Kazusada the Elite
Saint of Rulership, Bureaucracy, and Aristocracy
Titles: Kazusada the Elite, Lord of the Twelve Courts, The King of Kings, The Treasuremonger, Infernus's End, The Imperial, The Taneslayer, The Devil's Dirge
Favored Weapon: Bastard Sword
Alignment: Fire
Elemental Lord: Nisrithan, Queen of the Inferno
Obedience: Spend one hour tending to your appearance and your gear, as well as penning a small poem or writing about the treasures you lost or gained the day prior. Once written, affix it to your armor or clothing with wax.
Effect: You are immediately aware of the status, location, and value of all your monetary and invested wealth. You are made aware immediately if someone steals from you as well as a loose descriptor of what they took, but do not recieve more information than this. Gain a +2 bonus on Appraise and Knowledge(Nobility) checks, and you can make Knowledge(Nobility) checks untrained.
Divine Domains
Fire, Nobility, Rune,Law(Judgement, Legislation, and Loyalty Subdomains Only), Trickery(Deception and Greed Subdomains Only)
Holy Books & Codes
The Charter of the Twelve Courts
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A kiteshield emblazoned with two imperial dragons intertwining, two crossed longswords behind the shield.
Tenets of Faith
Protect your lessers, for they are your treasures. Afford unto your lessers ample supplies, protection, and opportunities, that you may uphold your glorious visage. Without the commoner, there can be no Aristocrat.
Be the bulwark of bureaucracy. As one of the chosen few, protect the letter of the law, know it well, and fight the just fight in the courts, contracts, and negotiations you engage in.
Excellence is supreme. Bear the burden of those above the rest, and maintain the visage of perfection. Show no weakness and admit no fault openly - he who is greater must appear so always.
A ruler must be beholden to his people. Work in the interests of your constituents and lessers before your own. Give each goal your all, for you fight for all who rely on you, not just yourself.
Those who bend or break the law must be punished. See to it those who bend or break the law to suit their own ends are punished appropriately.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
To protect the rights of the aristocracy are protected, and the ruling class is kept pure and uncorrupted.
Followers & Priesthood
Saint Kazusada's followers almost exclusively make up the upper echelons of each society they exist in - his followers are almost entirely made up of nobles, arisocrats, and even kings and queens and tyrants. He is the patron saint of the upper class, though that doesn't mean the commoners are not familiar with him - for those nobility who bear the mark of Kazusada are, to the commoner, one of the "True Elite", and someone to be trusted to govern them well. His followers do not often gather into churches, and place their ranking in society above their ranking in the faith - gatherings of the faithful tend to be clubs that can be best be likened to "Gentleman's Clubs", where followers of Kazusada in a given city or even a section of that city gather in relaxed environments at regular intervals to discuss politics, the aristocracy, and matters of state - there is almost no ranking in the faith, and the hierarchy is instead created based on one's ranking in the noble structures of the area. The most powerful member of the faith in a given city is often placed in charge of the "Clubs" or "Lodges" where they gather, and often sets up and arranges the meetings, as well as the topics of those meetings, if any - these "Clubs" and "Lodges" are often kept somewhat secret, but not out of malice...instead, they do so out of a desire to keep the matters of nobility in the circles of nobility - there is simply no need for others to concern themselves over such things, they believe. Followers of Kazusada typically dress in incredibly fanciful, elegant garments fitting to the area, region, or country they are inhabiting - from the riotously colorful, frilly, overdesigned garments of the Axiomi to the slim elegance of the Ustanan people, they are almost always fashionable, sleek, and well-dressed. Those of the faith with a penchant for battle who find themselves wearing armor blend form with function, and strive to wear suits of armor that are both functional and provide a look behooving a member of the true aristocracy. They care immensely about their appearance, and groom themselves thoroughly. The exact standards they hold themselves to can vary from region to region, but are always incredibly high - appearing slovenly or ungroomed is a sign of immense weakness, and is almost never tolerated amongst the faithful.Ethics
To outsiders, the ethos of the Kazusadan creed can seem incredibly arrogant - they believe in protecting their lessers such as the commoners and the like as well as providing for them with genuine care and desire, but not out of selflessness - the followers of Kazusada believe that since Nobility cannot exist without the commoners beneath them, as the "Upper Class" who is inherently better than their lessers, they must protect those beneath them to uphold their own image. They see commoners and their lessers as their "treasures" that belong to them, as things to be protected and guided - the nobles are better and greater, but they know the value of the common man - not only do they exist to let the nobility shine, but they are the backbone of any country. Followers of Kazusada are obsessed with upholding the nature of the Aristocracy, and though they will always provide for their lessers they will not entertain the notion of commoners ruling themselves - such a thing is the job of the nobility, not the commoners. They believe that it is their divine duty to serve as the protectors of the land's laws and bureaucracy - to ensure that corruption cannot touch the ruling class and that they remain beholden to those beneath them, and cannot tolerate those who abuse and needlessly punish or decimate their lessers, or those who use the word of law to corrupt and trick others, like Devils. In this way, their ethics are arrogant, but pure-hearted - they hold themselves to an insanely high ethical and moral standard, and place a great burden on their shoulders - they are greater, thus the burden they must bear is greater in turn. They do not believe a true noble should ever show weakness or a "crack" in his perfect facade in any company - nobility do not have the luxury of commoners to speak their true minds or appear as they wish, and consider both as some of the many luxuries they cannot afford. Finally, the followers of Kazusada cannot stand and constantly strive to punish those who fall to corruption or wish to abuse their positions - no matter the law's interpretations, the WORD of that law is sacred to them, and the letter of the law is something they defend with zealous vehemence - no matter the excuse, bending or twisting the laws in one's favor is the work of the corrupt, not the glorious golden aristocracy. They are often extremely talented lawyers and litigators, and on more than one occasion have followers of Kazusada served as the legal bulwarks against the trappings of Devils and others who seek to twist the law to their own ends.History
It is no exaggeration to say that there are none alive who do not know the story of the Saint Kazusada Asagawa, founder of not one, but two of the greatest countries in the history of Zheng-Kitar. As the legendary hero-king who founded the titanic Shaoshu Empire, he founded the first empire of Zheng-Kitar's age of Imperialism, founding an empire so utterly titanic that it encompassed the entire central valley of the continent, from the Tianzhao Peaks in the west to the Guezhan Mountains in the east - encompassing dozens of cultures and ethnicities, he accomplished the impossible and founded an empire so vast and mighty it would last for nearly a thousand years. As the man who put down and executed the legendary Jabberwock, one of the legendary tane, he founded the very system of the aristocracy as it is known today, using his own immense political weight and noble soul to form the ruling class of his empire, who would go on to inspire countless other kingdoms and aspiring empires. As the High King of Shaoshu, he then went on to lead his mighty armies to the west, founding the Asagawan Conglomerate - a unique kingdom run entirely by a council of the aristocracy where the "Emperor" was little stronger than his nobles. This kingdom would be ruled by his son, though it would fall to the legendary Narixian Empire started by the famed Saint Sunder the Raucous some time later. For all his deeds in life, from the establishing of two great empires, the slaying of the jabberwock, to his legendary defeat of Infernus, the enormous demon born of Yeman influence that rose from the continent's biggest Supervolcano, or even his single-handed outsmarting of the Yema known as Asmodeus that would ban the Yema God from ever setting his or his follower's feet on Zheng-Kitaran soil even now, in the modern day - it came as little surprise to all that, upon his deathbed, the legendary Saint Kazusada passed into legend and ascended into the pantheon of Saints of the Good Elemental Lord of Flame, Nisrithan, Queen of the Inferno, for his contributions to law and heroic life and accomplishments. Ever since, untold thousands have flocked to the church of Saint Kazusada in the hopes of emulating their hero, and leading a life even a fraction as noble and mighty as his.
What we do, we do for those beneath us - as their betters, the burden rests on our shoulders to provide for them, both in supplies and law. To this end, you will never find one of the true aristocracy oppressing his people - for without them, we are nothing. Dirt must exist for marble to shine so gloriously, after all.
Divine Classification
Elemental Saint
Alignment
Children
Example Divine Oaths
Oath of the Marshall: Ensure every wrongdoing is punished under rule of law or trial only, as appropriate. Start every job you finish and fulfill all your promises or contracts. Never disobey or allow harm to come to a figure of authority or civilized law.
Oath of the Litigator: Make sure each contract, deal, or piece of legislation you sign or enter into works in your benefit. Seek out and punish those who use the word of law to insidiously attack others so they sign away that which they care about, such as Devils. Never knowingly break the word of law, no matter its spirit or interpretation.
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