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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clay_More" data-source="post: 4409949" data-attributes="member: 9813">This is a continuation of the description of Thakulion, the Prince of Scars. OrdersWithin the Thakulion church itself there are a number of orders, including five different monk orders as well as the war-heralds.Dolbartin: The Dolbartin order is an order of scholarly monks who have specialized in copying and printing books. Of the five monk orders, the Dolbartinians are considered not only the most peaceful and passive, but also the most restrictive. Members of the order are expected to be completely abstinent and to abandon all ties with their family when they join the order. They are also expected to abstain from eating spices, speaking after nightfall and reading any book that is not holy in nature. The order is primarily funded by its dominant position in the copying market, the seal of the Dolbartinians being a seal of approval on any copied book. The order is though restricted from copying any books that are not considered holy, so the only books which the Dolbartinians copy are the sacred books of the Thakulion church, most notably the Benedictem. The Dolbartin order has monasteries in Laumakis, Montelival, Cay Nogulh and Cay Adair.Theutob: The Theutobites are an order of excellent bare-knuckle fighters. The monks train in a special combat style that mixes boxing with brawling. The Theutobites often travel the countryside, winning fist-fighting competitions wherever possible. The order is also considered to be the most effective debt collectors you can find. The Theutob order has often been criticized by the church for their amoral behavior and their tendency to collaborate with sinister elements of the criminal underworld. Some Theutobites are sometimes seen wearing the so-called "Theutob Ribbon", a pair of brass-knuckles adorned with holy symbols of Thakulion. The Theubites often adhere to a very strict diet, probably the strictest diet of any religious order. They have several large tomes detailing the exact composition of every meal that they eat, their food being planned to not only provide the best possible foundation for their martial training, but also to heighten their spirituality. The Theutobites run a number of large farms in Laumakis where they offed food and lodging to those who work there. While the workers are given no salary, the farms have no difficulty in finding people to work on them amongst the poor of Laumakis. The order even runs a number of mines in the Noregau mountains for poor people who suffer from diseases so contagious that they are not allowed inside the towns of Laumakis, such as leprosy, bubonic and pneumonic plague. Life working in these mines is extremely hard, but it is often the only option for the people working there. Part of the contract signed when a person is admitted into these mine towns makes the Theutobites responsible for providing food and lodging for the worker even when he becomes too sick to work anymore.Adolfo: The Adolfo order of monks is sometimes called the "whirling monks" due to the special dance they perform. The special costume worn during the dance is a white dress with leather bands strapped around the waist and lower arms. Attached to the leather bands are a number of whips. The dance is performed by the monks holding their hands up high in the air and spinning around, causing the whips to connect with the nearby dancers. The whirling dance is very bloody and is said to put the Adolfo monks in a state of holy trance. While some rumors abound that the dance is also the fighting style of the monks, this is a mere rumor as the dance would be very inefficient in combat, it is a purely religious performance. When not engaged in one of their festivals, the Adolfo monks are zealous missionaries. While the Adolfo monks have set up missions in many countries in Balmortis, their newest and most prestigious endeavor are the settlements they have founded on the northern continent of Karazam. While these settlements allow access to any who worship Thakulion, they are governed and run by the Adolfo order.Leonite: The Leonites are usually considered the most lenient of the monk orders devoted to Thakulion. The Leonites are master brewers, producing some of the finest ale and beer in Laumakis and several other countries where they have monasteries. In addition to their brewing, the Leonites have been appointed to be quality testers for the Laumakian court. The monks are responsible for testing the quality and taste of all fine wine and spirits that enters the country. The monks have a ranking system featuring either a gold, silver or iron star. If a wine or spirit is judged to be of undrinkable quality or it is directly hazardous, the monks will destroy the batch. Even though the Leonites are known to destroy tainted batches of spirits or wine, many merchants and wine brewers will still send their goods to be tested by the monks. The three symbols of approval given by the order are highly coveted by those who sell wine and spirits as they are recognized across the Tamara continent and it's isles. Since there are so extremely many different brands of wine and spirits on Tamara, it is impossible for people to know all brands. This makes the three ranks given by the Leonites an easy way for customers to recognize the quality of a wine or spirit even though they don't know the brand. The Leonites can be found in virtually all countries of Balmortis, except Cimakath and the elven empires.Elbes: The Elbes monks are a strange order as they combine the worship of two deities, something quite uncommon in Balmortis. The order worships both Thakulion and Emanuel, the Whisperer. The monks have been rigorously trained in the arcane arts as part of their worship of Emanuel and they use this vast knowledge in arcane matters to identify and catalogue magic items. The order is renowned for its extremely strict doctrine of secrecy and abstinence. The Elber are the only monks who are founded completely by the Thakulion church. The funding is due to the special task given to the Elbes order. They are responsible for cataloging and storing all items and artifacts that are deemed to be tainted by evil by the church. Once an item has been deemed to be heretical by the church, it is immediately handed over to the Elbes to be studied. Sometimes they Elbes will destroy items they deem to be especially dangerous, but normally the item will merely be placed in the catacombs beneath their monastery in Castle Laumakis for safe-keeping. The monastery is guarded by not only the Elber monks, but also by a small detachment of Scarlet Robes from the war-heralds.War-Heralds: The war-heralds is the military arm of the church, priests trained in a combination of melee combat and divine magic. The order is ruled by the immortal Saint Theowyn who resides in Castle Laumakis and the war-heralds are considered a vital part of the Laumakian army when it goes on a campaign. In addition to being very competent front line fighters, the war-heralds are also skilled healers and revered symbols of faith amongst the common soldiers. Their mere presence is often enough to motivate the troops in battle, as the war-heralds are said to bring good luck and fortune to those who fight by their side. In addition to assisting the army, the war-heralds are sometimes sent on special missions by the church to hunt down heretics or acquire holy items. While the war-heralds are officially a part of the church, they are very autonomous and self-governed, as Saint Theowyn is considered to be almost equal to Saint Neopaul in political and religious power. Even though they are considered an independent faction, there are extremely few cases in which the war-heralds have followed a different policy than that of the Thakulion church.Vanquishers: The vanquishers are a branch of the war-heralds tasked with hunting down arcane magic-users inside Laumakis. The country has a very strict law against the use of arcane magic and only an extremely few wizards are given exempt from this law if they serve the church or the king. All other wizards are hunted down by the vanquishers and killed or exiled. In addition to chasing down arcane spellcasters, the vanquishers are sometimes sent along with the Laumakian army if the army is expected to meet enemy wizards on the battlefield. Consisting of veteran war-heralds who have been trained in a highly specialized type of combat that is very potent in combating spellcasters, the vanquishers are commonly considered the best wizard killers around. In addition to their combat training, the vanquishers are also indoctrinated far more rigorously than normal war-heralds to ensure that they are not tempted by bribes or promises of power by those that they hunt. When in pursuit of their prey, the vanquishers are given great liberties that sets them above the law of Laumakis. Brothers of Herexia: The brothers of herexia are by far the most sinister and depraved members of the Thakulion church. The brotherhood was established several hundred years ago to conduct secret research into areas that would provide the church with potent weaponry against its opponents. The brotherhood consists of a very small number of hand-picked priests who have been found to posses some special skill or power that is beneficial to the brotherhood. The brothers of herexia constantly search for potent artifacts and technologies that they might one day use against the enemies of the church. The weapons possessed by the brotherhood are often of such a dubious and heretical nature that it would be political suicide for the church to admit their existence and the brothers are therefore forbidden to use their special items against the enemies of the church. Only in extreme cases are the brothers allowed to use their many sinister inventions and items against their foes. The general public is completely unaware of the existence of the brotherhood and many of its members have ranks and duties within the official Thakulion church. The headquarters of the brotherhood is a series of abandoned service tunnels beneath Castle Laumakis. Built on the ruins of a subterranean goblin city, Castle Laumakis has a vast network of tunnels located underneath the city and the White River, tunnels which allow the brotherhood to move between safe houses in the city undetected. All of their laboratories and research facilities are located deep within the ground. The brotherhood has recently engaged in a conflict in these tunnels as an especially zealous group of priests from the cult of Eigil have set up a base of operations underneath Castle Laumakis. The cult of Eigil are worshipers of Tynn the Deceiver. The cult and the brothers of herexia fight for control of the tunnel system, a fight that has gone on for nearly ten years. Even though the brothers of herexia have a slight advantage in numbers and weapons, the cult of Eigil has proven to be an elusive and capable foe. The skirmishes are fought in complete secrecy, as both factions would suffer greatly if their operations became known to the public. The existence of the brothers of herexia is a secret known only to a handful of high-ranking members of the Thakulion church. While the depravity and occasional insanity of the brotherhood makes them almost as big a liability as a benefit, their odd and zealous behavior is tolerated as a necessary evil. While few outside the brotherhood know about the weapons they possess, they are rumored to include a number of very potent psychics, various customized diseases, ancient and evil artifacts and several captured beasts and demons that are imprisoned reinforced cells located in highly guarded sections of the tunnel system</blockquote>

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