Summae Patrie

[Narthok 10416]

 

Summae Patrie 

Spoiler

 

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Introduction

Despite the raging tides in war it has done my weary soul a great deal of good to see the ever increasing interest and entry into the embrace of the Father’s Hearth. To that end, being assailed by an almost insurmountable number of queries from those aspiring to the light and those already within the Father’s embrace I have set out to compile this work. Whilst not comprehensive of the entirety of the minutiae of our beliefs it should serve as a stable enough source for the average lay person seeking answers to common questions. 

 

Broad Questions Answered for the Unignited

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What is a Fatherist?

A Fatherist is an individual who believes in the divine nature of the Father who protects the world from the Abyss Who believes in the divine nature of the Hearthfire, granted to Thoromir by the Father. And who believe in the divinely inspired teachings preserved within the Red Scrolls. 

 

How do Fatherists Perceive Creation?

Fatherists believe that reality has always ‘been’. Not having a beginning or an end. Generally this is referred to as the abyss. A primordial abyss filled with all manners of abyss dwellers. However in the more contemporary sense, the creation of Terra upon which we dwell. Fatherists believe that Terra is comprised of the corpses of the Abyss primordials Greed and Jealousy. Greed, having stolen from Jealousy sparked a miniscule sentiment of ‘wrongdoing’ of ‘justice’ thus the Father was born. His existence an antithesis to the primordials of the Abyss, his coming was an explosion of flame. Killing the two primordials and melding their remains together. From this, with the essence of the Father leaking unto the realm below life sprang forth. Thus all life retains a spark of the Father’s essence, however lacking any other material they are comprised of fallen flesh, hence born corrupted or fallen. It is from here the first Horen can be said to have originated. 

 

When did Fatherism Begin?

Fatherism in the cosmic sense began on the first day, when the light of the Father quite literally illuminated the abyss and Terra for the first time. In a more mortal sense Fatherism began on the day of mercy. When the Father, seeing the struggle of his unsought children decided to seek out those least influenced by the eternally corruptive elements of the abyss. Finding this chosen people he conferred unto their leader divine revelation, and a portion of his soul. From this point forward this people began to preach the divine truth in order to spread the Father’s light and ride corruption from Terra. 

 

Why Fatherism over Canonism?

Fatherism contends that the divine essence of the Father is not omnipotent and points to a number of realities on Terra to reinforce that claim. The ability to access the abyss serving as proof of its existence. And from such a place of evil or absence surely the Father must not ‘be’ or rather cannot be. For if the Father is a being of infinite good it is impossible for his being to encompass a place of absence or for lack of a better word evil. Hence there must be hard limitations on the presence of the Father. The existence of a place wherein the divine cannot exist suggesting a limit to the power of the divine hence negating the claim of ‘omnipotence’.

 

The subsequent counter argument being that the canonist divinity has ‘created’ ‘evil’ that it may ‘test’ the ‘good’. But this again is a flawed argument insofar as the supreme good is incapable of ‘creating’ evil by its very nature. All evil that exists must either have come from beyond the divine presence or be the conception of free mortal will. Mortals having the exclusively mortal capacity to ‘choose’ between the good and the evil. 

 

What is the Father?

The Father of Terra is the first and last light. By his essence can life prevail on Terra and by his labours is the abyss held back, its ravenous hunger prevented from consuming Terra and all who dwell therein. Only through him can salvation from corruption and the abyss be attained. By his mercy was divine revelation granted unto mortals in addition to the divine essence. He is the good.

 

What is the Fatherist Afterlife?

The Firmament refers to the shield of Terra, sometimes referred to as the cloak of the Father. It is comprised of the Father and all of those ancestral believers of pure enough spirit to dwell therein without being burnt by the divine presence. The firmament protects the entirety of Terra from the endless onslaught of the Abyss. An endless struggle conducted by the Father and his faithful to preserve life on Terra and the lives of their descendants. At night the glimmering souls of the faithful can be seen in the sky defending the mortal realms. 

 

What are Paragons?

The Paragons are those faithful, having passed into the firmament who died with deeds of immens service to the Hearth, in addition to having deeply pure souls. Thus they, rather than merely dwelling in the firmament are able to dwell near its heart, seating themselves next to the Father properly. Thus these select incredibly holy individuals when prayed to are able to confer the supplications of the mortal worshipper unto the Father. Who is occupied with the eternal struggle and therefore incapable of tending to individual prayers. 

 

What is the Fire For?

The Holy Fire contained in the Flamebrands and the Hearths of Fatherist priests and temples is a portion of the Father’s divine soul gifted to mortals. It is from this that the Fatherist clergy derive their legitimacy and through the wielding of this holy essence that they perform rituals on the Father’s behalf. The persisting fire is a sign of the Father’s mercy to mortals and of his existing pact with his faithful. 

 

How do I become a Fatherist?

To become a Fatherist seek out your local keeper and ask to be initiated. You will be asked to take an oath that you will, to the best of your ability follow the path as directed by your Hearth Keeper. Then you will be asked to select a Paragon. Do so in line with your profession and aspirations. This will generally be preceded by a short interview wherein the Keeper will determine how serious one is about becoming a Fatherist. Fatherists and the Holy Hearth take those who break their vows very seriously. 

 

Questions of Theological Significance Answered for the Ignited or Curious Laity

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How do I Worship?

One’s manner of worship is dependant on the reasons behind one’s worship. As different ends require different means. Generally for minor requests and prayers one attends the relevant Paragon shrine, after providing an offering one will recite a personalized or a recommended prayer to the paragon in question. That the supplicant’s request will be properly heard and attended to by the Paragon in question. The paragon being important insofar as different paragons have different preferences for offerings and prayers, as well as each paragon having different competencies. It is certainly not wise to pray to a mother of children for safety in battle nor is it wise to pray to a blacksmith for calm seas. For details on the preferences and competencies of each Paragon refer to your local Keeper. 

 

What is Corruption and Why do I have it?

Corruption, decay or sin are all the same general concept. Being that subversive influence exerted by the Abyss and those who interact with it or originate from it. To this end, all mortals being comprised of Abyss originating flesh are born with inherent corruption within them. This strange contradiction granting mortals the unfortunate capacity to stray from the path and to engage in evil or corrupt acts. However that necessitates that those capable of trodding the holy path despite this capacity are all the more holy for doing so having had the ever present capacity for failing. 

 

In that sense you, being comprised by the flesh of the fallen primordials were born with a degree of corruption already labouring upon your soul. Therefore it is your charge to rid yourself as much as possible of this corruption prior to your death. 

 

What is the Abyss / What is a Primordial?

The Abyss is the ever present, eternal space beyond the Father’s firmament wherein the primordials and their ilk dwell. Primordials being those not immortal but eternal beasts who are the essence of a permanent reality. The natural state of all things is entropy, the gradual decline into disorder. To that end those elements integral to this reality must always have existed. Perhaps not necessarily being ‘sentient’ but always ‘being’ regardless. 

 

The Abyss is a place of eternal cold and darkness, the antithesis of the Father. Life cannot exist amongst it, at least not in the sense it exists on Terra. Thus the fall of the Firmament would signal the almost immediate consumption of Terra into the madness of the Abyss. 

 

What are the Red Scrolls and Can I Read Them?

The Red Scrolls are the compilation of all the revelations imparted by the prophets combined with a number of observations and parables from said prophets in regards to matters of faith. In regards to access of the holy scripture by the laity the answer is and shall always be a firm resounding no. Public access of the scripture would prompt uneducated interpretations of the scripture in addition to debasing their sacred nature. 

 

Who is Thoromir the Prophet?

Thoromir is the first of the Fatherist Prophets who received the Holy Fire from the Father on the day of mercy. From him all Rurics are directly descended along the patrilineal line. To him was placed the duty of serving as a beacon of the faith and a bulwark of his adherents. A duty taken to having fallen to his descendants as well. It is from this that Rurics draw their divinely granted right to rule the Fatherist peoples. 

 

What is the Holy Hearth?

The Holy Hearth is the body of Hearth Keepers who tend to the spiritual health of the Father’s children. Ensuring the moral laws are upheld by serving as judges upon Hearth Courts while spreading the Father’s light. The Holy Hearth as an institution additionally serves as the primary restraint upon those who bear the thorned crown. The subjects of the thorned crown generally being adherents of Fatherism and are extremely pious. Thus any theological disparity, conflict with the holy Hearth or general failure in one’s duty to the faith on the part of a monarch is punished heavily by the Holy Hearth. Who collectively wield a great deal of influence amongst the populace. 

 

It is through this system that the monarchs of Fatherist realms are restrained rather than by constitution or elaborate organization of nobility. Hence the internal strife that occured in the eras of the Ashen kings or during the times of Thoromir II when, in attempting to overturn sacred clan law he earned the ire of the populace.

 

Beyond that the Holy Hearth serves as the prime authority on Fatherist Orthodoxy. From its pulpit issuing the appropriate interpretation of scripture to be held and adhered to by the body of the faithful. To deny the interpretations of the Holy Hearth, issued by the collective agreement of the Hearth Keepers is equitable to heresy. 

 

What are Keepers?

Keepers are the clergy of Fatherism. Ranging from a mere keeper of the flame to Hearth keeper to the high keeper all Keepers bear a Flamebrand. A personalized vessel carrying a portion of the Father’s divine essence, which grants them their legitimacy as agents of the divine. Enabling them to enact rituals on his behalf, to provide judgement on matters of divine law and to battle against corruption.

 

The Hearth Keeper is a class unto itself. In addition to tending to their individual flamebrand the Hearth Keeper is charged with the stewardship of a Hearth. A Hearth containing a large portion of the Father’s essence, serving as the center of worship and community for any Fatherist community. To steward one is considered an extreme honour hence only the most prestigious Keepers are asked to take up the mantle of Hearth keeper. 

 

Which Paragon should I select / Must I select one?

Your Paragon should correspond to your place in society, your aspirations, your profession and such. A farmer praying to the Paragon of Kings would receive as much of an ear as a King to the Paragon of Mothers. To that end it is impossible for a Fatherist to pray or worship meaningfully, or to hold any hope for the fulfillment of prayers if they do not engage with a paragon. Generally a child born into the faith will have their Paragon selected for them at birth whilst converts will select a Paragon at their induction. It is not mandatory to select one as one can pray to any Paragon so long as they are properly inducted and provide the offerings. But convention generally demands that one have a patron. 

 

What of Magic? 

Magic is forbidden in all cases. The exercise of magic, the possession of magic all warrant execution if found to occur within the confines of a Fatherist realm. Magic is the product of the abyss in all cases. A distortion of Terra and of life by the exploitation of boons from the Abyss. There is little as dangerous and subversive as magic. Kill on sight. 

 

How do I get Married in Fatherism?

A Fatherist marriage generally consists of vows exchanged between the two promised to produce children and to ensure that their other half adheres to the path. The Keeper then binds the two with a red ribbon burning it with holy fire to signify their permanent bond before the Father. It is expected that the couple provide a sizeable donation to their local Hearth Temple and thoughtful gifts to all the attendees of their marriage This being done to indicate a desire to contribute to the expansion of the faith. The couple will then receive gifts from those whom they had invited. The gifts being intended to assist them with creating a stable productive home conducive to the production of healthy well to do children. 

 

I am having a Fatherist Baby what do I do?

When your baby is born, as soon as it is able you are to bring it to your local Hearth Keeper. You and your spouse will be expected to take oaths guaranteeing to care for and provide for the child whilst leading it to a pious and moral life. You will then be asked to select a patron paragon for your child that is most likely to be in line with its profession in the future (the child’s profession will generally match the parent’s of the same gender). At which point the Keeper will bind your child to the Paragon and your child will have been formally inducted into the faith. 

 

Questions Posed by the Advanced Laity

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How do I Cleanse my Soul of Corruption?

Fatherism is a generally ascetic religion eschewing excess or indulgence in any variety, viewing these as distractions from the path and a submission to one’s innate corruption. There are a variety of manners wherein one can cleanse the taint marring their internal flame. The most immediately apparent obviously being the practice of discipline. Both in matters physical and emotional. It is expected that one avoid indulgence and excess of consumption or expenditure and that the beastial emotions be kept on a tight leash. Beyond that the dedicated practice of one’s craft, particularly in support of the grand purpose. Consistent prayer and reflection. Participation in crusades or missions of purification, or great deeds done in the service of the Path.

 

How does the Holy Hearth Perceive The Roles Men and Women?

The Holy Hearth views men and women to be two complementary halves of a whole. Their union a matter of course rather than optional. This union being central to upholding one of the central pillars of the faith. Namely to ‘spread the flame’, this generally being accepted as a directive to expand the body of the faith via conversion and expanded population. Hence it is not encouraged but expected that every Fatherist commit themselves to a permanent union wherein children may be produced in number and raised in a stable supportive home.

 

Historically the Fatherist peoples have oft been faced with complete extermination prompting the need for women to engage in the defence of the faith. While it is encouraged that all Fatherist women devote themselves to the expansion of the faith this need not be done exclusively via pregnancy. As it is entirely tenable for a female to engage in conversion missions, in holy missions of purification or in the defence of the Faith.

 

 But as a general rule of thumb men are expendable, expected to put themselves in harm's way for the greater good of society. Thus they are expected to take up the tasks of mining, hunting, warfare, purification the generally hazardous but necessary tasks to a society. Whilst women are expected to take up the equally if not more valuable task of educating the next generation and rearing them to be pious and moral Fatherists. 

 

How does the Holy Hearth Perceive Homosexuality / Bachelorship / Contraceptives?

The bohemian practices originating in certain urbane spheres are entirely repugnant to the Holy Hearth. All defile the union of man and woman by denying their fundamental purpose, the conception of children for the purpose of expanding the faith. 

 

How does the Holy Hearth Perceive Races?

According to the Red Scrolls all races are inferior derivatives from the original sentient mortals. The Ancient Eldari feared death, thus their bodies were stretched in line with their years. The Ancient Fathers of the Dwedmar delved deep, driven by their lust for the bones of the ancients. Weighed down by the vast cursed treasures they found in the dark recesses of the world they became vast and squat. Forever cursed by the glittering remains they hewed from below. (it is for this purpose that Fatherists generally avoid gems and jewelry preferring decorations fashioned from bone, ivory, horn or wood). The Orkin of auld being thought to have become beasts, submitting to their primal instincts and rages. A cautionary tale. 

 

In that sense humans are held as the least corrupt of the sentient races, bearing the least ancestral burden. Whilst the Eldari and Dwedmar seeking the Father’s light will be weighed down by the vice of their foreFathers. Orkin are generally held to be beyond the capacity of salvation. 

 

Who are the Rurics and Why are they Holy?

The Rurics are those Fatherists who can trace direct patrilineal descendance from Thoromir I. They are from birth charged with the twin tasks placed upon Thoromir. Namely to serve as beacons of the faith and bulwarks of the faithful. Those failing or actively antagonizing these ends are held to be ‘Ashen’ or ‘Ashes’. They are unruriced having failed their holy obligation and cannot receive title or inheritance. In a similar sense the seat of Thoromir, appointed to him by the Father must always be occupied by one of his blooded heirs. Who, both keep his faith and fulfill his divine obligations. It is from this tradition that the Ruric divine right to rule originates and has persisted for all the centuries of their existence. 

 

What is the Path or the Great Purpose?

Fatherists believe that the Firmament is sustained by the labours of the Father and the pious ancestors. Thus the greater the number of faithful, the greater number of pious ancestors to assist in the defence of Terra. The ‘Great Purpose’ in that sense is the defence of life and goodness via the Firmament. Whilst the ‘Path’ is the series of actions and decisions that orients one towards the Firmament. In that sense Fatherists will always council their fellows to ‘keep the path’ in parting as a cultural convention. 

 

What is the Long Dark?

The Long Dark is that dreaded moment when the firmament fails and life on Terra is snuffed out forever. A reversion to the pre-Fatherist period of the black Abyss. This time or any idea of dwelling in the Abyss is the greatest terror for many Fatherists. It is to this end that Fatherist warriors will do battle with seemingly wanton abandon. Seeking to desperately purge their corruption through action and great deed that they may join the Father in the Firmament rather than be consigned to the Abyss. 

 

What is Night and How are we to prepare against it?

In the early days of the dawning whilst looking to the flourishing life on Terra the Father’s eye was gouged by the primordials of the Abyss. Having lashed out him in fury and terror with the revelation that they could in fact die (and be immediately replaced). Thus the Father, while seeking to keep an eye on Terra at all times is forced to turn one eye to the Abyss and one to Terra. However his destroyed eye sheds significantly less light than his unwounded orb. Thus the world falls to darkness. It is at this time that those Abyssal elements on Terra become the most voracious. The point at which the witches, the goblins, the beasts venture forth to do great terror and mischief. While not a great danger during the summer as the nights lengthen with the onset of winter it is generally advised to seek out a Keeper that they may prepare your home for the long nights.

 

Preparations generally consisting of the placement of salt around all portals into the home. Namely the fireplace, the doors and the windows. Whilst the doors and windows proper are inscribed with renewed wards. For particularly troublesome regions effigies of paragons of war or protection are placed at the windows and doors as well as near the food and drink. Preventing the ministrations of minor tricksters. It is also advised that torches be kept lit throughout the night, suspended on upright poles around ones home in addition to holsters flanking the doors and windows. 

 

Confronting Questions of Heresy?

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On Parians

The Hearth Council formally defines Parian Heretics as those individuals that profess membership in the Red Faith or belief in the Father whilst simultaneously denying the Paragons. Parian heretics will either deny the status of Paragons as the most pious servants of the Father seated at his side. Or they will assert that Paragons have no intrinsic relationship with prayer or ritual and do not assist with communing with the Father. A Parian denies some of the most fundamental realities of our faith, the ascension of the pious ancestors and the threat of the Abyss sans Firmament as well as the intense labours of the Father. 

 

On Presians 

The Hearth Council formally defines Presian Heretics as those individuals that profess membership in the Red Faith or belief in the All Father whilst simultaneously denying the importance of the Sacred Flame. Adherents of this form of heresy believe that the Father’s presence is either not important or that it can be found in every mundane form of fire. Or perhaps they deny that the Father gave a portion of his divine essence to the First prophet. Alternatively Presians do not deny the presence of the All Father but rather renders it unto every available flame. This too is false, as it denies the origins of our communion with the All Father while simultaneously removing the sacred nature from rituals conducted in the name of the first Flame.

 

On Convertians

The Hearth Council formally defines Convertian Heretics as those individuals that deny the fundamental clauses of the second tenet of the All Father. These individuals believe that the All Father’s flame must be spread through any means necessary, going so far as to forcibly convert those determined to remain blind. In extreme cases, they can be found putting those resistant to conversion to the sword or the blade for their refusal to accept the Father’s light. We of the Holy Hearth do fundamentally condemn and deny this behaviour as being orthodox amongst the teachings of the All Father. If an individual does not convert to Fatherism of their own volition then they are not truly freed from their blindness. Thusly in attempting to forcibly spread the Father’s flame you are actively hindering its growth and violating the first tenet of the All Father’s Grand Purpose.

 

On Progenians

The Hearth Council formally defines the Progenian heretic as an individual claiming that the All Father and the Crossed God are one and the same entity merely bearing different names and slightly different theological teachings based on geographical position. This is fundamentally false as the theological teachings between we of the Holy Hearth and those of the Canon Church differ vastly in philosophical and theological orientation. The Holy Hearth does hold that the All Father is an entity independent of any relationship or association with the Crossed God. The primary designator being the Father being a finite being in regards to power and awareness who is the essence of the Good. Whilst the canonist contends that their divinity is a being of infinite power, and infinite knowledge whilst being the essence of Good. Our logical issue with said line of thinking is expanded upon above in “Why Fatherism over Canonism?”.

 

On Ashes

As mentioned previously an Ash is a direct descendant via the patrilineal line who fails to uphold or actively antagonizes their Ruric obligations to serve as Beacons of the Faith and Bulwarks of the faithful. They are held as heretics to their divine obligation, denying it or failing to uphold the expectations of them. Both equally egregious crimes A Ruric is born with obligation and must uphold it. Their lives are intended not for themselves, but for the service of the Greater Good and of the Fatherist peoples. 

 

On Hubrites

The Hearth Council formally defines a Hubrite as one who denies the heirs of Thoromir or the nature of Thoromir himself in addition to the divine obligations placed upon them. Denying the initial happenings of the Day of Mercy from whence all of our divine revelations originate.

 

What is the Father’s Mercy and Why Perform it?

‘The Father’s Mercy’ is an oft used term that designates the ritual of burning someone alive to release their soul from the corruption of the flesh. This ritual is generally performed on those who are deemed to be ‘beyond salvation’ either by the corruption of their souls or by the corruption of their flesh. This rather radical ritual is intended to free them from further developments of their corruption that they may at the very least have a small chance of achieving residence in the Firmament.

 

What is Entombment and why Perform it?

“Entombment” is a brutal ritual performed upon the arch heretics and villains of Fatherism. Fatherists believe that the soul can only depart the flesh when the flesh has properly decayed as to allow for release from their material prison. Thus for those most grievous offenders deemed to need the maximum amount of suffering. After their executions they are entombed in preservative sap and sealed in an iron coffin covered in wards. Thus their soul is forced to slowly experience the decay of their flesh for decades if not centuries before they are consigned to the Abyss. 

 

 

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Glossary

 

The Abyss: Place of Darkness and Suffering

Ashes: Apostate Rurics 

Flame Brand: Mobile implement carrying a piece of the divine soul within.  

Holy Fire: Piece of the divine soul given to man

Keeper / Hearth Keeper: Fatherist priests who tend to the divine soul

Holy Hearth: The institution overseeing all Fatherists

Paragon: Extremely virtuous ancestor

Primordial: Aspect of entropy or in rare cases virtue

 

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Please contact Godric with any additional Fatherism related questions by sending a bird to the Morsgrad Palace. For an expedient response include a snack for Mr Muffins. 

(( format responses in the form of letters, telepathy rp is horrible)

 

One can also speak to their local keeper if they seek a more personal response to their questions

 

 

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Penned by

Godric