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Message: <blockquote data-quote="apocalypstick" data-source="post: 1034618" data-attributes="member: 12356">The One True Church: An OverviewThe One True Church“The Emperor’s strength is the strength of the world, but Anselm alone holds province over its soul.”This axiom serves as a good example of the clout wielded by the One True Church of Kylearia. While its influence over the daily lives of the people is not as great as that of the Empire, this ancient institution is still a force to be reckoned with, and to be wary of. Few are those who have openly flouted the desires of the Church and lived, and even those who manage to escape their vengeance upon Earth would do well to remember that “you can run from the Church for as long as you live, but those who hide from Anselm’s Light will be claimed by the Dark One when they die.”But how much truth do these old sayings hold? Like the sun itself that Holy Canon states is the physical form of God, the strength of the Church is waning. Gone are the days when a High Priest could lift his finger and the Empire would come running. The ancient traditions are still upheld, but there is no longer any respect behind them. The citizenry are uncomfortable and afraid as they begin to contemplate what it means for the Sun to die – for if the Sun truly is the physical form of Anselm, what then is happening to their God?An important, and potentially very destructive, division amongst the people of Kylearia has began to emerge. Most, weaned on generations of teachings that the Church is the only path to salvation, still cling faithfully to the Church and hope that it will somehow be able to reverse the slow death of God. The clergy say that Anselm has turned his back on Kylearia because Kylearia has turned its back on him, and only through faith and devotion may the world be saved. Others have abandoned all hope; they pay lip service to the clergy, but believe in their hearts that the end is coming, it is irrevocable, and the One True Church is an outdated institution whose time has passed. Cults and secret covens in service to the Dark One sprout up like weeds after a rain. And a scant few look for a new faith, and a new God.Now the Church sees its power, both spiritual and secular, dwindling. In response it exerts what strength it has left in a desperate attempt to reclaim its former strength. Justicari roam the lands, actively searching out evils to purify, and destroying much that is good in their overzealousness. Priests decry the people’s faithlessness and seek to frighten their flocks into submission with “righteous wrath and furious anger,” while others seek only to perform good works throughout the land and selflessly offer succor to those in need of physical and spiritual assistance. Rumor runs rampant about other, darker plans being set into motion at the highest levels of the Church; plans that many whisper about, but none can prove.Evil, faithlessness, and heresy loom on all sides of the Holy Church, and there are few enemies more dangerous than one that has been backed into a corner.</blockquote>

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