The Order of the Alderist Temple

The Order of the Temple

Head of the Cult	Vater Gregor von Volker
Seat of Power	Adelsburg
Territory	The Empire
Major Festivals	\
Primary Religion	Alderism
Holy Sites	The Grand Cathedral of Alder, Magna Attia
Active in	The Hadrian Empire

Introduction

The Templars are the one and only, blessed and permitted, armed wing of the Temple of Alder and the sole military religious group of the Alderist Faith.

Their task is the defense of the Temple of Alder and all sacred sites of the Alderist faith.

The order is nominally dedicated to the Sentinels "Salvor" and "Rosatia", with "Volker" the Sentinel of its founder.

They are the eyes and right arm of the Vater in his difficult mission to guide the people of Alderist faith and peer into the folds of the Oracle's predetermination.

Function

They primarily carry out a bureaucratic function in everyday life, but are also encouraged to undergo military training and called to perform military service if the Vater deems it necessary.

Together with the Vater they are responsible for regulating the exercise of magic in the territories of the empire and cataloging the magicians and magical phenomena in the regions of the Empire.

A peculiarity of the order is that it does not perform particular ritual religious functions, unlike the other Alderist orders.

For this reason the order is populated by lay scholars and essential consultants on military strategy and theory of magic, carrying out a fundamental function of connection between the temple of Alder and the people of Eden.

Excommunications

As the armed wing of the faith, the Templars are responsible for carrying out the orders of the Vater regarding the "excommunicated" Alderists, i.e. those who have been punished with the ban from the Temples and the breaking of all oaths taken in the name of Alder.

Excommunication is proclaimed by the Vater, can only punish a person of the Alderist faith, and generally comes following very serious and unforgivable offenses aimed at the Temple and Alder.

Crusade Call

Many of the ancient sacred sites of Alderism and the place of origin of Alder and the sacred relic Heillicht, the sword of Alder himself, lie buried beneath the unholy waters of Magna Attia.

It is the ultimate goal of the Temple order to liberate Magna Attia and its sacred sites, recover all relics of Alderism, and restore the Great Temple of Greater Pre-Determination, the foundations of which are said to lie beneath the ruins of Magna Attia.

A crusade can only be called by the Vater and requires an exercise of faith on the part of all Alderist believers, called to carry out the request of the Oracle who speaks through the Vater.

The Templar crusade to reconquer the Holy Land of Alderism is however perpetual and a precise objective of the Order.

Organization

The Templars have a simple organization, where all knights serve the Grand Master of the Order and the Grand Master reports to the Vater.

In the absence of a Grand Master of the order, the Vater himself performs the function of Grand Master.

Before becoming a knight, the Templar novices must follow the following course:

• Present themselves at the Temple brandishing pure intentions, to serve the Vater and his creed and to purify the earth from the evil of the Void and all the other devilries of Dolus.

• Carry out an apprenticeship in which they will learn the rudiments of Alderism, if the doctrine is not familiar to them. And in which their discipline will be evaluated.

• If the candidate is an Elemental Mage, the procedure will be speeded up and the Templar Mage will have free access to the possibility of using magic on Imperial soil in order to protect the Empire and its Temple.

Void mages and members of other military or religious orders, Alderist or otherwise, are not admitted into the order, with rare exceptions as provided for by the title of "Honorary Templar".

An "Honorary Templar" has the same rights and duties as a normal Templar, but has nevertheless entered the order through direct investiture by the Vater himself, through great merits recognized towards the Temple and the Alderist faith.