cast down his sword and shield and knelt in reverence. Darkness fell upon the land and remained so until six hours had passed. All of creation wept at the Silver Dragon's death, and the seven saints went into hiding to mourn. Only the Wyrm and the hratha remained, gloating and reveling in their dark deed.

     Later, the Sabaoth and all the saints - all but Desadro - drove the Wyrm and the hratha from the forest and stood guard against any who would trespass. Desadro, grieved with his own sin, wandered far into the forest and fell upon his sword. So it was that Tymon stood in the place of the fallen saint because of his belief. Within the glen, the body of Solanthius remained until three days hence, when the trumpet was sounded, and He strode forth from the forest, alive once more.

The Theology of Terrenor and the Nature of Magic

     The theology of my setting is that of Christianity - the Godhead consists of three separate beings, all of one essence, yet each carrying out individual functions within the Trinity. The Resplendent Emperor is the creator of the universe, the initiator, and the source, while Solanthius, the Silver Dragon, is the word of the Resplendent Emperor (the Theologikos) made flesh. Meanwhile, the Flame Imperishable (a direct nod to Gandalf's rebuke of the balrog in Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring") is the personhood of the Resplendent Emperor, who actively guides mortal believers to become closer to Him.

 

     That leads us to a touchy question where Christianity and fantasy are concerned: what is the nature of magic in this setting? Quasar Knight wrote on the subject in his blog, positing three options on how to handle this subject. In Terrenor, magic is a divine gift, but arcane magic as used by magi is rougher than divine magic. In C.S. Lewis' "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," wizardly magic is described as such by Coriakin, a star in the form of a human wizard.

    Lucy followed the great Lion out into the passage and at once she saw coming towards them an old man, barefoot, dressed in a red robe. His white hair was crowned with a chaplet of oakleaves, his beard fell to his girdle, and he supported himself with a curiously carved staff.

    When he saw Aslan he bowed low and said, “Welcome, Sir, to the least of your houses.”

    “Do you grow weary, Coriakin, of ruling such foolish subjects as I have given you here?”

    “No,” said the Magician, “they are very stupid but there is no real harm in them. I begin to grow rather fond of the creatures. Sometimes, perhaps, I am a little impatient, waiting for the day when they can be governed by wisdom instead of this rough magic.”

    “All in good time, Coriakin,” said Aslan.

    In Terrenor, magic is imparted to the Sabaoth, saints, and the most virtuous of clergy, allowing the Resplendent Emperor (as well as Solanthius and the Flame Imperishable) to commune with the faithful. The full truth of the Resplendent Emperor's wisdom is too great for mortal minds to comprehend, so He instills an infintesimally small fraction of His essence into His servants to carry to mortalkind.

 

     Powerful beings, such as dragons and fae, can bestow spells and similar abilities on mortal kin, but, like all other mortal children of the Resplendent Emperor, they are not infallible. They may provide such magics to a mortal out of arrogance and capriciousness or short-sightedness. This can lead to a variety of situations and outcomes - some comedic, others tragic.

 

    Some of the fallen angels are venerated as gods and saints by mortal kin. There are indeed pantheons held as holy by groups of various kin. Sadly, they have only a bare fraction of the power of the Resplendent Emperor. None of them can create or truly resurrect the dead; in fact, because they have been cut off from the Resplendent Emperor, their own power is fading.

     Some of the fallen angels use their remaining power to heal, teach, and guide mortal kin, though some of the staunchest of the neutral beings demand a steep price in the name of balance (at least as they see it). Such prices are paid in sacrificial offerings. While this slows the decline of the venerated being, it is merely postponing the inevitable.

 

     Of course, the Adversary and his followers are not above using their fading power to project the illusion of creation or to animate the remains of the dead to deceive desperate mortals. They have also been known to bestow small bits of their power to willing (or unwitting) servants to give "proof" of a false prophet's "divine favor."

 

Conclusion

     Theology can be a really sticky, complex subject to deal with, especially when you're trying to build a convincing world for your players to adventure in.  I have tried to keep things as simple as possible and avoid wrapping so much up in mechanics. In my next post, I'm going to cover some subtle additions and extrapolations of the magic rules and lore presented in the Dragonbane rulebook and third party material.