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gods:tor

T'or/Marutuk

“Justice must always be fair, for if justice is unfair, it is unjust.”

This god is known as the Champion of Justice, as well as the Master Lawkeeper. As followers of the god of law, justice, and righteousness, worshipers - which call themselves T'orites or Maru - often serve as law enforcement for settlements. They also sometimes form independent organizations dedicated to upholding what is just and right across the world.

The splitting of T'or into two very discrete and distinct entities was the first well-documented instance of divine aspects' formation. It is almost certain that various aspects of the god existed in the world before this, but the schism of T'or is the first time that Jaernian priesthoods and historians were able to document a new aspect.

T'or upholds a level of law above the laws of nations and planes, known as the Will of T'or or, to the Cahyalian Maru, the Edict of Marutuk. This law governs the actions of his priests, defining a certain baseline of justice for the world to be measured against. This Will is a nebulous and incredibly complex thing, and is simply understood intuitively by the Master Lawkeeper's followers. T'or has discussed long with Orus to develop his Will and ensure it is not only lawful and just, but kind and compassionate.

Aspects

Though each aspect is thought to have a true name, the name of Righteousness is not known, and True Justice is only referred to as Marutuk on Cahyali. Note that even though Marutuk is the Cahyalian deity, Cahyalian T'orites are not required to be associated with the True Justice faction or vice versa. Scholars and T'orites consider the two aspects to be wholly different gods which bear the same title and work in tandem to uphold their shared domain.

Marutuk and Righteousness look almost exactly the same, like twins. They appear as fully-grown, well-muscled men of indeterminate humanoid race. Their hair is styled differently each time they appear, but is always short enough to keep out of the face or tied back. They are usually seen in the iconic War Harness of T'or, a form of leather armor often warn by their priests. The colors of their vestments differ, with Marutuk dressing in dark monotones and Righteousness in bright gold. Marutuk has a scar across his right eye, and Righteousness has one across his left.

True Justice, Marutuk

On the Day of Reckoning, T'or vanished like many of the other gods. However, his followers banded together in absolute faith instead of dispersing in chaos and fear like several other priesthoods. They believed that T'or had brought the other gods to the sword, a punishment for abandoning their duties and domains. Each dark day, they held out that their god would soon return.

Their faith would be answered on the Day of Awakening, a day filled with both joy and tears as the Champion of Justice would indeed return, wreathed in a fireball that would destroy part of Rougtero and kill many. This was the first of the two modern aspects, True Justice. His existence had carried on not only through the faith of the Jaernian faction, but through the persisting Cayhalian belief.

Righteousness

Some time after the triumphant return of Marutuk to the world, T'orites were again overstepping their bounds, engaging in brutal power-trips and hurting the people they were supposed to protect. Instead of being guardians of the just and fair law, they had become crooks defiling the name of T'or to their advantage. With fury, the aspect of Righteousness emerged to bind them under his Will. This day was known as the Day of Enlightenment.

Priesthood

The T'orite priesthood is insistent, faithful, and stubborn at the best of times. Due to an innate connection to the divine law of their god, they are more zealous than most. The priesthood is split into two factions, one following True Justice/Marutuk and one following Righteousness. On Cahyali, those who follow Marutuk call themselves Maru instead of T'orites. Each chapter of the priesthood has a very defined structure.

Many militaries and law enforcement agencies contain T'orites, even if they themselves are not T'orite temples. The temples may or may not be officially associated with the local government. Some also form independent organizations, which are explicitly not affiliated with a state. Although it has grown to contain more than just T'orites, the Kinland Order and its Paladins are one such example.

Maru temples are called Enclaves, and Righteousness temples are called Stockades. Though they disagree on some dogmatic details, it is mostly accepted that they must cooperate to carry out the Will of T'or, and infighting is nothing but harmful. Within both Enclaves and Stockades, there are a few general groups of people carrying out various responsibilities.

Adjudicators & Arbitrators

These priests go out and investigate criminal and civil cases. They will follow the laws of the land, measuring their justness against the Will of T'or, when handing down punishment. They serve as local police or judges.

Eyes of the Lawkeeper

These priests are the internal police of the priesthood. They investigate any priest that a complaint is issued against and deal out proper punishment. The main job of this group is to ensure priests are following the Will of T’or at all times and eliminate corruption.

The Ready Militia

Generally, this group is located in an Enclave and not a Stockade. This is a fighting force that is ready to defend both the Enclave and a region against injustice and evil. The faction of True Justice typical defers this responsibility to the regional government.

Hands of the Champion

The collective name for the two high priests of each chapter, called the Chief Reviewer and the Marsal. These two manage the rest of the priesthood in tandem, and also check each others' power. Either one can be investigated by the Eyes of T’or at the request of the other if any type of corruption is suspected. While being investigated, they are relieved of duty.

gods/tor.txt · Last modified: 2024/05/14 17:53 by quiddlesticks