Brotherhood of Light

The brotherhood of Light is an ancient order of paladins and clerics that have sworn their alligience to the celestials. The brotherhood has historically been a potent force in the history of the mortal kingdoms, but since the events of The Schism, it has fallen into a state of decline.

At it's peak, the brotherhood boasted a significant armed force, and constructed many fortress-like monasteries named 'Sanctums'.

Today however, the brotherhood has significantly reduced numbers and political power, and only one Sanctum remains that is actively used and maintained: The Sanctum of Teseos

Despite it's name-sake, the brotherhood recruits and teaches both men and women to it's ranks.

Structure

The brotherhood is rigidly structured and highly hierarchial.

It is comprised of two sects, The chamber of the Judgement, and the Chamber of the Radiant. Each of these chambers work closely together, but have a different role and ranking structure within the brotherhood.

When a novice first joins the brotherhood (usually at a young age), they will be taken to an appropriate sect to begin their training and studies. At the end of this learning period, novices (or novitiates) are given the lowest rank & title of their respective chamber, and will be accepted into the brotherhood fully as either a Neophyte or an Acolyte.

As Aasimar are revered by the brotherhood as children of the divine celestials, they are given the best tuition and guidance from the most experienced individiuals the brotherhood has to offer. When they are ready, they are immediately given the second from highest rank and title within their respective chamber.

At the second rank, individuals within the brotherhood are 'ordained', a long ceremony involving a holy ritual granting the individual the ability to channel the power of the celestials through divine magick.

The chamber of the Judgement

This chamber serves as the brotherhoods militant arm.

Members of this chamber are colliqually referred to as Paladins or Holy-Knights.

The responsibility of the Chamber of the Judgement is to enforce order, uphold justice and vanquish the more mundane foes of the celestials.

This chambers ranking system works as follows:

Neophyte: Having been trained to a basic standard within the hallowed training grounds in or around their Sanctum, a prospective novitiate at this rank is now permitted to leave the sanctum on holy missions. The will leave in groups with fully ordained Paladins, and be expected to watch, observe, and learn their more experenced brethren in a practical enviroment.
Brother-Knight/Sister-Knight: A fully ordained Paladin. Brothers and Sisters form the rank & file of the Chamber of the Judgement. Commonly, they will serve under an Arbitrator or even an Archon.
Arbitrator: An Arbitrator is a Paladin who has distinguished themselves. They are typically veterans of combat and faith, and will either serve as Captains for groups of lower-ranked Paladins, or as lone-operators on a particurlarly sensitive or dangerous mission.
Archon: The leaders of this chamber. If Arbitrators are equivalent to it's captains, then Archons are surely the paladin-chamber's generals. Archons are expected to have a thorough grasp on both combat and strategy. They dictate who rises through the ranks, and are the finest warriors within a Sanctum, with access to specially crafted holy relics, armour and weapons.

The chamber of the Radiant

This chamber serves as the brotherhoods religious scholars and clergy.

Members of this chamber are colliqually referred to as Clerics or Priests.

The responsibility of the Chamber of the Radiant is to spread the good word of the celestials, to study and interpret the divine will of the celestials, and to be councillors, guides and diplomats to the people.

This chambers ranking system works as follows:

Acolyte: After an initial learning period, a novitiate will be elevated to the rank of Acolyte, at which point they act as an apprentice for a Priest, assisting in matter both significant and trivial.
Priest: When a cleric becomes ordained, they become a priest. Priests are blessed by a Cardinal, allowing them the ability to utilise the divine-power granted by the celestials. Priests are expected to educate commoners and Acolytes on the ways of the brotherhood, and to ocassionally embark on holy missions as commanded by a Cardinal.
Deacon: When a cleric becomes a Deacon, they are expected to leave the region of their home Sanctum, and travel. Deacon's have great levels of sway within the brotherhood, and an unfamiliar Deacon arriving at a Sanctum requesting high-end resources is not uncommon.
Cardinal: The rank and title of Cardinal is the most prestigious one within the brotherhood. Cardinals are able to directly commune with the celestials, and are viewed by the brotherhood as the instrument of their direction and will. Cardinals lead all major religious ceremonies, and form the leadership caste of the overall brotherhood.

Public Agenda

Currently, the brotherhood is looking to expand, and restore itself to it's former glory.

They would like to increase their numbers so that they can re-discover and restore the abandoned Sanctum's after the events of The Schism.

Aside from this, the brotherhood resumes it's previous activities, enforcing order, while interpretting the will of the celestials, effectivily acting as their mortal soldiers and agents.

History

The brotherhood has a long and complicated history. In it's humble beginnings, it was a simple religious clergy, at the height of it's power, a holy order that dispensed law and order across the land.

As the brotherhood grew to a considerable size, it began to wield significant political pressure and power, as at this point in history, The Chamber of the Judgement had a larger standing force than most smaller duchies and kingdoms.

The clergy of the brotherhood also began to turn the belief system of the brotherhood away from an ideological reverence of justice and order, towards the worship of the Celestials themselves as the divine embodiment of justice and order. While most of the brotherhood embraced the changes, murmers of dissent began to grow, particurlarly within the veterans of the Chamber of the Judgement.

While most commoners and even some rulers were happy to serve and assist the brotherhood, much of the nobility began to grow resentful of the holy order, accusing them covertly attempting to control the lands and indoctrinate the people.

At end of the Age of Strife, the brotherhood had grown to it's largest size in recorded history. The Cardinals of the Chamber of the Radiant had turned from gentle meddling of the brotherhood's holy scripture to outright creating new scripture and re-writing old ones.

These new tenets and scriptures revered the Celestials above all else, and included features such as recognising the Aasimar as agents of the divine, granting them much prestige and power.

Other controversial introduced teachings included a total prohibition on the consumption of alcohol, and a requirement to seek the blessing of a Deacon or Cardinal before bearing offspring.

The tightening restrictions and alteration of beliefs and teachings lead to a breaking point that scholars refer to as The Schism, a civil war within the brotherhood of light that resulted in it's rapid decline, as well as the creation of the separatist order known as the Templars.