Calabros the Bee Keeper
Alignment: LG
Domains: Cities, Law, Good, Civilization, Artifice, Healing, Invention, Building, Constructs
Favored Weapon: Daggers
Favored Animals: Honeybees, Bears
Forbids: Magic, magic users
Native Lands: Calabrian Empire, Caelia, Buchwald
History: Calabros is the patron god of the Calabrian civilization and, due to the Calabrian Empire’s size, the most worshipped deity on the Pangean super continent. Once a flesh and blood mortal, Calabros was a human priest of Magnus who tended the sacred gardens of the in Stygia nearly two thousand years ago who stood up for the city’s poor and advocated a life of quiet dignity and pacifism. Calabros also claimed that arcane magic, while a useful skill, promoted laziness and moral decay and it had no place within the holy life. These teachings angered the powerful mageocracy of Stygia and the Sultan of Stygia was reluctantly forced to have Calabros burned at the stake, a common punishment for heretics against Magnus in those times. On the day of his execution, however, Calabros did not burn but instead was grabbed by humongous swarm of honeybees and ascended into the heavens. Many of his followers began to believe that Calabros was really the god Magnus in disguise and established a church around the idea that Calabros was really god. Over time, this church spread to the surrounding countries and city-states and became a vastly powerful organization in it’s own right. Eventually, the ruling family of a country called Ezir converted to the Calabrian religion and marched it’s armies across the continent, establishing the massive Calabrian Empire. The Imperial Capitol of Calab is founded on the spot where the last King of Ezir first bowed down to the Calabrian Church and the entire city is considered sacred to both the Empire and the Church. Bees and Honeycombs are sacred symbols in the church and all priests of the church are experienced bee keepers, since live bees are used in Calabrian religious ceremonies. All Calabrian churches have at least one live beehive.
Favored Organizations:
Church of Calabros- The church of Calabros stands apart from the Calabrian Empire and exist separately from the Empire’s political systems. For their entire two thousand year history, they have been the only organization that is beyond the power of the Emperor. This means that the Church is both a religious organization as well as a “court of last resort” between the commoners and the imperial ruling class, establishing a tense hierarchy in Calabrian Society: Peasants must obey Nobles, Nobles must obey the Emperor and all must obey the will of the Church. Peasants who feel mistreated by members of nobility may petition the local religious authorities to see their grievances addressed by the local Church leaders, the Church can respond to these accusations by forcing stiff fines upon Calabrian nobles or even confiscating wealth from them if these grievances have any merit. This makes the Church’s relationship with the Calabrian ruling class slightly complicated. On the one hand, the Nobles often accuse the Church of being greedy and lining their pockets with stolen money. On the other hand, the nobles prefer a strong Church to act as a buffer against the absolute power of the Calabrian Emperor, who would happily take their lands for himself. Officially a pacifist organization, the Church of Calabros does not approve of the Empire’s recent expansionist desires and believes that the last four Emperors (known as the Warrior Kings) have perverted the teachings of Calabros to suit their love of power.
The Militant Order of the Sacred Hive- An army of paladins and monks who swear total allegiance to the Church, these “Honey Knights” are the most effective and powerful military organization on Pangea and rival even the Calabrian Imperial Guard in skill. Usually never rising above ten to twelve thousand in number, the Honey Knights are open for anyone, man or woman, young or old, to join at any time in their lives. Those who pass a rigorous training period become either full paladins, rangers, or holy monks. Those who do not pass are either expelled or allowed to volunteer as chamberlains or housemen, two support staff positions that still carry a great deal of honor since these positions are few in number. These professional soldiers are rigorously trained in regional barracks known as “Monasteries”, typically consisting of between 50-100 ordained knights. These men and women give up all earthly possessions and do nothing but train for combat and pray for ten hours a day, every day, for twenty years or the end of their lives. Each abbey typically has a large support staff of volunteers and peasants who tend to the needs of these Warriors but only the Chamberlains and Housemen are considered “members Militant”. These staff members are still seen as “Knights” but serve no combat functions and are allowed to leave the monasteries on personal business at any time. Sometimes, Younger chamberlains and housemen may get married or keep a family living in the nearest village, only by permission of the monastery’s Lord Abbot. These “Secular Members” are considered nobility by outside members of the community and are often given great respect among the imperial citizens. When the Church requires the aid of the Order, a local Bishop or Deacon will travel to the nearest Monastery and describe the nature of the emergency. The Lord Abbot will then call up the required members of his order to don gold colored armor or uniforms and mount white steeds. They will ride in single file formations to better hide their numbers and can typically arrive at most locations within a fortnight of being summoned. Upon arrival, the Order will maintain total control of the area until their mission is complete and will ignore any local laws or traditions until the threat has been vanquished. Militants are trained to go without food or sleep for days and carry the finest quality weapons available, typically forged by blacksmiths loyal to the Order. All members of the Order carry a curved dagger known as a “Stinger”, the holy symbol of their God.
Azor/Magnus the Torchbearer
Alignment: LG
Domains: Law, Good, Magic, Sorcerers, Nature, Sky, Fire, Earth
Favored Weapon: Torches, Swprds
Favored Animals: Salamander
Forbids: Necromancy, Undead
Native Lands: Northern Wastes, Stygia, Tamaris
History: Magnus worship is as old as the Stygian civilization itself and scholars have found ancient shrines at desert oases for hundreds of years. The original worship of Magnus traces to the nomadic tribes of the northern Wastelands who called Magnus by his ancient name “Azor”. These people, who live on both sides of the border of Calabria and Stygia, still worship Magnus in the old ways and ignore any attempts to change their religious habits (much to the frustration of the Calabrian Church which has sought to convert them in the past). These Azor rabbis represent the oldest known monotheistic religion on the entire continent of Pangea. Modern Worship of the being now known as Magnus began when various nomadic tribes founded in the fertile lands between the Saber and Spider rivers roughly three thousand years ago. This city-state, called Stygia, was dedicated to the mighty Torchbearer God who supposedly made man and gave him the ability to produce arcane magic. Magnus, this interpretation claimed, was a kindly god who light fires at night to keep the tribes of Stygians warm throughout the night. Magic and magic using was seen as a way to give back to Magnus, using the same arcane fire he gave to mankind to make the god stronger. This tradition of magical worship was adopted by the Stygian Imams and Sultans who came to believe that strong magical abilities were a mark of favor by Magnus and lead to the foundation of Stygia’s native Mageocracy which rules the country to this day. All forms of magic were welcomed in the traditions of Magnus worship except for Necromancy which was seen as a form of arrogance. Only Magnus could give life to his children and raising the undead became a hated crime among all worshippers of Magnus and Azor. Overtime, Stygia’s social influence spread throughout the Stygian Deserts, bringing Magnus worship to each of the lands it conquered. During that time, Stygia was ruled over by a theocratic emperor known as a Caliph who had absolute authority over the various Sultans and Princes under him. This three hundred year period, known as the First Caliphate of Stygia, was a period of great enlightenment and wealth for the Stygian Peoples and it represented science and magic as part of Magnus’ grand plan. Eventually however, this mighty era came to an end when Aziz the Mad rose to the throne and threw the Stygian Deserts into a long bloody civil war. This “Second Caliphate” lasted for nearly five hundred years and lead to a crisis among the leadership of the religious Imams who refused to bow to the Caliphs. Eventually, Sultan Abraham overthrew the last descendant of Aziz and declared the city-state would no longer be ruled by Caliphs but by a council of nobles and religious officials who would debate policy rather than rule unilaterally. This long period of war had a profound effect upon the Imams of Magnus. They now believed it was Aziz’s love of science that drove him mad and the Imams began a long period of intellectual persecution upon constructs and artificers, accusing even lowly blacksmiths of "heresy". But most members of the Stygian lower classes embraced science and construct building as a way to make money and support their families since anyone without magical talent had no choice but to rely on scientific progress. By restricting science, the imams, who were members of the mageocracy, was accidentally sowing the seeds of revolution against their traditional rule. This “anti-science” crusade came to a head when a holy man named Calabros was executed for “heresy” by a council of corrupt mages. Calabros was seen as a popular figure who was beloved by many in Stygia for his calls to use “science” to heal the wounds created by upper class “magic”. Most of the peasants regarded him as a true prophet of Magnus and saw his execution as a sign that the imams no longer had Magnus’ favor. Eventually the Imams moderated their views on science and tried to offer a compromise to these so called Calabros worshippers. But this offer was rejected and the Imams were still forced to expel the Calabrian Church from Stygia, creating a two thousand year old religious schism. Currently Calabros is regarded as an officially prophet of Magnus but not as a divine being and any prayers to Calabros merely go to Magnus anyway. The Church of Calabros, in the mind of the Imams, is really Magnus worship by a different name.