Order of the Concordant Spire

_{Military, Religion}

The Order of the Concordant Spire is a religious organization dedicated to the worship of Morthos and Tereale. It is a joint order, and historically was part of Starhelm City, prior to it being destroyed and corrupted by the Witch Queen. The monks of the order wander the countryside often to combat the evils of their lost brethren from the Order of the Discordant Spire.

History

Prior to the Fractioning, the Order of the Concordant Spire, was an order of monks dedicated to Morthos and Tereale, located in Starhelm City. They were paragons of life and healing across all of Starhelm, and they traveled the breadth and width of the continent healing the injured and sick, feeding the hungry, and preventing or softening the deaths of the people of Starhelm. They were not pacifists, however, and would take up arms against evils that threatened people for no just cause. They were a formidable group and very well-respected.
Even before the events that led to the birth of the Witch Queen, a schism had formed in the group and monks who wanted to delve deeper into the mysteries of death broke off from the main order. These monks performed grotesque experiments, and allowed harm to come to innocents, all in the sake of discovery, and they played with facets of life and death that were anathema to the Concordant Spire’s tenets and beliefs. Through their experimentation they were able to bridge an existence that was neither dead nor living, and could coexist in both states at the same time. They became known as the Order of the Discordant Spire and were in direct opposition to their former brethren.
The two orders clashed numerous times, and it seemed that the Discordant Spire monks would eventually fall to the superior numbers and training of the Concordant Spire. And then the unthinkable happened and the Fractioning of Alucar occurred, instantly killing or transforming into undeath, all who resided in Starhelm City. This included the monks of the Concordant Spire. The monks of the Discordant Spire, in their mad schemes and experiments, were fortunate enough to survive the event, as they were neither living nor dead. The infection of the Witch Queen did nothing to the order, and the Discordant Spire was able to take over the fallen towers of their lost brothers. The Witch Queen suffers their existence as they are a bane to the outside world, but she still bristles at their resistance to her powers.
The members of the Concordant Spire who were not in Starhelm City at the time were forced to continue their wanderings, or settle down in whatever place they happened to find themselves, cut off from their home. The clergy of Morthos regrouped in their southern mausoleum, the Halls of the Cleansed Soul, while the faithful of Tereale wandered for a time looking to find a home. Eventually the Order of the Concordant Spire was reformed in the Halls of the Cleansed Soul, and their purpose to combat the evils of the Discordant Spire was renewed.

Current Membership

Monks, clerics, rogues, and paladins are the primary members of this organization. The wandering nature of the monks in the past thousand years has also opened them up to finding help in any small town, tribe, or large city. Anywhere people are threatened by the Discordant Spire these monks make a great effort to enlist and recruit members, so people from all walks of life can be found in the Concordant Spire.

Goals

The Concordant Spire’s primary goal is to thwart the evils of the Discordant Spire, but they are also fervent believers in the power of Morthos and Tereale. They travel to all corners of the continent spreading the goodwill and gospel of their gods. As both Morthos and Tereale have fairly consistent representation in almost any settlement, they are welcomed in most places. The members of this order will also travel to areas with major temples to enforce the agreed-upon policies and tenets of the Halls of the Cleansed Soul as the primary source of religious dictates.

Resources

Aside from the resources provided by the Halls of the Cleansed Soul, and its surrounding area, there is not much material resources that the Concordant Spire can offer. They provide healing, shelter, and food for those who require it; they provide training for those who dedicate themselves to the order; and they provide spiritual guidance for those seeking it.
The Halls of the Cleansed Soul, much like the original Towers of the Concordant Spire, houses both the priests of Morthos and the priests of Tereale. The original towers intertwined with each other, alternating between black and white, with their windows facing outward, as a symbolic gesture of their gods’ inability to see one another. In practice the two groups continued to meet with each other and worked well together. When first meeting they would always close their eyes to each other and offer a greeting, with the worshippers of Tereale offering ‘with Life comes Death’, followed by the worshippers of Morthos concluding ‘from Death comes Life’. While they may not sport the twin towers as in their past, the Halls of the Cleansed Soul continues to follow the practice of greeting, and the buildings of Tereale are white, while the buildings of Morthos are black.

Notable Personalities

• Gangar Hammerfist (m/minotaur)
• Emily Moonhallow (f/high elf)
• Boris Blacksun (m/goliath)

Type

Religious, Monastic Order

Purpose: Monks of Morthos and Tereale who protect Starhelm from the Monks of the Discordant Spire.
Membership: Clerics, Monks, Paladins, and Rogues
Base of Operations: Hall of the Cleansed Soul
Symbol: A white skull surrounded by a black garland of lilies
Notable Members: Gangar Hammerfist, Emily Moonhallow, Boris Blacksun