Company of Hades
The Company of Hades is the order of clergy that oversees all Hadesian religious activity, particularly that which takes place in the city of Dancamort.
Structure
The head of the Company is the Speaker for the Dead, a powerful priest who has trained for many years. Less officially, the Company reports to a council of its twelve most pious congregants, as determined by the amount of monetary donations they have given to the Basilica over one calendar year.
Culture
Rather than a traditional habit, members of the Company of Hades favor sleek black clothing in flattering, even somewhat revealing, modern styles. Skirted robes are narrow with long slits up one or both sides; tunics are cut to reveal large amounts of the chest or back (though rarely both). The jewelry of members typically features three linked chains braided together; this design is seen everywhere from bracelets and necklaces to shoulder chains and ear cuffs. Sumptuary laws in Dancamort dictate that only members of the Company may wear head-to-toe black or this particular "chain of chains" jewelry. Anyone outside the Company caught wearing this faces immediate fines or beatings if caught by a Chainguard.
Assets
The Company of Hades are the official owners of all of the material wealth of the Hadesian Deep Mines, though they license out mining rights to several steward families in Dancamort. As such, they are powerfully wealthy, and they have been able to build the Hadesian Basilica into an incredibly grand building.
The Company also takes ten percent of the faithful's yearly earnings, and fifty percent of the house earnings of all casinos in Dancamort, as tithes. They also officially own the earthly body of all pledged members upon their death. These are used either as laborers in the mines, hired labor for businesses or mercenary companies, or within the sculptural ossuary of the Hadesian Catacombs.
History
Hades was the first true god of death worshipped by Human people, and so the Company in its earliest forms has been around since the Age of Tranquility. However, in the pre-Olympian ages, his worship was disorganized and decentralized, save for a few isolated cults led by particularly powerful Hadesian clerics.
The modern form of the Company of Hades was founded within the Dancamortian Charter after the Litigation of Flames, as part of the mandate that an order of mortals act as the contract's stewards on behalf of each of the Three Brothers. The Company has been significantly more materially successful than either Poseidon's or Zeus's orders, on account of its shrewd management of the material riches of Hadesia.
Worship
Ritual sacrifice has been a tradition among Hades worshippers since the dawn of humanity. A proper ritual sacrifice requires that a creature's blood must be spilled by a priest's hand, directly from its body onto the earth; therefore, bloodless killing methods, such as strangulation or most magic, are forbidden. The best sacrifices are of lives actively in opposition to Hades' reign. For beast sacrifices, this means creatures that traditionally represent Hades' brothers Zeus and Poseidon, such as the eagle or the bull; for Humanoid sacrifices, they should have actively worked in opposition to Hades during life. For logistical and practical reasons, the Company performs all such sacrifices needed within the city limits of Dancamort once a month, at the Blood Moon's Nexus.
The Company teaches followers that true devotion to Hades also demands the donation of your mortal body upon death. The bones of the most prominent and most devout worshippers receive places of honor in the sculptural halls of the Hadesian Catacombs. Ordinary worshippers are more likely to have their skeletons consigned to work in the Hadesian Deep Mines or the Dancamort Steelworks.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Company holds a controlling influence on the politics and culture of Hadesia, and is a major player in the political structure of the Three Brothers Isles as a whole.
"One Life, One Death"
Founding Date
Y1 CPX
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
"The Company"
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Deities
Divines
Location
Related Traditions
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Related Myths
Comments