The Church of the Spark

Dedicated to the Spheres and Those Within Them

"Protect us, o King of the Spheres. House us in they body, warm us with thy blood. For we are thine children, thy will made manifest." -Prayer to the Bright King

Overview

The Church of the Spark is the main religion in the Shattered Sea, with temples in almost every civilized area. Centralized in Hallow, it is the official religion of Hallow, Rigstead and Principia. Although not the official religion in The Umber Reaches and The Summerset Collective the church still has a decent presence, though nowhere near as strong as other regions. In Rust the Church is almost nonexistent, and devout Spark worshipers are shunned and laughed at.

Gods

The Church of the Spark is dedicated to The Bright King and his two offspring gods, Pulse and Lumen. They also give worship to the Somniloquist, but more as an intermediary between mortals and Lumen, and not so much on her own.

Beliefs

The main tenets of the Church of the Spark mainly deal with the Bathyspheres themselves. The Church believes the Spheres to be holy relics, created with the intent of housing and protecting the humanoids inside. The Church believes that the spheres were placed where they are with a purpose. No sphere was misplaced, and that even the smallest, most remote sphere is important. With the spheres being the literal body of The Bright King the main duty of the Church is to repair and maintain the spheres around the sea.
The Church sees Lumen as the god of humanoids and the creatures inside the Spheres, and Pulse as the god of the Spheres themselves. The majority of the Church's teachings revolve around protecting the spheres and giving thanks to the Bright King for creating both the spheres and themselves. They preach a policy of energy conservation, both because energy is hard to create in The Shattered Sea but also because any wasted energy is seen as wasting a part of Pulse themselves, squandering the literal body of a god. Direct offerings to Pulse usually are in the form of throwing fuel or food into fires, and all temples of the Church have an ever burning fire in their hall that is constantly kept alight. Most worship to Pulse is done through the care of the Spheres themselves, with the majority of prayer and sermons directed towards the Bright King and Lumen. 
Many flock to the church to share in the belief that even the smallest can have great impact and the Church is equally popular among the poor and the rich, although most rich probably don't abide by the tenets as much as they should.

Rankings

Positions in the church are given their own titles. All members of the church are expected to preach the teachings of Lumen and Pulse, but each ranking has its own specialty as well. In order of importance/power:

1. God Sworn
The current God Sworn is a kalashtar man named Mornix. He claims to receive insight from the Bright Lord himself, in the form of Lumen.
2. Silent Minister
Blind and mute, the silent ministers wear black robes with gold filigree. They are the ultimate voice for repairs of the bathyspheres. When a sphere is damaged beyond the repair capabilities the Church sends a silent minister from Hallow to oversee and direct the repairs.
3. Sparklord/lady
Elders in the church, the highest ranking person in a large city sect is usually a Sparklord/lady. In smaller cities they are a rare sight, preferring to focus their efforts on the larger spheres.
4. Lightspeaker
Lightspeakers are the main spreaders of gospel for the church. While the other members focus on maintaining the Spheres Lightspeakers focus on maintaining the people. At most churches the main public speakers and preachers are Lightspeakers.
5. Fusefather/mother
Experienced members of the church, Fusefathers and mothers can handle most repair jobs that crop up in the bathyspheres, akin to a manager at a construction sight. Seasoned speakers and priests, they answer to Lightspeakers and 
6. Sparksmith
Journeymen blacksmiths and engineers. Sparksmiths are most likely found in one of two places, either at a repair site taking measurements, or in a Sacred Foundry forging new parts for their respective bathyspheres.
7. Hammer Bearer

Intermediate blacksmiths and engineers, still in training. A Hammer Bearer is an apprentice to a Sparksmith, and do most of the grunt work for their teacher. Most Hammer Bearers do mainly manual labor for a few years, with an average time of 5 years apprenticeship before they have a chance to rise to the rank of Sparksmith. In addition to the named ranks the church has a wide variety of paladins, clerics, monks and priests that don't bear any special title.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion