From Aparsus

Overview

The Church of Saint Alyss (herein called the Alyssian Church) is the dominant religion throughout the Pharosian Heartlands - having overtaken and subsumed older religious traditions in the region, largely due to the fervour of the Alyssian faithful. Alyssians preach a message of compassion, courage and dedication. Pharosian culture being what it is they rarely conflict with other faiths (called the Old Roads in local Pharosian parlance), but there is a certain level of political in-fighting and competition between the Alyssians and the Old Roads.

History

The church has spread throughout Pharos, but its origins are in the northern city-state of Keseret, which sits near the Cold Marshes, one of the most dangerous regions in the Heartlands. The people of Keseret had long lived under the threat of attack from the beast races that dwell in the Cold Marsh, and barbarians assaulting through the narrow Pass of Janis until a great warrior-queen rose up among them, a sorceress named Alyss who turned her skill, talent and considerable will toward the defense of her people. Alyss reigned for nearly a hundred years, according to legend, and was entombed in the Catacomb of the White Rose beneath the Royal Palace in Keseret.

During her long reign, Alyss worked closely with the local temples of the Three - the patron Goddesses of Keseret - and forged the religions into a single whole. After she died, her daughter was named the first High Priestess of the Alyssian Church, and Alyss herself was made the first Saint of the Church. Alyss' descendants would rule Keseret for nearly two centuries as Queen and High Priestess, until the reign of Cevelis the Virginal, known as the Childless Queen; who herself was Sainted for her tireless efforts to improve the lot of the Kesereti.

After Cevelis was interred alongside her ancestors in the Catacombs, the Alyssian Church was without strong leadership - the torch having been passed to an Elder Council of bickering high priests - while Keseret itself grew stronger under the sure hand of the Regent Tamrune Felisa. As the Church began to crumble, however, a sorcerer named Ansem appeared in Keseret, bearing a prophecy that stated that the Demonbinder, Alyss I, would be reborn to usher in a new golden age of peace and prosperity over all of Pharosia.

Caught up in his fervour, the Alyssian Church underwent a revival, and Ansem became the first Hierophant of the church. Under Ansem, the church reunited and became to proselytize with renewed fervour. Over the coming years, it would grow throughout the Heartlands until there were Alyssian temples in every city and wayside shrines along every road.