Pyromancer: The Authorities

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The Church of the Holy Flame

The Church of the Holy Flame is state religion, government and vehicle for heriditaty influence all rolled into one. It claims to have founded the Shining Domain and tells the populace that without its protection, humanity would inevitably be consumed by the demonic forces of the Skar.

Their power is maintained through mastery of the energies of Pyros - the burning force of magic that flows through the parallel dimension of Flamespace. It is the Church that controls who may learn the secret arts of Pyros manipulation, granting licenses to Guilds to allow them to teach their Journeyman the more utilitarian magics, and retaining the more militarily useful magics for their own Templars.

In the eyes of the Church, Pyros is the stuff of God, and Flamespace is the blood, soul and mind of God. Only those with Holy dispensation can be allowed to access its energies - mere ordinary men must be content to worship the manifestations of Pyros and to be give thanks for the gifts of life, warmth and light.

The religion of the Holy Flame also elevates the Holy Family that governs to semi-divine status, giving them the right and responsibility of ruling over society and channelling the worship of the masses through them. The Holy Family (which number only a few hundred of "pure blood") lead weekly services in the Cathedrals of the Holy Flame, accepting the worship and adoration of the ten to twenty thousand kneeling before them in the Cathedral, and the indirect worship of others across the city who are required by religious law to cease their work and to pray to the Holy Flame and its Holy Emissaries.

Naturally the Holy Family itself cannot run the church all by itself, and The Church maintains four distinct organisations which oversee its various roles.

The Ecclesiarchy

First and foremost are the Ecclesiarchy. This is the churches administrative and executive branch, overseeing the functions of government such as tax collection and disbursement, maintenance of the legal courts and interpreting the Holy Family's edicts.

The Templars of Burning Light

The Templars are the Church's military, ostensibly formed to defend the Shining Domain against the Skar, but also acting as police force for the Domain, and muscle to back up the Church in its actions. The Templars inevitably have the best equipment and training, and it is a foolish Burner who tries to take them on head on.

The Missionaries of the Sacred Flame

The Mission claims to have an agenda of mercy but are in reality all about public relations and keeping the populace happy. They proselytise, speak sermons to workers and maintain small charitable missions that provide the only free healthcare and social support for the poorest members of society. Though well liked by the masses, the Missionaries are a more sinister entity than they first appear, with their High Council engaged in a constant program of careful societal engineering, seeking to create a more compliant and obedient populace through whatever means are necessary.

The Paladins of the Secret Fire

As their name suggests, the Paladins aren't a publicly acknowledged organisation, but rather a secret order that operates on a covert level. The Paladins were created in order to maintain the Church's monopoly over Flamespace. They stay "tuned in" for hours at a time, running regular patrols to look out for illegal flamerunners and seek to eliminate them on sight.

For the Church to admit the existence of Paladins would be for them to admit that flamerunners exist, and that they are a thorn in their side. Thus, the Paladins secret war remains so, fought purely in flamespace.