Church of the Lawgiver

Influence & reach

The Church of the Lawgiver has a far tighter grip on affairs that matter to it in Nova Vaasa than Othmar Bolshnik imagines. And it is willing to bolster his authority precisely to the extent that the result is a strengthening of its own position. The leaders of the Church would be threatened by the reincarnation of Sainted Prince Gorkyn. What they see in Othmar is rather a whelp that can be made into a reliable watchdog with sufficient time and sufficient bones.

The situation of the Church in Hazlan is far more complex and far less satisfying. The reception of the Lawgiver's message among the people of Hazlan could hardly have gone better. Rich and poor, slaver and slave, Mulan and Rashemani all found a great deal in the doctrine to take to heart. And perhaps the satraps appointed by Hazlik to govern in his sted benefitted from it most of all. But bloodless success left the Church in the extraordinarily uncomfortable position of blessing the authority of an individual that it finds contemptible in nigh every respect. Worse, just as Hazlik madly changed his mind about the practice of arcane magic in his land, he could wake up tomorrow and forbid religion in his land. Whereas Sainted Prince Gorkyn could be trusted to make the most of such an invitation, Othmar Bolshnik might well ignore it as a distraction from his scheming with lawless rabble or, worse, might well be defeated in Hazlan and overthrown at home. So the Church of the Lawgiver counts the days until death claims the aged and despised wizard, all too well aware that such powerful individuals rarely go easily or quickly.

Hierarchy

The Church of the Lawgiver is led by a Himmelsk Naeve (Divine Fist)
One Pave for Hazlan and one Pave for Nova Vaasa serve the 'Himmelsk Naeve
One Aerkebiskop per region for a total of four in Hazlan, and likewise four in Nova Vaasa, serves the respective Pave.
One Biskop per dommerserves an Aerkebiskop.
One Kontor presides over each fane, leading the actual rites of worship.

The present hierarchy:

Himmelsk Naeve Pieter Jergaar, male, Clr16, Kantora

  Pave Lod Ragnaar, male, Clr13, Bergovitsa

     Aerkebiskop Bearnt Chekiv, male, Clr7, Arbora

  Pave Stavroz Vatsisk, male, Clr12, Toyalis

      Aerkebiskop Melkior Vadnais, male, Clr8, Sly-Var

      Aerkebiskop Verzin Lols, male, Clr10, Toyalis

Note: Haakon Aramsen is described as being the leader of the Hazlani Church of the Lawgiver (Ravenloft Gazeetteer Volume I, p53). Pave Stavroz Vatsisk is described as being the Pave of Hazlan not once but twice: first in Authority Figures insert for Toyalis (Ravenloft Gazeetteer Volume I, p60) and second several years later in the Hierarchy and Terminology section for the Church of the Lawgiver (Ravenloft Gazeetteer Volume I, p127). So to resolve this, we can rule that when S wrote her report Haakon was indeed pave. But that changed. He is described as being of advanced age and having the will and strength to stand up to Hazlik, being a Clr15. He does not sound like someone that Stavroz could hope to displace from office, perhaps being a threat to the Himmelsk Naeve himself. Death then, is the most likely option, followed distantly be retirement. Natural death, or at least death that looks natural, is again to be preferred, as Hazlik openly acting to have the Pave removed would be significant enough to have been discussed.

Orders

Kunduktørs (“Guardians”) tend to the dead, take vows of silence, and study the nature of death in the search for understanding of universal and eternal law. Hazlani Kunduktørs spawned the heresy that the Great Upheaval marked the destruction of the Lawgiver, draining the faith and its rites of life.

Gudkædes (God-chains) are the marshal order sworn to the defence of the Church and the destruction of its enemies. They are not quite the force that they once were, for want of occasion to exercise their strength.

Jernspørgsmålers (Iron Inquisitors) are the fire fighters of the church, extinguishing the lives of heretics and traitors. They creep into every corner of the institution, often donning the cloth of their prey.

Didakti (Teachers) are the fire inspectors of the church, ever seeking and testing flaws and weaknesses of character or of reasoning that could be the fuel or the spark of heresy or treason. They work closely with the Jernspørgsmålers, but are far more given to pondering the descent into, and nature of, iniquity.

Orders have their own internal hierarchy and are answerable only to the Pave of their land and the Himmelsk Naeve himself.

Members of the orders

Johan Bolshnik, Jernspørgsmålers, male, Clr3/Rog1, Kantora

Heresies

Heretics

Lukas Duremke, male, Clr6, Arbora

Rites, Ceremonies, Holy Days

Spells are prayed for at highnoon, in the full-light of day, that the Lawgiver might see and weigh all.

Services are held nightly, after the working day has ended, with twice weekly attendance being expected at a minimum.

During the Day of Penance, on the first day of the New Year, the faithful are expected to undertake an accounting of their failings of the past year and prepare themselves to make a better showing in the year to come.

During the Celebration of the Reemergence, which recalls the end of the Great Upheaval and is held in August upon the first full moon, the Lawgiver is thanked for his return and his success in restoring to the world its proper order.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Ravenloft Third Edition Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V
		Ravenloft Third Edition - p52 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - p53
		Ravenloft Third Edition - p54 Domains of Dread - p70 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - p53,59,60 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V -p38,39,40,128-130
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p46 Ravenloft Third Edition - pp17,52,122,134 Domains of Dread - pp67,70 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I - pp52-54 Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V- pp125-130
		The Iron Tyrant The Black Lord The Iron Faith Bane