Covenant of the Shining Path

The Covenant of the Shining Path (also called "the Church") is the major organized religion in Firma. They have been in existence for the majority of recorded history.

The church is often involved in summits and international affairs between leaders, but mostly as a matter of appearance and mediation. It exercises no direct policital influence and does not carry a vote in the United Parliament of Nations.

Structure and Bishops
The Church is a theocratic organization. Each territory's operation and network of temples and outreach programs is overseen by a single Bishop. Each Bishop reports to the Archbishop. New Archbishops are selected by closed council by the current congregate of bishops.

The current Archbishop is Peter XI.

Creation
''The following is a summary of the sacred texts, found at each temple in the sancuary of worship. ''

At the dawn of time, an angel descended from the vaulted heavens, sent forth on a mission by the goddess. He set foot in the formless void, assaulted on all sides by the fury of the elements. Charged by the goddess to create a world fit for her children, the archangel fought back the tide of destruction, bringing forth order from chaos.

First, the angel took in the land where he had arrived. The ground was burned and starved of life. The surge in power needed to fight back the elements had left the land hot and wasted. The angel blessed the sands with his light, bringing magic and power to their vast expanse. From this blessing came the Gova deserts, where the Mother's Love brought life to the darkest place.

The angel moved south, and furious stone barred his way. A battle of terrifying proportions ensued, and the angel crushed the monster with the power of the goddess, more steadfast than stone. The giant fell, and the Turin mountains remained. Thunder Canyon (the fatal wound) rings to this day with the clash of the glorious battle - A tribute to the might of the eternal one.

As the angel continued, a monstrous fire sought to block his progress. Ten days and ten nights were spent quenching the flame. Before the flame was extinguished forever, it begged for mercy. To keep the world safe, it was sealed in a prison of stone, forbidden from walking the earth and endangering the children of light. In joy at the goddesses merciful gift, the volcanoes weep hot tears to this day.

The angel continued on his journey, arriving at a maze of thorns and vines. The creatures sought to confound him and tear him apart, spraying their hateful blood upon the wet earth. The angel was righteous and full of peace. He took the wrathful woods and brought them calm. He showed them the Sunlight, the Goddess' embrace. The trees, now freed from their spiteful misdeeds, reach ever up to their mother above.

North the angel tread, where he was beset upon by wind and snow. The cold sought to mislead the angel, showing him places it claimed were safe. The icy caverns of the north beckoned with their lies, begging the angel to betray his mission. The angel had faith, and carried the warmth of the goddess' command. Loyal for all time, the angel swept back against the wind, taming the wild north in the name of righteousness.

Finally, the world was ready. At the heart of the earth, the angel sang out to his mistress. Sarai, the goddess of light and love came into the world. She brought us - the orphaned and lost ones - out of the twisting dark and gave us our home. In joy at our arrival, our sacred mother wept tears of pure crystal, infusing the land with her richness and blessing humanity with power beyond imagining.

The angel departed then to live eternity with the sacred one. At his passing, he chose the first congregate, who would lead the tribes of humanity towards goodness and carry the words of the goddess to all persons.

Early History - Children of the Goddess
The earliest days of the church involved theocratic power struggles between the tribal societies of Firma and the cities that grew around major temples. The initial schism between populations occured as far back as 1200 BP. Eventually, the conflicts came to a head in the form of an all-out war between the two major idealogies: The "Blessed Ones" - Those who felt that the church was interfering in the world's ability to meet their own destiny - and the "Children of the Goddess" - the group that would eventually become the Covenant.

The war between nations started as guerilla conflict, escalating over decades into all out rebellion. Records from the era describe massive attacks on places of worship and crowds of faithful, with governmental sanctions on both sides forbidding open practice of any religious belief whatsoever.

Eventually, a team of Blessed One extremists led a strike directly on the Basilica of Light itself. Facing a threat against their sanctum, the Goddess' children's response was immediate and overwhelming. They organized an army out of the most effective fighters and tacticians the church had available, and systematically conquered the entire known world.

With the entire map under control, the church began disbanding the independant and decentralized "Order of Children" and reformed as the Covenant of the Shining Path.

The Covenant - 0 to 499 AP
Once the war had officially ended, the Children of the Goddess publicly denounced their own "infantile" approach to salvation. In an echo of their own creation story, the church leadership came together and resigned, selecting representatives from each major city to determine the religious organization's future. This "second congregate" signed an agreement to support and guide the world, referencing the "shining path" of righteousness. Thus, the Covenant of the Shining Path was adopted, and the organization of the same name took its present form.

The following century was mostly spent embroiled in reconstructive efforts, creating a myriad of small shrines and churches throughout the world. These small structures served as aid distribution centers, schools, hospitals, places of worship, libraries, and centers of government for the developing parliament.

As the world grew stronger, the church grew less and less welcome. Shrines and Temples were seized by governmental organizations, and growing secularism led parliament officials to begin denouncing the religious authorities again. Some bishops grew restless with what they perceived was an attack on a world they helped build, and conflict again broke out in the year 497.

During the Apfest celebration, a terrorist attack on the shrine in Edge caused the deaths of several hundred government staff, as well as many more civilians. The Bishop of Turin - a man named Marcus Mara - was suspected of orchestrating or contributing to the attack itself. When charges were formally levied by the United Parliament, Mara vanished. Over the course of the next year, he was reported seen in every major city at least once, recruiting sympathizers to the cause of the rebellion.

Within one year, he appeared at the gates of the Basilica of Light, leading an army of a thousand men. Marcus' goal, it turned out, was not one of attack or hatred. He presented himself to the Archbishop and begged forgiveness. His congregation, he claimed, had caused the attack due to political pressure from the manufacturing guild in the town. The Spark harvest had been particularly weak that year, and had been in steady decline the years prior. The guild felt that the church was somehow to blame.

The presence of Spark in the crust of the world having long been a sign of favor by the Goddess, Archbishop Simon IV publicly denounced the world and its citizens for having selfishly fallen out of holy favor.

The Ritual of Atonement
In order to retain the favor of the goddess and restore the Spark to its natural levels, a ceremony of atonement would be required, where all nations and people of the world showed their devotion to the Mother, thus maintaining life in the world.

The ritual would require a young child, pure of the stain of selfishness, to visit the major shrines of worship in the world. A prayer would be conducted at each location, and the child would bless every city they entered, collecting a small token gift from each tribal leader they encountered. Once each location was visited, the child would return, and present the gifts to the church leadership in the sanctuary of the Basilica of Light, thus demonstrating to the goddess that the world still acknowledged her love.

The ritual has been carried out every 300 years, coinciding with the end of the month of Apfest.