The Order of the Crow

Founded in 1E-2420 by the First Brother, who at the time was a peasant farmer whose father had died in the Wight King’s First Conquest, the Order has grown to govern all the counts and dukes of Teremia. The faith commands complete loyalty from its followers either due to fanatic devotion or fear of resistance. Indeed it’s control has become so great that Teremia has largely become known in common parlance as The Crowlands

Structure

Disbandment

After the formal collapse of the organization the Order of the Crow continued in small secretive religious gatherings across Teremia. Nobles tended to persecute these gatherings brutally fearing a return of theological rule but it continued to exist throughout the history of the empire gradually moving to the Frontier and Far Isles where practice was more easily performed in secret. The continued Crow practitioners tended to name their clergymen the First Brother and where they became aware of each other tended to merge into smaller organised movements.

Mythology & Lore

The origin story of the universe differed from traditional Tathamite and Ederic philosophy who tend to posit a vague notion of some collection of beings installing order. The Order suggests that the Crow created all realms and life from the essence of existence but in so doing also allowed the creation of a dark evil that sought the destruction of all the known world. While it was intended that this darkness would act as a balance to the goodness of the world it soon became an aggressive and consuming force challenging the Crow's own power. 
To defend what existed the Crow destroyed the darkness at the cost of its own form dividing it amongst 9 ederic gods each of whom took part of its recovering essence. Just as the crow shattered into 9 so too did the darkness into a range of tempting and cruel evils that seek to control the known realms. These take the form of supranatural entities, devils, angels, genie and beings of chaos. They teach that one day the mer of the realm of balance will be able to unite the gods together back into the Crow who will lead them in a final battle to destroy the encroaching darkness.

Divine Origins

The Order of the Crow was forged from war as the First Brother Ignaci Crow was left without a home or family by acts of the Wight King. Ignaci prayed and appealed to any who would listen desperate to find a way for his people to find purpose again. Hearing his plea and the honesty of his devotion the Crow reached through, using the power it had gathered over centuries of rest, to show him a vision of the future and impose it's will upon the First Brother.
Ignaci took his views to his village using the divine magic now gifted to him by the Crow to show the truth of his purpose and so the church began. Slowly this peasant movement grew village by village seeping into cities and courts through the travelling Crow Priests who easily rallied the people towards their aims and put the nobles in their place. An egalitarian society came into being following the strict and equal treatment of all under canon law and those who resisted were quickly defeated by the faith militant.

Cosmological Views

The Crow is a God that channels elements of all the lesser deities. In the Crow faith these lesser deities are simply aspects of the crow embodied in physical form. Typhis, for example, is the rage of the Crow expressed as a mighty hurricane.

Tenets of Faith

The Order of the Crow is founded on a belief that order must be maintained at any cost. Crow’s believe that war, crime and other such ailments are the byproduct of corrupted free will with mer being overwhelmed by temptations for power and wealth. Magic is the worst form of this with mages being either born into an inherently corrupting power or eagerly pursuing its ways.
To maintain order Crows use a form of twisted magic to bind common folk to the will of a Crow Priest. Each Crow Priest in turn is bound to the First Brother which means that he alone is required to stay pure and blessed by the Crow. This binding is kept secret by Crows with the Crow Priests themselves only learning of it after being bound themselves. The Binding process doesn’t leave one aware that they are unable to resist commands and through careful wordings Crow Priests often make their commands appear to be the will of the recipients. ‘Attack these men’ for instance would be worded as ‘Come to my aid brothers, feel the courage of the Crow within you’.
Those who are willful and strong of mind can resist the effect of the binding though it is impossible to know this until an order is refused. With common folk being ignorant and uneducated they rarely are able to resist the magic though nobles can often resist its effects. The power of the church over the common folk means that those nobles who would act against the First Brothers will do however find themselves often burned in their own castles.
Magic is detested by Crows who view it as the apex of corruption by giving man continually growing power to change the fabric of reality. Mages in the Crowland’s are brought to a large compound in the capital where they are made loyal to the church or executed if such cannot be enforced. Sorcerers are viewed most leniently by the Crows as they are born with the uncontrollable magic while Warlocks and Wizards actively pursue greater knowledge making them untrustworthy. Druids are viewed variably depending on how they received the gift but their minimal presence in the Crowland’s has led to little thought being put to the matter.

Worship

Crow Priests provide sermon each morning atop a plinth in their local village, circulating between the villages in more rural areas. These sermons often icnlude praise for the Crow, descriptions of visions granted to the priest and 'guidance' on what the flock should do with their time to best serve the crow. This 'guidance' can be anything from aiding farmers to get great crops or preparing for battle as a war may soon approach.

Priesthood

The priests of the Order are known as 'Crow Priests' and often wear simple plain robes and chains that represent their service and allegiance to the Crow. Priests tend to wield either a spiked club or a long stave with rivets in its top to represent the willingness of the clergy to defend their flock against hostile foes.
Parallel to these is the 'Crow Knights' who serve as Paladins of the order and clad themselves in blackened steel and furs with winged helmets. These warriors of the faith are the front line combatants against strong foes or beasts and often lead the peasantry into battle atop gallant steeds.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

Founding Date

1E-2420

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Crows

Leader

First Brother Ignaci Crow

Leader Title

First Brother of the Order of the Crow

Deities

• The Crow

Divines

• The Crow

Location

Crowlands

Related Ranks & Titles

• First Brother of the Order of the Crow

Controlled Territories

• Crowlands