Conquest of the Horde

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The Church of the Holy Light


[Image: symbolofthelight.jpg]

"No one feels he deserves it... its grace, pure and simple... but the Light loves us anyway." - Uther the Lightbringer


Status: ACTIVE


History:


No one knows when people first discovered the Holy Light, or were discovered by it. People started preaching about it at some point, explaining how this great and benevolent force existed and sought out mortal spirits interested in helping others and protecting life in general. There's a lot of study and contemplation involved, particularly on how to make oneself a better person in order to commune with the Light more completely. They likely had libraries before they had churches, and the one simply grew out of the other. Eventually all those churches started working together, and then wound up with the Church of the Holy Light.

For a long time, the Church was the dominant human religion. The followers of the Holy Light were everywhere, supporting civilizations and building cities and founding temples and generally bringing light and hope to everyone. Then the First War began. And there were the members of the Church, using their Light-given gifts to hold back the Horde. Unfortunately, for some, most of the priests focused on defending people rather than taking the fight to the Horde. And there just weren't enough priests.

Before the First War, the Church had three major locations. Northshire Abbey in Elwynn Woods, the Temple of Light in Stratholme, and Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City. The Horde destroyed Northshire Abbey in the First War. The Temple of Light fell with the rest of Stratholme to the Scourge. Only the Cathedral of Light remains, and this has become the Church's headquarters. A grand structure with many wings and spires, the Cathedral houses Archbishop Benedictus, the bishop of Stormwind City, and various other priests. It also contains the Grand Chamber, a massive meeting room where the council of bishops meets with the archbishop to discuss issues and plot the Church's actions. The Northshire Abbey was later rebuilt, but is only an outpost of the Cathedral of Light.

The leader of the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics during the war was Archbishop Alonsus Faol, and his apprentice was the devout boy named Uther, who later became Uther the Lightbringer. After the First War, Uther knew that that the Church needed to do more when the orcs came again, its people needed to stand up and fight instead of just healing and defending. They needed to go after the darkness and actively prevent it from harming anyone, rather than waiting for it to come to them. He issued a call to all the bravest knights to join his new order, the Knights of the Silver Hand, and thus the paladins were born. They saw their first battles in the Second War and were important in the Alliance's victory. The church in Northshire was known as Church of Light at the time.

After the Second War, the Church of the Holy Light had very few members in large part because so many died in Lordaeron and most temples had a single priest or were actually shut down. People have begun applying again since the Third War, however, and now the temples are all fully staffed again.


Goals:


The Church' goals are to send its people all over the world, spreading the wisdom and power of the Holy Light. They also do what they can to help people with various tasks, such as building homes to settling family disputes to scaring off enemies. It is all very noble, of course, but that fits with the Holy Light's teachings of making the world a better place and making one better by helping other people. The Church has everyone's best interests at heart, and they really do their best to help everyone. Especially in recent times, the Church has been sending their noble paladins, priests and adventurers on tasks.

Missions will include the following tasks:
-The purification of a specified area.
-The protecting of small villages or of traveling priests.
-The hunting and destroying of unholy beings.
-The spreading of the Holy Light' teachings.
-The reclaiming of Holy relics.


Philosophy:


The philosophy of the Holy Light boils down to the three teachings, called the Three Virtues. These virtues are each defined into a principle and a lesson.

Respect:

The first virtue taught is respect. While the Holy Light teaches that awareness of the self and the universe is a goal, one must also see the connection between others and the universe. Destroying other' happiness and severing other' connections with the universe is not serving the world's well being, and therefore not your own. The practitioners of the Holy Light are not naive, however, and understand that trial, conflict, war, and suffering do happen; but they strive to make the universe a better place in spite of these hindrances.

Tenacity:

The second virtue is tenacity. The adherence to this virtue is, incidentally, the part of training under the Holy Light that weeds out the unfaithful, as true dedication takes years. Fresh acolytes often lose hope and the true meaning of the Holy Light when they realize that it takes a lifetime to serve the philosophy. The world is much bigger than one lone soul; and while the world can change a soul in a day, it takes much more time to change the world. Only through tenacity can a servant of the Holy Light hope to affect the universe. If some young students feel like this is an impossible task, others take heart in the realization that if you truly believe there is a connection between the self and the universe, one cannot help but affect the other, no matter the size. Affecting the world can include anything from teaching and instilling hope in others to joining with other like-minded individuals to work together to create a bigger change.

Compassion:

After the first two concepts are mastered, the student can take on the final virtue: compassion. The connection between the self and the universe is strong, but it still is only one connection. If a follower of the Light serves another to increase his happiness, his bond with the universe grows stronger. The happiness he receives by helping someone also strengthens himself and the universe, and he is able to affect the universe even more.

Compassion is perhaps the most powerful and yet most dangerous virtue.

If someone is too compassionate, he can give help where none is needed or wanted. This oversight can hinder one's growth and happiness. For example, one may help another with a seemingly impossible quest, when such a quest is not actually out of the abilities of the one making the attempt. Thus, Compassion has resulted in that person's inability to grow as the quest was essentially "done for them", hindering their growth and happiness.

This is why compassion is taught last. Only the wise and those that fully understand compassion may know who is truly in need and who can grow on their own.


[Image: 180pxpraylight.jpg]

Ranks:


Archbishop - Benedictus
Bishops - Hylan, Leander, Neheri, Farthing, DeLavey
High Priestess - Laurena
Knight-Champions - Duthorian Rall, Grayson Shadowbreaker
(Playable ranks start after this point)
Prelate
*Knight
*Blade
*Priest
*Deacon
*Arcanist
*Lay Caster
Initiate



How to join?


Firstly, you must be a member of the Alliance. You must be a follower of the Light or wish to become a follower of the Light. We do not accept all classes, as you might expect, specifically shadow priests and death knights. Druids and shamans are forbidden from gaining priesthood or any rank similar to it. Coming into contact with any member of the Church will be enough, as you will be spoken to with kindness and respect. We accept all with open arms.

Rules:

All server rules are enforced within the guild. I'd like to single out respect, though. It is the most important as far as I'm concerned and I'd like to see it within the guild.

-No evil acts, encompassing murder, torture, stealing, wounding innocents, etc.
-Follow the chain of command. Organization is key.
-Believe in the three Virtues. They are the foundations of the Church.


The Light calls. It's radiance shining down upon you. A warm hand extends towards you. Will you take it?

((*Those four ranks are equal, the only change is the class that you are. Knight>Blade= Melee. Priest>Deacon= Priest. Arcanist>Lay Caster= Mage.))
Bump.

The guild is now active and recruiting. Send a PM to Archilia/me and we can talk business. :)
Relics recovered:



[Image: chalice.th.jpg]



Chalice of the Cross: Earned with Archilia, Delargo and Matthew. 09/19/11

The golden chalice is adorned with several sapphires and rubies. It is rather large and is always empty, unless it is brought to the lips of a believer in the Light.

The healing water that is created upon reaching said lips, provides healing for one illness/wound*, once per week. If drank twice, it drains your energy even further, possibly causing coma or death.

((*The wound/illness must be curable/healable with a potion. No regrown limbs/body parts and does not cure blindness, etc. ))




The Scepter of Alonsus: Earned with Archilia, Matthew, Kalisha, Cassius and Clovis. 10/23/11

The golden scepter shines brightly in the light. Only those who wish to gain insight or bring themselves closer to the Light may use it, in order to speed up the process.

It puts you into a meditative state, where you are given a chance to commit a great deed. Whether it is saving a town from a monster, healing warriors or studying. It holds time in the real world, for you to gain more time with the Light.

(( It increases a Light believers resolve or strength. However, it may only be used once every five years, lest you be stuck in your own mind forever. ))