Order of the Scarlet Veil
A Hieretical Clerical Order of the Eternal Flame
[Ideas and Morals]
No current member of the order can claim to remember the truth behind the legend of how the orders were founded. A tenant of faith in the Order of the Scarlet Veil is that the oracle will always truthfully declaim the future as revealed to her by Agrik. While nothing of the future is set in stone, the oracle is believed to be very powerful - and almost, always right.
[Faith]
Agrik is seen as an avenger, the breeder of war, and as a cleanser of the land. He is depicted always as a fiery demon on a blood-soaked battlefield. The titles the Order of the Scarlet Veil gives him are:
"The Cleanser of the Roots, the Destroyer, Lord of The Four Horsemen, The Protector of the Flame of Life, and the Reasonless Reaper.''
The Order of the Scarlet Veil believe strongly in children - bearing them, raising them and training them to be the best they can be. The despise vanity in all its forms and humble themselves by shaving their heads regularly to avoid personal vanity.
[Holy and Taboo]
Warfare is seen as holy. All members of the Order of the Scarlet Veil fight regularly. There are highly ritualized fights amongst themselves, as well as a few events where they welcome challenges each year from the outside. Only the best are seen as being fit to live and worship Agrik. If one of the order's better fighters looses a challenge match - it is believed that the looser was so good, that Agrik himself wanted the warrior before his time.
Anything done in the name of warfare- rape, pillage, burring, killing prisoners, and torture - all are seen as holy acts. This includes the arming and preparations for war as much as the acts themselves.
Taboo acts deal primarily with lying and self-aggrandizement. Perhaps this is a reflection of the animosity between Agrik and the Empress of Opulence.
- Thou shalt not own a mirror nor gaze upon thynself.
- Thou shalt not robe thynself in opulence only in necessity.
- Thou shalt eat only as thou must - never may thyn lips taste opulence.
- Thou shalt shave thyn head daily so that no urge to primp or preen thynself shall remain.
Tell me the truth about...
The Lord of the Four Horsemen is the father of us all. He is not the creator of all life, merely its keeper and its guide. He is the last defender, and the brutal in his justice. He is the avenger, the breeder of war, and as a cleanser of the land. He is depicted always as a fiery demon on a blood-soaked battlefield.
- Halea is the embodiment of sin. She is vain, and thus has a dark soul. She is revels in her possessions and thus should be purified. She can be bought out of challenges and thus their lives are forfeit. Her followers are wealthy and thus powerful. They, unlike their deity, make a worthy target not because they are good warriors, but because they are predictable and often hire the best to protect them.
- Ilvir is the craven god of lost and tortured souls. The creatures he tends were never meant to see sunlight. They pose no threat to the faithful as a child could defeat them on the battlefeild. Be wary of his kind in the cities where they can lurk in shadows and attack without warning. Kill them quickly for their lives were sufferings best ended.
- Larani is our Avenger's enemy, and thus ours as well. Her followers are brave and cunning. While they have different reasons than ours, their abilities are just as great.
- Morgath is the religion of the backstabing, the liars and the cheats. Even the religion of Naveh is better than this - for then at least you know you are dealing with thieves. They are the invaders and destroyers of the family. They are our enemy, and never can we trust them, nor aid them in any way.
- Naveh is the god of thieves. He should be avoided rather than engaged for he is as slipery as an eel. Do not trust him, nor put faith in his words. His followers are no better.
- Peoni is the gentle healer. She has nothing to do with the ways of war, and thus should be ignored. Leave her in peace and let her tend to her gentle flock as she deems just. The flock is ours for the hunting.
- Sarajin is a foreign god of war. Similar to Agrik in many ways, yet he is not our Defender, nor Bringer of Doom. His followers are blood-thursty savages that will kill you rather than be civilized. Do not trust them.
- Save-K'nor is the god of puzzles and riddles. He is there to confound and confuse. Deal with him, and his followers, if you must but remember their riddles and jests are used only to show their superiority to others. If you never play their games, you can never loose. Our ways and his differ like the day differs from the night. Stick to the sanctity of the battlefield and your might will prevail.
- Siem is an elder god from a forgotten time. His people are the Sindarin and the Khuzdul. Similar to Peoni, he shepards his flock. The Sindarin and the Khuzdul are a powerful people, but different. Deal with them if you must, but make them earn your trust. For just as you do not understand them because of their differences - they cannot understand you.
[Ethics/Commandments]
The women who founded this order revealed the code that all who followed them would obey. It is incised in flowing script on the corner stone of each building within the keep, as if burned in by a finger of fire.
"Those that will follow must obey
The rules of the church:
Agrik and he alone we shall worship
His decrees and orders we shall obey
The rules of the founders:
To protect the order from all infidels,
to guard the truth so it is not corrupted,
to succor his followers
and kill his enemies.''
Their litany insists on truth. The church of Agrik does not, itself, have such confining laws. While the Warriors of the Bloody Maces are sworn not to lie, they are not sworn to speak.
[Sin/Punishment]
The following sins and punishments are only for members of the Order of the Scarlet Veil.
- Thou shalt not Lie. Vanity is a lie to oneself, speaking falsely is a lie to others. Liars darken thyn very soul. To Purify the soul, it must suffer pain equal to its age. All but those within our care beneath the age of 10 seasons must suffer so.
- Thou shalt be modest in thyn possessions. Owning more than thou needests for day-to-day lives is a Sin of the Purse. To Purify, one must give always all that one has, then fight each owner for the return of thyn possessions. All but those in our care beneath the age of 14 seasons must suffer so.
- Thou shalt never kill a child. For this is a breech of trust between the heavens and us. For such a breech thyn own life is forfeit. A child is any human beneath the age of 10 seasons.
- Thou shalt never forgive nor forget a challenge. Battle is thyn birthright. There is no excuse for not accepting. To deny a challenge thyn life is forfeit. All but those in our care beneath the age of 10 seasons must suffer so.
[Death/Afterlife]
After death by battle, it is believed that the dead are pressed into the service of the V'Hir. The very best fighters are set to guarding the great fortress of Balgashang. These fighters and servants form the army that Agrik unleashes in his mighty wars and battles in the next life against the servants of other gods who defy Agrik in the ongoing wars.
Those who die dishonorably, or the enemies of the faithful, find themselves in Ak-Syst. There the enemies or the dishonored will lie and wait until the person who initially killed them comes to the chamber to do with them as they please. There is no escape from Ak-Syst, and eventually all who are imprisoned in Ak-Syst become the playthings of the V'Hir - who's perversions know no bounds.
[The Eternal Flame]
"At the center of our temple, the Eternal Flame burns. Through this flame The Lord of the Four Horsemen knows our devotions to him. Through this flame the Reasonless Reaper sends us his words. Through this flame we know his blessing. Upon your very souls let its flame never diminish. Less you be used to light it. Anew.''
Prayer of the Flame
The Eternal Flame is watched and kept burning each day. The Order of the Scarlet Veil have been known to take embers from the flame and keep them safe when they travel. These tiny embers are carried in their own form of tinderbox from which all other fires are lit.
The Eternal Flame is well fed with wood, oils, prayers and sacrifices. It is believed, should it ever go out - the Order of the Scarlet Veil has lost their god's trust. According to their own prophecy, should this ever happen all the members, except the Oracle must die. The Oracle must then present herself to the primate for punishment. If the Order of the Scarlet Veil survives the punishment, and continues - it will only be at the Reasonless Reaper's bidding.
[Myths]
The Order of the Scarlet Veil tells the standard myths of creation and god-wars that are common to most of the Pantheon of H’rn. They both know, and teach the legends and myths commonly told to lay members of the other churches, as well as there own.
[Heroes]
Since the Order has yet to be recognized by the Agrik church, it has no official heroes or saints. However - the 3 warriors it honors above all others are described below. In their 100 years of service to the community and region of Fobin there have been many deaths of decorated heroes, but these 3 live on in songs of valor and tales of adventure.
- Ak-Tea, the Archer, Warriors of the Bloody Mace of the Scarlet Veil
- The Foulslayer, Shield-maiden of the Scarlet Veil
- The Mighty War Mistress of the Scarlet Veil
Ak-Tea The Archer, Knight of the Scarlet Veil.
In the early years of the Order, there was an archer amongst us who’s aim was always true. She was an orphan raised by our Order, and later joined of her own free will. But even as a child she would throw stones to kill birds from the highest branches for her lunch. Her name was Ak-Tea, which is Azerian for the color blue. She was so named as she had piercing sky-blue eyes.
"Ak-Tea became one of the many knights amongst us, and served faithfully throughout most of her youth. During her patrols, and her duty cycles - she always had her bow strung and ready. And she never missed what she aimed for. Not fleeing stag, nor panic-stricken morgathian - and she killed many of both in her time.
"One day, while on patrol, her squad came upon a small band of gargun looting an overturned carriage. Quick as a bird takes flight, she loaded her bow and shot off 2 arrows - each killing a gargun intent on their treasure. The others raced away, and soon Ak-Tea was separated from her squad and in pursuit of a large gargun, racing away through the trees. She followed him back to a small encampment where the gargun began screaming at several humans clustered about a fire.
"They say she recognized their stench at once. The humans were morgathian priests - and obviously in league with the foul gargun. Sounding a battle cry she raised her bow and shot all the Morgathians, wounding 3 and killing the rest. The gargun once more took flight.
"The wounded Morgathians ignored the arrows and shed their dark robes to reveal fine suits of chain mail. Throwing down her bow, she drew out her mace and waded into battle. Her squad found her some time later with 3 knights dead at her feet. She died of her own wounds before her friends could find her. While nothing was ever proven in the courts, it was obvious to us that the foul Morgathians were up to something - plotting against the senate and using the gargun for their acts of banditry against the good people of this land.
"We sing this song to remember her.
"Ak-Tea, Ak-Tea - of the clear eye and true of heart
never did you scream or call out
Your courage never failed you
Your heart was truly devout
"Ak-Tea, Ak-Tea - of perfect aim, and loyalty
Slew morgathian knights on our
very own boundary Protected
the children, all on her own
"Loyalty, loyalty - to the flame and to the thrown
Gargun and Morgath - foul both
Plotting, screaming all for not
your life for theirs.
"Traitors, trading - be bandits, be knights
without you no plot be known
protected us all on her own
"Balshang, Balshang, we shall soon all see you there
serving your lord with most devout
Your skill never failed you
Your life for theirs"
The Foulslayer, Shield-maiden of the Scarlet Veil
Less than 2 decades ago, there was a Shield Maiden of the Scarlet Veil who made a reputation for herself as a gargun hunter. It was then common to offer rewards to anyone who could bring back the head of a gargun, and local legend says she made her fortune hunting gargun and collecting their bounty. She died of mysterious circumstances and local lore says her treasure is buried somewhere near, or around, the caerns just north of the town of Fobin. The Order of the Scarlet Veil tells the tale somewhat differently.
When the Foulslayer’s skills were known to be better than any of her compatriots in arms, she left us - seeking her calling beyond our walls. We know she traveled much, and killed many gargun for the tales of her exploits came back to us upon a holy wind. But when the town of Fobin began having Gargun troubles, we sent messengers to find her and she came to our call.
There was a tribe of the unholy creatures lurking in, and around, the caern near Fobin. Their numbers had been counted in the hundreds by the locals. Graves and outlying homes had already been attacked by these vile things before she arrived. Upon hearing of the local distress she asked to borrow a war ax from the Order. The blade was cleaned, and ritually blessed and sharpened for her.
Astride her mighty beast Flamemaster, she road as calmly into the maw of chaos. For two days the locals of town kept to their beds for fear of being taken by the foul beast on the prowl. During those same two days members of our order patrolled the area carefully, awaiting sign that The Foulslayer had been victorious. Occasionally the sound of battle, metal clanging on metal - or the horrid death knell of a creature that has no soul - would float back to us. But we could neither find the battle, nor see our faithful servant.
The morning of the third day, a blood red sun boiled up over the horizon. We took this as a sign, and before it could change color or rise higher we rushed out of our holding and towards the caern. The fields were so strewn with blood that it bubbled up from beneath the soil and soaked every grass until it was blood red. We found her ax, a half each in the breasts of the largest gargun on the field. Its hilt was buried in the eye of the spawner of the evil brood.
We searched, even descending far below the earth where our mightiest warriors had to wade through water that smelled of blood and was as thick as oil. For three days we pulled bodies out from beneath the ground. Each had died from battle - but never did we find The Foulslayer.
Our priests lined up the dead and caused them to burn with holy flame, and then we destroyed the caverns and their contents of murky blood with a purer flame than mankind was ever meant to see. But neither through divination, nor through search could we find her living, nor dead.
That night our Oracle received a vision of The Foulslayer in Ak-Syst, where she punished and tormented a thousand of the vilest creatures for the pleasure of the Eternal Flame.
[Legends]
Other than the myth of founding, there are three great legends told to children that are specific to the Followers of the Daughters of the Holy Fire. They are told to reinforce the adherent's image of their god and their religion.
Unfortunately there are no known written version of these tales.
The tale of "The Adventures of the Daughters of the Holy Fire in the Wilderness" is several nights long. It originates from the diaries of the Daughters of the Holy Fire to amuse the representative of the Order of Herpa that arrived in the year 700TR.
The two most popular legends are:
The Founding of the First Orphanage of Agrik
During a cold and long winter many children died. The Daughters of the Holy Fire, now quite old, prayed and offered sacrifices up to the Master of the V’Hir to show them how to protect the children from the weather and their lack of food. The blinded Daughter suddenly began screaming as her hands caught fire. None moved to put out the holy flames as they burned bright blue. Her skin was charred as black as night itself, but the flames slowly died away.
Gasping, the blinded Daughter prophesied the following:"In the coming spring a new man will come to Fobin. While powerful and given unto Halea, his heart is Agrik, and his soul is ours. We must be there when he finishes his first meal. The site of the children will shame him into action and his opulence and wealth will be nothing in comparison to his generosity. When he offers to build us an Orphanage we shall have to find eight priests of the cowardly dead. Their sacrifice will make the orphanage’s foundation stand against anything that dares come against it.
"These priests must be ritually silenced and buried alive below the foundation. If ever they escape their prison without first having accepted Agrik in their hearts we must cast them aflame and burn them as my hands are burned. Their cowards will peal away as my skin does, leaving the true faith below unblemished. "
As she spoke she rubbed her smoldering hands together, and the charred flesh rolled away revealing the clean flesh beneath.And so on the 5th Larane, 624TR the Order, and their children, met Senator Riacyn who did see the children, and built them a strong orphanage. He cleared the opposition towards such a martial order as ours from the senate and turned a blind eye to the cries of the cowardly affiliated senators as priests went missing from Golatha and Coranan.
The night of the Low Ceremony of the Balefire of that year the sacrifices were performed. The cowardly priests were forced to eat holy cakes and blessed wine and made to kneel before holy fire. They were blessed and marked by The Reasonless Reaper. Their tongues were removed and they were blinded. They were then cast into a pit that had been dug that day. Each priest had his own cubicle which was quickly sealed with wood and blessings to keep them in. Throughout the day, the workers had no way of knowing what lay below.
To keep the sacrifices below the earth, eight sword shaped stones surround the orphanage. As the stones become more red, we know the sacrifices are turning towards Agrik. It is said that when all the stones turn fully red they can be removed and we shall have eight warriors of untold strength and power to join us in our own Jihad.
The Origin of the Veil
In the days of terror - when the lands were still ruled by the priests of the cowardly dead, the Daughters of the Holy Fire lived amongst the men and women of this mortal plane. They led the refugees and those strong enough of spirit to defy the Supposed Master of Evil in their plight to regain the land, and the souls, of those the supposed lord of Chaos had claimed.
To wander about in daylight was dangerous for the Daughters of the Holy Fire were branded traitors to the state and regularly hunted. But they were safe within the Blood Wood north of the town of Fobin. Still, occasionally, they had to seek out and defend the children caught between the Immortal Warlord of Balshang, and the lord of the cowardly dead. It was during one such battle when one of the Daughters of the Holy Fire was covered in a shower of blood from the impact of her mace. The blood stung and burned her eyes. Suffering in silence, she helped free the children and return to the blood forest.
The next day she awoke blind. She claimed to always smell a strong burning, and hear the screams of the tortured souls of Ak-Syst. Her eyes were two blackened pits that gave even the strongest amongst them cause to feel ill. Deep within were two tiny red dots that glowed whenever she became angry. She became able to light or douse fires at will. By eve she ordered a large bonfire built. The hunters of the followers went out to find their daily food, and brought back two Morgathian spies who had been living in the compound for several days.
The blinded Daughter looked at each of them for a very long time. The tiny red dots in the black holes of her eyes glowing as brightly as the fire behind them. At last satisfied, she ordered both men to be stripped and staked to a giant X of wood. These Xs were then placed over the center of the hot coals from the day’s bonfire. The men pleaded for mercy, begged to be released - even offered to swear fielty to The Reasonless Reaper - but the blind Daughter would hear none of it.
To protect the children’s night sleep, she took her own dagger and cut out each of their tongues to stop them from screaming.
When the men finally died sometime near dawn - the other Daughters of the Holy Fire gathered round their charred bodies and carefully cut a square of skin out around each of their hearts. They carefully tanned these pieces of human flesh and died them red. Sewing them together, they made a veil of thick scarlet hide. The blinded Daughter, who guided their actions, then took to wearing this veil over her face before giving the days benedictions or orders.
Over time, the veil has grown softer and thinner from so many years of handling and care. The blinded Daughter prophesied that, when the Veil finally fell apart it would be time to mount a Jihad against the followers of Balshangs lies. To this day the Veil is handled carefully - and while it is now very soft, and almost see through it has yet to fall apart.
It is for this coming war that we practice, and prepare.
[Holy Books]
The teachings and the litanies of the previous Oracles are treated as holy texts. None of the prophecies, or teachings are available to the public.
- "The Order of the Scarlet Veil - by truth of word and blood of heart" is a book by an unnamed members of the Order of the Scarlet Veil. In it is set the guidelines for the Order. While almost all members have heard of this book, and many know passages from it - no one lower than the second circle has ever seen its pages
- Librium of the pantheon by Nala-Uroh of Elkail-Anuz - based on earlier works - it is the quintessential source for information on the Kelestial Pantheon.
- Speaking of the Oracles - a complied listing (several volumes long) of each oracle presented by the Order of the Scarlet Veil in the past and the validity/future happenings that are believed to be related to it. There are still blank pages in these tomes. Written by Rachel of Tharda, once daughter to a senator (which one is not recorded) who compiled the information up to, and including the year 700 as penance for her father's acts against the Order.
- Deference's of a wandering knight the personal diary of a line of knights that began from the founders. This family of knights - from mother to daughter to son down through the 200 or so years of the order's existence tell of all the various happenings over time - from the political infighting amongst the order through to the truth behind many of its legends. These tomes are not available for public viewing. Ever. The name of said family is never recorded.
This page was last updated on 30 June,
2000
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