Pholtus
| Title(s) |
|---|
| Pholtus of the Blinding Light |
| Symbol |
| Silvery sun with a crescent moon |
| Alignment |
| Lawful Neutral |
| Portfolio |
| Law, Order, Inflexibility, Light, Sun, Moon |
| Favored weapon |
| Quarterstaff |
Pholtus (FOHL-tus) himself appears as a tall, slender man with pale skin, flowing white hair and bright blue eyes burning with the fires of devotion. He always wears a silky white gown and a cassock trimmed with gold and silver, embroidered with suns and moons. He abhors compromise almost as much as he does chaos.
Dogma
The One True Way is a strict path, but guarantees rightness. Show no tolerance for those who do not give all for the cause of Law. Fanaticism in the name of the Blinding Light is praiseworthy, and Law’s champions shall be rewarded in the era when chaos has been vanquished.
Clergy
Many of Pholtus’s clerics act as judges and arbiters, where they are known for their adherence to the letter of the law.
The church has three ascending orders: Glimmering, Gleaming, and Shining.
Paladins of Pholtus are known as templars or inquisitors. They consider questions of morality to be secondary to faithfulness to Pholtus and his One True Way. They seek the destruction of chaos, darkness, and evil, in that order. While some individual Pholtan paladins can be merciful, doubt and mercy are not considered virtues in their tradition, and many believe them to be weaknesses. The Order of Saint Rabban is an Inquisitor order of Pholtus.
Vestments
Traditional clerical vestments include white robes and garments, with trim dependent on the priest's station. Low level priests (Glimmering) have no trim. Mid level (Gleaming) clerics have silver trim. While high level priests have gold and silver trim.
Modern, less dogmatic, branches dress in monochrome, going from black with white cuffs and collars for devoted lay members to a light grey for lower clerics and white for ranking clergy.
Pholtan paladins traditionally dress in white and pale yellow tunics of fine linen or silk, with silvery borders decorated with suns and moons or excerpts from Pholtus scripture.
Temples
Buildings consecrated to Pholtus are white, almost always built of stone. Services include many brightly burning candles, long sermons and choruses of the worshipers' anthem, "O Blinding Light".
Banak
The House of Light is a single story structure built of white stone bricks. The entrance is flanked by two white statues of regal dwarven knights wearing full platemail. The large double doors lead to a meticulous chancel with rows of stone pews. Evenly placed column line the walls, with candelabra's placed in-between each. A large white stone altar stands near the back wall. White banners with gold trim on the sides hang from the ceiling and feature Pholtus' symbol.
Shining Bishop Assessor Immar Chessar, a dwarven male, described behind his back as having an enormous stick up his backside, leads the congregation. In charge of the Order of Saint Rabban, who are also housed here, is High-Inquisitor Morias Hawkwinter, a paladin with a death-wish but a terrible sense of direction.
Beljovac
The Light of the Law is a fortress-like building bedecked with large banners of Pholtus at the edge of the Amaranth Division. The interior of the temple is covered entirely of Lomic marble, which has been polished to a sheen. As the state church they try to exert their influence where they can, but they are not really welcomed anywhere.
Cardinal Assessor Timin Kaljic spends most of his time fighting with his counterpart in Ide Volcar over which of their churches is the pre-eminent one in the country.
Ide Volcar
The Law of the Sun is a gaudy building on the eastern side of Kotnik Plaza. The exterior is adorned with carvings showing battles where Pholtus smites his enemies. Nominally they are the state church and involved in dispensing justice though in practice this doesn't happen as often as one might think.
Cardinal Assessor Mitro Vaduc spends most of his time fighting with his counterpart in Beljovac over which of their churches is the pre-eminent one in the country.
Midtal
The Cathedral of the Radiant Sun stands proudly in the Old Town Ziek. It is not quite as high as Tallsite Citadel but its bright white walls (novices spend quite some time every week to keep it clean) make it the most recognizable building in the neighborhood. Inside it is filled with candles (another job for the novices; replacing any candle before it burns itself out). The floors are marble and the lofty ceiling is painted with scenes of Pholtus dispensing justice. The large, gaudy altar is made of gold, reflecting the thousands of burning candles.
Cardinal Assessor Lunessa Rhalls spends more of her time negotiating and arguing with the Ott than she would like.
Stjordvik
The Bright Hold is a white stone temple with large stained glass windows on the edge of the Miforan District. Pholtus has a hardcore following but they aren't very large here in the city. The weekly masses are still quite well attended with the audience being a mix of locals and mercenary types.
The high priest is Bishop Assessor Stor Nuren, a man of few words but a great love of song.
The building is also home to a chapter of the Order of Saint Rabban. This has led to quite a few clashes with the neighbors, as not every Sormarker is a werewolf. It is fair to say the order is more appreciated in the rest of the country where they often battle actual lycanthropes, hags, and other monsters. The order's standing policy is to have at least three quarter of their number out in the country, looking for evil.
The chapter is lead by High-Inquisitor Myrnd Mournsoul, a veteran of the Joluan Cleanse. Technically the head of the temple outranks him, but it is quite rare for Myrnd not to get his way.
Order of Saint Rabban
An Inquisitor order of Pholtus named after the paladin hero Saint Rabban who is known for his sacrifice during the imprisonment of the escaped Primordials.
The order has chapters across the lands all filled with zealous individuals. These people are driven to vanquish evil where they find it and are usually suspicious of magic both arcane and natural. Since magic of divine nature is seen as a gift from the gods it is more accepted but still considered to be handled with care.
The Inquisitors follow the Pholtan One True Way to the letter. While they will vehemently state that their purpose is to rid the world of chaos and darkness this is not always clear in their actions. Stories and rumors go about witch-hunts that always end in the slaughter of their quarry, but not always with a guilty party. This doesn't mean that the order does no good, but it is filled with the more overly zealous and more stubborn types.
Ascending order of rank
- Untested
- Vigilant
- Assessor
- Interrogator
- High-Inquisitor