The Temple

Word of Grand Hierophant Sanus, Highest of the Temple Order, Shepherd of the Lost, Light of the Righteous Star.

Archivist note – The copy entered into the Imperial Archives was discovered in a charred wagon by a merchant caravan east of Thornhold. Documents found with this work suggest copies were sent to Temple emissaries in at least seventeen Domains. It is unclear why the bearer of this copy had taken it outside of Imperial territory.

The Temple

We are the blessed.
We are not raised to serve a single god, but to bear witness to the multitude.
No house shall claim the sky alone. No altar closes its doors against a face it does not know.
We are the table at which every god can sup. We are the shelter under which every god can rest.
We do not apologize for our purpose. We gather what would otherwise scatter, and keep what might be forgotten. We stand between the people and the worship of false idols – the nameless things that shall not find respite under our watch.
O’ brothers and sisters, friend and foe, remember that our generosity is wide, but do not mistake our kindness.
We pursue our enemies until we overtake them. We do not stop until they are destroyed.
Gods be praised!

The Order

O’ faithful servants.
Clerics of the Order.
We must always show ourselves faithful to the faithful.
We must always show ourselves pure to the pure.
We must always show ourselves humble to the humble.
But to the blasphemer, to the corrupt, to the wicked, we show ourselves to be just. For we carry the strength of the gods where our feet fall, and where mercy is called for, we give it. Where vengeance is called for, we give it.
Go in faith brothers and sisters, and let no enemy find peace under the eyes of the gods.
Gods be praised!

Decrees

O’ brothers, we serve the many gods!
The gods of the Temple are the true gods! We must be careful to avoid offense!
We must not worship gods that do not find rest in the Temple! We must not murder unjustly, for to take away their children is an affront to the gods.
We must not violate the sanctity of another’s body, for the body is an extension of the Temple and therefore sacred.
A man may not take another man as property, for we belong to the gods and no one can take what belongs to the heavens.
A marriage is sacred when blessed by the gods, another man may not lay between man and wife or with the wife alone.
Husbands should respect their wives and hold them sacred, for women are the gateway through which souls enter the world.
Wives should respect their husbands and hold them sacred, for husbands are the hand of the gods who keep evil at bay.
Always protect the soul, for though it inhabits the body, it is borne of the gods and therefore does not die with it.
Respect the fallen dead, lest they return to extract a vengeance denied in life.
O’ brothers and sisters, hold your oaths sacred and do not let your tongue fail.
O’ brothers and sisters, humble yourselves before the gods.
Trouble yourselves not with the world and material things, for those who suffer best are favored by the gods.
Gods be praised!

Condemnation of the Old Gods

We repent! O’ gods!
We renounce the worship of the old ways.
Of the gods who shared our flaws.
Gods who lacked purity and morality.
Gods consumed by greed and lust.
O’ brothers and sisters, no more!
Seek first the Temple and learn what is true.
To continue to walk a wrong path is to demand judgement, and the gods will not find mercy on those who stray.
Gods be praised!

Condemnation of Nature Worship

We have brought order to chaos.
We have brought justice to the unjust world.
Yet there are those who still deny what they can plainly see.
Those who worship the sky, or the trees, or the beasts that crawl on the land.
They pray to a mountain or the sea.
O’ they are blind!
Do they not hear the gods speak with the wind?
Do they not see the love of the gods in the eyes of the dog?
No!
They seek to become one with the beasts!
They would deny their place as the favored.
They reject the gods and worship the wild.
O’ they shall not find mercy among us, and be hunted like the beasts they are.
Gods be praised!

Condemnation for the Occult

Unclean souls!
We have driven the fires from the near hills, yet the worship persists! O’ brothers and sisters, there are those among us who set tables in low places.
What gods do you think partake at these tables?
False gods!
Spirits who inhabit temples languishing in darkness.
Blasphemers who feed the dead and call it tribute.
O’ how they know not what they do.
How they bring curses upon the living.
We say the dead are dead.
We deny them the blood they seek.
O’ how the fires shall cleanse their wayward souls.
Gods be praised!