Order of the Lightkeepers
The Order of the Lightkeepers is the largest religious institution in the Great Ring, and is associated with the maintenance and upkeep of the Ring of Light. The Order is not a single institution, but rather a collection of nearly six thousand individual priesthoods who cooperate to keep the Ring of Light operating. Individual chapters of the Order can vary widely in their practices and tenets.
The common element that unites the order is the Ring of Light, a network of nearly six thousand lighthouses constructed around the Great Ring. Each of those lighthouses is the home of one or more priests dedicated to the spirit of the lighthouse. In different regions, that spirit may be called a god, a genius loci, an Aku, or one of a dozen other terms used by cultures around the ring. The one constant among the chapters is a dedication to the existence and operation of the lighthouse itself, as it is the physical embodiment of the local spirit.
The individual chapters of the order are all considered equals to each other, and there is not an official hierarchy that encompasses the entire organization. However, some of the chapters are older, larger, or command additional respect for some other reason. The oldest and largest chapter is that associated with the Fáros Óneiro on Lindos - if any person could be said to lead the Lightkeepers, it is the Master Lightkeeper of this chapter. Other significant chapters can be found on Ynys at the Solennefrieden Lighthouse, and on Sazanami at the Tamashii no Akari. Each of these are older institutions that have adopted secondary missions that accord with the nature of the lighthouse's spirit. Secondary missions are common throughout the Order, especially among the older chapters. They are frequently connected with the ideas of guidance, safe travel, and homecoming, but they can be almost anything. These secondary missions also raise the profile of the lighthouses that adopt them, and that can result in more recognition and influence (both from reputation, and through the action of the Egregoric Force).
The lighthouses of the Ring of Light are considered sacred ground by nearly all the cultures around the Great Ring, and especially so by sailors and those who live on the sea. Attacking or hindering the operation of a lighthouse is nearly unheard of, and considered to be unlucky and unwise. There have been occasional instances where the spirit of a particular lighthouse turned towards a darker path that was incongruent with the larger mission of the Lightkeepers, and in those instances, the Lightkeepers from several chapters have taken action to remove the danger from their midst. Thankfully, these instances are rare, and they are not well-known outside of the Order itself.
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