Church of Urto

Originally, the nomadic tribes of Urtind were totemistic in religion with each tribe worshipping a particular animal and with a tribal shaman providing the priesthood for the members of that nomadic tribe.   When the Bear Tribe became the supreme tribe, the King of the tribe, Bara Ursine, was also the tribe’s Shaman. When his wife give birth to twin sons, he prepared to separate rulership from religion by bestowing one of the twins with rulership and the other with the priesthood. The Ursine family then became split into two branches - the Royal and the Religious. Shortly after the splitting of the family, the grandson of the first King, Aldo Ursine, was struck blind and dumb for five years.   When he recovered, he was imbued with a glow and he began to write new religious teachings. These scriptures advocated the fact that Beleryn was the only power in the heavens and that the other Gods drew their power from her. The animal totems, he wrote, were manifestations of Beleryn's descendants and, as such, were further aspects of her power. This belief formed the corner-stone of the Church of Urto and continues today. Aldo also prophesied there would come a time when the Ursine family were no longer the rulers of Urtind. His prophecy stated that there would be a new dynasty in power and a plague would come. Then the last of the dynasty, a princess would search for a hero to save the kingdom. She would find such a hero who would recover a sacred blue rose in order to remove the plague from the land and unbeknown to him, he would be the last in the Ursine line, kept pure and safe across the sea. He then began to wander the land preaching the prophecies and creating miracles where ever he went.   The writings became known as the Ursine Scriptures and the Rose Prophecy respectively. As belief in Beleryn and that she was the sole power in the heavens began to spread, a church developed. In his 67th year, Aldo Ursine, was made Leader of the Urtish Church, which over the years became known as the Church of Urto. (Aldo Ursine was murdered by Orcs when he reached the age of 72). Word of these teachings began to spread, and they even gained some acceptance in the Taraj Empire. Despite the loss of the Southern Baronies and the subsequent fall of the Urtish Empire, the Church of Urto retained its base in Urtind, and the Primate of Urtind is still regarded as its overall leader of the church.   The priests of the Church of Urto are able to cast Acts of Faith as ordained priests. They wear flowing robes with a tabard. The robes are always white but the colour of the tabard relates to their rank within the Church. The lowest ordained priests wear simple brown tabards and may only cast Acts of Faith to Rank 2. The next level in the Church's hierarchy are Bishops who wear green tabards and are able to cast Acts of Faith to Rank 6. Above them are Primates (the leaders of the church in a particular realm), who wear red tabards, and the Holy Revorn (the Primate of Urtind) who wears a blue robe with a white tabard. Both the Holy Revorn and the Primates are able to cast Acts of Faith to Rank 7. Emblazoned upon the tabards, regardless of level, is the image of a phoenix in gold.