Brass Metal Church
The Brass Metal Church is the most secretive and dangerous of the churches, charged with a powerful and dangerous task: store the forbidden knowledge of magic and hunt down those who use it with ill intent. The Brass Metal Church presents itself as an order dedicated to finding and preserving heretical magical knowledge, sanctifying it and using it to defend the good people of the Gold Empire, but magic users who exist outside of the Gold Empire's rigid chain of command know the church more due to its infamous Brass Inquisition and the Witch Hunters, which has burnt witches, killed innocents and exterminated entire cultures, all the while stealing their knowledge for their hoard.
Structure
The Brass Metal Church is led by decarch Heske Thomazer of Bronze Metal, who rules the church from the Auraj Heka, the original brass temple, in the western mountains of Oldan. Like the other churches that together constitute the Aurathean Church, the Brass Metal Church is organized around a system of archbishops, bishops and priests, who each have responsibility for a certain geographical area. The Church is divided into several orders, with different responsibilities:
Relationship with the alchemists
Due to their shared interests in magical artefacts, the Brass Metal Church has a close working relationship with the Order of Alchemists. In many provinces the two organizations collaborate in finding, storing and studying magical lore, but the Onikaan Vahlok always has the final say in which magic should be used available to the alchemists, and which should be hidden within the church libraries. This had many times led to heads butting, as years of dedicated research from alchemical scholars is suddenly hidden and made unavailable by unilateral decision of a brass metal bishop, though the church often hides such knowledge for good reason.
In spite of these conflicts, both organizations often find it easier to work together, and brass metal clerics are a natural part of alchemical studies and expeditions.
The relationship between the Ah Vokul Arkanic and the Order of Alchemists is much more complicated. The Ah Vokul Arkanic relies on specially trained alchemists to create and minister to their dreaded Witch Hunters, and many dedicated alchemists find life-long employment for the Ah Vokul Arkanic. However, the alchemists who do not work for the church is much more likely to dread this sinister organization, as stepping too far from orthodox doctrine and conservative magical work is likely to draw their attention. All alchemists have heard the stories of colleagues working on new and interesting theories, before dissappearing with their doors broken down and their research stolen away. Alchemists have accused the Ah Vokul Arkanic of being too powerful, with few limits to its power in which mages it can prosecute, but the Ah Vokul Arkanic has yet to be reined in.
Relationship with the Witch Hunter Corps
The Brass Metal Church directs, trains and funds the Witch Hunters in their hunts of witches. The Brass Metal Bishops are in charge of the Witch Hunters around the Gold Empire, but in practice it is often priests of the Ah Vokul Arkanic who have operational command of the Witch Hunters.
- The Onikaan Vahlok, guardians of knowledge, who work to gather and protect arcane knowledge, while teaching themselves the forbidden magic and sanctifying their souls against its corruption.
- The Ah Vokul Arkanic, hunters of evil magic, the shadowy order that hunts magic-users within the borders of the Gold Empire with extreme prejudice. They also lead the Witch Hunters on their hunts, and are often potent magic users themselves. They are also known as the Brass Inquisition.
Relationship with the alchemists
Due to their shared interests in magical artefacts, the Brass Metal Church has a close working relationship with the Order of Alchemists. In many provinces the two organizations collaborate in finding, storing and studying magical lore, but the Onikaan Vahlok always has the final say in which magic should be used available to the alchemists, and which should be hidden within the church libraries. This had many times led to heads butting, as years of dedicated research from alchemical scholars is suddenly hidden and made unavailable by unilateral decision of a brass metal bishop, though the church often hides such knowledge for good reason.
In spite of these conflicts, both organizations often find it easier to work together, and brass metal clerics are a natural part of alchemical studies and expeditions.
The relationship between the Ah Vokul Arkanic and the Order of Alchemists is much more complicated. The Ah Vokul Arkanic relies on specially trained alchemists to create and minister to their dreaded Witch Hunters, and many dedicated alchemists find life-long employment for the Ah Vokul Arkanic. However, the alchemists who do not work for the church is much more likely to dread this sinister organization, as stepping too far from orthodox doctrine and conservative magical work is likely to draw their attention. All alchemists have heard the stories of colleagues working on new and interesting theories, before dissappearing with their doors broken down and their research stolen away. Alchemists have accused the Ah Vokul Arkanic of being too powerful, with few limits to its power in which mages it can prosecute, but the Ah Vokul Arkanic has yet to be reined in.
Relationship with the Witch Hunter Corps
The Brass Metal Church directs, trains and funds the Witch Hunters in their hunts of witches. The Brass Metal Bishops are in charge of the Witch Hunters around the Gold Empire, but in practice it is often priests of the Ah Vokul Arkanic who have operational command of the Witch Hunters.
Culture
The Brass Metal clerics regard themselves as essential protectors of the Gold Empire from the cruelty and power of unchecked magic. Any learned folk know of the power of unchecked mages, from the debauchery of the ancient elven Magelords to the more modern horrors of Hobgoblin siegemagic, and understand the nessecity of someone to keep magic in line.
Holy Secrecy
The greatestest purpose of the Brass Metal Church is keeping magic secret, locking away evil secrets.
Holy Secrecy
The greatestest purpose of the Brass Metal Church is keeping magic secret, locking away evil secrets.
History
Pre-Ecclesiastical Religious Mages -- 30 IA to 56 IA
During the First Conquests of the Gold Empire out from Oldan, where many peoples were liberated from monstrous tyrants and cruel rulers, the Gold Empire employed several groups of mages in its wars. The most important of these would of course eventually be the Order of Alchemists, but before Goldtadt was properly contacted and deals were made with the alchemists, other mages worked alongside the Gold Empire's armies to fight the enemies of the Empire. Preeminent among these early mages were the Scholars of Corellon, a group of cleric-mages in Cyneland who served Corellon to protect their High Elf siblings, as well as the Loremasters of Eilcíud, High Elf mages who derived their powers from the old Magelords of the ancient High Elven Empire. As the Gold Empire slowly expanded, more and more of these mages fought alongside the Gold Emperor, and were convinced of his divinity when they were in his presence. The Loremasters in particular more or less totally came to faith in Aurathear Darastrix when the Gold Emperor saved their city, and these had many informal meetings with their Cynelandish counterparts where they discussed the nature of divinity, often alongside Eilcíudan Dragonclerics.
As these mages came to faith in the Gold Emperor, they also began worshipping Corellon as a manifestation of Aurathear Darastrix, a warden of magic who would help his acolytes master the language of the cosmos and bring order to chaos. High Elves have long had a complicated relationship with magic, and something very interesting happened in these early days which would one day lead to the formation of the Brass Metal Church: the Loremasters, with their faith in Aurathear Darastrix and scientific interest in magic, melded with the Scholars of Corellon, with their mystic and faithful approach to magical teachings and a belief that magic should be restrained so it could be controlled by mortals. They built an informal cult of magic, and became pre-eminent theologians arguing for the God of Many Gods doctrine. When these early clerics came into contact with the Alchemists, and the Gold Emperor made treaties with the Order of Alchemists, there were several early cultural clashes between the clerics and the Alchemists, as the clerics regarded the Alchemists' magic as simple and dangerous, while the Alchemists regarded the clerics' magic as orthodox and uncreative. In spite of this, many of the Alchemists eventually came to faith in Aurathear Darastrix through the work of dragoncleric missionaries, though the Order of the Alchemists remained a secular organization and only few alchemists joined the ranks of the clerics. These early cultural differences would mark centuries of distinction between the Brass Metal Church and the Order of Alchemists.
The First Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud -- 1st of Ioth to the 27th of Ssifisv, 56 Imperial Age
Despite making up a relatively small portion of the number of Dragonclerics in the Gold Empire at the time, the mageclerics were well-represented at the First Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud, as many of them were both established theologians and war-heroes. The mageclerics argued fiercely in favor of the God of Many Gods doctrine, and argued that a theocratic institution guided by Aurathear Darastrix, whether in the guise of Corellon Larethien, Baravar Mantelschatten and Mystra, was essential in guiding the magical development of the Gold Empire and protecting the Gold Empire from the follies of the ancient High Elven Kingdom and elemental powers. The Gold Emperor heard these arguments, and decreed the formation of the Brass Metal Church, whose role would be to gather and document magical knowledge, train wizards and oversee the development of magical knowledge and capacity in the Gold Empire.
Early Days of the Brass Metal Church -- 56 IA to 75 IA
Loremaster Oeric of Eilcíud was given the task of building the Brass Metal Church by the Gold Emperor. As an eminent theologian, warhero and powerful wizard, she was the natural choice to build a church. Many of the Loremasters and the Scholars of Corellon united in the Brass Metal Church, and the initial informal religious fellowship became more formalized and had a clearer structure. Since much of the framework for the church was ready, the Brass Metal Church grew quicker than any other Metal Church and began its duties after only a few years. The bishoprics and archbishoprics of the Brass Metal Church were quickly defined, but the Brass Metal Church had other problems. While it was easily able to create larger magical libraries and archives, and begin the training of new Brass Metal Clerics who would serve as wizards in both war and civilian infrastructure, it was difficult for the Brass Metal Church to leverage its influence over other magical orders in the Gold Empire, largely due to the fact that the limits on its power and its specific mandate had been poorly defined during the First Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud. Both the Order of Alchemists, individual wizards and magical mercenaries chafed at the oversight of the Brass Metal Clerics, and the clerics felt that they had little means to censure mages they felt engaged in dangerous magic.
The primary function of the Brass Metal Church in these early days was the training of Brass Metal Clerics to sere in the coming conquests which would expand the Gold Empire, and gathering knowledge on the magic of the Gold Empire's soon-to-be enemies. While focusing on this work, the decarch ordered a few chosen Brass Metal Clerics to investigate magical activity troughout the Gold Empire, and make logs of magical crimes, accidents and seditious activities, and cataloging which kinds of magic and mages were involved in such incidents. This Brass Inquisition had not authority except to observe, investigate and log such incidents, though the goal was to change this with time.
The Brass Metal Church's Role in the War of the Twins and the Great Conquests -- 75 IA to 187 IA
When the War of the Twins started in 75 Imperial Age, the Brass Metal Church had produced a great number of Brass Metal Clerics with training as warmages, who supported to great effect the Holy Legions and the Royal Armies of Cyneland and Guldfeldt in battle, and gave logistic support to enable the armies to communicate efficiently. This was an age before Draconic sorcery was widely practiced by the nobility, and so the Brass Metal Church was the main institution providing magical support to the imperial warmachine. The Brass Metal Church also sent its own scholars to conquered lands and as missionaries to conquered mages, in order to gather information, knowledge and spellcraft from the newly integrated peoples, as well as to bring magic into compliance with Imperial law as decarch Oeric decreed it. The Brass Metal Church played a particularly important role during the Conquest of Whiteplain, which at the time had been dominated by exiled elven magelords, as they used abjuration magic to limit the efficiency of enemy mages. Today the Brass Metal Church does not fulfill the same military capacity as it did during the Great Conquests, as we have more nobles with draconic sorcery who are better integrated with the Royal Armies who can aid the Holy Legions in battle, but Brass Metal Cathedrals still maintain detachments of specially trained warmages for when the Holy Legions require specific expertize.
As the Gold Empire expanded, it began to include many divergent and new types of magic and magical institutions, from the leonin Umthetho to hobgoblin devastator-academies and elemental warlocks, which the Brass Metal Church was to bring into the greater imperial fold. On occasion there would be great mission successes, such as the Umthetho Dialogue of 84 IA, but more often the Brass Metal Church found it difficult to weave together the many magical traditions, as mages are proud and powerful individuals who are not easily swayed. Many mages, especially those who got their power from the elements, such as druids and rangers, rejected the idea of a divine censure on the use of magic, and others were notorious for the cruelty their powers were capable of, such as the warlocks of the Abyss, and these ignored the strictures of the Brass Metal Church.
The lists of crimes, sedition and accidents linked to "heretical" magic the Brass Inquisition was compiling grew longer and longer, and this could not be allowed to stand for long.
Deykel Oeric -- 140 IA
Deykel Oeric, the Book of Oeric, was a massive tome disseminated among the upper leadership of the Metal Church, nobility and Order of Alchemists by decarch Oeric in 140 Imperial Age, which listed the many crimes, sedition and accidents which the Brass Inquisition had compiled over the last 85 years that was attributed to poorly controlled and poorly understood magic. Decarch Oeric called for a council to discuss how these matters could be handled, and particualrly which role the Brass Metal Church would have in regulating magic in the Gold Empire. While many were initially hesitant, believing the decarch to be a paranoid extremist, such conservative voices were quickly silenced after a string of violent insurrections in the conquered provinces of Whiteplain and Cyneland, which were caused by powerful high elven supremacist faction. These insurrections required legion forces to be rerouted from the front lines and cost thousands of lives, and they would have been impossible without formidable magic.
The Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud -- 7th of Ixen to 27th of Ixen, 140 IA
The Gold Emperor himself called the Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud, but was unable to attend due to fighting in Tveiharr against remnant giant forces. Instead, Marshal Agatan "Drakeslayer" Parshaian of the Dragon Legion, who was recovering from fighting against the Flying Firestorm of Kreit, took the Gold Emperor's place as chair of the Council. Representatives were invited from all the Royal Dynasties of the Gold Empire, as well as the Order of Alchemists, the Umthetho, the Aurathean Church and the Free States. The Metal Church opted to only send the Brass Metal Church as its delegation, as the other Metal Decarchs concluded to entrust decarch Oeric with carrying out her divine mandate. The discussions in the open forum of the Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud were steeped in harsh arguments, shouting and difficult compromises. The Brass Metal Church presented its data on the dangers of seditious and heretical magic. The doctrine of Heretical Magic was first presented here to the outside world, understood as magic which did not derive from Aurathear Darastrix, or study guided by their hand. This description would have implicated the Order of Alchemists as heretical, which would be theologically problematic as the Gold Emperor himself had bargained with the Imperium Alchemical, and practically impossible as much of the Gold Empire's economy and higher educaiton relied on the Alchemists. An exemption was thus made for the Order of Alchemists, the doctrine of Natural Magic was developed, where the magic of alchemists was understood to be a scientific undertaking which could be understood as divine inspiration.
The nobility did not accept these compromises however, and in the end a compromise was made where nobility could license other mages and give them proxy authority as descendants of Aurathear Darastrix. However, if this power was misused to protect Heretical Magic which was seditious and did harm to the citizens of the Gold Empire, the Brass Metal Church could still take action. These hard compromises reflects a difficult truth: most of the discussions happened behind closed doors over dinners between Brass Metal Clerics and the powerful folk of the Gold Empire, and was likely not driven by theological arguments so much as practical discussions. One important aspect of realpolitik which was engaged in, was the fear of further magical insurrections. If rebels or other seditious elements had access to mages among their ranks, the risk of damage from rebellions would grow exponentially. The Gold Empire needed an institution to root out such heresy, and the Brass Metal Church was ready to fullfill this role.
When the Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud was over, decarch Oeric had won many victories for her crusade against heretical magic. Her church was now given the legal ability to distinguish between heretical and acceptable magic, and had the power to prosecute heretic mages. Unlike the Silver Metal Church, which was based on ideals of justice, rehabilitation and equity, the Brass Metal Church was fighting the enemies of the Gold Empire and Aurathear Darastrix himself, and would thus have no need for lengthy trials or exile once a heretic mage had been found. The punishment was simple: execution. The Brass Metal Church would also be given leeway to make its own militant arm of magehunters, though while this fighting force was under formation, bishops of the Brass Metal Church would be allowed to take command of Royal Army units to prosecute the enemies of the Gold Empire.
At the end of this lengthy council, decarch Oeric did something unexpected. After 80 years of service as decarch of the Brass Metal Church, she resigned. She was the only living of the original metal decarchs, and she could have continued for another two centuries, but she opted to step down from her position and let new blood take over. This began a tradition of long-lived races serving a maximum of 80 years as decarchs or archbishops, to allow new ideas to make their mark on the Aurathean Church. She would continue to serve as Brass Metal archbishop of Oldan for another century, and then Brass Metal bishop of Eilcíud for twenty years, before she would retire to her library in Eilcíud before dying at the age of 758. However, some whisper that as part of her many compromises, she was made to step down, as nobility and alchemist alike feared that a long-living powerful priest and warmage could have done terrible damage to their influence over matters magical in the Gold Empire.
The First Purges -- 141 IA to 147 IA
Finally with real authority in their hands, the informal Brass Inquisition became the Ah Vokul Arkanic, and they had 140 years of heretic mages to purge. It began with the mountain warlocks of the Oldanian mountains, who were hunted down by forces from For Sur under the command of Brass Metal Clerics. Then they began targeting known druids in the forests of Cyneland, and the prisoners from the mage rebellions of 140, for which they used Ceoland swordmasters.
Purges during the Great Conquests -- 147 IA to 162 IA
The First Purges were incredibly efficient, as the Ah Vokul Arkanic had been collecting intelligence on the heretic mages, who were commonly called witches, for a near-century. As witches were killed, and the risk of insurrection became less and less, the Brass Metal Church was lauded by the Gold Emperor. The Ah Vokul Arkanic also became better and better at their job of hunting witches, but as the pace of imperial conquest grew quicker and quicker, and the Ah Vokul Arkanic hunted more and more witches whom they did not have proper intelligence on, the Purges became more unfocused and required larger army detachments to properly root out the witches.
The Ah Vokul Arkanic used pseudo-military ranks, and were only under the authority of the decarch, with their own system of inquistor, lord inquisitor and lord arch-inquisitor, called tovitaan, thur tovitaan and konarik tovitaan. However, as their purges required more and more Army units from the front lines, the Gold Emperor made his displeasure known to decarch Vahakn Daharkian.
While the Ah Vokul Arkanic performed its purges, the Brass Metal Church continued its role in training warmages and overseeing magical developments of the alchemists.
Reform of the Brass Metal Church -- 162 IA
It was clear that the Brass Metal Church would have to change course regarding the purges, and decarch Vahakn called a council of bishops and archbishops in Aurumis. The Brass Metal Clerics discussed how the church should continue into an uncertain future, especially regarding the hunt of witches. The nature of witch hunts was discussed, as the Gold Empire could not spare troops to hunt witches, and the large purges often cost many lives of loyal soldiers and created a great deal of publicity around the Ah Vokul Arkanic. Instead of these large purges, the Ah Vokul Arkanic would perform smaller hunts, guided by intelligence and instead of being performed by imperial army units, the Brass Metal Church would train specialized Witch Hunters. These hunts would not be documented or publiziced in the same way as the Purges, ideally the hunts would be secret.
Additionally, political ill-will had grown against the Ah Vokul Arkanic, and so it was decided that instead of being an independent arm within the Brass Metal Church, the operational sects of Ah Vokul Arkanic would be subordinated to the local bishops and archbishops of the Brass Metal Church within the framework of church ranks, rather than the previous pseudo-military structure of the Ah Vokul Arkanic.
After the Reform, the Ah Vokul Arkanic spent the next twenty years gathering intelligence on the potential enemies of the Gold Empire, as well as training their new witch hunters. The Brass Metal Church spent time winning the goodwill of the Gold Empire's other institutions, especially working close with the Order of Alchemists in the conquered territories to investigate new types of magic and magical sites. They also worked together to create the new militant arm of the Brass Metal Church, the Witch Hunters.
Birth of the Witch Hunters -- 184 IA
After more than twenty years of hard labor, the Ah Vokul Arkanic in collaboration with the Green Order and the Red Order had produced their elite mageslaying warriors, the Witch Hunters. They were few in number in these days, but their introduction was felt immediately among the heretics and sinners, as they were killed in the dead of night, hunted by superhuman predators and driven to extinction. The Witch Hunters were warriors of myth and half-spoken truths, warriors of a silent war organized by the Ah Vokul Arkanic. The perfect tool to slay heretic mages, to work in the shadows so not even the memory of their murder would be allowed to exist except for in dusty Brass Metal Church archives.
Decarch Nande Shona, who was the former Brass Metal Archbishop of Whiteplain, received commendations from the Gold Emperor, the Council of Dragons and the Imperial Council for the efficacy and discretion of the Witch Hunters as well as the wise administration of magic in the Gold Empire. Archbishop Blacthorne of Hunthofaesten, who created the Witch Hunters and led the Ah Vokul Arkanic, also received commendations from the Philosopher's Council and the Council of Dragons for her important work creating the Witch Hunters.
During the First Conquests of the Gold Empire out from Oldan, where many peoples were liberated from monstrous tyrants and cruel rulers, the Gold Empire employed several groups of mages in its wars. The most important of these would of course eventually be the Order of Alchemists, but before Goldtadt was properly contacted and deals were made with the alchemists, other mages worked alongside the Gold Empire's armies to fight the enemies of the Empire. Preeminent among these early mages were the Scholars of Corellon, a group of cleric-mages in Cyneland who served Corellon to protect their High Elf siblings, as well as the Loremasters of Eilcíud, High Elf mages who derived their powers from the old Magelords of the ancient High Elven Empire. As the Gold Empire slowly expanded, more and more of these mages fought alongside the Gold Emperor, and were convinced of his divinity when they were in his presence. The Loremasters in particular more or less totally came to faith in Aurathear Darastrix when the Gold Emperor saved their city, and these had many informal meetings with their Cynelandish counterparts where they discussed the nature of divinity, often alongside Eilcíudan Dragonclerics.
As these mages came to faith in the Gold Emperor, they also began worshipping Corellon as a manifestation of Aurathear Darastrix, a warden of magic who would help his acolytes master the language of the cosmos and bring order to chaos. High Elves have long had a complicated relationship with magic, and something very interesting happened in these early days which would one day lead to the formation of the Brass Metal Church: the Loremasters, with their faith in Aurathear Darastrix and scientific interest in magic, melded with the Scholars of Corellon, with their mystic and faithful approach to magical teachings and a belief that magic should be restrained so it could be controlled by mortals. They built an informal cult of magic, and became pre-eminent theologians arguing for the God of Many Gods doctrine. When these early clerics came into contact with the Alchemists, and the Gold Emperor made treaties with the Order of Alchemists, there were several early cultural clashes between the clerics and the Alchemists, as the clerics regarded the Alchemists' magic as simple and dangerous, while the Alchemists regarded the clerics' magic as orthodox and uncreative. In spite of this, many of the Alchemists eventually came to faith in Aurathear Darastrix through the work of dragoncleric missionaries, though the Order of the Alchemists remained a secular organization and only few alchemists joined the ranks of the clerics. These early cultural differences would mark centuries of distinction between the Brass Metal Church and the Order of Alchemists.
The First Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud -- 1st of Ioth to the 27th of Ssifisv, 56 Imperial Age
Despite making up a relatively small portion of the number of Dragonclerics in the Gold Empire at the time, the mageclerics were well-represented at the First Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud, as many of them were both established theologians and war-heroes. The mageclerics argued fiercely in favor of the God of Many Gods doctrine, and argued that a theocratic institution guided by Aurathear Darastrix, whether in the guise of Corellon Larethien, Baravar Mantelschatten and Mystra, was essential in guiding the magical development of the Gold Empire and protecting the Gold Empire from the follies of the ancient High Elven Kingdom and elemental powers. The Gold Emperor heard these arguments, and decreed the formation of the Brass Metal Church, whose role would be to gather and document magical knowledge, train wizards and oversee the development of magical knowledge and capacity in the Gold Empire.
Early Days of the Brass Metal Church -- 56 IA to 75 IA
Loremaster Oeric of Eilcíud was given the task of building the Brass Metal Church by the Gold Emperor. As an eminent theologian, warhero and powerful wizard, she was the natural choice to build a church. Many of the Loremasters and the Scholars of Corellon united in the Brass Metal Church, and the initial informal religious fellowship became more formalized and had a clearer structure. Since much of the framework for the church was ready, the Brass Metal Church grew quicker than any other Metal Church and began its duties after only a few years. The bishoprics and archbishoprics of the Brass Metal Church were quickly defined, but the Brass Metal Church had other problems. While it was easily able to create larger magical libraries and archives, and begin the training of new Brass Metal Clerics who would serve as wizards in both war and civilian infrastructure, it was difficult for the Brass Metal Church to leverage its influence over other magical orders in the Gold Empire, largely due to the fact that the limits on its power and its specific mandate had been poorly defined during the First Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud. Both the Order of Alchemists, individual wizards and magical mercenaries chafed at the oversight of the Brass Metal Clerics, and the clerics felt that they had little means to censure mages they felt engaged in dangerous magic.
The primary function of the Brass Metal Church in these early days was the training of Brass Metal Clerics to sere in the coming conquests which would expand the Gold Empire, and gathering knowledge on the magic of the Gold Empire's soon-to-be enemies. While focusing on this work, the decarch ordered a few chosen Brass Metal Clerics to investigate magical activity troughout the Gold Empire, and make logs of magical crimes, accidents and seditious activities, and cataloging which kinds of magic and mages were involved in such incidents. This Brass Inquisition had not authority except to observe, investigate and log such incidents, though the goal was to change this with time.
The Brass Metal Church's Role in the War of the Twins and the Great Conquests -- 75 IA to 187 IA
When the War of the Twins started in 75 Imperial Age, the Brass Metal Church had produced a great number of Brass Metal Clerics with training as warmages, who supported to great effect the Holy Legions and the Royal Armies of Cyneland and Guldfeldt in battle, and gave logistic support to enable the armies to communicate efficiently. This was an age before Draconic sorcery was widely practiced by the nobility, and so the Brass Metal Church was the main institution providing magical support to the imperial warmachine. The Brass Metal Church also sent its own scholars to conquered lands and as missionaries to conquered mages, in order to gather information, knowledge and spellcraft from the newly integrated peoples, as well as to bring magic into compliance with Imperial law as decarch Oeric decreed it. The Brass Metal Church played a particularly important role during the Conquest of Whiteplain, which at the time had been dominated by exiled elven magelords, as they used abjuration magic to limit the efficiency of enemy mages. Today the Brass Metal Church does not fulfill the same military capacity as it did during the Great Conquests, as we have more nobles with draconic sorcery who are better integrated with the Royal Armies who can aid the Holy Legions in battle, but Brass Metal Cathedrals still maintain detachments of specially trained warmages for when the Holy Legions require specific expertize.
As the Gold Empire expanded, it began to include many divergent and new types of magic and magical institutions, from the leonin Umthetho to hobgoblin devastator-academies and elemental warlocks, which the Brass Metal Church was to bring into the greater imperial fold. On occasion there would be great mission successes, such as the Umthetho Dialogue of 84 IA, but more often the Brass Metal Church found it difficult to weave together the many magical traditions, as mages are proud and powerful individuals who are not easily swayed. Many mages, especially those who got their power from the elements, such as druids and rangers, rejected the idea of a divine censure on the use of magic, and others were notorious for the cruelty their powers were capable of, such as the warlocks of the Abyss, and these ignored the strictures of the Brass Metal Church.
The lists of crimes, sedition and accidents linked to "heretical" magic the Brass Inquisition was compiling grew longer and longer, and this could not be allowed to stand for long.
Deykel Oeric -- 140 IA
Deykel Oeric, the Book of Oeric, was a massive tome disseminated among the upper leadership of the Metal Church, nobility and Order of Alchemists by decarch Oeric in 140 Imperial Age, which listed the many crimes, sedition and accidents which the Brass Inquisition had compiled over the last 85 years that was attributed to poorly controlled and poorly understood magic. Decarch Oeric called for a council to discuss how these matters could be handled, and particualrly which role the Brass Metal Church would have in regulating magic in the Gold Empire. While many were initially hesitant, believing the decarch to be a paranoid extremist, such conservative voices were quickly silenced after a string of violent insurrections in the conquered provinces of Whiteplain and Cyneland, which were caused by powerful high elven supremacist faction. These insurrections required legion forces to be rerouted from the front lines and cost thousands of lives, and they would have been impossible without formidable magic.
The Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud -- 7th of Ixen to 27th of Ixen, 140 IA
The Gold Emperor himself called the Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud, but was unable to attend due to fighting in Tveiharr against remnant giant forces. Instead, Marshal Agatan "Drakeslayer" Parshaian of the Dragon Legion, who was recovering from fighting against the Flying Firestorm of Kreit, took the Gold Emperor's place as chair of the Council. Representatives were invited from all the Royal Dynasties of the Gold Empire, as well as the Order of Alchemists, the Umthetho, the Aurathean Church and the Free States. The Metal Church opted to only send the Brass Metal Church as its delegation, as the other Metal Decarchs concluded to entrust decarch Oeric with carrying out her divine mandate. The discussions in the open forum of the Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud were steeped in harsh arguments, shouting and difficult compromises. The Brass Metal Church presented its data on the dangers of seditious and heretical magic. The doctrine of Heretical Magic was first presented here to the outside world, understood as magic which did not derive from Aurathear Darastrix, or study guided by their hand. This description would have implicated the Order of Alchemists as heretical, which would be theologically problematic as the Gold Emperor himself had bargained with the Imperium Alchemical, and practically impossible as much of the Gold Empire's economy and higher educaiton relied on the Alchemists. An exemption was thus made for the Order of Alchemists, the doctrine of Natural Magic was developed, where the magic of alchemists was understood to be a scientific undertaking which could be understood as divine inspiration.
The nobility did not accept these compromises however, and in the end a compromise was made where nobility could license other mages and give them proxy authority as descendants of Aurathear Darastrix. However, if this power was misused to protect Heretical Magic which was seditious and did harm to the citizens of the Gold Empire, the Brass Metal Church could still take action. These hard compromises reflects a difficult truth: most of the discussions happened behind closed doors over dinners between Brass Metal Clerics and the powerful folk of the Gold Empire, and was likely not driven by theological arguments so much as practical discussions. One important aspect of realpolitik which was engaged in, was the fear of further magical insurrections. If rebels or other seditious elements had access to mages among their ranks, the risk of damage from rebellions would grow exponentially. The Gold Empire needed an institution to root out such heresy, and the Brass Metal Church was ready to fullfill this role.
When the Third Ecumenical Council of Eilcíud was over, decarch Oeric had won many victories for her crusade against heretical magic. Her church was now given the legal ability to distinguish between heretical and acceptable magic, and had the power to prosecute heretic mages. Unlike the Silver Metal Church, which was based on ideals of justice, rehabilitation and equity, the Brass Metal Church was fighting the enemies of the Gold Empire and Aurathear Darastrix himself, and would thus have no need for lengthy trials or exile once a heretic mage had been found. The punishment was simple: execution. The Brass Metal Church would also be given leeway to make its own militant arm of magehunters, though while this fighting force was under formation, bishops of the Brass Metal Church would be allowed to take command of Royal Army units to prosecute the enemies of the Gold Empire.
At the end of this lengthy council, decarch Oeric did something unexpected. After 80 years of service as decarch of the Brass Metal Church, she resigned. She was the only living of the original metal decarchs, and she could have continued for another two centuries, but she opted to step down from her position and let new blood take over. This began a tradition of long-lived races serving a maximum of 80 years as decarchs or archbishops, to allow new ideas to make their mark on the Aurathean Church. She would continue to serve as Brass Metal archbishop of Oldan for another century, and then Brass Metal bishop of Eilcíud for twenty years, before she would retire to her library in Eilcíud before dying at the age of 758. However, some whisper that as part of her many compromises, she was made to step down, as nobility and alchemist alike feared that a long-living powerful priest and warmage could have done terrible damage to their influence over matters magical in the Gold Empire.
The First Purges -- 141 IA to 147 IA
Finally with real authority in their hands, the informal Brass Inquisition became the Ah Vokul Arkanic, and they had 140 years of heretic mages to purge. It began with the mountain warlocks of the Oldanian mountains, who were hunted down by forces from For Sur under the command of Brass Metal Clerics. Then they began targeting known druids in the forests of Cyneland, and the prisoners from the mage rebellions of 140, for which they used Ceoland swordmasters.
Purges during the Great Conquests -- 147 IA to 162 IA
The First Purges were incredibly efficient, as the Ah Vokul Arkanic had been collecting intelligence on the heretic mages, who were commonly called witches, for a near-century. As witches were killed, and the risk of insurrection became less and less, the Brass Metal Church was lauded by the Gold Emperor. The Ah Vokul Arkanic also became better and better at their job of hunting witches, but as the pace of imperial conquest grew quicker and quicker, and the Ah Vokul Arkanic hunted more and more witches whom they did not have proper intelligence on, the Purges became more unfocused and required larger army detachments to properly root out the witches.
The Ah Vokul Arkanic used pseudo-military ranks, and were only under the authority of the decarch, with their own system of inquistor, lord inquisitor and lord arch-inquisitor, called tovitaan, thur tovitaan and konarik tovitaan. However, as their purges required more and more Army units from the front lines, the Gold Emperor made his displeasure known to decarch Vahakn Daharkian.
While the Ah Vokul Arkanic performed its purges, the Brass Metal Church continued its role in training warmages and overseeing magical developments of the alchemists.
Reform of the Brass Metal Church -- 162 IA
It was clear that the Brass Metal Church would have to change course regarding the purges, and decarch Vahakn called a council of bishops and archbishops in Aurumis. The Brass Metal Clerics discussed how the church should continue into an uncertain future, especially regarding the hunt of witches. The nature of witch hunts was discussed, as the Gold Empire could not spare troops to hunt witches, and the large purges often cost many lives of loyal soldiers and created a great deal of publicity around the Ah Vokul Arkanic. Instead of these large purges, the Ah Vokul Arkanic would perform smaller hunts, guided by intelligence and instead of being performed by imperial army units, the Brass Metal Church would train specialized Witch Hunters. These hunts would not be documented or publiziced in the same way as the Purges, ideally the hunts would be secret.
Additionally, political ill-will had grown against the Ah Vokul Arkanic, and so it was decided that instead of being an independent arm within the Brass Metal Church, the operational sects of Ah Vokul Arkanic would be subordinated to the local bishops and archbishops of the Brass Metal Church within the framework of church ranks, rather than the previous pseudo-military structure of the Ah Vokul Arkanic.
After the Reform, the Ah Vokul Arkanic spent the next twenty years gathering intelligence on the potential enemies of the Gold Empire, as well as training their new witch hunters. The Brass Metal Church spent time winning the goodwill of the Gold Empire's other institutions, especially working close with the Order of Alchemists in the conquered territories to investigate new types of magic and magical sites. They also worked together to create the new militant arm of the Brass Metal Church, the Witch Hunters.
Birth of the Witch Hunters -- 184 IA
After more than twenty years of hard labor, the Ah Vokul Arkanic in collaboration with the Green Order and the Red Order had produced their elite mageslaying warriors, the Witch Hunters. They were few in number in these days, but their introduction was felt immediately among the heretics and sinners, as they were killed in the dead of night, hunted by superhuman predators and driven to extinction. The Witch Hunters were warriors of myth and half-spoken truths, warriors of a silent war organized by the Ah Vokul Arkanic. The perfect tool to slay heretic mages, to work in the shadows so not even the memory of their murder would be allowed to exist except for in dusty Brass Metal Church archives.
Decarch Nande Shona, who was the former Brass Metal Archbishop of Whiteplain, received commendations from the Gold Emperor, the Council of Dragons and the Imperial Council for the efficacy and discretion of the Witch Hunters as well as the wise administration of magic in the Gold Empire. Archbishop Blacthorne of Hunthofaesten, who created the Witch Hunters and led the Ah Vokul Arkanic, also received commendations from the Philosopher's Council and the Council of Dragons for her important work creating the Witch Hunters.
Oonikan vers troth - Knowledge is power, guard it well
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
Brass Church
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
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