The Cult of Anbartae
History
The Cult of Anbartae in its current form can be traced back to the earliest post-Disaster times. A number of religious groupings arose and grew with the development of the broader society, determined to extend order in the lands following the period of disorder that had arisen immediately after the Disaster. The natural progression for such groups was to come together, to unify and become stronger; this happened quickly in some places.
With the growth of such groups among both dwarves and men, the Anbartaean clerics soon capitalised. Dwarves by their nature tend towards order, and several of their own religions groups helped this growth along, while among mankind growth was slower due to the wide diversity of the people. By 400, the church was established among the southern kingdoms, and still had a solid representation among the newly founded delves in the north. The gods whose power defines the cult blessed it with strong leaders at a time when mankind was vulnerable.
The church was instrumental in the forging of many of the southern kingdoms, and was a major contributor to the expansion of mankind into the north, despite being in the shadow of both Pendaroch and Danethrae. It was popular among the rulers because of its approach of teaching order and conformity to the population. Preaching that the gods require strength through unity helped it become central pillar of in the control of the masses by new, often less than scrupulous, leaders.
Teachings and Philosophy
Order is the foundation upon which the strength of man and of all free races is built. Without order, there is no unity, no society, no wealth and no strength. The cause of the majority is the guiding principle of order, individuals aiding society and helping to develop and strengthen it by being a deeply entrenched member of it, helping pull the people together and helping them work toward common goals.
In the hearts of men (and dwarves, and elves, and all free people) there is an element of chaos. To temper this, and to guide the majority who live in society, laws are needed and should be followed by all; for without order and organisation comes weakness; strength only comes through unity. Laws are put in place to deal with the weaknesses of, and provide a guide to, the individual and to protect the majority. Some laws may seem unjust or unreasonable, or out of place, but they all have a purpose, and so must be followed whether the individual can see the reasons why the law is there or not. The ruler creates laws to maintain order and to provide strength for the whole - there are many challenges from outside the lands, from chaotic races who seek to bring disharmony to the kingdom. These must be resisted, it is the duty of the nation to protect itself from these terrible influences, by being strong and unified in the face of them.
The relationship between the governing power (the Monarch) and the people is a natural co-existence, and that from this the forces of order, organisation, and society develop quite naturally. The closer this tie is, the stronger the nation, and it becomes more able to form a strong defence.
Order is not a thing to be created, nature is filled with order, and it pops up in all kinds of ways, from the motion of the tides, to the changing season. All these are predictable and ordered. It is not for folk to oppose this natural way, but to confirm to it. If people were move against order, then they move against the whole fabric of society and the livelihoods of all free people could be put in jeopardy.
Anbartae believes in a strong, well-ordered governing power, and this is currently the state in Arthea. They uphold the monarchy in every way, and support fully the principle of the Kings Guard (although some members object to the practices of individual members of the Kings Guard).
Church Structure
Anbartae is probably the best structured and well organised church of Arthea. Its complete devotion to order has earned it the favour of King James, who is a worshipper. It is this support that has helped turn the cult into one of the largest in the land, taking members from Pendaroch, Danethrae and from Suldurn.
Despite this new found popularity, the cult suffers from serious divisions brought about by the wide range of alignments they support. The mainstream of the church is lawful neutral, but there are also factions supporting the causes of lawful good and lawful evil. While these factions can often agree with the mainstream, they struggle to agree with each other, and the ill feeling generated does the sect more harm than anything. The mainstream does its best to hold all the factions together; but there are challenges all the time. The church is built on a theology of order and conformity; the lack of unity brings raises questions about the very fundamentals of the church.
The facade of unity is maintained by strong leadership from the lawful neutral clerics at present. This authority could well be under threat soon; the lawful evil faction has been growing steadily stronger over the past few years under the reign of King James. If such a challenge were to happen, it could tear the cult apart - the lawful good faction and a large proportion of the lawful neutral clerics simply could not continue as members of the cult if the lawful evil elements became the mainstream. At some point, the current mainstream clerics may have to take action against the lawful evil faction to prevent their cult from falling to pieces.
The cult has a big following of Knights, loyal to the cause of the King, for whom it provides support as warriors alongside spiritual support. Knights can train in church facilities dedicated to the art of using hand to hand weapons by joining the Anbartaean Warriors Guild, which is partially subsidised by the main church. The church also maintains a string of monasteries where those with the dedication can rid themselves of the chaos of the world and devote their lives to religious study, craft skills, and unarmed combat.
Weapons
The bearing of weapons by the followers of Anbartae is only allowed within the confines of the law, and must only be used in reaction to acts of chaos. To use weapons for the sake of it is chaotic, and is not tolerated; there must be a worthwhile reason. Within the law, the bearing of weapons is encouraged, as this demonstrates the individual's willingness to defend the cause of law, and to act to defend society as a whole.
The factions of the church have slightly differing views on weaponry to the mainstream of the church, and this is detailed below. The Anbartaean clerics preach their message to the Kings Guard and to the militia where they can, with the hope of increasing the awareness of these people to the power of a drawn weapon, and its effect on ordinary people.
Church Factions
The cult of Anbartae has many factions; the main Knightly factions (represented by Saint Gordon and Saint Vincent) represent the moral and political divide in the church, but there are other factions either affiliated to one of these saints or independent of them all. The Knightly factions make up only a small part of the total membership, but Saint Vincent's faction is proportionately larger than at any time in the cult's long history. Over the last ten to fifteen years, Saint Gordon's faction has remained the same size, and as a result, with larger membership to this cult overall, it is a diminishing proportion. Each of the factions gathers under the banner of one of the cult's saints.
Saint Gordon
Gordon left the cult of Danethrae in 1028 following a theological argument concerning the support of law above the support of the greater good. His views fitted well with the cult of Anbartae at the time, so he joined them, and helped them clarify much of their teachings.
His work over the next twenty years was outstanding, and he was well rewarded for his tasks. Now most of the paladins within the cult follow his faction, as it centres on the alignment of lawful good (and focuses on lawfulness). The faction also welcomes followers who are not paladins, but who share that point of view. All the knights and paladins who follow this section of the cult wear their own version of the cults shield device - a white cross paty on a dark blue background.
The followers of Saint Gordon seek to bring order to all sections of society, but will not resort to needless violence to fulfil this aim. They believe that the greater good can only be achieved through an ordered society, and are prepared to work towards that with the peoples consent. They could never use their might to bully peasants into accepting their beliefs. Their ties with Anbartae mean that they will work for an ordered society before trying to fulfil their ideals of the greater good.
Saint Vincent
Vincent was a member of the cult of Anbartae and an anti-paladin who rode north in 979 from the southern Empire to the fledgling state of Ticetia to help restore order from the invasion of chaos. He was one of those who stayed behind and furthered the cause of the church. Because of his sterling work he was rewarded, on his death by being canonised as a saint. He has since been adopted by the lawful evil factions within the cult as their patron, and his example has brought closer unity between them. The anti-paladins and knights who follow this saint are powerful members of the cult, and often use their work with the cult to further their own ends. Their shield device is similar to the main churches, using a yellow cross paty on a black (or very dark blue) background.
The followers of Saint Vincent believe in using the ordered society in which they live to benefit themselves and to benefit their church. They see the laws they create as providing a clear definition of who has power, and how is in control, distinguishing the servant from the master. They seek to use this tiered system to increase their individual power while maintaining the ordered society.
Saint Margyl
Margyl is the man credited with establishing the Anbartaean monastery; he was an exceptionally intelligent student of his church, who secluded himself with a few select followers to study their theology in detail. These followers devoted their lives to their religion and trained their bodies through exercise, fasting and abstinence to be vessels for the purity of their spirit.
Margyl was born in 709, the son of a rich trader in the south. He soon became disillusioned with the status of his family which seemed to be using its wealth to help keep the northern lands in an impoverished state. He joined Anbartae when he was 22 (in 731), at the time the church already had a monastery, but it had been built and operated as a place for private study for use by some of the clerics to further their theology. Margyl went into the monastery in 732, and became chair of its organising committee in 739, when he was 30 years old.
At first he was just concerned that the monastery would become an 'old clerics club', as there were few new members, and an aging study group. He began thinking about how things could be changed to better serve their gods and the church, and suggested changes to take it beyond just simple study, and to allow members of the club to embrace a whole lifestyle which involved discipline and study, refining the body and enabling oneself to become as ordered and regimented as is physically possible for an individual.
Margyl developed self defence techniques which required huge amounts of self discipline, and stood the order apart from others of the religion. His thinking had taken many of the senior members of his church by surprise; they did not fully understand that devotion to order could achieve so much, and he was canonised as a saint for his contribution in 778. By the time of his death in 782, the church had opened a dozen other monasteries throughout the southern kingdoms to pass on the teaching that Margyl developed. Becoming a follower of St Margyl is to become a monk of the Anbartaean order, believed to be the oldest order of this type in the post-disaster world.
Saint Gerenwyn
Gerenwyn is a former disciple of Danethrae, who joined the Anbartae in 824 to further his own study, and to improve his own self-discipline. He was attracted to the monastic training of the order of Saint Margyl, and brought new thinking to this branch of the sect. His big achievement was to expand the monasteries; he made many of the existing buildings larger, and opened a string of new monasteries across the south. He worked hard to make them more appealing to communities in which they were based, and made the monasteries popular. He enabled the monks to reach out and help the poor in the regions where they lived - for which he was canonised. Lawful good monks look to Saint Gerenwyn's teaching for instruction and guidance.
Saint Frallam
Frallam was a low-ranking Knight of Suldurn at their order in Tarn in the years leading up to 1022, when he left the knighthood to look into new challenges in the monasteries of Anbartae. The strict code of order attracted him, he was already used to his knightly code of honour, but also wanted to improve himself. He joined the monastery in the woods around Shora in the eastern Empire where he excelled as a monk, flying through his training and climbing up the ranks quickly.
Despite his beginnings as a Knight of Suldurn, the Anbartaean order of Saint Margyl suited him perfectly. By 1027, the Empire was sending troops north to carry out attacks along the border, he organised several monks to help defend the villages of the north western Empire. Only fifty seven monks (of various ranks) went to join the defence, but Frallam, went with them and organised the group in its activities. The monks were used to defend peasant towns and villages in the area, but were called upon seldom. The biggest impact was to bring the lifestyle of the monks to the attention to the Empire's peasants in the area - leading to new monasteries being established all through the region, and for hundreds of new monks to join the order.
When the monks were withdrawn from the region as a military unit, at the request of the Emperor in 1036, many stayed behind in the monasteries of the west in a peaceful capacity. Frallam himself was summoned to Nareth by the heads of his order, and was invited to join the organising council. His experience as a knight was used to add a new edge to some of the monks fighting techniques and gave a military approach to some of the teaching.
Saint Frallam was canonised into sainthood by Anbartae in 1063, after spending four years helping to defend villages from the descent into chaos as the power-hungry in Nareth fought among each other and in the fields of the Empire. The monks protected many villages from all sides in the fighting, but his death in 1065 arrived without him achieving his personal ambition to head the church, although he had been the senior monk on the monastery council for eighteen years.
The teachings of Saint Frallam have a hard-edge, his followers are experts in the monks fighting styles, and pay less attention to the study of the more spiritual side of the church's teachings. They still shun possessions, and seek order through self-control, but they also seek to elevate themselves to positions of power in the community. To followers of Saint Frallam, the obligations of an ordered society, the imposition of self discipline, the service of the power of the land, and personal achievement all go hand in hand.
Symbols
The cult of Anbartae has many symbols and emblems. Some are used by the knights, others by the clergy.
Shield Devices
Anbartaean warriors have, by tradition, used a diagonal cross (the cross paty) for their shields, and this has been adopted by some of the clerics. The different factions vary the colours of this but the mainstream use a yellow cross on a dark blue background.
Holy Symbols
Because of the links with order, it had become the custom of many of the southern clerics to use the symbol of a plain square or triangle, but this is becoming less popular today. In Caldonacia, up until the last war, the symbol of knowledge, the open book, was used but this clashed with symbols used by some of the magical sects, and has since been used little. The most popular symbol among clerics now is that of a seven pointed star. As with all holy symbols, to be effective against undead and in spell casting, it must be carved from wood or cast from silver, then blessed by a cleric of appropriate level. Some Anbartaean clerics have now adopted the practice of setting their holy symbol in a silver ring so it can be worn. This does not appear to have reduced its effectiveness.
Cleric Weapon Choice
The Clerics of Anbartae are allowed a choice from the following weapons:
Battle Axe; Light Crossbow; Heavy Crossbow; Club; Dart; Flail (footman's or horseman's); Mace (footman's or horseman's); Hand Axe; Long Bow; Morning Star; Quarterstaff; Spear; Scimitar; Short Sword; War Hammer; Whip.
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