Doctrine and Beliefs
The Church teaches that light is both a gift and a responsibility. Illumination—whether of mind, heart, or soul—is meant to banish ignorance and corruption. Followers of Elandria believe that every act of kindness, scholarship, and artistry spreads her divine light further into the world.
Core Tenets:
- Bring Light Where There Is Shadow. Ignorance, cruelty, and despair are all forms of darkness. The faithful must act against them.
- Guide, Do Not Rule. Elandria teaches that wisdom is best shared through compassion, not domination.
- Truth Is a Sacred Fire. Lies and secrecy warp the soul. The truth, though painful, must be faced and tempered with mercy.
- Creation Is Worship. To build, teach, heal, or inspire is to honor the Lightbringer’s first act of defiance against emptiness.
Theological Focus:
Where Orithon sees civilization as structure, Elandria sees it as enlightenment—an ongoing act of illumination against Taelkor’s consuming void. Her priests often say, “The Light remembers,” meaning that knowledge and goodness are immortal so long as someone bears their flame.
Hierarchy and Worship
Titles:
- Luminarch (High Priest or Pontiff of Elandria)
- Dawnwardens (regional bishops)
- Lightbearers (priests and clerics)
- Kindled (acolytes or initiates)
Symbols and Vestments:
Priests wear white and gold, often trimmed with faint blue to symbolize clarity. The sunburst of Elandria is always displayed above the heart, representing divine inspiration radiating outward.
Rituals:
- The Dawnlight Vigil: Clergy meditate as the sun rises, whispering the “First Betrayal” prayer, honoring the gods’ choice to protect creation.
- Illumination of the Lost: A candlelit ritual performed for those who have strayed or are consumed by despair, symbolically leading them back to the light.
The Eight Saints of Elandria
These are not demigods but mortal exemplars—souls whose light burned so brightly that Elandria claimed them as “Eternal Flames” within her realm. Their relics and stories are central to Elandrian teaching.
Saint Andral, Patron of Mercy
A healer who gave his life curing a plague by channeling divine light through his own body, burning himself to ash in the process. His bones were said to glow for a century after his death.
Virtue: Compassion unto sacrifice.
Symbol: A silver hand cradling a small flame.
Lesson: “Mercy is the courage to bear another’s suffering.”
Saint Calros, Patron of Truth
A scholar who uncovered a vast heresy within the early Church (corruption by Nytheris and Vaelith worshippers who did not want to see the church succeed) but chose confession over suppression, knowing it would destroy his reputation. He was cast out into the witchwood for his supposed treachery and never returned. He is the only of the major saints whose body has never been recovered. Over time, he was recognized for his efforts and his honesty paved the way for the church to rekindle its purity.
Virtue: Truth above comfort.
Symbol: An open book wreathed in light.
Lesson: “Light reveals—even when it shames.”
Saint Verenya, Patron of Inspiration
An elven poet who claimed to see Elandria’s light dancing in music. Her verses sparked a cultural renaissance that united rival kingdoms. Legend says her final song called forth an aurora that lasted a week.
Virtue: Beauty as devotion.
Symbol: A harp of starlight strings.
Lesson: “To create is to remember the Light.”
Saint Faenor, Patron of Guardianship
A dwarven paladin who led the defense of the First Cathedral during the War of Shadows. He fought for three days without rest until the dawn broke and the enemy dissolved in sunlight.
Virtue: Endurance in faith.
Symbol: A sunrise behind a shield.
Lesson: “The dawn comes only for those who stand through the night.”
Saint Miren, Patron of the Lost
A halfling wanderer who found and rekindled faith in the darkest corners of the world. Said to have walked into the Void itself to rescue souls claimed by Taelkor’s whisper.
Virtue: Hope in despair.
Symbol: A lantern held by a tiny hand.
Lesson: “Even the smallest flame drives back the endless dark.”
Saint Araleth, Patron of Justice
A human judge who ruled in a time of tyranny. When ordered to condemn the innocent, he instead exposed the corruption of the crown and was executed publicly. His final words—“Let the Light bear witness”—became the Church’s motto.
Virtue: Integrity in the face of power.
Symbol: Balanced scales beneath a sunburst.
Lesson: “Justice is the light given form.”
Saint Elyndra, Patron of Healing and Knowledge
An elven sage and alchemist who devoted her life to teaching others the curative arts. She wrote The Tome of Gentle Radiance, considered a holy text for healers.
Virtue: Enlightenment through compassion.
Symbol: A sunburst with a drop of water at its center.
Lesson: “To heal is to understand.”
8. Saint Corvin, Patron of Vigilance
Once a knight of Orithon, Corvin converted after a vision of Elandria’s light. He stood guard over a sacred library for forty years, protecting it from zealots and thieves alike. When he finally fell asleep, legend says angels took his place.
Virtue: Faithful watchfulness.
Symbol: A single eye surrounded by rays.
Lesson: “Guard the light, even when it blinds you.”
Interfaith Relations
The Church cooperates with Orithon’s temples in matters of governance and law, believing that enlightenment must be upheld by structure. They denounce the followers of Nytheris as bearers of false dawns, claiming that her whispered truths lead mortals into arrogance and shadow rather than genuine understanding.
Relations with the faith of Faeren, however, are more complex. The Church of Elandria honors the Wildfather as her ancient ally—the one who first saw beauty in creation and stood beside her when they chose to hide the world. Yet their followers often disagree on how that beauty should be preserved. To Elandria’s faithful, light and civilization nurture life, giving it purpose and refinement; to Faeren’s druids, such order too easily smothers the wild harmony of nature.
Despite this tension, both faiths recognize a shared reverence for creation itself. Elandrian priests bless the harvests of Faeren’s followers, and the druids in turn protect sacred groves where Elandria’s light first touched the world. Their alliance endures—two halves of the same divine rebellion, forever debating whether the world is best guided by the gardener’s hand or left to bloom untamed.