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| style="width: 1%" | [[File: | | style="width: 1%" | [[File:Leadergodsas.png|180px|caption|]] || '''Nicholas and Aarthes are the Leadership Gods of the Guided Cult, the teachers of responsibility and careful design to those in positions of power.''' | ||
* | * Nicholas (left) is the Dragon God of Political Design, serving in life as Arch Chancellor Nicholas Kade, and was a previous incarnation of the Dragon Regulus. | ||
* | * Aarthes (right) is the Archon God of Architectural Design, and served as Nicholas's bodyguard. | ||
* The Temple | * The Golden Seed Temple in Axford is considered the holiest site to the Leadership Gods | ||
* | * The Leadership Gods are the patrons of Intellectuals, strategists, philosophers, diplomats, patriarchs, and matriarchs. | ||
* | * Nicholas was not recognized as a God until the Emended Unionists declared him such due to his achievements as the Glorious Chancellor, recognizing Aarthes at the same time. | ||
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<span class="mw-customtoggle- | <span class="mw-customtoggle-Leader" style="color:#0645AD"><u>For expanded lore, click here.</u></span> | ||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" id="mw-customcollapsible- | <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" id="mw-customcollapsible-Leader"> | ||
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'''Description'''<br> | '''Description'''<br> | ||
Nicholas (left) and Aarthes (right) are the Leadership Gods of the Guided Cult, the teachers of responsibility and careful design to those in positions of power. Nicholas is the God of Political Design, whereas Aarthes is the God of Architectural Design Together, the Leadership Gods represent foresight, calculation, intellect, responsibility, and counsel. | |||
They are represented by the scepter of regality, government buildings, and the Regalian State Banner. Their main holy place is the Golden Seed Temple in Axford, the capital of Anglia. Rituals belonging to the Leadership Gods involve the bridging of duality, to seek out "the mind" and "the body" in friendships, and form a perfect union between the person who plans and thinks, and the person who acts and completes. The intention is to build friendships from unlikely partners, to create unbreakable bonds and collaborative efforts that showcase the perfection cooperation, that dependency is not weakness but beautiful and meaningful. | |||
'''Virtues'''<br> | '''Virtues'''<br> | ||
The Virtue of | The Virtue of the Leadership Gods is to use one's speech and charisma to deescalate a situation, rather than resorting to combat as the first option. A good leader recognizes that not all battles need to be fought, and often a diplomatic overture will suffice in finding common ground. By resorting to violence, one earns a reputation for being unreasonable, perpetuating a cycle of violence. As such, the Leadership Gods advocate for the use of words to settle disputes, and only resort to combat when all other options have been explored. In doing so, Unionists believe that one becomes better known as a negotiator and one who they can trust to make sound decisions, and thus a leader that they can trust and follow. | ||
'''Vices'''<br> | '''Vices'''<br> | ||
The greatest Vice | The greatest Vice against the Leadership Gods is to disrupt the order and stability of the state. A society that best furthers the Great Way is one which is not embroiled with petty conflicts over trivial matters, as being obstinate or contrarian earns one no favor in wider society. Those who strike out against authority with malicious intent towards will often shoot themselves in the foot, with only themselves to blame for their own misfortunes. A poor leader is one who refuses to act in good faith and compromise on certain aspects, and instead becomes obstructionist to the decision-making process. Being too rigid leaves one open to being ignored by sounder minds, causing one to lose their right to advocate for themselves when the time is proper. | ||
'''Legacy'''<br> | '''Legacy'''<br> | ||
In Life, Nicholas was known as the Glorious Arch-Chancellor, Nicholas Kade. Known as the most competent head of government in Regalian history, his record-long tenure saw the Empire enter into a golden age of prosperity, owing to his political tact. Taking a diplomatic approach, Nicholas was able to negotiate the end of the Skagger Wars and integrate Drixagh into the Regalian Empire, as well and oversee the inclusion of the Ithanian Sovereignty and Aetosian Theocracy into the imperial fold. Throughout his life, Nicholas was accompanied by Aarthes, his Fin'ullen Archon bodyguard. Following the death of the Arch-Chancellor, Aarthes retreated from public life to reside in his master's old Estate in Anglia, where he would occasionally talk about how Nicholas made his decisions. Nicholas's divinity was not immediately declared, as he never manifested as a spirit following his death. The Emended and later Guided Unionists would declare him a God, believing that his legacy coupled with his Dragonblood status was proof enough of his divinity in life. | |||
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| style="width: 1%" | [[File: | | style="width: 1%" | [[File:Snakegods.png|180px|caption|]] || '''Morgan and Narsil are the Tyrant Gods of The Guided Cult, the warnings to blind faith and unquestioning obedience.''' | ||
* | * Morgan (left) is the Dragon God of Tyrants, serving in life as Arch Chancellor Morgan Kade, and was a previous Incarnation of the Dragon Regulus. | ||
* | * Narsil (right) is the Archon God of Corruption, serving in life as Morgan's bodyguard and spymaster. | ||
* | * There is no holy site for the Tyrants, as as any shrines are frequently vandalized. | ||
* | * The Tyrant Gods are the patrons of those who question leadership and faith in the right and respectful ways, as well as Spies and Saboteurs. | ||
* | * Nicholas was recognized as a God by the Emended Unionists after his death due to his achievements as the Sun Chancellor, recognizing Narsil at the same time. | ||
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| colspan="2" | | | colspan="2" | | ||
<span class="mw-customtoggle- | <span class="mw-customtoggle-Tyrant" style="color:#0645AD"><u>For expanded lore, click here.</u></span> | ||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" id="mw-customcollapsible- | <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" id="mw-customcollapsible-Tyrant"> | ||
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'''Description'''<br> | '''Description'''<br> | ||
Morgan (left) and Narsil (right) are the Tyrant Gods of The Guided Cult, the warnings to blind faith and unquestioning obedience. Morgan is the God of Tyrants, whereas Naril is the God of Corruption. Together, the Martial Gods represent selfishness, greed, cruelty, wroth, pride, hyper-competency, and self-assuredness. They are represented by the cobra-hooded head, snake-forked tongue, and snake-hair head. The Tyrants lack a holy place, as they are not worshipped specifically and instead used as a warning against hedonism and sin, even in competent people. Rituals of Morgan and Narsil are less in service to them, and more in deterrence to the qualities of Morgan. The most common form of ritual is the Public Examination, where large crowds gather in front of a speaking stand, where citizens and commoners hold a public debate on the competency and virtues and morality of an individual in office or power, as a means to hold them accountable to good governance and keep them on the right track. | |||
'''Virtues'''<br> | '''Virtues'''<br> | ||
The Virtue of | The Virtue of the Tyrants is that sometimes, underhanded tactics are also able to further the Great Way. Sometimes, working in the light is too slow or too ineffectively, and that Spies, Saboteurs, and Rogues can also use their skills to the glory of the Empire. This does not mean that criminal behavior, gang activity, and the like is considered morally correct to Guided Unionists (after all, obeying the law is virtuous). Rather, they assert that covert and underhanded tactics can sometimes bring about quicker progress to the Empire than going through the socially-accepted channels, and that espionage against foreign rivals and enemies is a necessity for Regalia to be well-informed in making decisions. | ||
'''Vices'''<br> | '''Vices'''<br> | ||
The greatest Vice against | The greatest Vice against the Tyrants is to use the Emperor, Faith, or Law to justify cruelty and evil. Unionists trust the word of the Emperor, because he communes with the Everwatcher, and that his Laws are made with good intentions for all people. However, those in positions of power who represent the Emperor may use that authority to twist the words of the Emperor to carry out great evil, using the people's faith against them. Likewise, those who manipulate the Laws, or find unintended loopholes, will use them to enrich themselves at another's expense. The faithful are warned to hold those in power accountable, and to be skeptical of anyone claiming to speak for the Emperor without investigating their merits. | ||
'''Legacy'''<br> | '''Legacy'''<br> | ||
In Life, Morgan was known as the Sun Chancellor, Morgan Kade. Remembered as highly competent, but extremely morally corrupt, Morgan used the aftermath of the Purple Bleeding to force Emperor Justinian I to surrender religious prerogative to him, making the Chancellor kingmaker. What followed was a line of Ivrae Emperor who were Morgan's puppets, each being replaced whenever the Chancellor grew tired of them. To enforce his grip over the Empire, Morgan relied on Narsil, his Snake-Marken bodyguard who painted himself gold, to inform the Chancellor of any threats to his power. For over four decades, Morgan and Narsil ruled as tyrants, using intrigue and tyranny to keep the nobility and government in line while funding lives of opulence and hedonism. Eventually, Morgan would be executed by Emperor Vilgemar, who always hated being told what to do. Immediately after, the Imperial Guards hunted down and killed Narsil in a back corridor of the Imperial Palace, ending the duos reign of tyranny. As with the other pair of Dragon Gods, Morgan or Narsil has never manifested, though their actions coupled with Morgan's Dragonblood status were seen to be the acts of the divine (as who else could play kingmaker to the Vessel-God, but another God). The Emended and later Guided Unionists would accept this stance on divinity, teaching that Gods can also be just awful people, and be extremely selfish and capricious, but that bad qualities and ugly personalities are not reasons to write off the skills and competencies that people do have. | |||
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Revision as of 22:51, 16 June 2024
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Nicholas & Aarthes, the Leaders
Nicholas and Aarthes are the Leadership Gods of the Guided Cult, the teachers of responsibility and careful design to those in positions of power.
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For expanded lore, click here. Description Virtues Vices Legacy |
Morgan & Narsil, the Tyrants
Morgan and Narsil are the Tyrant Gods of The Guided Cult, the warnings to blind faith and unquestioning obedience.
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For expanded lore, click here. Description Virtues Vices Legacy |
Celestina & Eòin, the Anticipators
Celestina and Eòin are the Anticipating Gods of the Armageddon Cult, the teachers of going good without material reward.
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For expanded lore, click here. Description Virtues Vices Legacy |
Belialus & Sablael, the Devils
Belialus and Sablael are the Devils of Unionism, the Supreme Evils of the world, and the greatest threat to the Great Way.
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For expanded lore, click here. Description Virtues Vices Legacy |