The High Priestess of Greyspire

The Priestess of Greyspire, also known as Ephemeral Sovereign of the Sacred Order, Chief Arbiter of the Mother's Justice, and Keeper of the Holy Annals, is the spiritual head of the Church of the Divine Mother, a religious organisation that worships the high goddess Ethera and her pantheon of guardians.   Once an enviable and aspirational position for many in the church, the office has been under constant threat of eradication due to the empire's current occupation of Greyspire.  

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Role

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    All criminal cases under the jurisdiction of Greyspire were brought before the High Priestess for an audience. The Priestess is considered a divine judge who is blessed to speak on the goddess Ethera's behalf. They could bestow mercy or sentence harshly. Violent crime and heresy were often punished by death using Sky Burials. Theft was often punished with the removal of fingers or, in more serious cases, whole hands, and those found belonging to the Cult of Baelor were burnt alive on a pyre.   Brutal as Greyspire's idea of justice was, its treatment of devout followers of Ethera was, for the most part, maternal. Greyspire functioned in a feudal-style system where labourers, farmers and craftsmen were housed, fed and protected by the church in exchange for their work and a share of their produce.   The role of High Priestess is lifelong, and therefore, individuals with that title die whilst in office.   Her residence is the Sanctum of the Mother's Sovereign, a rather cushy living quarter in the Church of the Divine Mother itself, which also houses Elvara's largest collection of religious texts and scholarly works.  

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Current High Priestess

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  Following the peaceful surrender of Greyspire to the Vanguard forces, the Council of the Congregation was divided. One faction supported High Priest Ibaelius and his desire to avoid bloodshed, whilst another faction arose in opposition to him, furious at his 'unforgivable show of weakness' in his surrender to chaos.   Less than two months after the occupation began, High Priest Ibaelius plunged from Greyspire's main tower in an apparent 'suicide', and the Council of the Congregation appointed a hardliner from the denomination of Solas, High Priestess Virelda Krenn.   Krenn is an intelligent and shrewd leader. She is formidable during council meetings, which now not only involve heads of the congregation but Vanguard officers too.   Though most of the High Priestess' powers as leader of Greyspire have diminished in favour of the empire's rule, Krenn is still a firm advocate of Greyspire's population.