Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Church of Radiant Hope, Risen Temple, Vidna Obscura

EXAMPLE SECTS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP
I've written previously about the goddesses of the People's Covenant before (here and here), but what do the various faiths that coalesce around them look like?

The Church of Radiant Hope 
The faithful who worship Eska and Verasti at the Church of Radiant Hope see them as emblems of divine optimism. Even after the darkest night, they reason, the sun always re-emerges and spreads its warmth and light across the land. Some adherents of this sect become fanatical in their belief in the triumph of better days over bad; a secretive group of zealots within the Church of Radiant Hope orchestrate disasters within their communities for the purpose of showing the glory of people coming together in the aftermath of a horrible tragedy.

The Risen Temple
The congregation of the Risen Temple reveres Komoa as the Divine Lady of Nepotism. They believe that personal advancement—political, economic, and even spiritual—can only be granted by one placed farther upon the ladder of success. As such, they deliver themselves into bondage to the wealthy, the powerful, and the elite in hopes that their acts of service will ultimately be rewarded with greater influence and eventual positions of authority. In their eyes, it is better to be a useful tool that is polished and well-kept than it is strive to find a use for yourself in an already stratified world.

The Vidna Obscura
This sect worships Orthea as the guiding light of a navigable cosmic mystery. They believe that Orthea doles out esoteric knowledge about the purpose of the multiverse and divine inspiration to those willing to devote their lives to chasing and collecting obscure, occult lore. The faithful of the Vidna Obscura are divided: some believe that apotheosis is the end result of accumulating sacred learning, while others believe that the pursuit of knowledge itself is a form of spiritual rebirth.