The Ecumenical Communion of Syran is a loosely affiliated group of indigenous churches with a common set of beliefs. Each church is represented on the city's Ecclesiastical Council by a bishop or similar leader and maintains one or more congregations within the city. These are the fragmented descendants of the original Stygian church of the Autarchy, regarding Arkat as a saint or a prophet. Many also incorporate shrines to deities other than the Invisible God, and allow worshippers to participate in the common religion of The Lords Temporal. Most of these churches are relatively small and confined to Sentanos or even just Syran. For full descriptions of the Communion, and of the individual churches, refer to the following Keywords.
Each of these churches has at least two different congregations within the city.
Syran's Wizardry Schools and Saintly Orders are summarised in Organisations. Keywords are available for the following Orders and Schools:
Shorter descriptions are provided for the following Schools:
A number of foreign churches are also present in Syran. Adherents are comparatively rare, and they are often regarded with suspicion.
Rokarism was once prevalent amongst the nobility in Sentanos, but it was always more popular in Tortun and has fallen from favour even there. In Syran, one or two Houses still have private chapels, but the church has few adherents and almost no political power. Rumours of spies working for the Inquisitorial Order Of The Golden Lance (see Orders) abound, but the Inquisition has no official presence in the city.
The Otkorioni once had a diverse array of Stygian churches much like those of Sentanos, but in recent years they have been united under the into a single church by one man: Archbishop Surantyr.
Its adherents worship Orlanth and other Lightbringers or deities of the Storm Pantheon alongside the Invisible God, calling them saints. Though this seems superficially similar to the practices of the Ecumenical Communion, a huge theological gulf exists between the two religions, and the Otkorioni are regarded with deep suspicion in Syran.
Surantyr's ambitions recently led him into conflict with the erstwhile ruler of Sentanos, Lady Erengazor, culminating in the defeat of her army by the bishop and his barbarian allies. This seems to have brought about Erengazor's downfall, but it has also made the Otkorioni church far from popular in Syran. Its few remaining adherents in the city keep their faith a secret, and the chapel that they once used openly now stands empty.
The once-powerful Galvosti have dwindled almost to extinction, thanks to Surantyr's relentless enmity. Since the Sack of Valantia, some of its adherents have sought refuge in Syran, but they are anxious to keep a low profile. The most contentious aspect of this church is a doctrine that permits the tapping of non-Malkioni in some circumstances, a practice that many find repellent.
Several churches in Syran incorporate shrines to the The Lords Temporal, a group of deities and other entities that are acknowledged by the Ecumenical Communion as Regents of the Invisible God within their specific dominions. The worship of these entities takes the form of a common religion, which operates alongside the conventional church services.
See the following Keywords for details:
Numerous churches, organisations and traditions exist in Syran that consider themselves Arkati, teaching various interpretations of his life as an example of their particular philosophies. A common thread in these fragmented perspectives, however is the artificiality of normal magical boundaries and restrictions. The awareness that this engenders can lead sufficiently focussed individuals to a transcendent understanding, which grants them benefits when learning and using magic.
This is a form of concentration, similar to that practiced by adherents of the Lunar Way (see Heroquest p113). Concentrating in this way halves the cost of learning and improving all types of Common Magic ability and allows the individual to use them as active abilities. This only applies to common magic from Arkati sources or existing innate magic (talents). The individual may not learn or retain magic from other sources without breaking concentration.
Note, however, that specialised magic from Arkati churches, orders and schools may be retained, but these abilities do not benefit from the effects of concentration. Some philosophers claim that this reflects the essentially degenerate nature of the Arkat's Way teaching, insisting that the true path of Arkat would allow one to learn and use all types of magic with equal facility.
Members of this widespread underground group revere the great animal spirits that were worshipped by the ancient hsunchen peopels of Ralios. Elsewhere in Safelster, it takes the form of a powerful spirit cult, but in Syran its form has been diluted by local traditions. Adherents are taught to contact a patron spirit, who may teach them various Common Magic charms or talents.
Example charms and talents: Alert, Digging, Leaping, Know Weather, Run From Danger, Scent Foe, Strong, Sure-footed
Eneral was the First Man, and all of the true people of Ralios call themselves Enerali, claiming descent from him. Malkioni doctrine holds that he was created by the Invisible God to be the Lord of Ralios, but everyone knows that he was the son of Galanin, the Father Of Horses. The particular gifts of this common ancestor have been passed down from generation to generation by his descendants, and they are still available to modern Safelstans as Common Magic.
Eneral's Gifts (talents): Avoid Blow, Befriend Horse, Hear Spirits, Run Away Home, Sense Foe, Sniff Out Food, Sooth Hurt, Walk All Day
The Faceless One is worshipped by many of the city's criminals, notably by the members of the Syndicates. See Heroquest page 112 for details of the Lanbril common religion.
Many different stories are told of the people who originally built the seven great cities of Safelster, and in Syran these mighty Builders are regarded with awe and respect. This strong, largely informal, tradition persists in Syran, despite the more orthodox alternative offered by the Church of The Architect, granting adherents access to a few Common Magic spells.
Builder Secrets (spells): Builders' Mark, Find Way Home, Evade Pursuit, Quick Way, Recognise Builder Spirit, Walls Have Ears