Mandadorianism
Mandadorianism is a monolatrous religion based principally around the worship of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and yet bodiless deity known only as Mandador, and that of his prophet, Ramian Lancourt. Ramian, bestowed with the awesome powers of the Voice of Mandador while a young man, quickly converted much of the known world. Speaking the very words of Mandador, he preached on the goodness of Mandador as the Prime Mover of the universe and creator of the Earth, and warned that all other gods were interlopers, mere shadows compared to the majesty of Mandador, and that in the ending of the world and universe they would prove damning to those who believed in them. Founded during the final decline of the successor empire of the continent-spanning hegemony of Thosher Phawn, leader of the Council of Darkspells, Mandadorianism spread with great speed throughout Pompiersia and the old Casperian and Appadosian heartlands, leading quickly to the fall of the empire, and the declaration and inauguration of new empire, the Mandadorian Empire, by Ramian, who crowned the first Emperor of Mandadoria, Armodius Camunspraser.
Contents
Origins
History
Mandador the God of Gods
The Nature of Mandador
General Discussion
Mandador is considered a supreme deity, triumphant over all others. Theologically he is considered the Prime Mover of the Multiverse, and whose Voice created the World perfectly. It is His Spirit which gave life to the mortal beings of the world. From the Outer Darkness came the other gods, who beckoned to these mortals, calling for their reverence and worship, which was given by most all of them. Betrayed by this great sin, Mandador left the World until the sin had been expiated, and one of a perfect Nature could truly reflect upon Mandador, and worship the true Creator of the World without being oppressed by the infinite Power of Mandador. This man was Ramian, who was to be bestowed with the Voice of Mandador, who returned the true Faith to the World.
Mandador is considered to be All Powerful, All Knowing and Eternal. He has no known form, and at least in the Danian Rite is never depicted in art, save for through symbolism. He is served by “archons and aasimon”, several of which are known by name in the Holy Texts. He however dwells upon the highest mountain of the highest mount of Mount Celestia, the Celestial Heavens, whose palace is higher than all other gods.
Mandador tests his faithful, and awaits an unknown Time upon which he will End the World in his final conflict with the Interloper Gods, and send them back to the Outer Darkness. A war of the Heavens and Lower Planes will simultaneously reach their end, and save for those who elect to become His servants, all will fall to the Infernal Regions, even those who thought themselves good. The Traitorous will fall forever and ever, and He will reveal to the Elect the Secret Doors of Destiny, for which Ramian holds the Key, and with the Voice of Mandador decree Everlasting Admittance. The Mystery of Ultimate Destiny is unknown save to Mandador and Ramian alone, and is beyond any reality known, even to the other gods.
Trinitarianism
Mandador is composed of three separate, equal and co-substantial beings: the Voice, the Power and the Spirit. It is a mysterious union of three distinct aspects of Mandador, but are not separate deities.
The Voice
The Voice was the first revealed, and decreed the world into existence, and all its beings.
The Power
The Power is the direct manifestation of Mandador’s Will upon the World, and also references His metaphysical presence in an actual sense. The Power is beyond contemplation and without limit. The Power of Mandador shaped the World, and gave initial perfect form to his creations before the Interloper Gods came and corrupted them.
The Spirit
The Spirit permeates all things in all places without limit, through which one might know the Will of Mandador, and feel his presence. It is the agency of Mandador which gave rise to the souls and spirits of mortals
Ramian the Prophet of Mandador
The Holy Prophet Ramian Lancourt of Astanaro (Ramianus Lancourtinus) Parents: Eric (Ericius) Lancourt and Almayeen Salence
Ramian Lancourt was born on the 12th day of Snow Waters in 17 B.M. on the tiny island of Astanaro, a possession of Hyperbosia, then under the flag of Sentorius, Wanax of the Tanettians and all the Danians. Born the son of a minor magistrate who governed this island just west of Dania’s northernmost peninsula, Ramian was educated as a priest of Vandadon, king-god of the venerable Casperian Pantheon, an ancient group of gods of men finding new vitality, albeit under different names, at around this time. His father and mother were not Danians, but were rather natives of what is now Quadrain, at Tharanosia, which was then a peaceful and sylvan land known as Appadosia. He was sent to Dania for his education, staying at the palace of the local king, Ireko Sembolini.
On the 2nd day of the Festivals of Dance 1 A.M., Ramian sat beside the stream Assaros, as he often did, and there the god of gods spoke to him, granting him all his enormous powers. There also two invisible solar aasimon began to follow him wherever he went.
Ramian’s missionary work spread quickly. He immediately declared a new world order, and that the chaos of the world had gone on long enough. His awesome powers shocked Dania for nearly a year, converting thousands. He next traveled to Hyperbosia, and from there teleported to Alosis, the new imperial capital. Emperor Sentorius responded harshly to his words to convert and rebuked the Holy Prophet. Ramian returned to Dania and began to send forth apostles, or the Nine Legations. Not even a year had passed when Sentorius was swamped with converts. He sent his entire fleet to subdue Dania, but Ramian opened up the sea and sank all of them. Ramian sailed back to the mainland, and from there approached Pompiers. He hailed the senate and people as having the chance to create the most wonderful peace and true religion there had ever been, unlike the failed Tanettians. He also prompted them to elect one ruler over all. They chose the consul Armodius Camunspraser, as he was of Appadosian, Pompiersian and Thousiersian blood.
Armodius eventually invaded Tanettes, headed by an elite group of new knights. He defeated the Wanax’s already rather weak and disparate forces. Previously dictator, and receiving the praise of numerous nations, he declared himself Emperor of Mandadoria.
Abaddon, the Forest Kingdom of Snow, was founded by Heurennasian knights fleeing the invasion of the Checklans in antiquity. Men of great wisdom and antiquity, they ruled what has often been thought of as the longest running kingdom of men. They have often been considered the first true kings of men. It is said that Abaddon was visited by Ramian on the first day of his apotheosis, the prophet telling the king of his mission, and that one day his descendant would rule the known world and unify all man if only the king would conquer in the name of Mandador.
Ramialogical Beliefs and Controversies
Beliefs concerning the Holy Prophet Saint Ramian.
Dyothelitism (belief in co-existent human and divine wills in Ramian)
That Ramian received the Mantle of Mandador, and was possessed of his perfect Will. After the time of the Eighth Ecumenical Council of Thousiers, the Danian Rite has concluded that Ramian held two completely separate wills, the Will of Mandador and Ramian’s own human will. The Eighth Council of Thousiers, calling this espoused Ramianological argument dyothelitism, discussed the matter thusly:
“…the Church confessed that Ramian possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but co-operate in such a way that Ramian willed humanly in obedience to Mandador all that He had decided divinely with the Power and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Ramian's human will 'does not resist or oppose but rather submits to His divine and almighty Will.’
Ramianism (heretical) (belief in the divinity of Ramian as an actual Manifestation of the Voice, as Mandador himself, or as a separate deity called Ramian, etc.)
Infallibility
That Ramian is perfect and sinless and incapable of error, but that although empowered with the Voice of Mandador, Ramian remained a man.
Mantle of Mandador
A mysterious reference in the Holy Texts, Ramian, upon the Epiphany at the River Assaros, was invested with the Mantle of Mandador. A light to the entire world when it was first given, seen as a light beyond the brightness of the sun, it gradually waned over the first nine days of Ramian’s ministry, not to fully reemerge again until his Ascension at the end of his ministry. During the ministry, it is said to have had an invisible presence, presenting the glory of Mandador about him. With it Ramian could employ the Power of Mandador, which could inflict Divine Terror into those who threatened his person.
The Church
The Nine Legates/The Holy Legations
Atham of Dania
Soravian Half-Elven of the North
Martius of the West
Drendor of the East, the Dwarf
Yathamian the Sea Elf of the South
Altherus the Tannetian of the Depths
Costas of the Furthest Heights
Corethus of the Sublime
Narionus, Whose Embassy is Unknown
These individuals were the first to see Ramian after the Epiphany, and were his closest Companions. They are all saints and highly venerated.
Abbadonian Rite Mandadorianism
Danian Rite Mandadorianism
Current Leadership of the Church
Danian Rite: Holy Father Pannastelsus, “Ramian XVIII” (23rd level LG priest of Mandador) Cardinalate:
Nuncio to Pompiers: Cardinal Archbishop Prince Laslel the Pious (24th level LG priest of Mandador, 24 years old)
Danian Rite Church Hierarchy
Minor Orders
ostiary- detect evil
lector- enthrall
exorcist- +2 bonus to turning attempts, abjure
acolyte- bless
Holy Orders
subdeacon- sanctuary
deacon- bless, protection from evil
archdeacon- protection from evil 10’ radius, glyph of warding, aid
priest- prayer
archpriest- negative plane protection, dispel evil
suffragon- divination
coadjutor-(assistant to the bishop and generally to replace him)
auxiliary- (sent to replace aging bishop, holds a dead see)
bishop- command, commune, quest, imbue with spell ability archbishop – dispel evil, atonement
metropolitan – exaction, minor globe of invulnerability
patriarch – holy word, globe of invulnerability
cardinal – word of recall, spell turning
(legate) – detect lie
(nuncio) – impeding permission
holy father – ?
Special Orders
vicar apostolic – command, commune, forbiddance
vicar forane – none (suffragon)
vicar general – none (suffragon)
Monastic/Regular Orders
Priests of the Mandadorian Regular Orders are generally specialty priests, and are always single classed. They can receive secular offices, and receive the powers of such offices.
Secular Clergy
The secular clergy gain powers as per their ranks. Their powers do not accumulate; ex. bishops do not have the powers of priests and deacons for instance. A character of any level can be raised to any office in the church, but they only receive the powers of that office that they would be able to cast themselves.
Mandadorian Creed (Danian Rite)
We believe in the Highest God, Mandador Almighty, Lord of all things visible and invisible.
And in his servant Ramian, the Prophet of Mandador, the only mortal invested of the Voice of Mandador, his perfect Messenger and Promulgator of the Faith, his Voice in all things in the heavens and on earth;
By whom the Truth was made known;
Who for us, and our salvation, was made manifest and held incarnate the Will of Mandador, as a man;
Who labored for three years, then ascended into heaven;
Where Mandador rules all things, forever and ever;
And in the Power and Spirit
The Paladin
Basic Paladin’s Creed
I do solemnly swear by Almighty Mandador and in His Name, and in free and voluntary desire, to serve as a Paladin of the most Holy Church of the Most Highest God. I do swear by the Eternal Voice, Power and Spirit, to be both a true and chivalric Paladin, to obey my superiors in the Church and to aid my bretheren. I also swear by all that is holy and dear unto me, to aid those less fortunate than I, to relieve the distress of the world and to fulfill the obligations of my paladinship. And as my final and most terrible vow, I swear to follow in the footsteps of St. Telios Cerulianus, and shall not rest until all evil dragons, chief among them _____, have been cleansed from this earth, their caves, dungeons and mountains fastnesses destroyed and thrown down, their followers defeated and disbanded, and the doom and desolation they visit on innocents lifted forever. This oath do I give of my own free and independent will, so help me Mandador! (Holy is your name.)
Ordination Rites (Danian)
Notable Paladin Biographies, Creeds and Beliefs
Saint Astilius Martius Notias, Prince of Paladins, The First Paladin
The Nine Principles of Paladinship According to Notias
-Faith, Courage, Wisdom (Principles of the Spirit)
-Purity, Excellence, Strength (Principles of Power)
-Truth, Law, Justice (Principles of the Voice)
Grand Duke Maunren Ul’Daurmain
Considered by many in chivalric orders to be the greatest of all knights in the modern era, he thrived in the 600s, and was brother to the rightful King of Thousiers, but became famous as a knight-errant, defeating countless other knights, and married the daughter Countess of the Duke of Keld. He died in Encyclon as a very old man, in battle. His bard Thoreauthamaine wrote epic ballads of Ul’Daurmain’s exploits, and recorded the great knight’s thoughts on code of conduct for knights:
To fear Mandador and maintain His Church
To serve the liege lord in valour and faith
To protect the weak and defenceless
To give succour to widows and orphans
To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
To live by honour and for glory
To despise pecuniary reward
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honour of fellow knights
To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit
To keep faith
At all times to speak the truth
To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
To respect the honour of women
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
Never to turn the back upon a foe
Parathon, Paladin-Duke of Keld, Code of Chivalry -Faith -Charity -Justice -Sagacity -Prudence -Temperance -Resolution -Truth -Liberality -Diligence -Hope -Valour
Paladin Ordination Rites -the Vigil the night prior (ritual cleansing before with initial prayers, spirits and demons may distract or tempt)
Sacred Texts
The Word of the Mandador
Originally, the words of Ramian were literally burnt into the soul and mind of Atham, the legate of Dania. Literally blinded by the light of Ramian when he strode forth from the river Assaros, so that no agency short of the Power of Mandador could restore his eyesight, Atham thereafter saw with his soul, and when speaking with the Voice of Mandador, the Words forever echoed in Atham’s mind and soul, so that they were never out of his mind. At the request of the First Emperor of Mandadoria, Armodius Camunspraser, Atham recorded these Words for all time into the Dei Mandadorum Verbum Maximus, the Supreme Book of the Words of the God Mandador. The original Words as spoken by Ramian were supraliminal, which is to say that they were intelligible to any being. The original Verbum Maximus is kept at St. Atham’s Basilica in Ramia, but the book cannot be copied verbatim by any known method, as it must be “translated” into a mortal tongue to the best of the author’s ability. St. Amanthinus the Reader was the first to offer such a translation, into Danian, and as such is referred to as the Danian Codex, and it is from this that the Holy Father reads. Due to this translation, and due to the concept that the pure Words of Mandador are unsuitable to the profane ears of mortals, all such Words are generally translated into a poetic or rhythmic form, to which Amanthinus, who heard Ramian speak the Words, said best approximated the Divine Words. Ninety-nine Dictations were entered into the Danian Codex, although it is whispered amongst the very learned that there are more than these in the original Dei Mandadorum Verbum Maximus of St. Atham, but that they are secret, and known only to the senior-most clergy of Dania, or that they are lost.
In the current Church, the Words are among the most common sacred text contained in a single volume, most usually called psalters. Often in abbreviated form, or in elaborately illuminated texts, they are the proud prizes of lay believers and clergy alike, and for the illuminated and/or high-quality versions, they are as expensive as a wizard’s spellbook. They often have additions from other sacred Mandadorian writings in the form of canticles, prayers and antiphons.
Example of the First Dictation of the Words of Mandador:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of Mandador, and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For Mandador watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
The Lives of the Prophet Ramian
According to Soravian
The second to behold Ramian in the Mantle of Mandador, his version is the shortest and most enigmatic. To him Ramian is otherworldly and supraliminal. His awe of Ramian is nearly on par with terror. Before he was sent North, Soravian was asked by Ramian to write his account before his departure. In nine days and nights he achieved this text in Pompiers. The original text was destroyed by the Neutralians at the Cathedral of St. Soravian in Pompiers.
According to Martius
Martius, the Legate of Mandador known to have remained longest upon the world, wrote his account in extreme old age in the West, and was brought to the Emperor by the paladin Tacius Pricius Decidurus. His account has fewer details, and speaks most of Ramian’s kindness. He tends to wax very spiritual in the warm veneration he holds for Ramian.
According to Corethus
Corethus wrote his account after expiring from his celestial journey to Mount Celestia. His is the most historical and the longest version.
Lives of the Saints, Blesseds and Venerables
Told in various forms and written by a multitude of hands, several Danian collections edited by scholars of the Church have become quite popular. The most popular are those dealing with the Nine Legates.
Prayer Books
A great many different prayer books are in circulation, providing spell prayers and spiritual prayers for priests and laymen alike.
Sacred Compendiums
Antiphonary
A book of songs used most typically by the choir and/or congregation during the Danian liturgy.
Breviary
A book containing the essential liturgy of the Danian rite, arranged in appropriate fashion to carry out the Liturgy of the Hours.
Hymnal
A book of religiously inspired songs often utilized by the more devout congregations of Mandadorian worship
Lectionary
A book or listing that contains a collection of scriptural readings appointed for Mandadorian worship on a given day or occasion. It is often contained within the breviary.
Psalter
A book containing the Dictations of the Words of Mandador. It is one of the most common Mandadorian sacred texts.
The Holy Codex
A large official Church sanctioned tome containing the most sacred texts of the Danian Rite Mandadorian Church. Such a collection is usually very expensive and quite rare, as the Church does not permit magical copying of these sacred texts:
-Proclamation to the Emperor
-Proclamation of the Emperor Triumphant
-The Words of Mandador
-The Three Lives of St. Ramian
-The Letters of Atham
-The Decretals of Atham
-The Letters of Martius
-Letters of Drendor to the Dwarves
-Letters of Corethus
-Testimony of Altherus
-Testimony of Yathamian
-Visions of Costas
Rites of the Church: Every nine days, prayers to remember Ramian and Mandador. Water is always at the church, and if it is really cool, water from the river Assaros. Water is sprinkled upon the head of priests. Initiates to the religion recite the Creed to Mandador and are inscribed symbolically with the three circles. They are then blessed and admitted as members of the Church.
-the Three Circles: the rule of three
