Temple of Heironeous

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The Temple of Heironeous is the official clergy serving the God of valor and justice, Heironeous.

History

The temple of Heironeous has been in existence for a very long time, even before the Great Shift. After the Shift, as with most faiths, the Temple took on a slightly new face. In the last few hundred years they established their center in the valley of the river Anoch, at the center of the Draconian Empire. Here they assisted in establishing order and helping the empire in running itself and maintaining peace.

After the collapse of the Empire and its splitting into the four sub-kingdoms, the Temple immediately went to work assisting with the formation of the new kingdom. From that point on it took a more active part in the governing of Juno, which they regarded as an opportunity to create a nation which was a paragon of order and good.

They currently hold extensive official powers in the kingdom, including the power of veto and the ability to levy taxes on the King. They run most of their own affairs from their central temple in the Juno capital, which is a short walk from the royal palace.

Though the nobility of Juno, to greater and lesser extents, resents the control the Temple holds over the kingdom, it values the protection the Temple provides and the blessings of Heironeous.

Mysticism

The clergy of Heironeous have always regarded storms, and lightning storms in particular, as highly portential and symbolic of Heironeous' will. Storms bring darkness and flashes of blinding light, smiting the land and making it (and those standing there) quake. In the presence of a storm, all grow silent and orderly. However, storms bring life-giving water and cleanse the air and the land of filth, and even the worst storms are always followed by calm and peace.

As such, the clergy regards lightning with great importance. Temples to Heironeous are often built in places where storms are frequent, and the roofs always bristle with lightning rods. The timing and power of strikes is interpreted by oracles as Heironeous' divine word. Temples and fortresses built by clever (and expensive) architects sometimes have lights, heating, cooking, and magical detectors powered by crystals that store this lightning energy, thus enabling Heironeous to directly power his temples. The rods also serve a secondary purpose of protecting the rest of the town from lightning storms.

Such is the importance of lightning in the clergy that the Juno Temple is built on top of a hill containing an old iron mine, the metal of which helps attract storms.

Those who are struck with lightning are often considered "kissed by The Invincible," and the visions they have after being struck are interpreted in the same way as lightning striking the land.

Arcane spellcasters in the service of Heironeous often make it a point to cast as many lightning spells as possible, whereas strong warriors use lightning-empowered magic weapons when they can afford it.

Organization

The Temple concerns themselves both with law and good. They give their aide to those in need and vanquish evil, and always make it a point to involve themselves in the politics of the land while attending to the needs of the sick, the helpless, the possessed, and the injured. More so than the Pelorites, the Temple strongly urges those who receive its aid to stand and fight the evil that possessed them, once they are availed. These "strong urges" can often include mandatory attendance to sermons with the intent to strengthen their spiritual resolve.

The Temple in Juno, built like a well-armed and defended castle in the middle of the city, is the center of power of the Temple. The most capable and experienced people make their living at that Temple, along with a large portion of the Temple's soldiers. The leader of the Temple, who usually holds the honorable title of "Tempe'", directly oversees activities at this Temple.

Primarily in Juno itself and across certain other areas of the former Draconian Empire, the Temple maintains twenty-three castles which multitask as supply centers, military garrisons, and houses of healing and prayer. Each castle and the region around it is overseen by a Castelier, typically a Cleric, Paladin or Adept of at least tenth level.

The Temple also maintains a fleet of ships to oversee the seas, in addition to errant bands who wander abroad, bringing news back and forth between the Temple and foreign lands, and vanquishing minor evil when the see it.

When full-on wars against evil arise, as they are prone to, the Temple moves in full force. It works tirelessly to rally professional soldiers from nations, mercenary bands, and even other temples to bolster its own forces. It then leads the charge in to strike fast and hard at the enemy, wiping them out as quickly as possible to avoid dragged-out wars that are taxing on both the spirits of those involved and the church's coffers.

This front-line blitzkrieg is usually followed by a combination of diplomacy, law enforcement, healing, and goodwill activities in order to help restore order and peace to the recently-invaded land.

Design and Motifs

Heironeous' architects favor straight lines and right angles in their work to help enforce the idea of law. They make a strict point of NOT putting hexagons on anything, as this reflects the preference of their bitter rivals, the Hextorii. The interiors of Temples usually have cloud and lightning motifs to set off their otherwise somber right angles. Dark grey is favored as a base color, with silver, blue and white prominently displayed as accents in banners, shields, and tapestries. Every center of worship, no matter how large or small, is laid out in a cruciform shape to mirror a sword laying at rest. Ancient, historical Temples from before the Great Shift appear to have a cruder shape, resembling an axe rather than a sword.

These preferences are reflected in the garb. White, blue and silver are favored in priests' vestments and day-to-day wear. In war, dark grey takes greater prominence, in part because it looks grim and intimidating and in part because mud, sweat, armor rubs, and blood show less prominently.

Personnel

The Temple's oath-sworn official subordinates number at about six-hundred. When you include the various soldiers, privateers, mercenaries and professionals also in temporary duty, the number increases to the thousands.

Paladins and Clerics hold the primary leadership and decision-making posts in the Temple, due to their close proximity to the will of The Invincible.

Adepts and lower-ranking Clerics attend to the needs of the people and staff churches.

The largest branch of the Temple by far is its army, which has the dual purpose of Law and War. They serve as magistrates and policemen in time of peace and soldiers when evil and chaos threaten in force. Each Temple has barracks, training yards, stables, mess halls, and well-stocked armories in order to maintain this army.

Recruitment is offered in five-year increments. Anyone can sign up. The benefits of long and loyal service to the Temple are extensive. Material compensation is common, and many a repentent criminal can receive an official pardon by serving in His name. For the most part, though, the Temple holds that the primary reward of service is five years of dedicated, high-morale camraderie and piety.

Lifelong service is voluntary, though such a vow is taken very seriously should one choose to accept it. According to the Temple, an eternity of honor in His halls in Celestia is virtually guaranteed to those who give their mortal lives in His service.

The front-line warriors of the Temple include Paladins, Fighters, Warriors, Clerics specializing in war, and even a Ranger here and there, all of who train hard and often to keep their skills well-honed.

Assisting these are Clerics who specialize in spellcasting. Wizards, Sorcerers and Warmages frequently live in service to the Temple and provide aid in more "difficult" magical problems.

The Temple's second-largest branch is that one concerned with supply. A large and well-stocked Temple network requires a great deal of fortification, housing, food, horseflesh, steel, magical equipment, tents, wagons, and other supplies in order to maintain itself. This division consists mostly of Experts, Wizards, and commoners who make a living crafting things the Temple needs. Each Temple has at least three smiths who keep up a steady supply of weaponry and tools. Orchards are common in larger Temples, and these are tended to by the clergy who live in them. Architects are kept for the building and repair of castles and keeps. As for brute force, the Temple often recruits a lot of locals to assist in the building, considering it a way to raise community involvement in watching out for their own good.

As for other supplies, the Temple has many members who specialize in negotiation and trade, and these are charged with maintaining good relations with steady merchants who can perhaps offer discounts in exchange for "a bit of His favor."

Other people who serve the Temple include Rogues, Bards, and Rangers who primarily serve as information-gatherers, heralds, diplomats, and jacks-of-all-trades.

Rumors also exist of a secret division of "greyguards" who attend to business too shady for the Temple to officially involve itself with. The Temple's leaders state that these rumors exist to denegrate the Temple and its good works, and has been able to disprove most of the evidence presented thus far. Their stance is that the Church is interested only in facing evil and chaos through legitimate, well-established avenues of action. Such rumors are false and destructive.

Outside of the soldierly division, the Temple rarely takes official effort to train people in their crafts.

Those who serve the Temple usually take the "heavy armor + longsword" getup very seriously and insist on looking as impressive as possible. Naturally, most "Paladins" of Heironeous are actually Fighters, Warriors, and other such troops who insist on looking and acting no less noble. Indeed, many voluntarily take the Paladin's Oath as a matter of honor, though they do not gain benefits from it.

(Or do they?)