Church

Biodata

History

Rise and restriction

The Church once backed the Empire of Light and maintained ten great legions as its military foundation. The empire's collapse during the Blood Moon catastrophe three centuries earlier reduced those legions to less than one-tenth of their former strength and forced the Church into strategic contraction. 42

Its former dominance provoked sustained resistance from secular rulers. In the Alpha Kingdom, generations of kings used infiltration, division, bribery, and suppression to sever local churches from the Papal State; regional clergy became nominally subject to the Pope while actually controlled by the royal family and great nobles. 42

The Church's influence also declined as the Lord of Dawn failed to manifest for thousands of years. Many kingdoms retained churches largely for their utility in governing commoners rather than from reverence for divine authority. 42

Skull Society affair

Elements within the Church covertly supported the Skull Society's rebellion and the use of the Blood Moon Horn, intending to create unrest that would demonstrate the Church's importance. The Order of Judgment Knights dispatched Dragon Cavalry under Carlis to recover the artifact and erase evidence connecting the Holy See to the cult. 42 50 54

The operation instead deepened hostility with the Alpha Kingdom. The Church could not openly punish its senior officials without upsetting the balance between its internal factions, even after the affair became a political liability. 97

Schism and loss of authority

On October 10th, 99993 of the Sacred Calendar, the Frankish Church declared the Holy See illegitimate on the grounds that it was controlled by heretics and called for representatives of national branches to establish a new Holy See. 477

The Five Nations Alliance subsequently founded the Northern Holy See, led by the Alpha Kingdom and supported by the Scepter of Glory. The Church of Dawn thereby entered a tripartite era of the original Holy See, Frankish Holy See, and Northern Holy See. 534

The original Holy See's crisis worsened when the Frankish army attacked Sacred Light Mountain. Its leaders resorted to summoning angels despite the danger and unpredictability of such descents. 568 569

Age of No Gods

The Church later ordered the summoning of Fallen Angels and other extra-planar beings to destabilize rival powers. The resulting demon disasters damaged its standing further, while its enemies plundered the Papal State's population and wealth. 604 597

When blood rain signaled the fall of the gods, priests lost the ability to cast divine arts and believers across the continent suffered mass panic, madness, and suicide. The old Church—bound primarily by faith rather than state power—fractured most severely. 708

The Holy See ultimately split into five duchies led by former bishops or legion commanders. Pope Pius VII was demoted to Marquis and withdrew from public life; major nations diplomatically recognized the schism. 708

Organization

Internal corruption

• Senior positions and promotions followed bloodline and inherited connections rather than merit. 91 571
• Capable commoners were often kept in subordinate roles or sent to infiltrate cults under the pretext of “tempering,” where assignments could last decades. 571
• Factional balance frequently prevented accountability: removing a powerful official risked destabilizing the order or empowering a rival group. 97 266
• The Church maintained light-aligned clergy at the highest status, while dark-element and other stigmatized practitioners performed much of its covert, dangerous work. 634

Doctrine and influence

• The Church presents the Lord of Dawn as the source of religious legitimacy and frames its authority as divine rather than secular. 42
• Holy Light is used both militarily and ceremonially; during the human alliance expedition, priests created a display of light to raise troop morale when no divine miracle appeared. 287
• The Church historically branded wizards and various older professional traditions as heretical after its rise to power, contributing to the near-loss of their lineages. 400
• Tithes were once its principal income, but national churches increasingly diverted them into local projects or withheld them entirely as secular governments curtailed papal authority. 42 419

Divine Artifacts

• The Holy See treated the Scepter of Glory and Holy Sword of Light as vital religious and political assets; their loss threatened the Pope's legitimacy. 402 404
• After its expedition on Poison Dragon Island disappeared, Church intelligence was ordered to determine whether both artifacts had fallen into Alpha Kingdom hands while publicly denying that they were missing. 404
• The confirmed loss of an inherited Divine Artifact, followed by the Northern Holy See's founding, was regarded as a decisive blow to the original Holy See's prospects of recovery. 534

Relationships

• Lord of Dawn — Patron deity and foundation of the Church's doctrine; the deity's fall caused the Church's final crisis of faith. 42 708
• Alpha Kingdom — Longstanding adversary that subordinated its local churches to royal and noble control, later backed the Northern Holy See. 42 534
• Frankish Kingdom — Principal schismatic rival; its church declared the Holy See illegitimate and its army attacked Sacred Light Mountain. 477 568
• Northern Holy See — Rival church established by the Five Nations Alliance with the Scepter of Glory as a source of legitimacy. 534
• Skull Society — Cult covertly supported by Church factions to foment instability; its use of the Blood Moon Horn exposed the connection. 42 54
• Pope Pius VII — Final Pope of the pre-collapse Holy See; presided over the schism and was later reduced to Marquis. 48 708
• Carlis — Commander of the Second Dragon Cavalry Regiment who became disillusioned with the Holy See's corruption after being abandoned and hunted. 50 91