Church of the Silver Flame

The Church of the Silver Flame was the state religion of Thrane. The followers of the religion were called the Purified and they worshiped the Silver Flame, a righteous and cleansing flame that gives power to those willing to protect the innocent.

Overview

The Church is a monotheistic theocracy that rules the nation of Thrane. Their leader is known as the Keeper of the Silver Flame and resides in Flamekeep, the capital city of Thrane. The Church is made up of three organizations: the Templars, the clergy, and the ministry.
Clergy - Made up of priests (women and men), referred to as “brother” and “sister”. Preach the church doctrine and serve at churches across Khorvaire. Their leadership is known as the Council of Cardinals.
Templars - Originally holy knights, in the modern era they operate as missionaries and relief aid. Essentially the Red Cross. Referred to as “ser”. Serve throughout Khorvaire but focus their efforts away from the Five Kingdoms.
Ministry - Made up of priests and templars and forms the government. Add the title of “bright” to their other prefixes. For example , a female priest who is also a minister would be “Bright Sister Tera”, or a male templar would be “Bright Ser Magnus”.

Important Figures

Keeper Jaela Daran

• An 11-year old human girl who was anointed as Keeper of the Flame in 993YK. She is a dark-skinned girl with silver eyes and hair. She is a powerful cleric.

Bright Cardinal Deroche

• The Head of the Council of Cardinals and de-facto leader of the Church.

Bright Ser Corbyn

• A male goliath and head of the Templars.

Flamewatcher Monast

• Female tiefling and head of the Torchbearers, Thrane's intelligence agency.

Tira Miron

• The jesus-like messiah figure of the church. When people speak of her (often just as “Tira”) they touch their foreheads and then point to the sky. This is also a general sign used by the church

History

The Church of the Silver Flame was founded in the early centuries of the Kingdom of Galifar by the sacrifice of a brave woman, Tira Miron. The church's influence spread throughout the centuries, but its heart remained in Thrane. During the Last War, King Thalin declared independence in the name of spreading worship. When Thalin died, the Church stepped in to replace the monarchy with a theocracy.

The Lighted Crusade

In 229 YK, a pillar of crimson fire erupted on the shore of Scions Sound. Dark and vile creatures crawled from the ground, and the people grew to fear and distrust each other. The Year of Blood and Fire was filled with terrible loss of life -- but also hope. A much smaller, silver pillar of fire appeared near what would become Flamekeep. Using it's power, a number of paladins and clerics marched against the Archfiend and his armies in what would later be called the Crusade of Flames.
In their final confrontation, a human woman named Tira Miron gave her life to become one with the Silver Flame and leapt into the flaming chasm, plunging her sword into the Archfiend's body. A massive explosion rippled out, and the dark, crimson flame was transformed into a cool silver fire.
While Tira's body perished, her soul persisted and she became the Voice of the Flame. A new city grew around the site of Tira's sacrifice, and eventually the capital of Thrane moved from Daskaran to Flamekeep. From then on, the church was led by a Keeper, one who could clearly hear the voice of Tira and had a natural connection to the Silver Flame.

The Crusade of Silver

In 832 YK, the church announced the Crusade of Silver, a church-sanctioned eradication of the lycanthrope disease. During the 7th century, lycanthrope had spread through the lower classes in Khorvaire, but had become fairly well-managed. Despite this, attacks did still occur. While many people supported the church's desire to stop the spread of the disease, the church's response has become a black spot in their history.
In a night that has come to be known as the Night of the Bloody Moon, the church sent Templars aided by Torchbearer information to kill every known werewolf instead of attempting to cure them. The slaughter killed more than 50,000 in a single night. The church, despite backlash, spent the next 3 years hunting down the remaining infected people before declaring in 835 YK that the crusade had ended and that lycanthrope had been eradicated from Khorvaire for good.

The Last War

The Last War changed everything for the church. Thalin ir'Wynarn echoed Queen Joliana's language, proclaiming a vision of a new kingdom devoted to the Silver Flame. In 914, Thalin died of old age, and a combination of popular sentiment and the political maneuvering of the Council of Cardinals led to the church gaining control over the nation of Thrane.
While this has empowered the church in the world, critics say that the concerns of the state are a distraction and avenue for corruption. The Torchbearers (or TCB) are an example of this, as an organization originally intended just to contain dangerous magical items is now also trying to perform ordinary intelligence work, where the lines are blurrier.

Campaign

Session 10: The True Flame

The Foundation met both Tira Miron and Keeper Jaela Duran inside the pocket-dimension of the dragonshard skull. They revealed that the entire history of the church is a lie. Tira was a paladin of the Templars prior to the church's founding and she discovered the Silver Flame as a natural arcane power focused by the dragonshard skulls, of which there were many. She found that destroying them made the one she carried more powerful. When only two were left, the Archfiend and his horde broke out of the underdark and attacked the surface. The skulls had been a protective network and now it was too late.
After she slew the archfiend, the Templars decided to hide the truth to protect themselves, instead creating the lie we know today. They imprisoned Tira in the dragonshard skull and left her there to serve her time and pay for what she had done.

General Terms and Phrases

Keeper - officially the Keeper of the Flame, the church’s spiritual leader. A Dahli Lama type person.
Council of Cardinals - the ruling body of both the Church of the Silver Flame and Thrane. Made up of the highest echelon of Ministers and led by a Bright Cardinal. Purified - follower of the Church of the Silver Flame.
Arrow and Flame - symbol of the church. A silver arrow head engraved with a flame. Generally worn as a simple necklace.
Brother/Sister - prefix used for a member of the purified clergy.
Ser - prefix used for a member of the Templar Order.
Bright - prefix used for a minister of the church.
“Go with light and warmth” - A common purified saying, typically used when saying good-bye.
“Tira, whose voice is ...” - A common phrase uttered as a sort of blessing after saying the messiah’s name. Refers to the belief that Tira’s voice can be heard to give advice and bless. The phrase is generally ended by adding however people are feeling at the time. For example, “Tira, whose voice has been pretty fucking absent recently” might mean that the person has had a string of bad luck or a generally bad time. Whereas, “Tira, whose voice is ringing in my ears” might be used by someone happy and content with life.
“Tira Fiend-Fucking Miran” - a colorful purified swear common in lower classes of Thrane.
Sign of the Flame - a symbolic gesture where a purified person touches their forehead and then raises their hand to the sky.

Go with light and warmth.

229 - 998

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Purified

Leader

Keeper Jaela Daran

Leader Title

Keeper of the Flame

Subsidiary Organizations

• Templars
• Torchbearers

Notable Members

• Keeper Jaela Daran
• Tira Miron