The Church

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	The Church
Original Name	教会
Type	Monotheistic religious institution with political and supernatural forces 7 15 159
Faith	Christianity; Catholicism is the Roman Empire’s state religion when Duncan arrives 7
Central Seat	The Papal See of Rome, located in the Vatican 194
Principal Institutions	Papacy, dioceses, monastic orders, and the Inquisition 15 159 187
Sphere of Influence	Rome, Britannia, Gaul, Germania, and other European territories reached by its missionaries 12 51 187
Status	Remains active after Duncan’s victory; Leo VI is succeeded by Patrick V 194
First Appearance	Chapter 7, where Duncan sees a cross-topped church and learns about the persecution of polytheism 7

Background / History

Rise and Suppression of Polytheism

Following the Edict of Milan, the Church expands rapidly and begins influencing secular authority. By Duncan’s arrival, monotheism has dominated for more than a century, while the Roman Empire’s former polytheistic religion has lost its temples and altars 7 11.

The Church initiates a Witch Hunt that originally targets all pagans, rather than witches alone. Inheritors of the old priesthoods are condemned as practitioners of sorcery, turning religious persecution into a campaign to dismantle rival faiths. Reports of supernatural powers become increasingly scarce during this process 7.

Julian the Renegade’s attempted restoration of polytheism remains a warning against allowing the old religions to survive. After his death, polytheistic nobles face pressure to convert, while those retaining their faith fear eventual persecution 14 15.

Expansion Among the Barbarians

The Church sends missionaries into barbarian territories, including lands conquered by the Huns. Its religious expansion continues despite warfare between secular powers 12.

The conflict is presented as two overlapping struggles: invading peoples destroy the Roman Empire politically, while the Church converts them and undermines their ancestral religions. Its proselytizing is more effective than that of the older faiths, allowing it to gain influence even as imperial authority collapses 23.

Organization and Factions

Institution or Faction	Role and Characteristics
Papacy and Roman Curia	Centers of ecclesiastical authority whose power becomes a direct point of conflict with Duncan’s imperial rule 23 159.
Diocesan Clergy	Includes archbishops, bishops, elders, deacons, and pastors. Britannia’s archbishopric is particularly sensitive because of the region’s entrenched polytheistic faiths 159 187.
Inquisition	Secretly established in 394 AD. Its forces include Witch Hunters, Heretic Inquisitors, assassins, and members of monastic orders 14 15.
Ascetic and Hidden Orders	Monastic forces rooted in an Egyptian tradition of ascetic devotion. Their members include religious fanatics and formidable supernatural combatants; the Ascetic Order possesses numerous holy relics 15 51.
Arian Sect	Teaches that Jesus is subordinate to God and opposes the Church’s accumulation of extensive property. Retains followers among Franks and Goths, with influence in Gaul and the Visigoth Kingdom despite condemnation as heresy 51.
Protestantism	An imperially backed faction that becomes the only monotheistic force capable of contending with the Eastern Empire’s Patriarch 171.
Holy Grail Faction	Moderates originating in Greater Germania in the late sixth century. Their early organization serves Pope Patrick I; members include believers, missionaries, pastors, and converted mages. London becomes a major stronghold 187.
Conservative Faction	Works for more than two centuries to recover papal authority. After Patrick III’s death, it controls Duncan IV and regains the papal throne 188.

Methods and Supernatural Resources

Conversion and Religious Assimilation

• Missionary expansion: Establishes its faith among peoples beyond Roman territory, including invading barbarians 12 23.
• Suppression of rival worship: Destroys temples, removes altars, and persecutes surviving priesthoods 7.
• Reinterpretation of legends: Incorporates legendary heroes while diminishing their original gods. The Land of Shadows becomes the “Edge of Purgatory,” while Morrigan is reduced to a pagan evil god and subsequently a folk banshee 130.
• Replacement of rival mythology: Seeks to absorb both benevolent and malevolent legends into its own system. A secret operation in Romania attempts to replace the dragon legend associated with Duncan with vampire legends, weakening his influence 188.

Armed Religious Orders

• Specialized hunters: The Inquisition deploys witch hunters, inquisitors, and assassins against surviving polytheistic practitioners 14 15.
• Supernatural combatants: A Temple Guardian of the Hidden Order bears the Blood of the Holy Grail mark 15.
• Relic-supported strength: The Ascetic Order’s relics make direct confrontation dangerous enough that Duncan initially favors internal division over open war 51.
• Temple Knights and Hermits: Escort and suppress dangerous sacred or forbidden objects, including the relic connected to Solomon’s demon contracts 188.

Holy Grail Ritual

• Conflict resolution: The Holy Grail Faction promotes ritual contests as an alternative to large-scale religious warfare 187.
• Historical deployment: A major ritual determines Greater Germania’s religious affiliation. Several Church saints die fighting Beowulf, who also dies shortly afterward 187.
• Britannian dispute: The ritual is selected to settle the controversy over enforcing the tithe 187.

Known Relics

• Holy Scarab and fragment of the True Cross — Held by Archbishop Saint James 187.
• Oathkeeper — Duncan’s sword receives angelic recognition and holy purification, becoming a Church holy relic despite its bearer’s political opposition to the institution 159.
• Forbidden Solomon relic — Represents King Solomon’s contract with the Seventy-two Demon Gods. The Church considers it more dangerous to deploy than a sacred relic on the level of the Spear of Longinus 188.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pursuit of the Witch Coven

Fear of Church persecution helps drive Anya to establish the Witch Coven after her husband’s death. In Parisii, Duncan discovers arriving Inquisition personnel and urges his companions to leave. The subsequent pursuit brings them into combat with the Ascetic Order’s powerful fighters 14 15.

Duncan’s Plan to Divide the Church

Religious tensions in Duncan’s territory initially center on the Church and Avalon. Recognizing that the Church is too powerful to confront directly, he proposes supporting Arianism to create a sustained internal rivalry 51.

His second measure is to establish an independent, localized British church. Severus proposes having Druid priests in Wales and Cornwall convert and work from within. Duncan insists that the objective is coexistence of faiths, not replacing one religious monopoly with another 51.

Saint Patrick and Imperial Supremacy

Duncan later pressures Saint Patrick to compete for papal authority as a means of avoiding a destructive religious war. At the Cathedral of Paris, armed personal guards attend the gathering of clergy while Duncan imposes the political conditions under which negotiations can proceed 159.

Patrick leaves the confrontation with no practical alternative to pursuing the papacy. By Duncan’s return to Britannia, imperial support has made Protestantism a major monotheistic faction, though the Eastern Patriarch remains a rival 159 171.

Conservative Resurgence and the Tithe

The Conservatives eventually recover papal power after a long period of covert preparation. The Church’s imposition of the tithe provokes resistance and violent clashes in Britannia, particularly after Duncan’s return emboldens the polytheistic factions 187 188.

A London council brings together Church representatives, native polytheists, and the Holy Grail Faction. With neither side willing to concede, mediation produces an agreement to decide the tithe through a Holy Grail Ritual 187.

Solomon and the Papal Succession

Under pressure from Duncan’s reappearance, the Church deploys its forbidden Solomon relic. Solomon is regarded as the strongest available counter to him; Gilgamesh is an additional safeguard. Escalating further would require summoning a true deity against a man already known as a God Slayer 188.

After Duncan’s victory, Pope Leo VI suddenly falls ill and dies. An archbishop from Britain succeeds him as Patrick V. Duncan does not completely sever monotheism’s real-world faith, avoiding the belief system’s ultimate boundary 194.

Relationships

• Duncan — Political opponent who first exploits internal divisions, then uses imperial power to restrain the Church’s authority. His aim is to prevent divine authority from superseding royal authority 51 159.
• Raven Queen Triss — Heir to a priestly tradition devastated by Church persecution; supports Duncan’s efforts to preserve competing faiths 11 51.
• Anya and the Witch Coven — Organize for mutual protection against persecution and become targets of the Inquisition 14 15.
• Saint Patrick / Patrick I — Recognized Church saint drawn into Duncan’s political settlement; later serves as the Holy Grail Faction’s spiritual leader 129 159 187.
• Archbishop Saint James — Head of the Britannian Diocese during the tithe dispute, wielding substantial authority and two powerful sacred relics 187.
• Avalon and the Norse Pantheon — Rival faith systems threatened by Church expansion; Duncan seeks to preserve room for their continued existence 23 51.