Holy Orders of Tinel
There are five holy orders of the scriptoriums, but two are not particularly powerful. Most scriptoriums are run by the inceptors (clergy), who are divided into three levels of status: neophytes, teachers, and armarii. For those who practice the magical arts, the most powerful order is of the hierophants, which have two levels of power: the common hierophants, and the Five who oversee the order. Protecting the work of these orders and seeking out lost knowledge is the responsibility of the mage guard (holy warriors), which has two levels of status: defenders of the word, and keepers of secrets.
In the background of every scriptorium, the two lesser orders do their duties. The scribes, divide themselves into common scribes, and master scribes. The librarians rank themselves as common librarians, and chief librarians. The highest-ranking inceptors of each scriptorium determine its policies and interpretations of the faith. The order of the hierophants is overseen by the Five, the world’s most powerful arcane spellcasting worshipers of Tinel.
The average scriptorium has at least one armarius, four teachers, and twelve neophytes in residence at one time.
There are often as many as ten scribes, one master scribe, four librarians, and one chief librarian as well. There are usually only four or five of the mage guard at any one scriptorium, and the hierophants, who almost always have their own sanctums, are rarely found at scriptoriums.
The Scriptoriums of Tinel
The scriptoriums where Tinelites worship stand in most major population centers, and few shrines to Tinel haunt roadsides or the wilderness. There are a few scriptoriums in hidden towers, like the isolated mages’ towers of legend, but in general, one must go to a city or town to find one. Scriptoriums vary in size. Many are just small libraries with facilities for scribes. The largest are multi-story buildings with thousands of books, or sometimes complexes of buildings. They are mostly funded by people who pay for access to the faith’s books or hire its scribes to copy texts. Money gathered from these fees funds the schooling scriptoriums host. Teachers come to Tinelite centers of worship from miles around, where they may teach fundamental academics, or philosophical and esoteric matters, to reputable students—even each other. Beyond a base stipend provided by the faith, it is customary for those attending lectures to pay the lecturer a fee equal to what the listeners estimate the lecture was worth to them. The scriptoriums do not benefit from these transactions, and see them as part of their works in the name of Tinel. For many years, the scriptoriums have been subject to the deep, ugly rift afflicting the faith. Most scriptoriums are controlled by the chaotic good side of the conflict, but a few are run by the neutral branch of the faith. The chaotic good scriptoriums are open to the world, whereas the neutral branches hoard their knowledge jealously, and do not follow the tradition of educating outsiders. When Tinel pays attention to mortal affairs, he offers guidance through signs and portents to his faithful. However, the worldview of his church means he can appear distant, as the faithful are looking to learn through discovery, not to be ordered about. This suits Tinel; he views his followers as clever, wise, and worthy of his affections if they seek knowledge out of personal desire, not because he pushes them. It is almost unheard of for Tinel to appear or speak directly to one of his followers. When a favored Tinelite is in terrible trouble, though, Tinel is not above lending a hand if a sign or small bit of guidance might snatch victory from defeat. He speaks to his followers in whispers of the wind, strange faces seen in clouds, creaking trees, and in other signs and noises, embedded in the world. Tinel ignores the schism between his followers. They are both right, and both wrong, and he is content to let them battle out their differences. After all, it is through struggle that mortals learn best. Yet he keeps an eye on the neutral faction, which sometimes comes perilously close in its “knowledge is all” philosophy to the hubris of the Fourteen Wizards.Worship
Common Prayers
The Tinelites believe the mind, when open, can perceive many things the naked eye cannot, including visions, portents, and symbols in the landscape. The opening of the mind’s eye is a lengthy process, and involves the chanting of a daily meditative prayer. The following is one of many variations, as Tinelites tailor the words to their personal outlook:
“I walk the road of light and shadow,
I see the blossom grow and die,
I hear the wind and feel the stillness.
I feel joyous and desolate,
I know everything and nothing,
I am open to all things.
My eye is open to all things.”
Priesthood
Saints
Almost anyone who has contributed to the furtherance of knowledge and magic might be named a saint, and recorded inTinelite annals. Sainthood is always awarded posthumously, and carries little weight, due to how often the faith awards it—for inventing new food preservation techniques, as noted previously, or a host of other accomplishments, of petty or grand import.Sects
The Faction of Tinel, the Heavenly Archmage (Chaotic Good)
The dominant faction of the scriptoriums believes Tinel wants everyone to be happy. However, mortals have free will, and cannot be made happy with the wave of the god’s mighty hand. Mortals must find happiness themselves, by exploring the meaning of their own existence. Every person encounters a great riddle they are meant to unravel over the course of their lives. Almost no one does, and therefore mortals are reborn, sent by Maal to try again. Solving the riddle is only possible if one seeks out the Truth, which is sometimes hard and terrible, and that is only possible if one shares knowledge with others who also seek the Truth. The followers of Tinel have an advantage over others in the quest to solve the riddle of their lives, for they know how to seek signs of the Truth. Tinel wants mortals to be happy, and makes signs and portents available to all people throughout the world. The most important of these is the Vision of the Opening Eye. When a Tinelite is young (or young in faith, for a late-in-life convert), they learn a series of meditations to open the closed “eye of the mind.” After some time, usually a few months, the Tinelite is visited in sleep by an incredibly vivid dream. The dream is often filled with strange symbols. One Tinelite might wander a barren field and plant bloody seeds, as eight blue hawks fly overhead. This vision should be the Tinelite’s passion for many years to come, as they seek to unravel its meaning. Many never find the meaning of their visions. Those who truly understand them (and have an epiphany, instead of just pretending to know) take new surnames based on their understanding of the vision. Comprehending the vision is only the first step, likened to finding one of the keys to Heaven. Tinelites spend the rest of their lives seeking out how the vision unlocks the riddle of their beings, searching for the lock to fit that key. The Tinelites explain each vision contains a great lesson they are expected to understand completely, before death. The true riddle is the process of uncovering and comprehending that lesson. Few manage it in their lifetimes. Those who do are among the most serene mortals one could hope to meet. Sadly, because their riddles are so personal, they cannot pass along answers future generations can fully comprehend, much less apply to their own mysteries, though they might help a seeker in some small ways. This vision serves not only as a central pursuit for the members of the chaotic good faction, but also as an explanation of their view of Tinel. The god provides mortals with clues out of love, so they can find their way. Mortals must preserve and share knowledge to help one another on their journey to find answers. There should be debate, rancor, argument and struggle. The world is not pretty, and mortals must look at every aspect of it in their quests. Therefore, societies should be free, and lawful outlooks run counter to what is best for people. Highly lawful societies only work when there are questions people are not allowed to ask, and places they aren’t allowed to go. Groupthink is the enemy; the greatest good is found in many free individuals, not in united slaves. However, simply looking at all aspects does not mean partaking in them all; these Tinelites are not evil, and do not give in to depravity. The quest seeks the knowledge to live a good life. They regard the neutral faction as heretics who teach lies about Tinel.The Faction of Aloof Tinel (Neutral)
The neutral faction agrees that one must seek Truth. Life is a great test; upon this, they agree as well. Both factions use the Vision of the Opening Eye, and therefore both seek to comprehend their visions. But the followers of Aloof Tinel believe a person must collect knowledge and secrets to break the riddle of one’s life for its own sake, not to help others. Secrets should remain within oneself. The vision is a map to the Truth that one must follow to serve Tinel. Once one discovers the secrets of the path, they should keep them hidden. Knowledge belongs to worthy Tinelites and their well-guarded scriptoriums. To the Aloof faction, the mortal world is an illusion without consequence, created by the gods to separate the worthy from the worthless. When mortals die, those who have accumulated the most knowledge—the only thing that is real in this fleeting, illusory existence—are sent by Maal to stand before Tinel. Those who show they have unraveled the secrets of life are enlisted to aid Tinel in his studies to preserve the universe from the End Times. Nothing matters but the acquisition of the Truth, to prepare for this final test before the Lord of Secrets. Therefore, this faction encourages the hoarding of learning. They believe it is wrong to give knowledge to those who are not be worthy, and will waste Tinel’s time. Adherents believe Tinel no longer cares about the Material Plane, that he places no signs in the world, and no longer offers his guiding hand to anyone. Tinel provides a vision not a loving embrace but as a way of seeing the pure and beautiful Truth one must seek forevermore. When the vision is comprehended, the Tinelite is well on the way to learning as much of the Truth as they need to pass the test, and serve Tinel. They regard the chaotic good faction of the faith as deluded idiots, chasing phantoms. Tinel is too busy studying his secrets to pay attention to the inconsequential mortal races, when they must prove themselves worthy of him.The Schism
Much blood has been spilled in the past over the division between the factions, but since the faction of Aloof Tinel doesn’t care about much beyond the accumulation of knowledge, it could not maintain the struggle against the dominant faction. For this reason, members of the chaotic good faction dominate the scriptoriums. Scriptoriums rarely mix factions, so it is not easy to find a neutral scriptorium. How long this will continue is unclear, but one thing is certain: The schism has not lost much of its rancor over the years, and members of these two factions still see each other as fools and heretics.
Minor Orders
Two minor orders also exist in the scriptoriums, and are usually made up of devout Tinelites unable to join one of the other three holy orders. These orders have no disposition toward the schism, and their members are just as likely to serve in a neutral scriptorium as a chaotic good one. Most members are acolytes or sages.Scribes
The holy order of scribes, each addressed and introduced by their order title, are charged with copying manuscripts new and old. They have no central authority figure, a scriptorium with any significant number of scribes will also have a master scribe. The master scribe reports directly to the armarius, or armarii council.
Librarians
The librarians catalogue the Tinelites’ accumulated works. In larger facilities, they are of vital importance to a well-functioning scriptorium. It is not easy to keep track of thousands of books, so in scriptoriums with significant numbers of books, there are several librarians and at least one chief librarian who, like the master scribe, reports directly to the armarii.
Type
Religious, Holy Order
Demonym
Tinelite
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
