Background, style and beliefs of the religion of Valon

From the Chronicles of Brother Jacques:


The Valonese Religion - the Faith:

Real World Sources:

The Faith is mostly based upon Judaism and Christianity, with a bit of my patron deity is better than yours.
The whole ineffable nature of God comes from the Judaic (and mystical) traditions of the Tetragrammaton.
Demons being inherently nasty is pretty much universal.
Dragons as independent Angels comes from Djinn.
Church structure owes most to Orthodox and Catholic Christianity.
Elite Storm Knights - SS, Guardians - hammer and sickle, Sun - swastika / Swedes.
Clergy as teachers rather than intermediaries equates to Rabbis.
Titles are French.
Sainthood owes as much to Buddhism as Catholicism.
Ki / chi / life energy magic owes lots to Eastern (including Buddhist) traditions.

The Faith:

The Valonese religion / the Faith is not Monotheism as other Gods (or at least major Spirits) are undeniably real.

To a believer, the GOD is the most powerful and at least the most benevolent of such Spirits. HIS NAME (it is in the nature of Spirits that have most interaction with Humans to have gender, and most believers reckon that the male aspect is in charge) is ineffable except for a few privilaged priests and mystics. Nor may the NAME normally be written. HE is usually addressed using various euphemisms, as; (the) GOD, (the) LORD(S) / ADONAI, (the) ETERNAL (one) / FIRST (and) LAST, (the) NAME, (the) INEFFABLE, (the) LIGHT, BELOVED, (the) EXALTED , etc.
HIS sacred gesture (and main symbol which is not used particularly often) is a clockwise spiral outwards.
Holy substances include wine, oil and especially incense.
The GOD is the patron Deity of all his believers, the Valonese people, and (according to some theologists, some other cults and some generally Good people as well, although they don't know it).
HE is not the creator of the universe but knows about it (maybe because he was there), and has a pretty deep understanding of how / why things work (Mortals, and even most other Gods, cannot know about such big issues), and may have some of this creative energy (a piece of the First Cause).

The GOD has underlings, which priests call Angels (sometimes Elohim, which equates to minor Gods), although others may regard these as their own Gods / Goddesses.
Of course some things that look like Angels may be imposters.
HE has allies, but obviously none are as suited to Humans (maybe to Elves and such, maybe not, that is the sort of thing that theologians get into heated arguments about).
HE has enemies / rivals, and potentially they could be as powerful. These include Horrid Godlings, Demons and such, that are by nature and action malevolent beings.

Any / none / some of this may be inaccurate.

Non-Church approved magicians, philosophers, alchemists, necromancers, infidel-theologians, and scientists are pushing things, in that they want to understand the deep workings and purpose of Universe. This is Blasphemy and Hubris (and it's bound to lead to all sorts of bad things in the end)
Magicians, alchemists and infidel-priest-mages can be particularly dodgy as they seek to manipulate things using their blasphemous knowledge.
Ki magic, and Spiritual magic from the GOD, his Angels or an allied God (or Angel) is probably OK.

Heretics are believers who have strayed from the official Church. Some don't really matter, except that they set a very dangerous precedent. Of the others, some have been misled by malevolent forces, and have to have their errors corrected, or at least utterly isolated from true believers.
The Church hierarchy has a monopoly of what constitutes acceptable dogma (as well as some forms of taxation, sanction of marriage and kingship, etc., and who gets to be what within the hierarchy).

Demons are innately Evil (and not entirely physical) entities from a parallel plane of existence.
They wish to destroy ultimately the World, having a lot of fun in the process, and therefore are opposed to GOD. They have no morals regarding Humans, thus they commit horrible atrocites without giving it a second thought.
They constantly work to tempt humans into summoning them into C'thain and the Church sees it as its duty to stamp out Demonology and its offshoots before it gets totally out of hand and possession becomes the rule rather than the exception.
Most Demons / Devils (they are the same) are masters of the Forbidden Arts and once summoned in spirit their magic can affect C'thain. Fortunately most Demonologists are careful about not summoning a Demon which is too strong, and binding their summoned entities in such a way as to limit them severely, but Demons are experts in finding loopholes and using them. Some Demonologists are less careful and summon a Demon who is too strong for them, becoming possessed themselves.
Possession is like RIDER WITHIN where the Spirit / Soul of the Demon or Ghost or Demonologist becomes resident in the body of the possessed, and takes control of its will (this is mostly down to willpower against willpower, with the possibility of another struggle if something changes). Some Demons are sneaky about it, the victim not really being aware of his possession, others more blatant.
Blatantly possessed beings tend to behave strangely and seek pleasures of the flesh in extreme for a while (the Demon being unused to feeling anything, and revelling in it) before settling down, usually attempting to gain a position of power in society. Often there is an internal war whereby the Demonologist (if aware of his possession) continually attempts to break free of possession, and refuses to allow the demon to use him and his knowledge to summon more Demons, but his struggles will gradually become weaker until his Soul gradually gets eaten away by the demon. At this point the Demon possessed victim may begin to summon more Demonkind (a Demon cannot summon more Demons, but a living host can be coerced into doing so).
Generally the Demon will try to keep his host alive for as long as possible to keep up the subterfuge. When the Soul dies the body dies and it will resemble a sentient Zombie.
Occasionally a Demonologist who knows he is about to die in battle may summon and allow himself to be possessed by a weak Demon to increase his available powers, hoping to break free later when he has recovered if he survives the fight. In such cases, the Demonologist will seem to be unkillable.
Humans that have been possessed for a long time may begin to appear more Demonic in appearance if the Demon is in blatant control.
Schizophrenia, manic depression or schizoid personality disorder may be possession related illnesses, but they can also be the human brain's response to a trauma - the perception of reality is adjusted to something which the person can deal with, yet it often mirrors the trauma in a twisted way.

The creation of Undead ultimately requires the use of the Forbidden Arts / misuse of the knowledge of Life and Death and perversion of the Natural Cycle, so all Undead are inherently Evil. They are also icky.
There are several types:
The soulless undead such as Zombie / Mummy - merely an animated carcass, having no particular additional Evil in itself. In most places this is regarded with extreme distaste, as meeting a wandering rotting body can be a terribly traumatic experience, especially if it happens to be a relative.
If a Zombie is raised before the 3 day period of lying in state is completed, this can prevent the Soul from moving on; an especially Evil act. If the Soul remains attached, a Zombie can become sentient, and will often be mad, especially if very recently dead.
Powering up a Zombie with part of it's own Soul is particularly nasty.
Creation of other Undead such as a Lich is a willful, Evil, use of the Forbidden Arts to gain power without the balance of emotions and conscience. Such a being is generally unable to sense the difference between right and wrong thereafter, and it is best to destroy it and send the Soul on by any means.
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A Vampire is usually the unwilling recipient of a cursed bite from another Vampire and should be helped if possible before their body dies, or destroyed and the Soul sent on if it is too late. Most Vampires are parasitic on Humans and consider themselves another, superior, race.
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The Draconic Group includes Dragons, Wyrms, River and Sea Serpents, Dragonturtles, Wyverns and a few Miniature types.
They do not seem to be the same as most creatures native to C'thain, as they are hot, their blood is black and they breathe innate magical fire, but there are other small creatures native to the World which are very hot or very cold as well, so this is disputable.
However they seem to interbreed with other creatures of C'thain (possibly giving rise to Lizardmen), so as yet the Church has not come to a decision as to whether they are native or not.
Dragons do not seem to practice the Forbidden Arts, but they may come into dangerous Knowledge when mature (so possibly they can be akin to independent Angels).
The Dragons of Wyrmland used to keep themselves to themselves except for the edges of their territory and used to prey mostly on animals rather than Humans, until Humans meddled in the Great War and got some young adult Dragons involved on both sides (which implies that they were not morally mature). Now Dragons are rather rare, though someone in Reshall keeps young ones as pets (and whether this should be allowed has been hotly disputed).

Giants are native but used to be a much greater and more populous people, they may have been even larger in the distant past. This could be because of their blasphemous Rune Magic has inevitably brought them low. They may or may not be related to Humans. They are now pretty much restricted to Kalad in Reshall.

Reshall: This recent action of Reshall in accepting Kalad and the 12 Towers group of powerful Magickians, as part of themselves can only be due to bad advice, corruption, or the wrong types being in power, and it is likely the Church will make a decision on this soon when more information is available.
Rumour says that many Churches in the town of Igor have been destroyed, but rumour also says that Zombies are rife in that unholy place and there may be Vampires or Liches as well. This could be a very dangerous sign; that Demons may be going to take over soon, or it could just be that the Forbidden Arts are rife in that place. Rumour says it was the original seat of the 12 Towers, now called the Black Tower in Igor.

The Church is an umbrella organisation that includes several quasi-autonomous organisations, mostly called Orders.
Men can advance further in most Orders than women.

The Celibate (White) Priesthood includes Monks and Nuns. Individuals of higher status have mostly withdraw from secular society. Although not universal, many favour (partly) shaven heads and/or beards.
The Non-celibate (Black) Priesthood includes the vast majority of village Priests, Teachers, and a lot of the Lay Brothers within (for example) Militant Orders (called Sergeants). Obviously, being non-celibate, they have to be married. Many of the men cultivate beards, and women favour specific braids.
There may be a Pink Priesthood who are not celibate, but don't marry for some reason.
Pretty much all of the highest positions must be filled by non-Celibates who have become Celibate, usually because their spouse has died. These are neither White nor Black, but above / beyond both.
The Clergy are (mostly) Black Priests who staff shrines, churches and cathedrals.

The Militant Orders are mostly fanatical Knights, recruited from noble families (most Valonese Knights are not particularly holy), although 3/4 of any Order is comprised of slightly less noble Sergeants and others.
A few Militant Orders field different kinds of fighter.
Some of the Holy Orders are bitter rivals. They (unofficially) meet on bridges and occasionally at tourneys, and accidents can happen.

Militant Orders include:

Order of the Storm: Grand Master Chevalier Electeur Geuf Nosain: Knights whose symbol is spiral crossed with thunderbolts (with lots of complicated heraldry as to who gets how many thunderbolts, and which colours - their elite display twin white thunderbolts on a field of pure black).
Order of the Sea: Grand Master Chevalier Electeur Braun Chosse: Knights and mariners whose symbol is a white ship superimposed upon a blue spiral. The wealthiest, least militant, but possibly most useful Order.
Guardians of the Shrine: Grand Master Chevalier Electeur Percy Soirand: whose symbol is yellow hammer (often crossed with another tool or weapon) on a field of red. A small, fanatical but often political Order of Knights (and few Lay Brothers) who guard the Patriarchy and a few sacred sites and treasures. Hated by Storm and Sun Knights.
Order of the Sun: Grand Master Chevalier Electeur Verly Frisson: Knights whose symbol is a golden sun sign (swastika) on a field of blue (Lay Brothers get a simple cross). Mostly big blonde guys from northeastern Valon.
Order of the Pheasant: Grand Master Chevalier Electeur Percival Croissant: includes Knights, but also foot soldiers of relatively low social status, whose symbol is a golden or red pheasant in flight. Useful in rough terrain, but not always appreciated. Members take a vow of personal poverty and often cultivate long and wild hair. Not all are happy with GMCE Croissant being an Electeur as he comes from a long line of bakers.

There are four divisions of brothers in the militant orders: the chevaliers, equipped as heavy cavalry; the serjens, equipped as light cavalry and drawn from a lower social class than the chevaliers; the serving brothers — the rural brothers (frères casaliers), who administered the property of the Order, and the frères de métiers, who performed menial tasks and trades; the chaplains, who were ordained priests and saw to the spiritual needs of the Order.

Ascetic Orders are White (mostly, and excepting most of the top dudes) Monks and Nuns who have taken and individual vow of poverty. Some of them run hospitals, some run businesses. A lot absorb troublesome younger siblings, orphans, unmarried mothers and other people with tricky status within society.
A few Ascetic Monks and Nuns are wandering mendicants, most are mere beggars, but a few are probably the holiest men and women in Valon (and a few of these may have retired from very high positions indeed).

The Contemplative Orders mostly recruit from the White. These are the guys who keep big libraries, and include the official Church sanctioned Theologians and Philosophers (which should amount to the same thing). Monks and Nuns.
Precepteur Electeur Blanc: Guillaume le Chein. In charge of main church heirarchy and non militant orders.
Precepteur Electeur Noir: Foulques d' Edis. In charge of Priests Bishops and Archbishops. His grandfather came from Tarantis, and to some, this puts a shadow on his otherwise flawless eligibility.
The paramount Theological Order is called the Elousie (after Elouise de Jardin, the remarkable woman who founded the Order, the Order's symbol being a rather ambiguous heraldic flower).
It is a fairly small but highly influential Order that advises the Patriarchy (which itself defines acceptible Dogma). Headed by Precepteur Electeur Elousie Isabeau Averre who is a bit of a feminist. Recruit from both the white and the black.
The Inquisition: L'Enquete Curieux" is a Church-political organisation responsible for combating Heresy. Most Inquisitors are recruited from the Elousie, and although (strictly) the Inquisition is answerable only to the Patriarchy, in practice it is an arm of the Elousie. There is no universal symbol, but the flower and flail is most popular. Headed by Precepteur Electeur l'Enquete Gérard de Lagesse.
Another subgroup of the Elousie is the Robbinian Order (or Robbinian-Elousie, whose rarely displayed symbol is, inexplicably a spinning wheel). They are permitted to study the Ways of the Dark: Demons, Magick, etc., and occasionally (and with special dispensation) to practice the Dark Arts... all of course to learn to combat these things more effectively. Headed by Precepteur Robbinian Déodat de Bruissac.
There are actually 2 other Orders permitted to delve into naughty things (largely because the Church, wisely, doesn't trust any single order not to become corrupted): Red Inquisitors (who specialise in exorcism, and affect kinky red robes, and the barbed spiral in gold), and the mystical and downright weird Suhlians (headed by Precepteur Suhlian Albert Blacas) (who, as far as anyone knows, delve into other religions, and have their own hugely diverse symbology). The Suhlians are campaigning to get an Electeur.
Inquisitors are only powerful when the Church feels itself beset by Schism, Heresy or an outbreak of Demons and/or Undead.
In the field, a Theological Investigator might pick up an ally from a Militant Order (ie Jan's Character), not that most of the Militants particularly like Inquisitors and their ilk.

The Leaders of the Church are a small group of men (almost always) called the Patriarchs. They, and a few more Electeurs select new / replacement Patriarchs, invariably for life. These elections can be pretty sordid. Historically there have been 1 to 7 Patriarchs at once, sometimes cooperating, occasionally at war with one another.

An apprentice / assistant priest is called a Diacre.
A pastor or parish / village priest is called a Pasteur or Pretre.
A monk is called a Moine or Frere (brother), a nun Soeur (sister).
An abbot is a Pere Superieur.
A knight is a Chevalier.
An archpriest is called an Eveque (bishop) or Archeveque (archbishop).
A contemplative order is headed by a Precepteur, a militant order by a Grand Master (or a unique title).
Electeurs are sort of cardinals.

Some Priests act as intermediaries between the GOD and laity, but others are emphatically merely teachers.

Saints are people who are particularly holy and/or may have some mystical insight into the workings of the Universe.
They are, for whatever reason, sanctioned / recognised by the Church, and they must either be dead, retired or transformed.
Their status can become similar to Angels.

Western valley of Valon: Where the best wines are grown (debatable).

Valdelon: The capital, which has a large and beautiful cathedral as well as many smaller churches.
Guardians of the Shrine and the Elousie are based here, and most orders, militant or otherwise maintain a chapter house in the capital.
Archeveque de Valdelon: Ugène Gaussier.
Patriarch of Tarantis and other foreign parts: Asper d'Hitor, based at Taranti.
Patriarch of Val d'Oest: Jean de Marque, based in Valdelon.
Patriarch of Val de Nord: Armand Septre, based in Marque.
Patriarch of Val d'Est: Gerand Blaise, based at Leton.
(Note: all existing Patriarchs are Electeurs (but not all Electeurs are Patriarchs). Strictly (but maybe not in practice), the Patriarchs renounce all previous affiliations, and in theory are equal to one another.
Electeurs are the guys who elect new / additional / replacement Patriarchs. They have at least Archeveque / Grand Master rank (some are Patriarchs). The non-Patriarchs keep their affiliations.
An archpriest is called an Eveque (bishop) or Archeveque (archbishop). They run a territory called (arch)Diocese, which includes a Cathedral. Abbeys and such within the Diocese (but not belonging to a powerful Order) are subject to the Eveque. Likely most Archeveques are also Electeurs.)
Stone walled with a superior castle / stonecasters.

Creux: Eveque Renaud. Where most of the mines and apricot trees are. This large town grew up around a crossroads. Has a turf wall.

Chamdemor: Archeveque Raymond de Mallay. Site of a famous battle. Has particularly fertile land. Moated castle and stonecasters.

Corellandre: Eveque Jean-Marc Avonne. City in the western branch of the western valley.

Peutette: Eveque Cerese Marlian. Town in the western branch of the western valley.

Chateau d'Agendisse (hills east of Valdelon), Ch. de Detourner (hills north of Chamdemor) :both fortified manors

Central valley of Valon: Still rather good wines grown here.

Marque: Eveque Arnaud. The most northern town, closest to Tarantis. Strongly garrisoned with stone wall, castle and stonecasters.

Lagess: Eveque Hugues. Very good growing land. Has a turf wall.

Ules: Eveque Raimond du Bois. Very good growing land. On a hill defended by a stone wall and bolt throwers.

Ymer: Eveque Guillaume. A major southern port. Very good growing land. Has a stone wall, keep and bolt throwers.

Eastern Valley: Less good for wine, but very good for keeping animals; cows, sheep, horses, etc.

Ileses: Eveque Gilbert. The Suhlians are based here. Has a fairly ineffective stone wall.

Leport: Eveque Jean-Luc. The first port in Valon - a major southern port on the edge of La Maraise. Order of the Sea based here. Has a stone wall, keep and bolt throwers.

Bonneau: Produces a lot of bog iron. Has a turf wall.

Leton: Eveque Jean Ferrant. The easternmost city of Valon on the edge of La Maraise (the marsh). The Order of the Sun are based here. Defended by a moated castle and stonethrowers.

Ch. de Deraper (near Bonneau / marsh) Ch. de Connaissance (hills north of Leton) : both fortified manors.

Oh and of course everyone involved is encouraged to speak with an outrageous french accent. :-)