The Church of the Flame

"PYRUS VULT, INFIDEL."

—Reynauld, Crusader of the Flame. The Church of the Flame is an organized religion which exists across the world, and is the most popular amongst the attendance at the Cosmic Academy due to being the first organized religion to recognize and accept controllers. In most ways, it is similar to Catholicism in morality and parables, believing in some vague deity known as The Flame. Rather than view kineses as being the work of demonic magic, as other religions did, the Church of the Flame saw such powers as indicating that one is chosen by the Flame, gifted some of its power to carry out its mission in the world.

Most members of the faith are casual, and are largely average people. Some are more radical, and some live in more medieval-style settlements, free from the sinfulness of modern life. Temples to The Flame are sometimes called Hearths.

History
The Church of the Flame is based on the Scriptures of the Flame, a recording of parables and prophecies recorded by the followers of a group of prophets. This happened somewhere in Europe, and it's believed by many outsiders that these prophets were Christian missionaries who described their message in a different way between Christianity and the local pagan beliefs, for them to be fully converted later. However, this never truly happened.

The Church of the Flame spread through a series of Holy Wars. Supposedly, these were against not only supernatural forces now rendered extinct, and against unbelievers who "willingly" converted. It totally wasn't the destruction of villages and societies with the threat of burning people at the pyre unless they convert. Nonono.

The Church of the Flame was the first organized religion to acknowledge and accept controllers. Rather than view such powers as being the work of demonic magic, as other religions did, the Church of the Flame saw such powers as indicating that one is chosen by the Flame, gifted some of its power to carry out his mission in the world. One group called the Purifiers was established for fire controllers. Their purpose is to act as vigilantes, punishing individuals who have committed particularly terrible sins.

Flagellants are another radical subgroup, usually viewed with a combination of fear, awe and disgust. They spend their lives putting themselves through pain and misery to pay for humanity's sins. Their pain appeases the Flame, and is meant to replace the Hell a sinful soul might have to go through. As long as sin exists in the world, flagellants will torture themselves to pay off the debt of the sinners by symbolically taking the sins into their own bodies and attacking themselves to physically destroy the sins. The first flagellant's origins remain a mystery (albeit, a mystery that can be solved in the secret library) but most of the other early flagellants were members of the Church of the Flame who, after being tormented by a Purifier, took on the lifestyle out of penance for their guilt. Most modern flagellants have not committed such injustices, but join the sect out of a guilty conscience.

The greatest struggle in the Church's history occurred during the reign of its seventh pope, Borges the Sempiternal. He is a holy man with a strong enough command over holy magic that it permanently sustains him, giving him a vastly increased lifespan. As he aged, however, his sanity wore thin. He turned to research of non-divine magic spellbooks, while also calling for the death of anyone who used magic that came from any source other than a Church-approved scroll. This included controllers.

Many in the church began to feel that Borges was no longer a fit leader, and a war between the church's crusaders began - Between those who believed that the Pope's word is the Flame's word, and those who believe that that which is written in the Scriptures of the Flame surpasses the word of any church official. Borges the Sempiternal and his supporters were forced into exile, excommunicated by the Church, and left to begin their own separate group. These men and women established their own church, one devoted solely to their immortal Pope: The Imperial Organization.

The Imperial Organization
While the original Church of the Flame remained in use of traditional medieval technologies and lifestyles as technology developed, the "Imperial Faith" blended certain elements of it into their old equipment and tactics. Their crusades eventually died down, but in the new modern era, they've begun again - Not as a Jihad, but simply as a worldwide "peacekeeping" force. They're technically a church and thus dodge taxes, and use any payments for themselves for the church, despite the fact that they're much more like a military business than they are a religion.

They maintain their hatred for all who use powers from a source beyond the approved spells, and they specialize in spreading fear about those who do it the most: controllers. If allowed, they will descend into an area with a high population of them and kidnap them for research and experiments, so that they can more fully understand how controllers work and use this knowledge to annihilate them for good. They have undying loyalty to the Pope in a style that's a combination of the respect one might have for a messiah or for a kind, experienced commander - Despite the fact that the Pope is totally nuts. He officially has no duties in the organization anymore, but he may occasionally decide to step in in person and overrule certain decisions. The terminology of calling him an Emperor is long gone since he's supposedly not trying to create an empire anymore (In secret, however, he is; he just needs controllers out of the way so there's no resistance). Nonetheless, they retain the title of the Imperial Faith, and their armed men and women are the Imperial Knights.

Beliefs
Where things are unclear from a standpoint of morality or philosophy, assume things are similar to Christianity. However, historical details vary greatly due to a different history of the Church of The Flame as an institution.

Even in the modern day, the Church of the Flame exists, and is a moderately-popular religion present throughout the world. Most believers in it are fairly casual, though there are radicals. Most radicals are defined by living as though they were still in the medieval ages, with their level of technology.

The Flame is a genderless deity which created humanity. All angels, directly or indirectly, serve it. Just like the world, Humanity is its creation, and blood is its essence. Blood is holy, as the manifestation of life essence. Conversely, flesh is sinful due to being tainted by demons and devils. It is unholy. This duality is what leads to the nature of humanity as creatures capable of both good and evil.

Many, many things are a sin. Idolatry, adultery, murder, theft, envy, pride, sloth. Drinking itself is technically not a sin, but being drunk is discouraged since one tends to act more sinfully while drunk. The scriptures don't offer a clear way to absolve oneself of sin, but does state that the Flame demands a sacrifice. Most common is a donation to the church, done usually even by the casual believers.

The crusades are still occurring, and their warriors are still Crusaders who wear heavy armor, use holy magic and fight with swords. They are zealous, unyielding and unforgiving. They continue to wage war on anything from unbelievers to native tribes across the world, to legitimately evil threats. Characters with a connection to crusaders include: Damian, whose parents were killed by them; Baldwin, who used to be a crusader before abandoning the church; and Reynauld, a crusader involved in the Lord of the Flies event who is now dead.

Flagellants and purifiers both maintain their roles. The only purifier currently involved in the RP is Ariana, and the only flagellant currently involved is Damian.

The Church of the Flame has no particular code of conduct for combat, believing that generally, any level of violence is fine as long as it's for the Flame. The exception is that one should not cause direct damage to the brain. The brain houses the mind, and consciousness is the gift of the Flame. Crusaders aim for the neck with their swords, not directly striking brain matter. Where possible, brains are not to be struck. As a result, most devout followers will not aim for an opponent's head unless absolutely necessary.

Confirmed Scripture Quotes
"To every thing there is a season,

and a time to every purpose before the Flame:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to reap..."

"We die alone but burn together, fuelling the end."