666 [[Yakov Dilisnya]] pens the [[First Book of Ezra]].
666 [[Yakov Dilisnya]] pens the [[First Book of Ezra]].
684 Yakov moves to Borca, and convinces Camille to support the church.
684 Yakov moves to Borca, and convinces Camille to support the church.
695 First services in the unfinished Grand Cathedral.
695 First services in the unfinished Grand Cathedral.
698 Camille kills Yakov; the first Schism starts.
698 Camille kills Yakov; the first Schism starts.
698 [[Felix Wachter]] and four anchorites take the Church back to Mordent.
698 [[Felix Wachter]] and four anchorites take the Church back to Mordent.
707 Dementlieu appears; [[Joan Secousse]] finds [[Ste. Mere des Larmes]].
707 Dementlieu appears; [[Joan Secousse]] finds [[Ste. Mere des Larmes]].
709 [[Joan Secousse]] pens the Second Book and a new sect is started.
709 [[Joan Secousse]] pens the Second Book and a new sect is started.
745 The Grand Cathedral is finished.
745 The Grand Cathedral is finished.
751 [[Teodorus Raines]] passes the [[Rite of Revelation]].
751 [[Teodorus Raines]] passes the [[Rite of Revelation]].
==Bastions==
==Sects==
There are four sects of the Ezran religion, though some followers expect a final fifth.
There are four sects of the Ezran religion, though some followers expect a final fifth.
Revision as of 20:15, 20 March 2010
WIKISEED FROM CATALOGUE : Main headquarters in Borca, Mordent, Dementlieu, and Darkon(Please edit freely, then remove this note and WIKISEED label)
The symbol of Ezran faith.
The Church of Ezra is an institution that follows the messianic figure Ezra, who may or may not have existed as a human or a goddess. Its symbol is a silver longsword on a kite shield with a sprig of belladonna.
The religion originated through the prophecies of one man, Yakov Dilisnya. At the age of 25 a horseback riding accident left him delerious for five days, at the end of which he recovered and penned the First Book of Ezra. Over the next few years he displayed increasingly miraculous powers, but gained few followers until he left his native Mordent for the newly formed Borca. There he convinced his young half-sister Camille to help finance the construction of the Great Cathedral, and set about making many more converts.
When one of Camille's tantrums led to Yakov's death, it led to a schism in the church. Camille's fear of fanatic reprisal led to an apology in the form of a statue of Yakov for the cathedral, but she privately demanded that the church avoid fomenting rebellion. The question as to whether the Church ought to accept demands from an earthly ruler--and a corrupt one at that--caused Felix Wachter to separate himself with a small group of like-minded faithful and return to Mordent. There he penned the Second Book of Ezra.
The rift between the two sects eventually healed, but when wandering anchorite Joan Secousse entered the new domain of Dementlieu, another rift occured, eventually leading to another book. Secousse had discovered Ste. Mere des Larmes, an abandoned cathedral dedicated to Ezra that nevertheless predated the entire church to date. Secousse penned the revelations she received from her study of the cathedral, and a new sect was born.
Years later, in the wake of the Grand Conjunction, a Darkonese anchorite named Teodorus Raines had a series of apocalyptic revelations about a Time of Unparallelled Darkness, and the desperate state of the faithful beset on all sides by the duplicitous Legions of the Night. Raines penned the Fourth Book of Ezra, passed the Rite of Revelation, and created the fourth sect.
There are four sects of the Ezran religion, though some followers expect a final fifth.
The four sects are the Home Faith in Borca, the pure hearts in Mordentshire, the Erudites in Dementilieu and the Zealots in Darkon.
The Book of Ezra
n the time before, in a land cloaked in Mists, there was a woman, and She was Ezra.
Ezra was a healer of the sick and protector of the weak. Such was Her lot in life. Such was Her role in the grand scheme. Ezra took pride in the role Fate had given Her. Her duty was Her joy.
For many years, Ezra healed the lame and watched over Her people. Yet as time went on, Ezra began to see the Hollow. From the Mists of Death came horrors of the night. They were the drinker of blood and the stealer of breath and the beast that rends. Many were their legions. Many were the roles played by darkness in the Grand Scheme.
Ezra knew that Death would come for Her, as it comes to all in time. When Ezra entered the Gray Land, there would be no guardian to fill Her role. There would be no one to stand between Her people and the Legions of the Night.
Ezra set forth on a quest to find a guardian for Her people. She sought the One Pure Heart who would assume Her role. Ezra sought for the One Pure Heart in many lands, but ever did She seek in vain.
In time, Her quest brought Ezra to the end of all things. Behind Ezra stretched all the lands of the world. Before Ezra rose only the Mists of Death.
Ezra spoke to the Mists. Asked She, “The world is yours. You set its shape. Why do you allow its people to wander, lost and afraid?” But the Mists did not answer.
Again Ezra spoke. “Why have you filled your world with the Legions of the Night?” Yet the Mists would not answer.
A third time did Ezra speak. “All things have their role in the Grand Scheme. The Legions of the Night have their place, but Guardians and Guides have their roles in turn.” Still the Mists offered no reply.
Ezra spoke once more. “I have searched all the vastness of your lands, but I have found no Guardians for My people. I have found no Guides for the lost.” Again the Mists were silent.
For the last time did Ezra speak. “You have failed the Grand Scheme. You have created a Hollow that must be filled. If you will not watch over your people, then that task falls to me.” Upon the fifth entreaty did the Mists of Death reply.
From the Mists came a Voice, and the Voice spoke, saying, “Turn back, Mortal. You know nothing of the Grand Scheme. You know nothing of the Mists. You have reached the end of Your world. Continue and You shall find only Your destruction, nothing more.”
Yet Ezra held fast against the Mists, saying, “You cannot bid Me enter, yet I cannot turn away. I offer Myself to you so that you may know the suffering of My People. If I must be destroyed for them, then that is what must be.” The Mists of Death fell silent.
Then the Voice spoke once more. “Enter the Mists if You must, Mortal, but not as You are. Your kind has no place here. To enter the Mists, You must become as one with the Mists. Never again shall You leave them. Will You forever sacrifice Yourself to watch over these few mortals?”
Spoke Ezra, “Such is My role in the Grand Scheme. So must it be.” And with these words did Ezra become Our Guardian in the Mists.
