The Hearths of Anwyn
While they are not frequented by high people seeking greatness, or lords seeking guidance, the common folk of the world go the hearths of Anwyn, as the temples of the Anwynites (AHN-win-ites) are known, for rest and counsel, even in realms where nobles are kind and merchants stick to fair deals, a servant’s or commoner’s life isn’t easy. Toil wears them down. Servants from all lands go to hearths for strength and succor, and the heads of common households, who keep fires burning and cupboards full, also go to the hearths to rekindle their resolve.
Hearths in most communities are not only holy places, but communal kitchens. In great ovens, people bake bread and prepare dinners for their families. This creates buzzing communities around the hearths, where commoners and servants gather around, discussing politics, gossip, and other matters great and small. The hearths are usually built with a great, high-ceilinged hall, its large, eponymous hearth at its center. This is where offerings are burned. Before the hearth stands a great stone altar arrayed with food, candles, and wine. Large stone ovens for baking, and great cauldrons for communal stews, stand around the hall’s edges. They are warm, comfortable places, with little fringe or ornamentation, that revere the common acts of human life. Connected to the common hall, a wing of the hearth contains the living quarters of the manciples, Anwyn’s clergy. They see to the faithful’s wellbeing, and care for anyone else who seeks the hearth for comfort. They maintain many secrets of cooking and comfort and teach the ways of the home: how to cook well, clean efficiently, manage meager resources, and thrive under everyday pressure.
Hearths in most communities are not only holy places, but communal kitchens. In great ovens, people bake bread and prepare dinners for their families. This creates buzzing communities around the hearths, where commoners and servants gather around, discussing politics, gossip, and other matters great and small. The hearths are usually built with a great, high-ceilinged hall, its large, eponymous hearth at its center. This is where offerings are burned. Before the hearth stands a great stone altar arrayed with food, candles, and wine. Large stone ovens for baking, and great cauldrons for communal stews, stand around the hall’s edges. They are warm, comfortable places, with little fringe or ornamentation, that revere the common acts of human life. Connected to the common hall, a wing of the hearth contains the living quarters of the manciples, Anwyn’s clergy. They see to the faithful’s wellbeing, and care for anyone else who seeks the hearth for comfort. They maintain many secrets of cooking and comfort and teach the ways of the home: how to cook well, clean efficiently, manage meager resources, and thrive under everyday pressure.
Tenets of Faith
“Glory be to the servants! Praise be to mothers, toiling in the pre-dawn dark! Hallowed be the wrinkled hands that work lands they own not. For without these hands and their toil, all would cease. Yet they work. They work for love, they work for duty, they work and sustain us, and they never receive praise. No statues are erected in their name. But in the hearths, we build them statues of bread. We pour them offerings of wine and burn the flesh of beasts in their names. Inside the hearths, the least are Kings and Queens, and we sing great songs in their names.”
—High Manciple Tobius Featherboffin, from “How Shall I Know Thee?”
Anwyn’s manciples present a simple doctrine, quite old, and based on the core teachings of Anwyn. Little altered in thousands of years, this doctrine is publicly professed in all hearths, but is followed with special sincerity by halfling hearths.
—High Manciple Tobius Featherboffin, from “How Shall I Know Thee?”
Anwyn’s manciples present a simple doctrine, quite old, and based on the core teachings of Anwyn. Little altered in thousands of years, this doctrine is publicly professed in all hearths, but is followed with special sincerity by halfling hearths.
Service and Humility
Through service to others, we make ourselves holy. Through care for others, we are ourselves cared for by greater and more loving powers than any who draw mortal breath. The most treasured people are those who give their lives in the service of others, for love or for money.Quiet Joy
There are those who believe that joy is to be found in drink, or carnal pleasure, or other, wilder delights. But the wise know that it is in the simple things that true joy can be found: the companionship of family, a warm home, and friendly conversation.Food
Our ancestors are remembered in our prayers and family rituals, but they are felt most keenly in our food. Family recipes keep them in our memories. Certain spice blends and ways of preparing foods are older than any written record and preserved from generation to generation. Using them, we feel as though our hands are moving in unison with the hands of our grandmothers. Preparing food together and sharing recipes are cherished, hallowed acts.Charity
There are those who can no longer care for themselves, or who do not have enough to eat. Feeding such folk is a great and blessed thing. This sort of charity must be provided daily, at the hearths.Worship
Anwynite celebrations are sanctified by pouring a glass of wine (called the Gift of Zheenkeef, but accepted by many churches as an offering), breaking a loaf of bread, and lighting a candle. All three are necessary for a proper ceremony. Most commoners celebrate in the Anwynite fashion at least once a week. During the ceremony, the family member who manages the household (by cooking and cleaning, managing its money, and so on) traditionally invokes the three blessings, but anyone can say them.
At the pouring of the wine: “Praise be! Praise be! For we have lived through the darkness, For we have survived the cold! Praise be! Praise be! For the Goodlady Anwyn has aided us, And we may drink this libation in her honor.” At the breaking of the bread: “Smiling Lady, smile down on us, For we break this bread in your honor! Bread cannot rise without warmth, Bread cannot bake without fire, We break this bread that we have because of you. Smiling Lady, smile down on us, And know that we are grateful.” At the lighting of the candle: “Bright Lady, kindler of hearths, We light this fire in memory, For without you, there would be no fire, Not in Heaven, nor in the world. Bright Lady, keeper of hearths, We thank you for the flame!”
At the pouring of the wine: “Praise be! Praise be! For we have lived through the darkness, For we have survived the cold! Praise be! Praise be! For the Goodlady Anwyn has aided us, And we may drink this libation in her honor.” At the breaking of the bread: “Smiling Lady, smile down on us, For we break this bread in your honor! Bread cannot rise without warmth, Bread cannot bake without fire, We break this bread that we have because of you. Smiling Lady, smile down on us, And know that we are grateful.” At the lighting of the candle: “Bright Lady, kindler of hearths, We light this fire in memory, For without you, there would be no fire, Not in Heaven, nor in the world. Bright Lady, keeper of hearths, We thank you for the flame!”
Priesthood
Manciples of Anwyn
With the other orders destroyed or disbanded, the manciples now comprise the only remaining order of the Anwynite hearths. The manciples are a tightly organized order, devoted to the ethics of lawful alignments. Junior members obey superiors without question. Even among members of the same rank, the less experienced member defers to her elder. This ingrained obedience comes from the church’s dedication to humble service, and is what allows them to feed multitudes and manage hearths in great cities and distant hamlets.Most orthodox manciples are of the Halfling branch of the faith. They believe fully in the Anwynite doctrine of service, and praise the lowest in the social order over nobles and the wealthy. They take great joy in serving their flock. These clergy are most interested in the community aspects of the Anwynite faith. They delight in sharing meals and tales with the congregation. They are often walking repositories of old family recipes and enjoy sharing such knowledge. Human manciples usually support the church as a way of maintaining the social order. Even the poorest people must be integrated into society. To serve, they must be fed, clothed and given a sense of purpose. Some clergy are least interested in the notion that servants are holier than their masters. This may be part of the doctrine, but such clergy believe masters also have a role to play, to bind many people to a common cause. Despite what some would call a dispassionate approach to Anwyn’s mission, these manciples tend to rise quickly in the hearth’s hierarchy, though they prefer working within it, instead of talking to peasants themselves.
Manciple
After training and an interview to determine her suitability, a petitioner can become a manciple. She is addressed as “friend” and introduced as such. The word “manciple” means steward, servant, or even slave, and indeed, the role of the manciples is to serve their flock. They tend to the hearts, souls and small hurts of common people who come to the hearths to prepare meals or pray. They are taught to be caring, excellent listeners, and outwardly loving of even their basest congregants.High Manciple
A high manciple oversees the entire hearth, and all its operations. This rank is reserved for hearths of a certain size, or those in major settlements. Small, remote hearths are not permitted the rank—instead, all manciples work in a common council. Furthermore, the order only chooses those with a talent for organization, and certain capabilities known only to the elders, to hold the post, so even a revered priest might never attain the rank. A high manciple is addressed as “goodfather” or “goodmother,” which used to be the address for senior goodwives. When that order was disbanded, the Supreme Manciple gave their titles to the high manciples to preserve the lost order’s traditions. High manciples are introduced by their full titles. In halfling hearths, a high manciple can be named by the unanimous consent of three other high manciples. Once a halfling is so named, he can found a new hearth, take over an existing one, or wander as he sees fit. There is no higher authority among the halflings than a high manciple, so such clerics are masters of their own fate.Elder Manciple
Experienced high manciples may be called by the Supreme Manciple to come to the Great Hearth and join its council, as elder manciples. The great feasting table there has room for hundreds, but has never come close to being filled, for it is rare for the clergy to rise to such heights. Therefore, there is no upper limit on the number of elder manciples; one can be named to such a position at the behest of the Supreme Manciple, and need not wait for a vacancy. Elder manciples are addressed as “beloved master” or “beloved mistress” and introduced by their full titles.Supreme Manciple
Upon the death of the Supreme Manciple, the order’s elders cloister themselves and through a secret ritual, select one of their own to replace him. The Supreme Manciple is addressed as “hallowed lord,” or “hallowed lady,” and introduced by his or her full title.Joining the Manciples
Anyone can become a manciple. It requires a little training, oaths of obedience to the hearths, and a knack for listening. Upon completing their training, acolytes become clerics. Most carry quarterstaffs, for Anwyn carries a staff shod with iron, and uses it to prod the embers of the hearth, move its logs, and give its kindling room to breathe.Sects
Only one holy order of Anwyn remains: the manciples (MAN-suh-pull), clergy of the hearth. The religion suffered great losses in the past and reorganized itself in the aftermath. Once, the holy warriors called hearthkeepers protected the faith. In its zeal, the Great Hearth dispatched these warriors across the world on missions to establish the faith in places consumed by evil. It was thought that once they were lifted out of lives of pain, the oppressed would rise against their dictators. But these missions were, one and all, disasters. The hearthkeepers never returned, and the eldest of them died without training replacements. The Supreme Manciple admitted that his council had erred, and it was not Anwyn’s way to make war. Therefore, he disbanded the order, and declared that warrior-priests should serve the faith no more.
Once, a holy order called the goodwives shared the countless secrets of home, cooking, comfort and medicine and wisdom, as traveling missionaries and servants. When the hearthkeepers perished, the hearths found themselves lacking the numbers needed to perform their holy duties, so the Grand Hearth called them home, and integrated them into the order of manciples. Only a few of the original goodwives remain, and they are greatly respected, but retired—they have no formal power in the faith.
The structure of the manciples, the sole remaining order, is simple enough to understand. Located in an ancient, great city, the Great Hearth is the faith’s preeminent place of worship, where Anwyn’s feasting table and the cornucopia are kept. Here sits the Supreme Manciple, who oversees the church and order, which is divided into four levels of status: manciples, high manciples, elder manciples, and the Supreme Manciple. The high manciples control individual hearths, while the elder manciples and the Supreme Manciple himself reside at the Great Hearth.
Once, a holy order called the goodwives shared the countless secrets of home, cooking, comfort and medicine and wisdom, as traveling missionaries and servants. When the hearthkeepers perished, the hearths found themselves lacking the numbers needed to perform their holy duties, so the Grand Hearth called them home, and integrated them into the order of manciples. Only a few of the original goodwives remain, and they are greatly respected, but retired—they have no formal power in the faith.
The structure of the manciples, the sole remaining order, is simple enough to understand. Located in an ancient, great city, the Great Hearth is the faith’s preeminent place of worship, where Anwyn’s feasting table and the cornucopia are kept. Here sits the Supreme Manciple, who oversees the church and order, which is divided into four levels of status: manciples, high manciples, elder manciples, and the Supreme Manciple. The high manciples control individual hearths, while the elder manciples and the Supreme Manciple himself reside at the Great Hearth.
