Shalimyrs Holy Orders

Holy Orders

While the worship of Shalimyr is likely quite different among races that live under the waves, the focus here is on the basins of land-bound mortals. There are three holy orders of the basins, all of which are tied to the waters. The central order, as with most churches of the pantheon, is the clergy, called mariners and divided into shorehands and shipwrights. There are also the ascetics (holy warriors), who respect three ranks: neonates, ascetics, and waternamed. The sail masters recognize two levels: sail masters and sail lords. The only order that regularly resides at the basins is that of the mariners, with the Shalimyn shipwrights of each basin determining its policies and interactions with secular affairs. There is no central authority of the Shalimyn faith; that position is taken by Shalimyr himself. Indeed, the mariners are considered guides and teachers more than authority figures. Every member of the faith is said to have a personal tie to Shalimyr, and do not require clergy to act as intermediaries. A typical basin has six or seven shorehands in residence at any one time, and at least one shipwright. Ascetics and sail masters are almost never in residence at a basin, but in major port cities there might be one or two members of each order convalescing or temporarily living at the local basin.

Mariners of Shalimyr

The mariners are spiritual leaders to the often wayward, chaotic Shalimyn. In a faith where one’s gut instincts can be either benign or malignant, and most of the faithful heed them regardless, guidance is necessary to avoid allout pandemonium. These clergy are the undisputed (and only) authority figures in the basins. They perform religious ceremonies, help the faithful interpret Shalimyr’s will, call on Shalimyr’s blessings for outgoing and incoming vessels, and even occasionally ride important vessels to keep them safe from Shalimyr’s rage. All that said, they are not necessary to the faith, and are not seen as conduits between the faithful and Shalimyr; they are only guides and resources for the faithful (if well-respected ones).
The mariners collect the tithes of the faithful, see to the upkeep of the basins, build new basins when called for, and act as the spokespersons of the faith in all secular matters. This leads to an order with a great deal of wealth, making it more powerful secularly than it is spiritually. Sometimes the mariners from a given basin are completely corrupted by their power and wealth, but should they grow too bold and arrogant, Shalimyr will destroy them spectacularly, so corruption rarely goes beyond petty evils such as undermining or killing political rivals, using the church’s money to promote political programs outside the scope of the Shalimyn faith, or minor abuses of personal authority.
Shalimyr has no trouble with this sort of behavior—but mariners who take church money to build themselves enormous mansions might be found soon, in chunks floating in a series of small puddles. Nearly all the mariners of Shalimyr are chaotic, but their worldviews (apart from chaos) vary radically. The most common alignment for Shalimyn mariners is chaotic neutral. These mariners believe that the world is in constant flux—anything built today might be torn down by the waters tomorrow. They put no stock in plans for the distant future, and believe instead that one must strive to live only by the edicts of Shalimyr. One must be humble and obey his will—wherever it might lead you. While they usually counsel against casually throwing away one’s life, these mariners are not known for their cautious outlook, and they certainly have no concerns for a community outside the Shalimyn.
Instead, they live only to serve Shalimyr and the Shalimyn faithful, and do whatever their hearts tell them is the right way to act accordingly. Chaotic good mariners extend their concern to those outside of the faith. They believe the virtues of humility and sacrifice are exemplars for all people, so they try to live by them. They preach against the arrogance of those who claim to have the answers to all the great questions, or those who say they know “the way.” They’re rabble-rousers and troublemakers to be sure, but they aim to improve the lot of all people through the abiding beauty of Shalimyr. Often these mariners are adventurers, as the basin shipwrights find them too interested in affairs outside of the Shalimyn. Such interest is often condemned as pride; accused mariners must leave the community. There are, however, a few basins dominated by chaotic good mariners, and these places are havens to all Shalimyn of a like mind. Unlike nearly all other churches of the gods of the tree, where evil worshipers have separate cults reviled by the main church, chaotic evil mariners have a place in the basins so long as they don’t act against their fellow Shalimyn. A sort of “activist” offshoot of the basins, chaotic evil mariners believe Shalimyn wills that the arrogant and proud be rooted out. It saddens Shalimyr, their reasoning goes, whenever he must destroy mortals with his waters, because it shows his followers are too weak and cowardly to eliminate the prideful themselves. Chaotic evil mariners take the duty to heart by wreaking havoc. They might break into the homes of pompous nobles, kill them and their families, and burn their houses down. While the basins routinely deny any knowledge of such activities, many support these works as necessary evils.
Shorehands Initiate Shalimyn called shorehands almost belong in a caste lower than the rest—below even the meanest drunken sailors. This is because they must forswear sailing or riding on the open sea, which is beloved of all Shalimyn. This sacrifice is thought to be the highest one can make, short of losing one’s life, and is done as a sign of love for Shalimyr and devotion to the Shalimyn. Shorehands are addressed as “brother” or “sister” and introduced by full title. Shorehands serve the rest of the Shalimyn. They are present at births, weddings, and funerals. They stand on the shores and bless their ships at launching, and greet them at their return. Shorehands make regular and elaborate shows of their lack of pride, and constantly give away their possessions, keeping just enough to eat and live.
Becoming a shorehand takes a very short time, usually six months. One must be devoted to Shalimyr, have a great love of the sea, swear not to ride on the waters while a shorehand, and learn the various prayers and rites of the Shalimyn. Shorehands can leave their community if they feel Shalimyr calls them to do so, and many wander the world, away from the sea, on great adventures they believe Shalimyr has called them to perform. Shipwrights In time and with experience, elder shorehands may be released from their vows and go on great journeys by sea to the “heart of the ocean.” What is referred to as the heart of the ocean changes from culture to culture, but it’s usually out in the middle of the nearest sea. Once there, they leap into the water and either emerge moments later, or never surface. Those who emerge are ceremonially cleansed and are hailed as shipwrights, the wisest of the Shalimyn. To avoid confusion with actual shipwrights, these holy men and women are always referred to as Shalimyn shipwrights.
They are addressed as “father” or “mother” and introduced by full title. A Shalimyn shipwright maintains the humility they showed as shorehands, or at least they are supposed to, but are treated with reverence by the Shalimyn. If any have a right to be treated nobly, it would be these high representatives of Shalimyr in the world. Common Shalimyn do not speak directly to the shipwrights and must address them through shorehands; this is done to show the humility of the speaker, though it certainly elevates the self-importance of the listener. Shalimyn shipwrights run the basins and there is always at least one shipwright present. Unlike the shorehands, they can sail on the water whenever the need or desire arises. The great Shalimyn shipwright Faroan T’urketh was once asked why the shipwrights are treated with such reverence in a faith that so abhors pride.
He explained, “After a lifetime, I have become so used to the ways of humility in the face of Grandfather Ocean, blessed be his name, that they have become second nature. I do not think of the meaning and purpose of humility any longer; I have become so easily humble that there is almost a pride in it. The shipwrights are treated so well, like kings, so they can be reminded of the meaning of pride and the need for its purgation. Humility should never be easy.”
Joining the Mariners The clergy of Shalimyr, all of whom are clerics with the Tempest or Water domain are divided into two groups: the young and hot-blooded Shalimyn clerics, and the old and wise ones. If a cleric lives long enough to become an elder in the clergy, it is because Shalimyr loves him.
Ascetics of Shalimyr The ascetics of Shalimyr are a peculiar bunch. Uninvolved with the basins, they are understood by the Shalimyn to be holy people whose terrible sacrifices must take them away from the faithful. Just as the shorehands of Shalimyr cannot ride the waters as a sacrifice to show their humility and faith, ascetics give up the comfort of home and community and wander the wide world, doing what they can for everyone but themselves. By living a life of perpetual goodness and aiding others whenever and wherever they can, they show humility as servants to the mortal races, and offer perpetual self-denial to Shalimyr. They are therefore one of the common “adventuring” holy orders of all the churches. Since their faith requires them to be away from the basins, traveling by land and sea to aid others, they are often found in towns where trouble is near, or in the depths of dungeons.
Ascetics must never hoard wealth or property. They must never seek a home or status in a home. They can never own a ship or other means of transport. Ascetics must be prepared to die empty-handed and alone. They have no fear of death, and generally do not wish to be raised from the dead. Any ascetic who comes to wish for a family or a home or any kind of comfort or possession must leave the order, and loses all her special abilities unless she atones and sheds all her attachments once more. Ascetics are selective about the company they keep. They cannot abide the proud and never associate with people who seek glory, fame, or status, particularly if their desire for these things is reflected in the actions of the group and how people perceive them. Ascetics have no problem with those who seek wealth and keep personal property; they do not expect all people to live under the same onus of sacrifice as they do. They speak to their friends about the perils of desire for property, but do not condemn them for it. An ascetic can even abide greed, if it is tempered with sacrifice. Ascetics often travel with wizards, monks, druids, rangers, and rogues—and those who keep low profiles for one reason or another.
They are rarely found with paladins or clerics from other churches. Ascetics almost never travel together. As an ascetic grows older and more experienced, she sheds all the trappings of glory. Later, she sheds the markings of holiness, because in them is a kind of braggadocio. Eventually, she abandons even the trappings of “self,” as there is a kind of arrogance in asserting a personal identity, when one is really nothing but a servant of Shalimyr. In time and after neonates have learned proper humility, and are ready to be full ascetics, they cease to have any titles whatsoever, and give their tabards away. This is usually done by training someone else to become a neonate, and presenting the initiate with the tabard at the completion of her training. Neonates who have been carrying a refined or well-crafted holy symbol give the item away, and replace it with the symbol a peasant might wear. Anything that might make it clear to a casual observer that an ascetic is a members of a holy order is given away as well. The only things neonates keep are arms, armor, and other tools they gained in their journeys to help them serve people.
Once they’ve let go of their old trappings, neonates become proper ascetics. They have no titles, only their names, and they continue wandering. They have no honorifics in address, but if they introduced as religious figures, are called “ascetics of the basins of Shalimyr.” Once ascetics show their full devotion to Shalimyr and cleave to a path of service and humility, they sacrifice all that is left of them: their names. They cease to be called by the name by which they have been known their entire lives and take the names of parts of water or water sounds. Lake, Stream, Rush, Falls—all are appropriate water names. Such ascetics are called “waternames,” and continue to walk the world and sail, fighting for the good of all people and awaiting death, when they might become part of the waters.
Joining the Ascetics Anyone of the proper alignment and devotion to Shalimyr can join the ascetics. After a year of training by an elder member of the order, the ascetics abandon all the trappings of their previous lives. They cut their hair and give away anything not fit to be burned. They take up the blue tabard of the order (marked with the wave) and receive the title of “neonate,” having been reborn into the new order as a paladin. Neonates are addressed as “child” and not introduced by order or title but as “a child of the basins of Shalimyr.” While most paladins in the order are considered knights-errant, or heroes, neonate lives a life of servitude. They wander the world, offering their swords freely and begging for meals. And when it’s time to swear their oaths, they take the Oath of the Ascetic . Most ascetics are chaotic good
Sail Masters “The wind is my brother, the ship is my sister,” the sail masters say, “and the water is my father. I respect my siblings but I obey my father.” The sail masters have brine in their blood, it is said, and no finer sailors live. Having a sail master on deck is a good omen, a promise of success, and a harbinger of a speedy journey, all in one. To attack a vessel with a sail master on board, or worse, a sail lord, is considered sheer folly. The sail masters see themselves as the bearers of Shalimyr’s good word; they are missionaries who reside on ships. Incredibly, exhaustingly pious, they lead the crew in the three daily prayers, talking constantly of the gifts of Grandfather Ocean and the wrath of the Sea Father. Their order was founded to aid and serve those who are closest to Shalimyr, sailors, and to remind them of the tenets of the Shalimyn faith.
The sail masters are the third and most evangelical of the Shalimyn holy orders. They are known everywhere for their great skill as sailors and their uncanny abilities with ship-to-ship combat. The order was founded by an ascetic, known as Saint Isyl, who was visited in dream by a series of visions from Shalimyr. Isyl prophesied, through those dreams, of an ultimate day of reckoning for all Shalimyn, when the Sea Father will visit every ship on his waters in a single day. If he finds the hearts of the sailors around the world to be pious and humble, as he demands, he will give a great boon to all Shalimyn. But if he finds that those he has graced with permission to ride upon his back are selfish and wanting, he will destroy them all and never again allow ships upon his waters. While the mariners believe Saint Isyl’s vision was metaphorical, the sail masters believe it quite literal, and seek to avert disaster by constantly reminding sailors of their duty to Shalimyr. Thus they are driven in their evangelism, and almost always out at sea.
Sail masters are most often found on the water, serving vessels great and small. They rarely bother with those who are not Shalimyn or sailors, so a person booking passage on a ship might never even realize a sail master is aboard. If one travels aboard the flagship of a major fleet, it is almost certain to have a sail lord aboard. Members of the order make odd first impressions. Quiet, contemplative, a bit spooky at first, they eventually reveal their religious ardor. Most sail masters shave their heads and wear simple robes adorned with the wave of Shalimyr. It is uncommon to find two members of the order together, unless one is being trained. New sail masters seek out captains to take them onto their vessels in return for service. Sail masters work with their crews until satisfied that they’re properly pious, and move on to other ships soon after. This continues for most of their careers.
Sail masters are addressed as “sail master” and are introduced without their order name. Eventually, sail masters might seek out someone in control of a fleet—a lord, a powerful merchant, or a pirate king—and offer their services as sail lord. They usually hold these positions until death, riding on fleet flagships, but ministering to all of their sailors. They are addressed as “sail lord,” and introduced with full title.
Joining the Sail Masters
Any deeply faithful Shalimyn can join the sail masters, though fighters and rogues are the most common professions. Wizards, sorcerers, members of the Shalimyn clergy, even holy warriors of Shalimyr have all been known to join the order. It requires only a deep understanding of the sea and an abiding love for Grandfather Ocean. Initiates must complete one year of training under a sail lord to earn the title of sail master.

Type

Religious, Holy Order