Types of Clergy: Clerics and laypersons lead the faithful of Daiesthai.
Prayer Time for Recovery of Spells: Clerics of Daiesthai pray for their spells at the time that their god comes forth, i.e., dawn.
Clerical Vestments: Official clerical vestments of the church of Daiesthai all incorporate green-tinged gold color in some form. The holy symbol of Daiesthai is a disk of gold worked to resemble flames.
Favored Weapon: As the ruler of the Pantheon, Daiesthai rightfully wields a scepter as a symbol of his authority. Clergy of Daiesthai emulate the Father of the Pantheon by wielding a heavy mace resembling a scepter; often the head of the mace is worked in a flame or sun motif. Higher ranking clerics, or merely more affluent clerics, often gild their mace with gold.
Churches of Daiesthai: The typical twenty-sided church has four entrances with 20 golden stairs leading to each gate; the main gate of each church faces the east to welcome the rising sun. Churches of Daiesthai typically do not have an altar, but do have a golden throne atop a twenty-stepped dais. Golden hues are typical of the décor of a temple, especially golden flowers. The church of the Primus Sol is not a free-standing church; rather, it is attached to the Grand Pantheon in Hopeful.
Clerical Structure: The Primus Sol is the temporal and spiritual leader of the church of Daiesthai. His symbol of rank is a crown of two horns. The Primus Sol sits on, and leads, the ruling council, the Icosagon, composed of four Solars and the Timekeeper. Each Solar represents a certain geographical area (a See), and he or she is expected to dwell in that region, except for meetings of the Icosagon. These Sees are: Hopeful, Sær Illel, and Pudzeld. A fourth Solar does not have a specific See and, instead, acts as an ombudsman who serves the faith at large. The Timekeeper serves no See, but represents Daiesthai's position as Father Time.
Serving the Solars as auxiliary bishops are twenty "Luminaries". "Days" are the ordinary clergy, cleric and layperson, who serve the faithful. Days are also referred to as "Fathers", reflective of Daiesthai's positions as Father of the Pantheon and as Father Time.
Factions within the Church of Daiesthai: The church of the Father of the Pantheon is organized into three houses: the House of the Rising Sun, the House of the Noonday Light, and the House of the Setting Sun.
The House of the Noonday Light: This is the largest House, and most of the clergy and administrators of the church belong to this House. Traditionally, the Primus Sol is a member of this faction. The House of the Noonday Light stresses that the light and the life comes from Daiesthai; all-in-all, a typical sun god religion. Its symbol is a full greenish-yellow sun on a sky blue field.
The House of the Rising Sun: The House of the Rising Sun is the second largest House, although it is still fairly small compared with that of the Noonday Light. This particular House rose from those clerics serving the warriors of the Fyrd. The light of the morning sun saved more than a few warriors from the onslaught of the undead armies and meant that a long night's fighting was over. Typically, the Solar representing Hopeful is drawn from this House.
The dogma stressed by the House of the Rising Sun revolves around the concept that the light of Daiesthai means salvation and safety from evil. "The sunfire burns away sin and evil." The House of the Rising Sun has a special enmity against the undead which threaten the warriors of the Fyrd and, indeed, all of Hopeful and mankind. Their symbol is a red, half-sun rising on a pink and purple field.
The House of the Rising Sun has a not always good-natured rivalry with the clergy of Bheleu for the hearts, minds and souls of the warriors of the Fyrd.
The House of the Setting Sun: The smallest House, and the newest sect, is the House of the Setting Sun. This House arose shortly after the second Deorcdægn (Dark Day). Members of the original two Houses were terrified when the sun's power was utterly blocked with a day's worth of darkness. While originally a fairly secretive group, the House of the Setting Sun has come out into the open and became a fully-sanctioned House shortly after the Scéäduwë was conquered by the Republic of Nelmachh. These renegades were envigorated by the purposeful, dedicated and motivated approach of the Republic in combatting the evil of the undead. This mindset inspired the formation of the House. The stated purpose of the House of the Setting Sun is to take the war to the darkness. It seeks to discover the cause of Deorcdægn and end it. Translated to practical effect, the House has initiated action against the worshippers of darkness and those who work in the shadows, especially those who dabble in shadow and negative plane magic.
Inspired by the Republic, the House of the Setting Sun remains its most vocal supporter, other than the Corr.
The members of this House have, at best, strained relations with those who worship or venerate the lunar gods, saving their most undying hatred for those who worship Relah, who they blame for Dark Day. For their part, Relah worshippers deny their god causes Dark Day and aver that this is merely blaming the Messenger of Prophesy. As for Asaliah and Tiriel, they are eyed warily, as their goddesses are strongest when the sun is gone. Furthermore, members of the House of the Setting Sun mutter amongst themselves that the faithful of Asaliah and Tiriel are not doing enough to counter Deorcdægn which, conveniently enough, occurs when all of the moons are dark, not just Relah.
Despite the House's name and, perhaps because of its close ties with Nelmachh, a very small cadre of paladins has arisen within the House of the Setting Sun, holy warriors against the darkness.
The House of the Setting Sun also espouses a slightly different doctrine of Daiesthai. The House point to fire as a gift from Daiesthai to light the way in the dark. This holy fire is a potent reflection of the sun's glory and power.
The symbol of this House is a full, green-tinged gold sun (identical to that of the House of the Nooday Light) on a black field. The House also uses a symbol of a single torch flame on a black field; inscribed within the torch flame is the symbol of the sun. The black field of both of these insignia is often the black clothing or armor favored by the members of the House of the Setting Sun.
TO DO: Who is the Primus Sol? Who are the Solars and the Timekeeper? Who are the heads of the Houses?
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