The First Church of the Celestial

The Primarch is both governor of the Sacred City of Lokar, and the spiritual leader of the entire Church. Primarch's are elected from church leaders, and are elected for life. The Church leaders elect leaders from each of the 6 recognized paths on a rotating basis. The current primarch, His Holiness Diobel Kortez, was elected from the Path of the Moon.

Unifying the disparate peoples of Aleria.

As the major religion of the Continents of Aleria and Rabarri, the church has the financial support of most of the political leaders on those two continents.

The history of modern religion in Aleria really begins in 7950 AE. At that time, most of the Empire practiced one of several now long-forgotten pagan religions. Though the prophets of these ancient religions are credited with having foreseen the great cataclysm that led to the formation of the Empire, many modern priests argue that they were but unknowing vessels of the Celestial, as it is the first basic tenet of the Church that the truth in any religion is but an echo of the ultimate truths of the First Church. In those days of the Second Age of the Ancient Empire, there was a halfling by the name of Antal Chandira who began to preach a new philosophy to any who would listen: that there was a universal truth that could be discovered if one but looked hard enough, and that it would be revealed to be the one true religion. Many found his arguments compelling, and he was soon gathering acolytes. However the pagan clerics scoffed at this new philosophy, pointing out that they themselves had been given divine powers by their beliefs, but that there was no evidence that Antal or his followers derived similar power from theirs. However, Antal held fast to his newfound faith, splitting his time between study and contemplation, and preaching the power of the “one truth” to any who would listen. It is said that Antal had a dream one night, a crystal clear vision of a stone pavilion atop a lonely mountain. Next to the pavillion stood a lightning scorched tree and not far away was a cave opening filled with rubble. When he awoke, he immediately knew from his own religions studies what he had seen; the Gods’ Moot, the place where the ancient prophets of the pagan religions met long ago to form the Council of Passing Shadow to save their people from the cataclysm. It was at that exact spot that the foundations of the Empire were formed. Antal Chandira believed his vision was intended to lead him back to the Gods’ Moot, and that it was there where he would receive his “one truth.” Though the location of the Gods’ Moot had long been a secret lost to history, Antal thought there had been clues in his vision that could point him to one place in particular: the Undermountain, a lonely peak at the southernmost end of the Skycatcher mountain range. It was said that the Undermountain was riddled with caves and tunnels, and that any number of terrible creatures resided within. Yet Antal was determined, and so with thirty of his most faithful followers, he made the arduous journey. After many perils, the remaining followers now only numbered twenty, but finally they crested a cliff near the top of the Undermountain and there it was: the Gods’ Moot, perfectly preserved as it was in Antal’s dream from that day 4,000 years earlier when the Council of Passing Shadow had met there. Antal and his followers knelt down in awe to pray and meditate. When Antal looked up again hours later, it was almost twilight. From the great altitude of the mountain top, he could see the last rays of the sun simultaneous with the twinkling of stars and the brightness of the moon in the darkening sky. Antal was overwhelmed with a sense of power and began preaching from the pavilion, a message of unification, that all things were connected, and that all things were possible by following the power of this connectivity. His followers listened in rapt attention as Antal preached all through the night and to the next day. With the first rays of the rising sun, his followers felt divine power course through them, and they knew that they had inherited divine gifts equal to if not more powerful than those of the pagan priests. When Antal and his followers came down from the mountain, they immediately sought an audience with Empress Shelara. Once more Antal preached the unifying power of the new religion, and Empress Shelara’s eyes were opened, as she saw the potential for peace and prosperity that a single universal religion could bring, just as uniting the people had saved them from the dragons thousands of years ago. Thus it was that the First Church of the Celestial was formed, supplanting all lesser religions in the realms and becoming the source of all light and truth in the Empire. Antal was to be referred to henceforth as St. Killian, Prophet of the Celestial, and it is his teachings that persist to this day in Churches of the Celestial all across Aleria and beyond.