Difference between revisions of "Category:The Church of Dwarden"

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The religion of Mandador has a profound impact upon the people of Dwarden, and there is almost no facet of life in those lands that is not permeated by this awe-inspiring faith. Called only the Power by almost all His adherents in this brave land, Mandador is considered the all-triumphant and all-knowing Creator, whose Voice called the World and the Ten Heavens into existence. The learned clerics of Dwarden propound the mystery that Mandador is composed of three distinct, yet co-substantial beings: the Voice, the Spirit and the Power. However, unlike in the traditional Danian Church, Dwarden holds one of these Divine Persons, the Power, to be supreme to the other two, and the foremost member of the godhead. In centuries past, this belief was yet stronger still, and held that the Power alone was the true godhead, and that the Voice and the Spirit were but aspects or extensions of the Power, but this belief was quashed by the great Thousiersian crusades into Dwarden in the 6th and 7th centuries of Mandador. However, the preference to place the Power as transcendent above the other two Persons of the Deity is profound and is ubiquitous in Dwarden religion iconography.

In the beginning, the Power shaped the world that the Voice had called into existence, and the Spirit of Mandador is said to have imparted the souls and spirits of the World, both great and small. All worshiped the Power at the beginning of these eons past, and the World was as it should be. After setting all things as He willed, the Power then left the World, leaving those He had created to see to their own affairs and fates. The created however fell prey to the lures and whispers of other powers, and with these invitations many scorned Mandador in favor of these other gods. Thus shunned, Mandador turned from the World and departed, and only those very few who kept the Truth received still his blessings and aid. In the fullness of time the last of those who knew and believed in Mandador faded until none were left at all.

After these eons of absence, the Voice of Mandador suddenly returned again, embodied in the mortal man Ramian of Dania. Bearing the Mantle of Mandador, the Voice of the Power brought knowledge of the Creator of the World back to its denizens, and one by one the Power cast out each of the gods that had stolen the souls and spirits of His creations, or otherwise subdued them to a point of utterly submission. To spread His Voice, His Power and His Spirit, the Mantle of Mandador called forth Nine Legates, who received their powers from the laying of hands of Ramian, the Prophet of Mandador. The Fathers of the Church of Dwarden hold that of these nine legates to Creation, the sea elf Yathamian was unique. According to the Book of Nolas, a forbidden holy book from the Tresian heretic saint, Yathamian received his mission from the direction manifestation of the Power, and although the Dwarden Church does not openly hold this view in the modern age, it does however emphasize what Dania accepts that Yathamian received his mandate directly from the godhead, instead of being appointed by or receiving a vision from Ramian. With his mission to evangelize the "South", Yathamian came in two embassies to the lands of Dwarden, the first using raw power to overawe the karden lords there and achieve their submission, and the second focusing upon reconciliation of the faith and appointing a High King of Dwarden. Although eventually leaving to spread the rule and worship of Mandador to other lands, especially Thania and Tresia, Dwarden nonetheless holds Yathamian to be of paramount importance in their Church. The iconography of St. Yathamian is to be seen everywhere throughout Dwarden, and it is he who set down the unique Dwarden traditions such as the special sacerdotal privileges of deacons, the creation of Dwarden's greatest artifacts such as the holy avenger swords

Religious Precepts in the Dwarden Rite

A Tested Faith

The men of Dwarden know that it was the lack of faith of their own people that caused Mandador to abandon them to the evils of the Black Crown, his Abomination, and all their minions. Only once this sin is completely extirpated will the sin be forgiven.

Precepts

Free Will: The Power has no peers, but neither does the Power command all things.

The Power is Above All Others: The Power has no peers, and is supreme among all other powers. There is nothing the Power cannot do, and no force that the Power cannot overcome. The Power sits peerless among all other powers.

The Voice is the Creator of the World:

Traditions

• The Incarnate Power is Unknowable: As in traditional Mandadorianism, Dwarden tradition forbids any direct depiction of the godhead, as this is considered unknowable to any normal mortal being. Dwarden tradition does however hold that Mandador has a central being, and that he sits on his throne upon the Ninth Heaven, and this is taken more literally than it is in the Danian Rite. However, since the reforms of the Thousiersian Crusades in the mid-millennium, the Potestian heresy of a Power that has a physical reality that manifests on earth is suppressed, although not necessarily denied. According to the Book of Nolas and the Ecstasy of St. Yathiam, Mandador appeared in physical form to Yathamian beneath the waves of the sea, and in Dwarden tradition this is the only time such a manifestation is said to be known. Due to this unique appearance of the Deity, Yathamian is held to be in a special status differing from the other Legates, and is said to have secret knowledge and power, including knowing the secret of the Doors of Destiny.

• The Ineffable Name of the Divine: Mandador is almost never a spoken name. The epithet of "the Power" is the one most often used. The name of Mandador is only to spoken by those of priestly rank or above, and even then only during great spells and the most sacred of events. Deacons and below are not to speak the Name of the Power save for very rare exceptions, for the name of the Power is ineffable to the profane.

Liturgy

Liturgical Language

The Rite of the Dwarden Church uses High Middle Dwarden as its liturgical language. All major religious written works in Dwarden have been transcribed in this language, which sounds to the modern Dwarden ear as formal, rich and transcendent.

The liturgy itself is performed almost entirely in an awe inspiring monastic chant.

The Canonical Script

On formal Mandadorian holy writings, Danian-based script is used, modified with specific letters and symbols to correctly pronounce the Dwarden language.

Capital letter writing is used on sacred vestments.

Faith in the War of the Black Crown

Centuries of near-existential warfare with the undead of their own people has forged Mandadorianism in Dwarden into an iron faith that serves as the primary shield against against the horror and despair so often encountered by the people of those lands.

Prophecies During the War of the Black Crown

Although it was understood that Yathamian would not return for the salvation of Dwarden during the War of the Black Crown, there was great hope

During his Second Embassy, St. Yathamian is recorded in the Book of Maethon stating:

"By holy Prayer, Shield, Hammer, Sword and Song you shall conquer, and the Black Crown of evil will forever be dethroned."