Holy Temple of the Goddess Who Walked the World

History of the Temple

The Dominant Faith of the Onalean, the Temple of the Goddess Who Walked the World, the will of the Temple is a power in of itself, commanding their own levies and collecting their own taxes, the Temple is a political force on par with the Crown and nobles.

The Goddess Who Walked The World

In the Year 128BIC or 32BS(Before Sacrifice), the Small Village of Ardisis would beset by a Great Storm, it would tear trees from the ground, strikes of lightning would strike the thatch roofs of the town, and the Temple dedicated to their unnamed Sea God would be consumed by a tidal wave, swallowing the temple whole, taking with it the Temple Priest and the faithful who sought shelter. When the Storm passed, the town and Détient of Ardisis would be left in ruins, the few scattered survivors left hollow and without hope, and it was here that a miracle was discovered. Within the Half-lost ruins of the Temple, a cry was heard by a woman looking for the remains of her husband, and she found under a fallen tapestry a newly born baby, completely dry and with Golden Eyes.

The Young Babe, who's very survival seemed unnatural to the people of Ardisis, was hailed as a miracle, with the people of nearby towns coming to see the child and even the Comté of Ardisis wishing to see the Baby, with many proclaiming the miracle as a sign that the girl and Ardisis was favored by a mighty God, and this Girl was their gift unto the World. However, as quickly as the girl came to them, she was taken in the dead of night by someone , and for 18 years the babe was missing, her disappearance mourned by the people of Ardisis, with the Town and Détient falling into disrepair and near ruin, with only the elderly and Ill Comté Bartholomieu de Ardisis, and a small group of servants still residing in the Détient, with the town nearly fully abandoned save the Women Orbella, who originally found the young Baby.

Upon the 18th Anniversary of the Great Storm that rocked Ardisis, a young woman, accompanied only by a Golden Furred Dog, a Hazel Colored Horse and a Half Blind Mercenary named Albert, wandered into Ardisis, it is said when she met the Women Orbella, Orbella would break into tears and fall to her knees, for when she looked into the Young Girl's Eyes, she found the same vibrant Gold of the Young Babe she had found in the temple 18 years prior. Soon After the Young Girl would meet with the Comté Bartholomieu, and it is said that with but a single touch of her hand upon his forehead, she cured him the Illness that plagued him for near on 20 years, granting him new life and vigor.

Following his miraculous recovery, it is said the young Women, who bore the name Solène, would walk all the land of Onalean, with nothing but her Dog, Horse and Adoptive Father as company. She would perform miraculous feats of healing, brought joy and new life to all who asked, and would in feats of great trial, refute the many temples and gods of the Onalean with but words and simple action. During the Course of her travels, Solène would often spend much of her time in the territory of the Comté of Darland, Hatfordia and Lorquil, these 3 Comté would become prominent sponsors of her mission across the lands of the Onalean.

After nearly a decade and a half of travel, Solène would come to the Grand City and Hold of Ducs Erec de Dartiny, who would, unlike the many in the past, refuse to allow her entry into his city, instead demanding her stand trial for insulting his God. She would pass every trial laid before her: Walking over burning coals without scarring her feet, avoiding any temptation in the midst of debauchery and even not drowning when in a fit of rage, the Ducs ordered her chained and water boarded until she no longer breathed.

Eventually, the pressure on the Ducs by his temple, and his growing rage and contempt for the Women, would lead him to ordering her execution, accusing her of witchcraft, he would have her bound to a stake, along with her Dog, Horse and Adoptive Father, and have them all burned alive. It is said that all four never made a noise while burning, not even the animals struggled when the flames consumed them.

Age of Unraveling

The Death of Solène would strike a match across the realms of Onalean, like a wildfire religious fervor would consume the people, temples dedicated to the hundreds of gods of Onalean were stormed and sacked, their false gods blamed for the murder of Solène by the rabid fanatics who now praised her in the place of their old patrons. No where was safe for those who did not repent, the only temples to survive were those dedicated to goddesses of fertility, motherhood, charity and other such roles, for their priests instead threw open the doors and poured the wealth of their temples into the crowds, proclaiming their goddess one and the same as Solène, a goddess who walked the world to do good work, and struck down by worshippers of false gods.
The Idea that Solène was a goddess was not a new one, when she still lived, she denied the existence of any the gods and goddess of the temples across Onalean, in their place many priests and the people she helped took to worshipping her, uttering prayers in her name and in many cases temples redesigned their statues and art to depict Solène instead of their old patrons. It was these temples that threw open their doors when she was murdered, who proclaimed her the one true Goddess in defiance of the other temples.

The support of these temples and the sheer magnitude of chaos would lead to the rise of a new order within the lands of Onalean, born in the rejuvenated city of Ardisis, the Holy Inquisition of Solène would be born of a brotherhood of like minded warriors, priests, preachers and religious outcasts. Together they declared themselves enemies to all the false gods of the lands, enemies to all the lords that denied the light of Solène, and protectors of the new temple. Like a tidal wave the Inquisition grew without restraint and spread across all 4 corners of the lands of the Onalean, they sacked the holds of those who denied Solène and welcomed those who accepted her into the fold, soon they became more then simply the dominant power in Onalean, they became the only true power.

The Early Inquisition was commanded by a man named Lionel Villeneuve, a young warrior who said Solène came to him when she still walked the World, placing her hand upon his forehead and helping heal a wound from years ago when he served in his local lord's levy. Villeneuve was known as an uncompromising fanatic, he would take any insult or defiance of the Worship of Solène as a personal insult, often reacting violently, but was also well known for his strategic thinking and being an excellent swordsman, his leadership propelling the Inqusition alwats forward.

The Holy Inquisition would after decades of fighting and conflict come to the city of Dartiny, the place their Goddess was murdered by the Ducs, and put it to the sword. The Grand Temple dedicated to their god was razed to the ground, his priests were put to the stake to die as she had, and the very Hold of the Ducs was put to siege, the vast army of zealots intent on killing the man, now old and grayed since his heresy, however they never got the chance.

There remain two theories on what happened that night, the most popular and one endorsed by the Holy Temple of the Goddess Who Walked the World, is that Ducs Erec de Dartiny, atop the battlements of his Hold looking out at the siege camp in the ruins of hsi city, was granted a divine vision from Solène, who admonished him for his crimes against her, but promised his family mercy if he were to give her followers justice, and so in an attempt to make amends and save his family, Erec de Dartiny threw himself from the walls of his hold onto the ground below, with the next day his Son Beumont de Dartiny opening the gates and surrendering to the Holy Inquisition.

The Second theory, far less common and only spoken by those scholars when the Inquisition and priests are not near, is that Erec de Dartiny was intent on fighting till the last, not wishing to bow down to these heretics and their false goddess that he had killed, only for his own Son Beumont to push him from the walls and surrender the hold to keep his life and title of Ducs by embracing the reign of Solène.

No matter the truth of Erec de Dartiny's death, he was dead and his son Beumont had accepted Solène as not just his goddess, but the only divine being in existence, and all others as false and those who followed them heretics. For his new found Zealotry, and the fact his hold was the greatest left after the destruction of so many others, the Inquisition would invite him, along with the last of the lands nobles, religious leaders and others to Ardisis to decide the fate of the newly united realm of Onalean.

The Conclave of Ardisis

Gathering in the city of Ardisis, this conclave would discuss matters political and religious, the intricacies of the ladder being the most important for the fate of the Temple and worship of all . Among the gathering was what remained of all the Noble Families of the Holds left standing, the leaders of the Inquisition and the most prominent priests of the Temples dedicated to Solène

Among the Gathering Representatives of the temples and Inquisition, the first question raised on the future of the faith was that of organization. In the history of the Onalean, the temples were never more then local institutions tied to their towns and Détient, worship of their respective gods for their local community and not much further, but now temples across all Onalean, from great cities to small villages praised the same Goddess, sung songs and spoke prayers to the same women, and these temples needed to organize.

There was extensive back and forth between different temples, the nature of a united Temple, the concept of an organized hierarchy spanning all Onalean, would local temples be granted autonomy or answer strictly to a higher Temple authority, where would a head of the Temple be based, what would the requirements be to be part of the clergy, how one would rise to position of leader of all the Temple and a myriad of other topics.

After Months of discussion of both topics Religious and Secular, the Conclave of Ardisis would end and the structure of the new Temple was decided, while local temples were to be granted the right to operate with minimal formal oversight, a collection of stories about Solène, prayers and hymns, special songs and religious practices was made to define the process of worship and unite the many temples in worship of Solène.

The Inquisition would also see a reform during the Conclave, made to downsize its operations, the Inquisition came under the control of the Temple, serving as it's militant element to protect the temple.

Temple Organization

With the formal organization of the Temple, the many priests and preachers came together to elect the first among them to take over leadership of the Temple, unsurprisingly the first follower of Solène, head of the Grand Temple in Ardisis and the Women who first found her as a baby, Orbella was named the Mother of the Temple, and as her first act would Coronate Beumont de Dartiny as the first King of Onalean. Taking up residence in the Grand Temple of Ardisis, Orbella would serve as the First and Last Mother of the Temple, establishing the early hierarchy of The Temple.


While the Grand Temple of Ardisis would directly administer the affairs of Ardisis, it would instead establish a group of Upper officials, known as Clerics, to administer several Temples across the Realm. The extent of a Clerics' influence would depend on location, the Cleric of Dartiny holds sway over the Temple of the Capital and not much else, but the grandness of the Temple and it's position in the capital gives the Cleric extensive influence on religious and secular politics, while the Cleric of Lorquil administers the temples of the Comte but lacks much influence on the greater politics of the Realm.

When Orbella passed, the Clerics of the Faith gathered in Ardisis to elect a new leader of the Temple and choose the young Cleric of Ardisis, and Orbella's own disciple Dianne Dufour, establishing the long running tradition of which only a Maiden can govern the Church, with Orbella being the only exception as the First and Last Mother of the Church. From that Point Forward the Maiden of Solène, and Conclave of Light, a council staffed by the Religious Clerics, would administer the Temple's affairs and continue leading the faithful of Solène further.

Beyond the Clerics and Maiden, individual temples are headed by a Prior, who oversees the day to day functions of a temple, directing the Priests and Monks and leading religious ceremony.Under the Prior are the Priests and Monks of any temple, while priests serve traditional roles of the faith, monks are a specialized order within temples of men and women who have sworn vows of silence, strictly prohibited from ever speaking outside very specific circumstances.

Outside the Regular Clergy, every temple is staffed by members of the Inquisition. Most temples have just a few on hand, while the largest temples have hundreds of members of the Inquisition housed within. Inquisition members are typically housed in a seperate barracks adjacent to the temple, and are dressed in the traditional uniform. Only a temple's Prior is permitted to issue orders to the Inquisition in their specific temple, with the Prior holding rank over the Inquisiiton Captain in the Temple.

Temple Beliefs

The most central tenant to the Temple is Faith in Solène, she has many names to her worshippers, but the most identifying is that of the Goddess Who Walked the World, often shortened to simply the Goddess, she is central to the faith of the Temple. The ideas of what makes a good worshiper is centered around the stories of when she still lived, acts of charity, rejection of false gods, kindness for others and adherence to her Temple

The Temple has established strict religious orthodoxy, with the story of Solène well documented in the Sainte Vérité, alongside the official prayers, songs, hymns and traditions outlined within its pages, despite this strict outline within the Book, there exists a small variety of beliefs ranging from temple to temple, often centered around either stories of Solène visiting the temple and community from before her death, or self reported miraculous events of Solène appearing to the temple.