Heironeous

Heironeous

Title(s)
The Archpaladin, the Invincible, the Valorous Knight
Symbol
A silver lightning bolt
Alignment
Lawful Good
Portfolio
Chivalry, Honor, War, Valor, Nobility
Favored weapon
Longsword

Heironeous (high-ROE-nee-us) appears as a tall human man in fine chainmail with auburn hair. His skin is a coppery shade, and impervious to all but the mightiest weapons due to a secret solution known as meersalm.

Dogma

Heironeous sees the world as a deadly place, filled with perpetual challenges and trials for those who battle for justice and defend the weak and innocent. His followers should always act with honor and chivalry, and uphold justice. Danger is to be faced head-on, with calm and resolve. Those who defeat evil are rewarded with Glory, while those who uphold the tenets of the Arch-paladin are rewarded with Virtue.

Clergy

Priests of Heironeous often travel the world on orders from their superiors to seek out and destroy evil. Older priests often work as strategists or military instructors.

Novices of Heironeous are known as the Blessed. Full priests are called the Glorious or, collectively, the Valorous Host. Other titles used by Heironian priests are Hero of the Third Rank, Hero of the Second Rank, Hero of the First Rank, Champion of Glory, Knight Gallant, Knight Courageous, Knight Valiant, and Knight Champion. Senior priests are called Paragons, while those who command armies are known as Paragon-Generals.

These titles are separate from duty-titles such as Postulant, Novitiate, Professed Priest, Cloistered Cleric, Affirmed Priest, and Templar. They are also separate from ranks within the temple hierarchy such as Hierodeacon and Abbot. In everyday use, senior priests are called Father or Mother, while lesser priests are known as Brother or Sister. There is also an elite order of priests known as the Gloryaxes.

Vestments

Priestly vestments include chain mail and blue robes with silver trim. Their favored weapons are the longsword and battleaxe.

Rituals

Services to Heironeous include triumphant battle hymns, offerings to copper statues of the god, and the sharing of hearty, strengthening foods such as meat, full-bodied red wine (in moderation), and spiced, stewed, kara-fruit.

The Tests of Valor

Before advancing in rank, priests of Heironeous must clearly demonstrate their bravery, honor, and sense of justice. The exact nature of these tests varies, but they are revealed through prayer and divinely-inspired visions. They can range from tests of fortitude that can be completed within the temple to crusades against the forces of evil.

Holy days and observances

The church of Heironeous celebrates only a few major holy days, which usually mark the anniversaries of great battles, significant triumphs over evil, and visitations by the Archpaladin.

• Newmass is when Heironeans celebrate the new year. They spend it reflecting on the past year and giving one another gifts.
• The Day of Just Rebellion. This holy day commemorates the battles fought to free Romla from the oppressive rule of Statunes.
• Justday is a time when each worshiper of Heironeous is expected to right some injustice. This can range from apologizing for minor misdeeds to attempting to liberate the Pluny Isles from the Empire of Wilder Treeg.
• Fortnight's Feast. This two-week event celebrates the victories of the Heironean armies of the Kingdom of Dyrae over Liondal cavalry during the Battle of a Fortnight's Length.
• St. Ferrante's Day is observed on the last day of autumn. The likeness of Ferrante is paraded about, candy is thrown at children, and much food is consumed.
• Valormight commemorates a ten-month war in which Heironean forces are said to have been outnumbered six to one by the forces of Erythnul, yet still managed to hold them off and eventually defeat them.
• Communion is a day of quiet introspection.

Temples

The places of worship dedicated to Heironeous are generally decorated with blue and silver ornaments, and sometimes decorated with colored stained glass windows which depict Heironeous triumphing over Evil. A copper statue of the deity, armed with a silver battle axe and covered with a silver chainmail, is often placed behind the altar, seven silver flashes spurting from behind his head.

Banak

The Cathedral of Bravery is a tall stone structure, with long vertical stained glass windows depicting scenes of Heironeous triumphant over his enemies. The building is rectangular, with a cylindrical structure near the back, the roof is slanted with blue tiles. The interior is a long corridor with a blue rug, lined with statues of Heironeous fighting foes. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling. At the end of the corridor is a large circular chancel. The chancel has rows of wooden benches with a middle aisle that leads to a central dais. Several steps lead up to the dais where a beautiful engraved altar rests.

The senior cleric at the cathedral is Knight Champion Chethri the Bulwark, a dwarven woman of singular resolve. A number of the priests here are also in the employ of Bruised But Not Broken.

Based here is Knight Valiant Conur Khourram, a half-orc paladin and self-declared Ishmêk super fan.

GICOM

The Cathedral of Valor is the largest center of worship to Heironeous in the world and is known for its flying buttresses and statues of saints. Its tower is the tallest structure in the city and contains the grand carillon made up of no less than 77 bronze bells. For some reason someone always leaves a wagon filled with hay around the place.

The High Priest is Paragon Shanna Gilliam, born in Silia. She is in her late sixties now but says she hasn't even reached her zenith yet. She has been instrumental in increasing Heironeous' worship over the last decades, so who knows what else may come.

Brotherhood of the Bolt

This order of monks was established almost directly after the Collapse and it is said that Heironeous appeared to them to plead for their support, though many priests now consider this heretical. The brotherhood operates independently from the church hierarchy though they share the same holy rituals.

Members wear simple robes and each has at least some kind silver highlight woven into the fabric. In combat they are known for their use of Lightning and Thunder.

Knights of the Vale

The most well known paladin order of Heironeous consists of small groups of paladins who ever travel the world, looking to exterminate intelligent aberrations and other evildoers. They are named for an ancient battle at the 'Vale of Woe' where they struck such a blow against a type of monster that it was never seen again. It is said they have a hidden fortress where members go to be trained or to recuperate. It can be found in one of Mifora's forests, though this has never been confirmed.

Members wear full plate with silver accents and blue feathers. Their warhorses wear barding quite similar to their full plate.