Church of Eriu

Roleplaying Notes

Stereotypical playstyles for a follower of Eriu are a holy paladin, an honorable vigilante seeking justice, a cocky duelist, and a blind judge.

Mythology & Lore

Legendary Items and Weapons Associated with Eriu

The Banner of Justice

A yellow and white cloth banner emblazoned with a lance and shield. There have been many forgeries of the Banner over the years, but none of them have the power of the Banner of Justice. The banner has two main properties: when unfurled by someone following Eriu’s ideals, the banner radiates a 120ft aura of courage that makes everyone allied with the wielder immune to fear and charm effects and gives advantage to see through illusions; when flown at the top of a structure, everyone within that structure has the benefit. The Banner of Justice has appeared multiple times in many battles of the years, but is currently lost. Legend says that the banner once flew at the Vodacce capital, centuries ago, but was stolen.

The Crown of Leadership

Appears to be a simple golden circlet, but in reality, it is a powerful and intelligent artifact. The Crown of Leadership is worn by the General of the Eriu church and provides advice and experience of any who have worn it previously. In addition to the advice and experience, the crown allows the user to cast Circle of Power 3/day, Mass Suggestion 1/day, and Mind Blank 1/day and sets the user’s Wisdom and Charisma to 20.

The Silver Shield of Eriu

A +3 heater shield emblazoned with Eriu’s golden lance. While attuned to the shield, you cannot be petrified, frightened, charmed, blinded, deafened, or stunned.

Tenets of Faith

The Duties of the Clerics of Eriu

The primary duty of every priest is to serve justice honorably, fairly, and with valor. All other duties are secondary to this duty, even if that means to break the law. If the law is not just, it is the duty of the priest to work towards changing the law and balancing the scales, even if it means working against an unjust government.
It is the duty of a priest of Eriu to lead courageously in their quest for justice and to teach others what it means to be honorable. A Priest must act with honor. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they must always tell the truth.
A priest must always judge a duel in good faith. A priest of Eriu acts with valor. Retreat when necessary, but never act with fear and cowardice.

Forbidden to Eriu

• Cheating, especially in a duel, is not only dishonorable, but sacrilegious.
• Turning down a duel because of fear is forbidden. Any honorable duel offered with true intention must be accepted.
• Committing injustice is sacrilegious.

Sacred to Eriu

• The duel is a holy act that Eriu uses to show her will.
• Seeing justice done.
• Bravely stepping forward when all hope is lost.

Typical Offerings

• For a follower of Eriu, first blood from duel is always given to Eriu.
• Whatever can be used for those who need help. At its most basic, this can mean coins, but food and clothing are also common.

Worship

Areas of Worship

Capistrello is the capital of the Eriu church and the site of the Grand Arena, the largest temple to Eriu in the world. The Grand Arena is organized and operated by the church of Eriu.

Oaths

• Oath of the Crown
• Oath of Devotion
• Oath of the Watchers

Holidays

Tournament Week is a week-long tournament of duels to see who will be crowned the champion. The prize of tournament week is different every year, but it is always valuable.
Tournament week in Eisen is a combination of historical style tournaments of jousting, fencing, and sword fighting, but also more modern sports like boxing. Large pavillions and fields are set up outside of town for the event with each day featuring a different focus of martial prowess.
Combatants may choose to participate in one competition or many, earning points and prizes as they go.  Each competition has a small prize and trophy but the grand prize is unique every year.

Common Sayings and Blessings

"Honor is lighter than a feather, but heavier than a crown" - A saying that means at face value, it is easy to follow an honorable path, but honor can also create difficult decisions. It can also mean that it is easy to lie and cheat, but being honorable isn’t .

Priesthood

Head of the Church

General Carmela Alessandro is a strong, imposing woman, who rose through the ranks of the Eriu church on wit, tactical acumen, and bravery. She has pushed the church to be more apolitical in recent years, while still serving the needs of the people.
General Carmela lives in the Vodacce Capital of Capistrello, where she serves as an advisor to the Vodacce government. Many members of the church are assigned cities that they work out of.
The temple of Eriu in Novandria is called Honor's Embrace

Church Organization

There are three branches of the Eriu church, each serving a specific purpose

Knights of the Crown

Knights of the Crown are leaders and advisors, and many come from a noble background. They are taught how to lead, from the president of a university to business owners. Having a Knight of the Crown tutor, or having a Knight of the Crown teacher is a prestigious honor, and many very successful people are trained by them.

Knights of the Feather

Knights of the Feather are expert duelists, most of which master the art of Blade Dancing. They take up the symbol of the feather to signify that honor weighs no more than a feather. Knights of the Feather are light on their feet, and serve as the tactical leaders of the church, and are more proactive than the other branches.
Knights of the Feather are considered their most militant arm, though Knights of the Crown are the second most common.

Knights of the Veil

Knights of the Veil are experts of justice and law. A Knight of the Veil takes up the blindfold, or the veil, in order to show that justice is blind and served equally to all. They serve as judges and neutral third parties, and it is a matter of pride and honor that they remain apolitical. Knights of the Veil serve the church in all matters of discipline.
Each Order of Knights has the following ranks. They hold equal responsibility across orders and will usually form a triumvirate to lead the local church if there are enough members.

• Colonel - Signified by a wreath, colonels have authority over a country.
• Captain - Signified by a banner, captains have authority over counties or states.
• Sergeant - Signified by two lances and shields, sergeants have authority over small cities.
• Corporal - Signified by a single lance and shield, corporals have authority over soldiers.
• Soldier - Signified by a shield, soldiers are lay members and initial members

Above all, the Colonel is the General of Eriu. The General has full command of the church, but takes advice from the Colonels.
The General earns their authority by a vote of confidence from the Corporals, and it is common for the Corporals to test the General for knowledge of each branch. Each branch creates a council of Corporals that must vote whether the General has met their approval.
A General may be removed by a vote of no confidence from a single branch for any reason. Upon a successful vote of no confidence, the General must duel their accuser or an appropriate representative under the eyes of Eriu. If the duel is honorable, and the General loses, they step down and the next General is elected. It is fully expected that Eriu will decide the winner of this duel.
There is more than one of each rank, except General, and each one works with the rank above them to be assigned a specialty that they’re in charge of. (e.g. a Bladedancer Corporal would be a Bladedancer trainer over other Soldiers, etc)

Clothing

Knights of the Crown commonly wear loose-fitting tabards and surcoats of yellow and white, over armor or not. A knight of the crown has a thin golden wire circlet that they wear on their head.
Knights of the Feather typically wear tight-fitting vests and doublets with gold and white. The signature item of a Knight of the Feather is a single gold and white feather in a cavalier hat.
Knights of the Veil wear robes of white and yellow with a veil or blindfold over their eyes. It is actually possible to see through the veil or blindfold, but it gives the impression that the judge is objective and impartial.
Priests of Eriu have gold pins to denote rank on their collars.

Membership

Criminals and people with a dishonorable reputation may not join the priesthood without making reparations for their crimes or repairing their reputation.

Typical Followers

• Nobles, especially nobles that follow a code of honor, are the most likely to follow Eriu.
• Criminals seeking a fair trial, or the innocent charged with crimes pray to Eriu for justice.
• Those that seek justice for crimes against them, and those that cannot get justice anywhere else.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Interaction with Society

Especially in Vodacce, this church helps with the judicial process, either by serving as judges, or providing public defenders for people.
While not necessarily helping the poor directly, the church of Eriu uses their donations to assist the lower middle class find work and go to colleges.

Ceremonies

• Sanctioning of all formal duels.
• The beginning and ending of trials.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Leader

Carmela Alessandro

Divines

• Eriu, Goddess of Valor

Controlled Territories

• The Grand Arena

Notable Members

• Carmela Alessandro

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Religions of Terranon