The story of the Lady is a simple one. It is said that the Lady was not originally from our world, chased out from a harsh and cruel reality ruled by blood and strength. The Lady had tried to spread her message of healing and peace to the people, but they had grown used to their ways of violence and rejected her blessings and teachings. Further, the Gods of War, Strife, and Chaos did not like her meddling in their ideal world. Unwilling to turn her into a martyr for those who still worshiped her and risk a possible rise in devotees, her divine essence was instead removed from her home entirely by these mighty Gods and sealed within an ornate cup and cast into the void. Forced to drift through the stars for many eons until she came upon Oerth.
The lack of divinity in the world acted as a sort of magnetic effect, and she was saved from her endless drifting by those who still believed in what the Lady represented. Goodness, compassion, kindness, mercy, and healing. It was these beliefs that brought the Lady to Oerth and her meager form dashed like a meteor onto Oerths material plane. Contained to the form of a Grail, the Lady has little control on her environment besides her divine connection. In the decades since her arrival, she has gained devotees in the form of the Clergy of the Lady on Geline. There, many Knight orders have pledged their allegiance to the mission of the Lady and been blessed by her as a result. These newly form Paladins go out on “Holy Quests” to bring healing back to the world, and all try to seek the Grail of the Lady. The legend goes that once enough of the Ladys’ knights have drunk from her cup she shall be free of her curse and finally be able to bring about the great healing of our world.
Dogma[]
The Lady wants her followers to bring healing and goodness to the world. They are expected to act charitably towards others and always strive to do their best helping those in need. She recognizes that there is great evil in this world, but there is always good, and forgiveness should always be offered to those who are truly remorseful. Magic must be handled carefully, and its rampant abuse must be curbed. Avoid relying on it as much as possible, lest you forget how to function without it. Your body is a temple, do not defile it with foul augmentation or drugs. War should always be the last option in any grand scale engagement, and as a result many of her clergy are skilled diplomats. Corrupting influences that seek to tear apart or destroy the world are marked as anathema by the Lady and are undeserving of her mercy. Her followers are expected to root out defilers of the Land wherever they find them. Remember that the Lady loves all her children, and that she promises life everlasting to all deserving of her compassion.
Clergy and temples[]
Clerics and followers of the Lady tend to wear robes the deep red color of wine, typically with white trim. Her holy paladins tend to carry similarly colored heraldry announcing their presence on official business. The clergy of the Lady is organized into a simple hierarchy of Priests, High Priests, Cardinals, and High Cardinals. On Geline the High Cardinals typically act as the decision makers, and each one has rulership of a city. Whenever new cities or lands are acquired a cardinal is sent to oversee it, if they bring great prosperity to it then they become recognized as a High Cardinal. Her followers have a deep respect not only for clerics but healers and druids. Healers for the honorable and kind profession they pursue, and druids for their respect and connection with the world. Paladins of the Lady are known to recruit druids when going on a holy quest to heal a broken-down part of the world. Unbelievers are treated with a mixture of pity and sorrow. Most followers believe unbelievers would be much happier following in the light of the lady and may even try proselyting if they feel particularly motivated.
A large portion of the Lady’s clergy are ancient orders of knights who pledged themselves to Her. These paladins, once competitive and vicious with each other, are united in faith and instead compete to be the ones who will free the Lady and bring about the great healing of the world. These knighthoods are always looking for new believers and actively recruit on Geline and other islands where pockets of the faithful can be found. Many of the members of these knighthoods go on “Holy Quests,” typically after a prophetic vision or dream, and venture off to either seek the grail or help the world in some grand way. When times of large-scale conflict arrive, it is typically the paladins who take to the frontlines. It is rumored that a few paladins have already drank from The Grail and been blessed by the Lady, but if this is true these paladins have not announced so.
Temples to the Lady of the Grail are as rich as the environment surrounding them allows. Basic temples to the Lady are typically decorated with simple wooden pews and a basic stone altar decorated with a basic metal cup. Richer temples include more ornately designed cups, fancier altars, and incorporation of “pure” precious metals such as gold and silver as well as “pure” stone such as marble. The Temple of Her Resurrection in the capital of Geline is considered a holy site and many followers make a trip there at least once in their life. The temple is made of pure marble and much of the furniture is lacquered with gold and silver powders. Beneath the Temple of Her Resurrection lies a great sanctified tomb where the heavily preserved bodies of Her most devout worshippers lay. It is said on the day of her freeing these saints shall rise again to bring about the great restoration of the world. There also lays a highly guarded holy relic in the form of a heavily ornate grail said to have a divine connection with the Lady that allows those who drink from it to speak the Ladys’ will. Naturally, only a few High Cardinals are given access to this relic, where they drink from it right before auspicious events or large sermons.
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| Arthropodus - Balestar - Car'El - Kroven - The 100th - The Keeper |