The Temple

The Temple of Divine Revelation is the most prominent religious organization, responsible for both the teaching of the Divine Canon and the moderation of magic use in Kyravelle and the surrounding countries. The Temple is an ever-looming presence in the Unnamed Story.

Function
In addition to teaching the word of the Architect, the Temple polices and regulates magical law and practice in the way that the judiciary system regulates crime, classifying permitted and forbidden types of magic, providing licenses of sanctioned magic to qualifying magiborn, and passing judgment on those who violate the laws. The Temple itself is a governing power under the King; whether or not they agree, Temple laws are expected to be obeyed in the lands as much as regular laws.

Licensing
Due in large part to the threat uncontrolled magic poses to the general population, the Temple acts largely as a system of regulation for the magical congregation. The Temple documents magic-using parties, recording prevalence of powers between bloodlines, testing their gifts and certifying those who show control and usefulness with a license to practice their craft within the laws. A sanctioned magic-user is called a mage.

Magiborn with and without powers are encouraged to appear for review with the promise of a potential license to practice and gain from their magic, but though all who appear are documented, not all of them pass and become mages. People with magic in their family who lack the Gift are also documented, but classified as regular citizens, with the level of magic prevalence in their blood recorded for later reference. Those unable to prove control or usefulness, or bearing destructive abilities, can face banishment from cities, punishment or even execution if the threat they pose is severe enough. Magiborn with highly destructive powers are classed and judged by level of threat, ranging from nuisance- to disaster-class. No disaster-class has ever been licensed.

Witchhood
Undocumented Gifted who practice magic without Temple license are called witches, and are hunted as rebels by both the Arcane Guard and Temple Knights. Those who fear submitting themselves for examination may ‘play powerless’ and simply live as mortals, sometimes practicing their magic in secret or not at all. The Temple is aware of their existence, and encourages the people to report suspected witches to be arrested and brought in for examination.

Witches who pass a mandatory examination and are deemed non-disaster-class are provided licenses, but added to a watch list for future surveillance, to be certain of adherence to the laws. Some witches willingly submit themselves to testing, whether from guilt, fear of capture or due to social pressures. Others shun the entire process, living outside of the Temple’s reach in settlements and villages, teaching each other and gaining power alone. These men and women are considered hedgemages, and seen as a threat, active;y sought by the Temple’s forces. Depending on the nature of their powers and their histories, once discovered, a rogue hedgemage can be arrested, brought in for examination, or simply executed.

Hierarchy
Like any organization, the Temple observes a strict structure of command.

The Ternion
The Temple is led and ruled by the Ternion Collective, a council comprised of the organization's leaders, each representing a facet of the Architect: the Preceptor, the Mason, and the Arbiter.

The three symbolize facets of the Architect--creator, instructor, and protector respectively--with each member holding equal measure of the Temple's power, and equal weight in decision-making. In order for a decision to become law, the three must be in full agreement, or else two of the three must be, and have their opinions supported by the Temple's High Council. The three are stationed in the Grand Temple in the Royal City of Aurora.

The Preceptor
Referred to as Lord Instructor, the Preceptor is the master lorekeeper and leader of the Temple clergy. Each Temple's High Council answers directly to him. Any large-scale decisions regarding the education of the masses, the translation of the Canon, holidays, and the greater events of loretelling are all arranged by him. Any new discoveries or proposed adjustments to the Temple Canon must be approved by him.

The Mason
Referred to as Lord Creator, the Mason is the Temple's head architect and quartermaster, The official standard arms and armor of the Order of Adavarion are forged by his or her smiths, to his exacting specification. The Mason's network supplies not only the Order, but every Temple in Kyravelle, and their decision is vital in the dispensation of charitable Temple aid to places affected by magical attack or natural catastrophe. They personally design every Temple, and their men construct them. The Mason is usually an elected member of the prior Mason's own staff, often a smith or other fine craftsman of great skill.

The Arbiter
Referred to as Lord Protector, the Arbiter is charged with the protection of the faithful from any and all threats, and as such is the high commander of the Order of Adavarion. In addition to being in charge of all of the Order's operations, he holds the last word in the case of particularly complicated cases. Though the Temples generally mete out punishment according to his guidelines, he reserves the right to pass judgment on any criminal guilty of extreme violation of the laws or Articles. This rank has been held by a high-ranking Knight of the Order since its creation. Only one has ever been a woman.

The High Council
Each Temple of some size is equipped with a Council, a collective of experienced Temple officials well-versed in Temple law. The testing and classification of captive witches or mage-hopefuls is left to them. IIt is by their decision that licenses are awarded or denied, and strict records are kept by their scribes regarding the state of each person they test. In addition to these duties, the Temple Council is authorized to requisition aid for local issues, and arrange compensation to the Order's knights, whether stationed or passing through.

The High Council governs all the lesser councils from the Grand Temple, and mediates for the Ternion.

The Priesthood
The faithful are made up of a variety of priests and priestesses, scribes, students and various others who together keep the Temple running, and offer education and assistance to the devout population. The leader of each Temple is the Solaire, who answers to his or her Temple Council but shares equal power over the location with them.

The Repentant
As a charitable organization dedicated to the attempted rescue of all peoples and not just mortals, many larger scale Temples accept charges in the form of magiborn pilgrims. Showing appropriate deference and a desire to lessen their burden, a magiborn man or woman may join the Temple in a supportive fashion, earning room, board and support in return for menial service.

Those who show due diligence, wisdom or the potential to act as a good example to other magiborn are often given unavowed ranks as loretellers, accompanying evangelists on missions to spread the Canon. This is the closest a person of magiborn heritage can come to joining the priesthood.

History
Founded in the early days of the Kingdom, the Temple was initially a simple religious entity, tasked with teaching the Divine Canon and the Deferent Canticles, and encouraging the worship of the Architect and his progeny. Their original role was evangelical, guiding the ignorant and largely pagan populace to heel beneath the Canon, which encouraged--among other things--humbleness, obedience, and proper deference, things the peasant population severely lacked. By the end of the first century, more than half of the population had been successfully converted, with the Canon held as the major belief system.

One of the core teachings of the Canon involves the Taint of the Arcane, the belief that the presence of magic in a person dirties or otherwise permanently marks them as "other" compared to those without. This opinion was not well received by the minority of magiborn, or people with magical blood, with or without usable Gifts.

The teachings caused unexpected side-effects: a rise in aggressions between the faithful and the unallied magiborn population. Hate crimes rose between both groups, which until that time had existed in an easy peace, their differences less focused on. As these tensions were indirectly incited by the Temple's teachings, the King tasked the Temple with addressing it. Their response was to adjust the severity of the standard teachings, assuring the populace that the stigma magiborn status could be lessened or even redeemed by devotion and adherence to the Canon edicts. This promise of absolution swayed much of the populace to the Temple's numbers, but further antagonized those who felt that their existence did not need to be redeemed.

As opinion shifted, the Temple became responsible for the moderation of--at first--those who were a threat to the devout populace, a judgment left to the Temple's decision. In time, this responsibility was extended to include the monitoring of magical prevalence in the population, the study of the various Gifts and their usefulness, and the judgment of those who took liberties using their natural advantage.

Military Presence
Established in response to growing opposition and rebellion in the various ranks both magiborn and mortal, the Order of Adavarion was and remains the Arm of the Temple, protecting it and acting in situations where the Word alone would not suffice. With authority over the majority of Kyravelle, and even some places in neighboring countries, the Order is a greatly respected entity, second in power only to Corva's Sentinelle.

The Order is governed by the clergy, answerable only to the Temple and the Crown, and is made up of specially-trained soldiers, supported by the Arcane Guard, an army of lesser soldiers tasked with day to day magical law and order. The Order is responsible for the monitoring and control of the magiborn population, with specific focus on unlicensed magic-use and abuse. In addition to standard abilities of identification and arrest of those found in violation of the Articles, knights of sufficient standing are also empowered to carry out executions of threats both mortal and magical when deemed too hazardous or destructive to face official judgment, or in instances where lives are at risk.

Along with their duties regarding the magiborn population, the Order's knights hold the right to take command of local forces in times of crisis, until a point that order can be restored. This ability is held by every established knight, and can only be suppressed by the Temple itself, or by Royal Decree.

Read More: The Order of Adavarion - History

Conflicts
Due to its wide range of influence over Kyravelle and the surrounding countries of Fortana, Caspaine and the Malvary Isles, the Temple is a controversial presence, stabilizing but also polarizing. Combined with the continued issues between the Temple and the magiborn population of Kyravelle, the Temple has also had troubles with other entities.

Conflict with Alderon
Upon its creation, the Order of Adavarion was immediately met with opposition from Kyravelle's eastern ally, Alderon, whose population is almost entirely magiborn, with a mage-to-mortal ratio of 2:1. As magic itself is central to their culture, Alderan members of the royal court--specifically the King's retinue, the Bariykatcha--were highly opposed to a military presence dedicated to what they felt was the extermination of mages. The birth of the Order led to the end of the Bariykatcha, and the weakening of the relationship between Alderon and Kyravelle.

Even after the Bariykatcha's exit, the remaining Alderan immigrants in Kyravelle--their presence permitted through the Treaty of the Rose--continued to resist or even defy the rule of the Temple, refusing registration and denying the Order's power over their actions. The Temple was unable to act against this particular collective, knowing that aggression shown to Alderan citizens would be read as an act against Alderon itself, threatening or even violating the Treaty. Restrictions in the Articles were loosened to permit Alderan magiborn to submit to testing without potential execution, those found with unacceptable power levels encouraged to return to their country to avoid international incident.

Rogue witches of Alderan lineage arrested for violation of the Articles of Sorcery are often taken into custody under additional mundane criminal charges in order to avoid accusations of racial targeting or treaty violation.

Conflict with Riverenbeck
An effort was made early in the Temple's evangelical campaign to convert the nomadic tribes of Riverenbeck, as their Alderan neighbors were openly hostile to them. The intention, indirectly, was to thin the growing magiborn population by integrating the Rivereners into Kyravellan society, as their blood holds no magic, and no instances of Gifts have ever been recorded in their people. As the two tribal races were in the middle of a blood war regarding the Riverener's claim to the land, integrating the Riverener clans would have freed their property for Alderan claim, ending the conflict and appeasing the antagonistic eastern tribes.

Loretellers and evangelists dispatched to Riverenbeck had great difficulty locating the nomadic clans, and when they were finally guided by the settlers, found themselves facing a range of unexpected responses. The non-theistic barbarians variously laughed at or scorned the teachings, blaspheming against gods they did not accept and insisting on their own finite beliefs being sufficient. The missionary groups were permitted to leave in peace, but returned several times, seeking different clans in hopes of a better response.

After more than half the clans rejected their attempts, returning the missionaries in varying states of shame and frustration, the Temple dispatched a company of knights to escort their people back to Riverenbeck, insisting upon some form of acceptance or repentance at the threat of violence. The Rivereners responded by returning more than half of the knight's corpses in boxes, none of them in one piece. The missionaries, having made no threats, were unharmed. Further attempts were not made, and the Rivereners remain an antagonistic presence alongside the Alderans, opposition to the Temple being their only point of agreement.