Order of the Golden Cup
This Ilmataran order is dedicated to healing and protecting the sick, innocent, and weak. Its members are the peaceful counterparts to the Companions of the Noble Heart, soothing the hurts of the world rather than seeking out evil to destroy. They are not opposed to such actions, but see their role as something different, though they are not pacifists and never hesitate to fight evil when confronted with it. Still, members felt their role was focused more toward healing and protection than battle. They let their allies, such as the Companions of the Noble Heart, hunt down evil doers while they protected the victims
This focus has changed in recent years, particularly in the Bloodstone Lands. Due to the increase in demonic activity, and the ability of the Blackfire Adepts to open gates to the Abyss, the Order is taking a more aggressive approach. They see their charge of healing as applying to the Veil between worlds. Healing the Veil requires seeking out and destroying the demonic infestation and the Blackfire Adepts that are responsible for the increase demonic activity. Their charge of protecting the sick, innocent, and weak means fighting the demons and helping the innocent resist demonic temptations. Whether the sects of the Golden Cup outside the Bloodstone Lands eventually take up this new charge remains to be seen.
Structure
Temple Hierarchy
Justicar Gaius Donalthir is the temporal and spiritual head of the Bastion of Faith. By Bastion tradition, Gaius was chosen from among the ranks of affirmed paladins to succeed the Justicar Lanark when Lanark was slain in a demonic attack. Directly below the abbot are three Revered Guardians, one paladin and two clerics. The Golden Cup's mission of healing and protection draws as many clerics to the order as paladins, although tradition dictates that the each branch be overseen by a paladin. The Revered Guardians, who hand down Gaius's directives and manage the temple's day-to-day operation, are Revered Guardian Caemarvon, Revered Guardian Dolaucoth, and Revered Guardian Landra. Revered Guardian Caernarvon's role is defense and training. He is responsible for assigning guards and protecting the Bastion. He has had to introduce studies on how to recognize fiendish influences, and is starting to sound just a bit paranoid. He produces the duty schedule, which includes religious services and military drills in addition to guard duty. Revered Guardian Dolaucoth generally assigns or approves the missions undertaken by affirmed priests, unless the mission is extremely important or a special or secret quest, in which case Justicar Gaius personally meets with the priests or other mission members. Revered Guardian Landra is a professed cleric who rounds out the tripartite council. She has charge of the day interactions of all the clergy and affiliates within the Bastion. Internal problems, personality conflicts, and structural improvements are all brought before Landra. The next level of the hierarchy is comprised of paladins and clerics, currently 32 in number. Most have achieved the rank of Vigilant, but shoose to be known as "Mother" or "Father" when interacting with petitioners and pilgrims. Each has specific duties within the temple, but the most visible clerics include Mother Loughora, who has charge of the retreat, Father Netherby, who runs the agora, and Mother Annan, who holds services in the public chapel. Vigilant Ravenglass has charge of the inquisitors, while Revered Brother Cassante oversees the catechists. Vigilant Lugo commands the templar company housed in the Bastion. Revered Brother Abbregio has charge of the postulants, and Revered Sister Fela is head of the novitiates. Everyone knows Brother Nod, who never took additional vows after receiving his tonsure, but whose piety is so great that he is rumored to have performed miracles when every other recourse has failed. Finally, anyone who spends time on the temple grounds is familiar with Lelay the Bellringer who, morning and evening, rings the bells in the campanile.Public Agenda
The original goal of the Order of the Golden Cup was to heal and protect the sick, innocent, and weak. The order in Damara now seeks to end the influence of the Lower Planes in the world. They now search out demons and demonic infestations, sometimes working with adventuring parties willing to undertake their missions. More importantly, they seek to protect the innocent from demonic influence. Thirdly, they seek out the Chalice of Lanark.
Assets
Resources
The Order has priests and clerics on hand for its members who need healing, and provides healing potions to its members in good standing. The Order also provides missions and quests for its members. In addition, ranking members of the Order in Damara now have the ear of the King of that nation.Bases
The Order of the Golden Cup had a base at the Damaran Gate fortress known as the Bastion of the Golden Cup. With King Dragonsbane being a member of the order it truly has all of Damara as a base.History
Around 1265 DR, Archsufferer Bloirt Waelarn of the House of the Broken God in Keltar had denounced his fellow Ilmatari priests of the House of Holy Suffering in Mussum for refusing to relinquish the Tome of Torment, the holiest book of the faith, and declared them degenerate, mentally ill heretics. The Mussum priests and the Companions of the Noble Heart attacked Waelarn and his followers, labeling them "false clerics" and "subverted by evil". An angry Waelarn summoned the Order of the Golden Cup, as well as the Holy Warriors of Suffering and Knights of the Bleeding Shield, to his side and vowed holy war against the "unclean ones of Mussum" and their allies. The war saw the violent clashes of Holy Hill Farm in 1266 DR and Bronsheir's Charge and Weeping Rock in 1267 DR. Finally, Lord Sir Jargus Holenhond of the Golden Cup called an end to the bloodshed between true believers, insisted that the Tome of Torment be transferred to Keltar as planned, and blamed Bloirt Waelarn for the senseless violence, determining that he should be removed from office and sent into hermitage for the remainder of his years. The weary paladins accepted and carried out his judgment.
Circa 1342 DR, the mad priest Bloirt Waelarn returned to commit murder and stole the Tome of Torment. Sir Guth of Ormpetarr, a knight of the Order of the Golden Cup, caught Waelarn and challenged him to single combat, died, and—eventually—slew the rogue, murderous priest.
In the 1350s DR, Gareth Dragonsbane was an adventuring knight of the Order of the Golden Cup. In the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR, Gareth Dragonsbane was leader of a group of heroes who liberated the Bloodstone Lands of Damara and Vaasa, slew Zhengyi the Witch-King, stole (or destroyed) the Wand of Orcus, and slew an avatar of Tiamat in the Abyss, before finally returning to Damara to rebuild in the Year of the Serpent, 1359 DR. Part of this reconstruction effort included the building of the Damaran Gate, a fortress for Gareth's branch of the Order of the Golden Cup. Gareth hoped to attract more paladins to his ranks, and the Golden Cup paladins formed the cornerstone of his army.
It was said that during the Time of Troubles, when Ilmater walked the Bloodstone Lands, he met with Abbot Lanark, a traveling priest of the Golden Cup while clothed as a holy man. The Abbot, not understanding who he had met, offered the holy man a sip from his drinking cup. This act of kindness greatly pleased Ilmater who transformed the cup into a copy of his own chalice, one of the most sacred to Ilmater's artifacts
When Garath Dragonsbane began construction on the Damaran Gate, he chose Abbot Lanark to lead the Bastion of the Golden Cup. It was during the construction that demons infiltrated the workcrews. They slew the Abbot and stole the Chalice. The remaining paladins and priest of the Triad chose Abbot Gaius as the new head of the Bastion. This act of subterfuge and mayhem has galvanized the Order. The Order now saw that destroying the demonic threat was part of their charge to protect and heal. They now seek to heal the divisions, mistrust and anger caused by the demons' deceptions and protect against further infestations of demonic activity. They also seek to recover Ilmater's Chalice before the demons can corrupt its power.
Golden Cup paladins were particularly common in Damara by 1372 DR. By this time, Gareth Dragonsbane was king of Damara.
Priesthood
Many members of the Chalice are paladins, priests, and fighters. Mortality is high among the membership of this combative affiliation, and as such the Golden Cup is always looking to induct new members of sufficient piety.
The Order is not a vengeful organization, and freely allows members to leave its ranks. If a member departs due to falling from paladinhood, fiendish possession, or alignment change—or tries to covertly corrupt the Golden Cup from within after suffering one of these fates—the Unbroken Council dispatches an exorcism squad that is more inclined to smite first and ask for repentance by means of speak with dead much later.
Granted Divine Powers
Renown
Members earn renown by undertaking quests and missions for the order, and routing out the influence of fiends in Faerun. They are aligned with the Gray College in Bloodstone City, as the two share very similar goals. However, the Order only focuses on fiendish activity, while the Gray College would like to thwart any extraplanar activity on Faerun. While the Order once had its own system of ranks and privileges, Order members would start at the rank of Initiate and then proceed through the ranks of Medicant, Revered Healer, Revered Defender, and Revered Binder. The recent merging with the churches of Tyr and Torm have brought with them a unified system of ranks for members of the Church of the Triad. While some older members still use the previous titles, most have switched to the Triadic rankings. The influx of paladins and clerics of Tyr and Torm has helped with their new mission and purpose.
Type
Religious, Holy Order
Parent Organization
Deities
Location
Controlled Territories
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