Gears of Erathis

The closest thing to a Church of Erathis in Astoria today is an organization known as the Gears of Erathis. This group holds to the tenets of The Lawbearer in their pursuit of spreading and improving upon the grasp of civilization. Ironically, this religion dedicated to a goddess of unity and order is fraught with contention. Its two branches: the Gearectors and the Tinkers, are constantly at odds with one another regarding their religious philosophy.

Structure

There are two branches to the Gears of Erathis: the Gearectors and the Tinkers. The Gearectors are the original Gears of Erathis, choosing to pursue the more traditional style of worship to The Lawbearer and the philosophy of Unity. The Tinkers, on the other hand, are much less religious in the traditional sense, choosing instead to worship Erathis through the invention of new ideas, machines, and the like, following what they refer to as the River philosophy. Both branches are overseen and mediated by the overall leader of the Gears of Erathis, known as the Arbiter.

The Arbiter

Originally, the highest leadership position in the Gears of Erathis was the High Keeper. However, when it became clear that the Tinkers' River philosophy was more than just a passing fad, and the need for mediation between the two branches continued to grow, the position of Arbiter was created. Perhaps the most stressful position in the entire organization, the Arbiter is responsible for ensuring that both branches of the Gears work together for the greater good, and that each side is allowed to voice their opinions and practice their philosophy as they see fit. As such, the need for a neutral, objective party to hold this position is paramount, and the role is always taken up by one who has no affiliation with either branch. Quite often, this individual arrives at the behest of The Lawbearer herself after hearing her call. While the Arbiter holds no form of supreme power over either branch, their opinion is usually deferred to, as the power of the position comes directly from Erathis, and thus, decisions made by the Arbiter are viewed as the decisions of Erathis herself.

The Gearectors

The more traditional of the two branches in the Gears of Erathis is the Gearectors. These priests, clerics, and paladins of Erathis maintain the temples to The Lawbearer and lead worship ceremonies in her name. They view the Tinkers as the "black sheep" of the family and are constantly at odds with them in regards to religious philosophy. However, it is also because of this religious philosophy that the Gearectors tolerate and (in some cases) even work with the Tinkers. Unity compels them to not only accept new and strange ideas, but also to work with others for the greater good.
The primary pillar of Unity is "order returns to chaos." Ideas diverge. Nations split. People disagree. There is no level of society not affected the the principle of chaos. The philosophy of unity does not make its business to force everyone to agree; this is impossible. Instead, it encourages understanding, that two people who disagree might still work together to better each other‘s lot. Such understanding must be reached at a personal level; only you decide to follow and recognize laws, respect your fellow citizens and work with them for greater good. Most do this unconsciously, never even thinking about it; these are deemed truly wise. But the faithful of Erathis must test themselves against strange ideas and come to understand them and act on them consciously, and thus become great.
There are other ideas interwoven with this basic principle, such as the concept of natural chaos (which covers things that a stable society must simply acknowledge as true and ostracize or make criminal as antithetical to order), but the basic idea is what gives the faithful their guidance. If an organization is too big, split it in two (this is, in fact how the Gears came to be split in the first place if several are too small, unite them. Always encourage teamwork, and seek to improve yourself as much as the society. This is the reason that knightly orders are based on military hierarchies, to better remind members that they are part of a whole, but still allow members great leeway in their individual pursuits, to better strengthen the whole.
The Gearectors of a specific location are led by a Keeper  -- usually the most senior among them -- who reports to the overall leader of the Gearectors, known as the High Keeper.

The Tinkers

Considered the more eccentric of the two branches, Tinkers view it as their duty to not only find and invent new ideas and technology, but also to reinvent that which has come before in an effort to make it better. The inventions they take credit for may often be wondrous as their reputation demands, but the ones the order is most proud of are functional and effective, ranging from the letter of credit to a better kind of horse collar. They are also political activists, constantly reinventing social constructs and political theory. They tend to work closely with the Cobalt Soul, and can often be found in the Soul's libraries and repositories, their noses deep in an ancient book or tome.
The central philosophy of the Tinkers is not Unity, like their counterparts the Gearectors, but instead what they call the River. The Tinkers will patiently explain that their work is never-ending, but also that their work can become meaningless in the blink of an eye should better ideas come along, borrowing earlier ones as tributaries form a larger stream. What they don‘t tell just anyone is that the same concept applies to societies; that some societies simply come to a natural end, while the surviving ones borrow traits from those that came before and start over. Essentially, the philosophy of the River is a direct contradiction to Unity in that it expects empires to fall, much as Unity impels them to rise. It‘s not unknown for other worshipers of Erathis to look askance on this idea, and it has on occasion even been deemed heretical, leading to internal warfare in the name of unity. But as the Tinkers say, this is also the function of the River.
The Tinkers are deeply involved in politics wherever they go, be they interpersonal or national, and they tend to interpret everything in a political slant. Adventuring Tinkers will often dabble in useful alchemy and delight in finding new societies and learning about them as much as they enjoy immediately meddling with them. They are also explorers, and often travel with settlers who wish to form a new community.
The Tinkers in a specific location are led by a High Tinker -- usually the most senior among them -- who reports to the overall leader of the Tinkers, known as the Architect.

Public Agenda

The Tinkers are the more popular branch of the religion, as they are more welcoming and always provide new and interesting inventions and quality-of-life improvements. Much to the Gearectors' dismay, this popularity (and thus, the following of the Tinkers) only continues to increase.

Progress turns ever forward

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Gears

Leader

Aura of Concord

Leader Title

Arbiter

Subsidiary Organizations

• Gearectors
• Tinkers

Divines

• Erathis

Ranks
High Keeper
Keeper
Gearector
Architect
High Tinker
Tinker