Ariadne's Clerics
From Changeling Venue
Contents |
Overview
Heraldry: A bloodstone encircled by a serpent devouring its tail at the center of a red chrysanthemum. Clerics may be recognized by the bloodstone each wears displayed in a prominent location.
Nickname(s):
The Crimson Chrysanthemums
Clerics
Concept/Background:
Known for being healers and hedge divers, the Chrysanthemums devote themselves to pulling those injured people from the hedge or any field of battle they come upon. Once a mark is chosen by a Chrysanthemum, it is said that nothing will stop him/her from getting to his/her charge and extricating him/her from the place they are found and healing them to the best of their ability. Speed, coupled with knowledge of their local hedge and the healing arts make the Chrysanthemums excellent combat medics and extraction teams. This is not given entirely to an altruistic nature. The Chrysanthemums are not above asking a fee for their services, and in many situations said fee may be paltry given the task set before them. But, a word of warning should be given to those that accept the services of one of the Chrysanthemums without intention of forking over the requested fee, the ability to heal wounds comes with the knowledge of how to inflict them.
The Clerics, once established in a given area and sworn to the cause, begin work towards carving a Caern out of the local hedge as a safe place to bring those injured to heal and a hidden place to conduct their business. Their Caerns are always hidden from view of regularly used hedge paths and trods, as well as, (most often), guarded by some form of labyrinthine structure constucted from the local hedge itself. The Caern is where the Clerics hold meetings and pay their tithes to the Order in exchange for the benefits of swearing their oath.
The Clerics look out for one another, to an extent of which they are often willing to bloody those that would harm their own, and go to great lengths to help acclimate new members to their loval hedge and ranks. Whereas they do possess an infrastructure as far as their overall administration goes, their heirarchy remains autonomous within each Caern and the titles of their administrative positions carry with them nothing more than a specific responsibility within the local Caern. By and large, the Clerics are democratic in their dealings within their own ranks and will often meet to discuss and vote many times as to a given course of action before anything is ever done.
Litany
Quid pro quo: Give ten percent to your Caern, and Clerics may ask payment for services rendered.
Be charitable: A Cleric must at least see an injured individual stabilized.
Do no harm: Unless in defense of the self, another Cleric, or and injured individual, Cleriics are forbidden from doing physical harm to others.
Be true to your word: Any broken oath means breaking the Cleric's oath.
Never volunteer information: Unless directly asked, information about the Clerics or their business is never to be given out.
Hallowed ground: The location of a Caern is sacred to the Clerics and not to be given to those not among their ranks.
Nomenclature of Titles
Elder: They advise when sought. Responsible for swearing in new members and introducing them to others.
Archivists: They maintain the records, maps and other inforamtion pertinent to the Clerics. They are also charged with maintaining their Caern.
Runners: They are the metaphorical thread that binds the Clerics and their Caerns. They run messages and information between field teams and the local Caern as well as between Caerns.
Minotaurs:These are charged with maintaining peace among the Clerics if ever disputes arise.
Caerns
These are the hidden temples and safe places in the hedge used by the Clerics. Most often described as a round, underground chamber with an alter devoted to Ariadne and supplies enough to maintain the local Clerics and heal those they find in need. Most Caerns share a common practice of being hidden within mazes or lbyrinths, and often resemble large piles of stone arranged with a door-sized opening and a single room within. Each group of Clerics maintain a Caern somewhere within the area that the Clerics call home.
