The Twelve Articles of Faith

As compiled by the righteous hand of Saint Malorn, called the Just, first of that name, the Supreme Pontifex and First Confessor of the Temple of the Cleansing Flame. Written in the sixty-sixth year after the Turning, in the Holy City of Cair Haldoran, with the aid and guidance of the Blessed Saints and Holy Archons. May the Cleansing Flame never waver! May it shine as a Beacon to the faithful and a Scourge to the unworthy!

1. I believe in the All-Father, ruler of the Gods, supreme and universal.

We, the Faithful, believe in the All-Father power and primacy of the All-Father, omnipotent and eternal, one God above all others, who created Aerynth and fashioned Humankind.

2. I believe in the Power of His Will alone, and in the Power of His servants.

We, the Pious, believe in the Power of the All-Father's celestial servants, the Archons, and in the Glory of those holy mortals who have ascended to His grace, the Saints. We believe that they alone are the font of all blessings and miracles, and their power is but an echo of their Father's. All wonders not born of the Blessed Saints and Holy Archons are therefore perversions of the All-Father's will, born of Sorcery, Sin, and Evil.

3. I believe in the Ascendancy of Humankind, the All-Father's greatest children.

We, the Chosen, believe that Humankind was born only of the All-Father, fashioned by His hands and quickened by His Spirit. Alone among the Children of the World, the Sons of Men are capable of fully receiving the All-Father's divine grace and goodness. We believe that the Sons of Men are the only true and rightful heirs to the All-Father's works, and the worthiest recipients of His gifts.

4. I believe in the Divinely ordained rule of Cambruin, the High King.

We, the Righteous, believe in the divinely ordained rule of Cambruin, High King, greatest of all the Sons of Men. We believe that Cambruin was blessed and chosen by the All-Father, and was His instrument and champion on Aerynth. We believe in the majesty of his works and the truth of his Code. We believe that it is the duty of the faithful to honor the five virtues of Cambruin's Code, living their lives with valor, generosity, modesty, mercy, and justice.

5. I believe in the Gospel of Saint Malorn the Just.

We, the Worthy, believe in the gospel and testament of Saint Malorn the Just, Champion to the High King Cambruin. We believe in the revelation of Holy Truth and wisdom to Malorn by the Holy Archons. We believe the Book of Staves contains inarguable Holy Truth, but that its Wisdom has been hidden, and is now subject to the imperfect interpretations of Man. We believe that the Book of Swords, by contrast, is the product of direct revelation. It contains the Holy Truth, undiluted and unobscured.

6. I believe in the power of the Cleansing Flame, beacon of the Faithful and redeemer of the Wicked.

We, the Pure, believe in the Cleansing Flame, the fire of purity kindled by the All-Father against Sin and Evil and revealed to Saint Malorn in the very hour of the Turning. We believe in the power of the Flame to reveal truth, to purify the weak, to heal the faithful, and to destroy the unworthy. We believe that only those who have seen the light of the Cleansing Flame and felt its redeeming touch can truly sense or know the All-Father's righteous will. They alone are worthy to preach the All-Father's holy word and chastise the wicked.

7. I believe in the eternal struggle against Chaos and Darkness, the Twin Enemies of the World.

We, the Holy, believe in the great Enemies, the twin evils that work constantly to corrupt all of the All-Father's works. The first of these Enemies is Chaos, which corrupts all it touches and has tired to consume the World. The second Enemy is Unholy Darkness, which poisons the Spirits of the dead, infusing the fallen with life that is not life, in defiance of the All-Father's will. We believe that the faithful must fight eternally against these Enemies, and that all things touched or corrupted by them must be consigned to the Cleansing Flame.

8. I believe in the eternal struggle against Three-fold Sin, the corrupter of the Faithful.

We, the Upright, believe in the existence of Sin, the knowing or unknowing perversion of Holy Will by ignorant Children of the World. We believe that the baneful forces of Chaos and Darkness nurture insolent Will and Pride in the hearts of lesser beings, drawing them out of the light of the Cleansing Flame, out of the divine grace of the All-Father, and into the shadow of Sin. We believe that Sin manifests in the World through three channels: Sins of deed called Crime, Sins of thought called Delusion, and Sins of word called Heresy. We believe that of these, the darkest and most dire is Heresy.

9. I believe in the Redemption of Sin through the power of the Cleansing Flame.

We, the Favored, believe that the taint of Sin, unlike the direct corruption of Chaos or Evil, may be cured through the power of the Cleansing Flame. The souls of the Sinful, though tempted into wickedness, may still be redeemed if they can but confess their evil. The Sinful must be shown the light and majesty of the Cleansing Flame, that in its light they might come to see their errors. But let the Faithful beware, for Sin is devious and cunning, and can often only be driven from its victims through trials, ordeals, and purgation of the Flesh. We believe that the integrity of the Living Soul is the ultimate and highest good, and that the sacrifice of sinful flesh in the name of salvation is a just and worthy practice.

10. I believe in the Path of Righteousness, the power of Good Works, and Eternal Vigilance against Sin.

We, the Vigilant, believe the Faithful must live lives of Righteousness, as set down in the Holy Book of Swords. The Faithful should gladly do works and deeds of Compassion and Kindness, and uphold the eternal virtues of Chastity and Duty. So may the unenlightened be called to stand in the light of the Flame, and so may the Faithful guard their own Spirits from the incursion of Sin. We believe that the greatest virtue of the Faithful is Vigilance: for even the doing of good and blessed deeds may lead to an excess of Pride, the harbinger of Sin. The Faithful must be ever watchful, seeking the hidden taint of Sin in themselves and in their neighbors, for yea, the vilest Sins of all are those that bring the Faithful unto wickedness.

11. I believe in the supremacy of the Temple above all other congregations.

We, the Enlightened, believe in the Holy Temple that Saint Malorn built, and declare that only those who have embraced his gospel and the Cleansing Flame may truly know the All-Father's divine will. The Temple is thus set above all of the other altars and congregations of the World. We declare our renunciation of the so-called Holy Church of the All-Father, founded by Sinful Elves and corrupted by the forces of Sin. Though the Sons of Men worked long to redeem it and though it has done many good works, the Church has fallen prey to dire heresy, and its Patriarch is an agent of wickedness. We believe that the Holy Church has failed, and that the body of its members must be brought into the Temple for redemption.

12. I believe in the power of Worldly Rulers, provided that they are Righteous.

We, the Blessed, believe that the Faithful may live as subjects to any King, Lord, or Ruler, provided that they have proven themselves Just, Righteous, and Upright. There is no authority greater than the All-Father, ruler of Heaven and Aerynth: all power, secular or ecumenical, derives from His will alone. As He ordained the rule of Ardan and of Cambruin, so we recognize the Divine Right of the Righteous to command the obedience of the Faithful in worldly matters. It is the duty of every Sovereign to embrace the light of the Flame and walk the Righteous path. Any Prince who fails to do so leads the Faithful toward Sin and Evil with every command and proclamation. It is the sacred duty of the Faithful to defy such a wanton Prince's authority, as all instruments of corruption must be consigned unto the Cleansing Flame.

Lore
Events Introduction | World History | Timeline | Summary Characters Deities | People | New Paragons | Organizations | Races | Classes | Disciplines | Minor Artifacts Historical Documents | Shadowbane