The Binding Flame
One of the three major deities worshipped in Sair, alongside Numilvara and Talavosh.
Somewhere across the Scion’s Sea, in a castle called Flamekeep, a pillar of silver fire has burned without pause for centuries. This is no ordinary fire, but a ward against corruption, holding darkness at bay and protecting the innocent from predation.
The faith holds that evil besieges the world, and that the purpose of the Flame and its followers is to drive back its spread and bind it as tightly as possible. The clergy call this the Hierarchy of Evil:
- Entities of alien evil — fiends and monstrosities that do not belong to this world.
- Entities of unnatural evil — undead and lycanthropes, twisted by malevolent forces.
- Entities of innate evil — medusae, hags, and other creatures born to harm.
- Those who choose evil, of their own will.
- The evil within — the small cruelties and compromises every soul must guard against.
At the heart of the faith’s history is a heroine named Teiramar, who bound the overlord Vel-Shalor at the cost of her own life. Her sacrifice is remembered each year on its anniversary, and her voice is said to speak still through a Keeper of the Flame. Every cleric of the order is bound to heed their Keeper, or the Keeper’s nearest representative.
Clergy and practice
Clerics of the Binding Flame keep a daily vigil, praying and tending an open flame for an hour. They wear the order’s symbol (typically a pendant of silver etched or engraged with a flame motif), and hold themselves to a strict code against turning their power to unlawful or chaotic ends.
The Orcblooded tradition of the Kalok Shash sees itself as an older, deeper version of this same faith, and their Ghaash’kala tradition hunts corruption in the borderlands of Sair.
The shulassakar count themselves among the Flame’s oldest servants. Those of the “flametouched” caste typically become holy warriors known as flamekeepers. The strangest and most inscrutable are shulassakar are called transcendents, and are potent channelers of the Flame.
In Vedycaer, the faith keeps the Temple of the Binding Flame, home to the district’s sacred fire.
Strictures
A cleric of the Binding Flame has the following code:
- The cleric must always display the holy symbol of this order somewhere on his person when in public.
- The cleric must offer daily prayers while tending an open flame. The flame must not go out for one hour (6 turns) while the prayers are performed.
- The cleric must oppose evil in all its forms, according to the Hierarchy of Evil:
- Entities of alien evil, such as fiends and monstrosities from other planes of existence.
- Entities of unnatural evil, such as undead and lycanthropes, that are twisted by malevolent forces.
- Entities of innate evil, such as medusae, hags, and other dangerous monsters
- Those who choose evil
- The evil within
- The cleric must heed the voice of the Keeper of the Flame, who serves as an intermediary through whom the Binding Flame communicates with the faithful.
- The cleric must not use his divine magic for unlawful or chaotic purposes.