Category:Bastion

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

The title of bastion initially belongs to the founder of an officially recognised sect of the Church of Ezra. The title is then passed on from chosen successor to chosen successor. Since an anchorite must be able to manifest the Shield of Ezra as part of winning official recognition for a sect, the initial bastion of a sect always has the Mist Domain. Founding bastions have been clerics, without or without the anchorite of the Mists prestige class. For the present, there are only four bastions: the Bastion of the Home Faith, the Bastion of Mordent, the Bastion of Dementlieu and the Bastion of Darkon.

This section contains Potential-canon info, revealed by the creators from never-published sources

The chosen successors of bastions must also be able to manifest the Shield of Ezra.^[1] This does not in fact imply that a bastion is necessarily a cleric. A bastion could be a cloister cleric. The Bastion of Mordent could be a paladin with the contemplative prestige class. Any of the bastions could, at least conceivably, be an adept with the contemplative prestige class.

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

The bastions gather in Levkarest at the Bastions' Councils to discuss vital issues affecting the Church as a whole. The degree to which the office of the Praesidius wields influence, official or otherwise, over these councils is unclear. The current Praesidius Levin Postoya is, and Praesidius Alexei Raskolka was, also the Bastion of the Home Faith. Although the Praesidius is always chosen from the Home Faith, it may not be the case that he or she necessarily also holds the office of Bastion of the Home Faith.

Bastions find themselves in a curious position. They have the authority of unchallenged leadership over their respective sects, yet bind themselves, in principle at the very least, to the decisions of the Bastions' Council and recognise the greater authority of the Praesidius. The resulting tensions are especially great in the case of the Bastion of Mordent, the Bastion of Dementlieu and the Bastion of Darkon, for they are out of step with the lawful neutral alignment of the Praesidius and the Home Faith. Although the Bastion of the Home Faith does not suffer from this tension, they may be subject to a different one, due to the probably well-founded sense that he or she does not enjoy the same degree of autonomy as the other bastions, which is an argument for holding the offices of both bastion and praesidius.

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