Way of White

The Way of White is the belief system to serving the light and those who need it. As Sovereign Attor had borrowed an idea from Old King Devi he created two religious paths: the Way of White for the Light Kin, and the Path of Storms for the Sky Kin. In this, we concentrate on the Light Kin's newfound or possibly old religion in these trying times.


What it means to "Serve the Light," The Why, The What, and The How

In old times, there wasn't a specific following toward the gods Astral or Kelarth. Though many dragons had their beliefs in various deities there was never a real church or gathering, simply the logic of believing through faith and thanks and want. Those who were heavily devout never truly shown their scales and practiced in their own time, and it was doubtful others went out of their way to spread an influence of their god, though even the zealots wavered in fear that the gods didn't exist. Ignorance is bliss. This changed when the gods left dragon-kind and the beasts from another realm ravaged their race. Many faiths and oaths broken and forgotten, many who were devout had abandoned their gods as, to them, this proved the gods were either list or never existed to begin with. Some still clinged to their hopes even though they'd know the truth, this was where Attor was at his lowest, and then an idea came to mind.

The Way of White for all, and the Path of Storms for the strong and not just Sky Dragons. Of course this was met with scrutiny and scoffs at such ideas, Attor could recount relatively and easily the tales of old, about the gods and the start of both dragons and man, Sky and Light. He went on to create a path of self enlightenment and new faith. Carefully, he would declare these two worships an option for those who would walk their paths but warned that once upon them, a dragon must be willing to fully commit themselves to the very religion itself. Why was the Way of White so important? Simple, his idea of Hope, learning to use Magic called Miracles to Heal, Protect, and bring Justice upon the scourge of the land. The Way of White guidelines and rules were quite simple, below each rank having an explanation and with it a set of rules.

Ranks:

I. Initiate
An Initiate are easily the novice of the Way, inexperienced and meant to be young dragons Initiates must become students under a Paladin that chooses them. From there, they must complete at least three missions or trials in order to become that Paladins Apprentice, if failed they can try more but under a new Paladin and if there are none then the Initiate must wait for someone to be promoted to that position.

Easily the Initiates follow three rules: trust in your teacher, obey every command, and free yourself of your past sins and darkness. These rules are to be strictly followed, along with the completion of the three trials the Paladin creates, the Grand Priest will be the one to decide whether the Initiate is ready or not.

II. Apprentice
A novice, the Apprentice learns from the Paladin as a student. They follow and are to watch their teacher as a source of guidance, they are to be taught to accept the natural occurrences, even death and must train themselves to let go the things they love and rejoice that they live on from this world. They learn how to utilize the light magic known as Miracles in a defensive and supportive form(s) from force fields and non harmful shockwaves to patches of healing and reducing/curing illness and poisons. They learn how to enlighten the self through meditation and think clearer. It isn't until they have accomplished numerous missions with their Paladin that their teacher will think the Apprentice ready to move up in rank. From there, the two part ways for their own journey.

III. Adept
The Adept, as it's name states, is the experienced follower that has a decent knowledge of Miracles and servitude and the starting rank of various others. The Adept are much like the Apprentice though where they still follow under a leadership albeit from any given higher rank (Priest, Paladin, etc.). They are to be loyal to the Way of White purely and have shed any former sins, let it be envy and such, and have more freedom in the sense they can travel freely unlike the Apprentice. With this rank, the Adept is to spend time practicing Miracles and find a better focus, this rank opens up to the later Cleric, Seeker, and Chronicler.

IV. Cleric
The Clerics are to follow strict rules: to aid those in pain physically, mentally, and spiritually. They must travel to wherever they are needed and must have further training in combat and Miracles otherwise they wouldn't be of much use in the field. A Cleric must be willing to accept any job regardless of the level of danger in the mission, this can range from clearing out plagues to fighting other dragons and possibly monsters, they must also be purely faithful to Shardas and push aside other deities though they can't belittle nor scowl at the other religions. They must know how to brew potions/elixers and carry some at all times, let them be poisons or medicines to even simple herbs.

A Clerics main duty is to serve by healing and providing support in any manner, no matter how dirty it is. Normally they serve under/alongside Paladins and Priests, normally acting even as guides to their lesser/superior ranks. This rank along with the Paladin and Priest rank(s) are strongly devouts of only Shardas and must be faithful to his light and creation, however they mustn't have disregard for the other gods either but can't worship them either. With the Clerics rank most dragons by now know advanced healing and defensive Miracles and have the free option of learning offensive spells, however, the fact of a Cleric knowing more offensive than supportive Miracles is highly frowned upon.

V. Chronicler
The rules of the Chronicler are one of the strictest of all due to their promotion into Preisthood.

All Chroniclers are to know a variety Miracles, they have the option of actually practicing them but mustn't practice any other magics like Sorcery or Pyromancy. Instead, they are to be the guides and tutors of those who want to learn more, having both patience and understanding, they are meant to be humble yet knowledgeable of any given magic, medicines/herbs, religions and histories, and artifacts let them be light or dark. They are guardians of knowledge and will even send a Seeker to retrieve any given item or complete a task. Impatience, however, is scowled at and a priest must re-educate these scholars of White why they are this rank.

The Chronicler are not exactly meant to leave the settlement they are posted at as they hold the knowledge of the very people. If they are captured by Human, Dragon, or Other species the Chronicler poisons themselves with a powerful nightshade found only in the Lush Jungle. If they have betrayed their people and willingly gave any information the Chronicler will be killed by their fellow church members. This is to prevent any from gaining information let them be mere rogues or rival nation's.

But aside from that, the Chronicler are to travel with multiple Paladins and Clerics at all times if they go from short to long distances. This specific rank can even take in Apprentices, if failed by a Paladin, and repurpose them into another Chronicler or possibly a Seeker which is more common than not. Finally if a Chronicler has been well known and liked quite well, is well respected amongst the church, has a humble personality and has mastered multiple Miracles they will be offered to become a Priest.

VI. Seeker
A seperate rank cut from the entirety of the Order of Starlights, this extension of the Way of White are vagrants that seek out ruins, abandoned/destroyed kingdoms, and even other thriving kingdoms in search of artifacts, scrolls, and anything that would be deemed important to the knowledge of the church. They have the most freedom of any rank though that freedom is limited whilst under another rank. Although they are more or less scavengers, the Seeker must follow a set of rules like any other ranked dragon.

Seekers must retrieve anything of importance, theft is not required and the church highly against it, but that's never stopped them before. They must listen to the Chronicler at all times and pull off jobs regardless of the dangers, even if their job is to travel alongside Paladins. They must know an extensive pool of Miracles from primarily supportive and defensive to a few offensive spells. Seekers are required to have extensive survival capabilities and must be agile and durable enough to withstand any environment, hazard, and battle. They are to carry herbs at all times to craft potions and remedies for any injury and illness. Lastly, a Seeker is not to return to their Chronicler until they have completed a mission no matter how hard it is. If they refuse the task, they are punished accordingly.  

VII. Paladin
The Paladin is the forefront answer to the church's military. They are trained to be strong, have focus, and built for more offense and defense than supportive and healing. Soldiers if anything, a Paladin are to be looked upon as examples, how they teach their Apprentice and react to the public in any need. The Paladin answer the call to those who need protection and they act as guardians within the territories, seeking out any threat and expunging it should that threat present a problem for the Order of Starlights as a whole and not just the Way of White. What unique about the Paladins is the fact they only answer to two individuals: the Starlights Sovereign Attor and the Grand Preist, any other rank they can take into consideration but they cannot cater to lesser Priests nor Chroniclers.

The Paladin utilize mastered Miracles and not mere tricks, incomplete spells will affect combat capability and as such their training must be complete. They must know a balance of both offensive and defensive spells with a side of simple yet effective healing spells as well in case they go a mission alone with no Cleric. Paladins are to be examples of a strong individual and not some soldier, they must be open to various ideas and situations minor and major. They must be willing to help the public and reinforce the law, aiding Starlight Guardians not just the church itself. Paladins are encouraged to take on Apprentices, cast aside all selfish ambition and any ill intent/thoughts on others. They must cast any fear aside and face any threat with confidence, though natural an individual can be scared, Paladins have to be selfless and strong-willed regardless of the situation: they must also be fair but firm. Refusal to help or even mockery of another will result in demotion and further punishment. Abuse toward their Apprentice will result in immediate ban from the church and punishment by the Starlights Ruler themselves.


VIII. Priest
Priests, as the title stands, are meant to be a holy rank forgiving, helping, and reinventing dragons into better individuals. They are meant to be pure hearted, knowledgeable, and powerful in the way of Miracles and other light magics defending the Grand Priest and the church, or rather it's beliefs. They are capable dragons that cannot conform to any darkness and even go to expunge any real evils no matter the cost. They are mainly the figure heads of the Way of White and strive to be as positive as possible despite any time of misery. They are strongly devoted to Shardas' light and spread the word and tales to help comfort and possibly convert others to their ways, however not in any attempt to gain appraisal nor attention for themselves.

Priests are meant to be examples of humble yet passionate teachers of the Way of White, they are seen as individuals with pure hearts and a strong self esteem of knowledge. They are to heal anyone physically, mentally, and spiritually and give guidance to the Way of White or simply to a better lifestyle. Priests cannot do tasks for their own selfish ambition, they cannot cater to politics nor will they favor any one politician. They must train themselves to let go, not to mourn but to rejoice in those who died move onto a better place as grief can lead to greed and wrath. They are deemed teachers to all, however any sign of corruption or political favour will result in whatever swift action by the Grand Preist themselves, as this could compromise the Way of White. Priests do bestow ranks upon fellow members, specifically the Apprentice, to whatever they seem strongly suited in but they cannot choose a lower rank to become a Priest, the Grand Priest decides that.  

IX. Grand Priest
The highest and most respectable of the Way of White, the Grand Priest is the leader and guide to all who joins the covenant. The Grand Priest is deemed the most experienced, wisest, and most powerful dragon in the Way of White and is the only rank that partake in any political issues regarding the Order of Starlights and the church itself. They are more or less a secondary advisory to the Starlights and can act as a temporary leader if a leader has fallen or disappeared though that temporary status as "ruler" is shared alongside the Path of Storm's leader, the Typhoon Spear. The Grand Priest is in charge of the actions and missions of the White church, their primary job is to help spread hope and prosperity alongside the PoS and the Starlights, to give guidance and possibly spread their influence in a peaceful manner to other nations. This particular dragon can only partake battle if all others have failed or need higher assistance, or if there are matters regarding the priest itself.

The Grand Priest is in charge of the other lower ranks, even the near-free Seeker. Any text of history let alone any historic or taboo item are to be acknowledged and understood by the priest, the Chroniclers are to follow very specific instructions regarding such things and the two ranks must fully understand it; if not, then the item is kept hidden from any public knowledge save for the Starlight Sovereign. The priest can and will choose the further promotion of an Adept, depending on what they are good at, if they are promoted to a Chronicler, Seeker or Cleric, the Priest rank must handle them; but if they are to become a Paladin or Priest then the Grand Priest will train them accordingly. If there is conflict between another tribe and the church's actions, the Grand Priest must do whatever they can to end the conflict quickly, though it is highly advised to avoid physical means. In order for the Grand Priest to pass on their title, the Starlights, WoW, and PoS leaders must decide if the successor is truly ready for such a task. The Way of White Grand Priest has similar responsibility as the tribe leader.