The Sanctuary

The Serene began as a humble order of monks who protected Emperor Carthos Sarvek and helped spread his teachings to his subjects. Carthos was their Emperor, their teacher, and their friend.

That was hundreds of years ago.

In current times, the Serene have grown into a colossal order, with thousands of members across the Empire. They are a major power, dwarfing the forces mustered by any one Noble House and rivaling the combined might of the Imperial military.

These notes and definitions are offered for public consideration and enlightenment.

Archon: a member of the Serene who leads all Sanctuary operations within one of the ten holy cities. Archons report directly to the Sentinel. All Archons must be able to dream walk. Archons are always well trained and capable magic users. While the Sanctuary is above petty House politics, effort is made to ensure the Archon of a holy city is also of the same House that is hosted in that city. This is not always possible. For instance, Darian Cromwell is currently Archon of North Reach, home of House Keirnan.

Blessings: A number of the Serene can form and channel magical power. These spells are called “blessings,” even if the particular spell is one that burns people to death. (In those cases, it is often said the target was “blessed with holy, cleansing fire/lightning/pain/death.”) Most magic-capable Serene manifest their talents in the form of protective or healing magic. Those few spell slingers with more offensive tendencies become Templar mages. Regardless of their placement within the Sanctuary’s organization, the magic is seen as a gift from the Prophet, power bestowed in reward for piety, loyalty, and discipline. Only the Serene and the Emperor may receive these blessings; therefore, anyone else who practices magic must receive their powers from a source other than the Prophet. The Dark Son is the only other recognized immortal, which means anyone else who practices magic is assumed to be in league with the Prophet’s adversary. Those who practice magic without belonging to the Serene are converted and assimilated into the order, or they’re killed as heretics, without exception or mercy.

The Dark Son: Carthos’ first-born son, whose true name was intentionally forgotten. He tried to kill his father and failed. Carthos cast him into the dark pits under the Mountain, where it’s said he did not die, but fell in league with demons who taught him the secret of immortality, and he now fights his father in the god realms and within the heart of every living being.

Dream Walking: This is a powerful telepathic manifestation of magical ability that allows the mage to leave his body while he sleeps. His dream-self can travel distances very quickly and pass through solid objects. He can see and hear events that are happening in real time wherever his dream-self is at, but he can’t interact with the wakeful world in any way.

A dream walker may communicate directly with another dream walker, providing one acts as a host. In this situation, one mage must invite others into his mind, allowing one or more dream walkers to enter his dream space where they can converse and interact. The host is in no danger; while the meeting takes place, the host is in total control of the dream reality the other walkers experience. The host chooses the appearance of the dream space and all other aspects of the experience. While the meeting lasts, the host is the god of his own mental domain, and all in attendance are subject to his whim. A mage of tremendous power and skill is required to host a dream meeting with more than one or two participants. Mages can also fight in dream space, which is a very dangerous affair. Any damage done to a dream walker in dream space is manifested in their physical bodies. Death in dream space causes death in the real world.

A dream walker may also communicate with regular people by invading their dreams. This is not as effective as communicating with other dream walkers or dream talkers, because all communications are altered by the host’s mind. The invading walker must conform to whatever scenario or conditions are established by the host’s dreaming mind. This often requires the walker to communicate through images or signals that can be misinterpreted or ignored by the sleeper upon waking. Only the most powerful and practiced mages can invade a sleeper’s mind and wrestle control of his dreams from him.

Dream Talkers are those who can receive and communicate with dream walkers but lack the power or skill to actually leave their bodies. They can call for dream walkers in dream space, and they can interact perfectly with any dream walker that comes to them or provides the talker with a pathway into the walker's mind (called a dream line,) but a dream talker cannot otherwise leave his body.
It may seem paradoxical, but dream walking is an exhausting activity. It must be done while sleeping, because it requires energy and focus that cannot be mustered while a mage is awake. Most dream walkers won’t take a dream trip unless they know they can sleep the majority of the following day.

While "dream meetings" are an excellent way to share information and devise plans, it can be very difficult to coordinate all participants so that all are sleeping at the same time. This becomes especially difficult in a country the size of the Sarveki Empire.

Doctrine: Sanctuary doctrine and teaching are based on the Holy Writings of Carthos Sarvek, which have been passed down through the ages. These writings span hundreds of scrolls. Few bound book copies exist, so they’re taught and passed on verbally. Through fables and parables of the First Emperor’s adventures, these writing provide a moral code that stresses obedience to the Emperor and to the Sanctuary. Compliance with the code ensures a person will feast forever at the Prophet’s Table. Deviance ensures a person will fall into the Final Darkness when they die.

Elder Mentor: A sanctuary leader of any large town or city that isn’t one of the ten holy cities. Elder Mentors may report to the Sentinel directly, but most report to the Archon assigned to their district, called a prayershire. They do not have to be capable of dream walking, but they must be able to dream talk. Elder Mentors are usually capable of using magic, but they’re rarely as powerful or as skilled as Archons.

The Final Darkness: a reference to the afterlife that waits for those who are wicked or ignore the Prophet’s teachings. When a person dies and makes their way to the Mountain, they either ascend to the top or fall into the darkness underneath, depending on how they lived their lives. Those who fall either join the Dark Son’s armies or are devoured by the Dark Son to extend his own life.

Mentor: The lowest class of full-fledged Serene. Mentors are battlefield healers, burial chamber custodians, research assistants, and the head of sanctuaries or teachers in remote villages or small towns. When in a leadership position, they always report to the Archon or Elder Mentor of their prayershire. Mentors may use some minor magic, usually healing and curing spells, or minor protection spells. Many do not use any magic at all.

Neophyte: A mentor in training. Neophytes are basically slaves, paying their dues with service while they’re totally indoctrinated with Sanctuary doctrine, dogma, and discipline. They have no rights and no assurances. They must do as they’re told, learn all they can, and hope it is enough to please their masters enough to someday earn them the rank of mentor. Very few neophytes can use any magic, and even if they can, it’s prohibited except under the strictest supervision.

Obedience: All members of the Serene - whether they’re healers, Templars, neophytes, or Archons – are all infallibly loyal to the Sentinel, who they believe speaks for the Emperor, who in turn is the voice of the Prophet. It is said that the Serene are so loyal to the Sentinel that he need only command any of his brethren to die, and they’ll instantly will their own life to end, and they’ll die on the spot. The Serene do not question the Sentinel’s directives. They’re taught to do, not to question. Asking questions is a good way to earn a spiritual “cleansing” at the hands of less confused members. These cleansings involve terrible physical and mental tortures which often kill the subject. When such a cleansing must take place, all Serene within a day’s travel are required to watch the procedure until it’s concluded.

The Prophet on the Mountain: Carthos Sarvek, the First Emperor. The Writings left by Carthos teach that he battled chaos to bring order and light to the land, and once he’d accomplished all he could for his people in the mortal world, he ascended to the god realms so he could prepare a place for all loyal subjects who follow after him. The “mountain” refers to the afterworld and also to the literal mountain where Carthos built the First City.

The Prophet's Sigil: this symbol is used by many as a holy symbol. While very elaborate, decorated forms exist, in it's simplest representation, the Sigil is a circular disk with a triangle etched inside such that all three corners of the triangle touch the circle. An eye is etched inside the triangle.

The Prophet’s Table: A reference to the afterlife that waits for those who follow the Prophet’s teachings and serve his will. All worthy subjects travel to the Mountain when they die and sit with the Prophet at his table in the god realms, where they feast and revel for eternity. It is a dire and vile offense to bury or burn some one without their head, because they cannot find their way to the Mountain if they have no head. It is believed that these unfortunate spirits wander the land forever, caught in a limbo from which there is no escape.

The Sanctuary: While many use this term interchangeably with Serene, the two are actually different concepts. The Sanctuary refers to the entire institution, the entire organization – the men, the land holdings, the buildings, the political influence, the doctrine, the ceremonies…everything. It also refers to an individual temple of worship within a town or district.

The Sentinel: the leader of the Sanctuary and the Voice of the Emperor. The Emperor is the blood and body of the Prophet. The Emperor’s words are the Prophet’s words. These are spoken to the Sentinel, and it is his charge to ensure the word is spread and taught across the land. The Sentinel controls every operation and aspect of the Sanctuary. Since the Sanctuary has undeniable influence over the common person’s moods, opinions and education, the Sentinel is a very powerful man.

The Serene: This term refers to the nonmilitant branches of the Sanctuary- the healers, scholars, and teachers.

Templar: Templars are the militant branch of the Sanctuary. They spread the teachings of Carthos by sword and fire, and ensure the Sarveki people follow Imperial and Sanctuary decrees… or else. They are holy protectors and enforcers, respected by many and feared by all. They train with weapons with even more zeal than the Imperial military, and some Templars have the added benefit of magical training. In general, a Templar is almost always better trained, better equipped, and far deadlier than any soldier with equal time in the Imperial army.

Their rank structure is relatively simple. Regular soldiers are called “Templars.” When they travel and fight in groups of five or less, they will always have a leader, who is called a cleric. Captains lead up to four clerics and their teams. Guardians may be body guards for members of the Serene, and they can lead up to five captains and their men. Avengers are the battlefield leaders of the Templars, usually commanding 400-500 Templars. A Templar Fury leads up to 2000 men. There is usually one Fury in each prayershire, even if the prayershire has only 400 Templars. The Wrath is the leader of all Templars and Templar mages in the entire Sanctuary. He is also the personal bodyguard of the Sentinel. Templar ranks are indicated by the number of horizontal bars on their left breast.

A Templar who can use magic is ranked differently, based on his power and skill. The ranks, from lowest to highest, are: conflict mage, combat mage, battle mage, war mage, and death mage. (Diviners and Hunters are special ranks. If you want to know about them, you'll have to read the book.)

A Final Note on Ranks: While the individual branches employ simple ranking systems, the hierarchy becomes more complicated when the Serene, Templar mages, and Templar soldiers are combined. The chain of command is based on branches and classes.

If every rank of every branch were assigned a numeric value, it would look like this:

Serene	Templar Mages	Templar Soldiers
Sentinel: 7 Archon: 6 Elder Mentor: 5 Mentor: 3 Neophyte: 0	Hunter/Diviner: 6 Death Mage: 5 War Mage: 4 Battle Mage: 3 Combat Mage: 2 Conflict Mage: 1	The Wrath: 6 Templar Fury: 5 Templar Avenger: 4 Templar Guardian: 3 Templar Captain: 2 Templar Cleric: 1 Templar Soldier: 0

A member may command any rank of any branch that has a lower numeric value. If a man has conflicting orders from equal ranks of different branches, the orders of a Templar mage trump the orders of a Templar soldier. The orders of the Serene trump the orders of a Templar mage. If a man has conflicting orders from equal ranks of the same branch, he follows the orders of the man who is in his chain of command. If neither commanding officer is in the flunky's chain of command, the poor slob follows the orders of the commander with the most time in rank.