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Enoch
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Enoch is the martial god of righteousness, justice, law and order, and the power of the forces of good. Only Aramon rivals him for power in the heavens. An intense struggle to the death exists between Aramon and Enoch, as they have been arch enemies since they were both gods of minor cults for 1000s of years. It is Enoch's goal to rid the world of all chaos and evil by the most righteous, moral, and expedient means possible. As such, his aims are always calculated to efficiency. Those standing in the way of the righteousness of Enoch are against him. Goodness and light will prevail, and Aramon must be destroyed. Enoch is a vindictive god. He will not tolerate insolence, and he will often exercise his will on the world directly through the priests of the Order of Enoch.
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Worship of Enoch
Worship of Enoch involves much strict adherence to established ceremonies. Prayer is required every day, and if it is learned by others that they have been neglected, penance must be taken upon ones self to make up for it. Every Saturday is a required full day of worship and total contemplation. Work on Saturday mornings before noon is strictly forbidden. Those who do not adhere to this risk excommunication by the Order of Enoch.
All worshipers of Enoch are proficient in some kind of weapon, even if it is something as small as a kitchen knife. Enoch is a martial god, and his worshipers emulate this as best they can. There are only two holidays for worshipers of Enoch. One is The Day of Ascension, which is a day thousands of years ago which signifies the birth of Enoch as a god in the heavens. It is held every May 15th, and much ceremony surrounds it. All of Sigil turns out for military parades on that day. There are massive feasts, preceded by long readings from The Book of Enoch, and a mass led by the Pope, the closest mortal to Enoch. It is said that Enoch speaks directly to the Pope often, giving his worldly worshipers needed direction. The other holiday is held at the beginning of winter, and it is called Dark Remembrance Day. This day signifies the beginning of the long war with worshipers of Aramon. It is a day of remembrance of Aramon's treachery, along with that of his worshipers. During this time, it is very common for people to disappear, being taken away by The Inquisitors' Order to be questioned in the truth of Enoch. Many do not return. This time is used to weed out the weak who do not have conviction to stand up and face evil righteously and morally.
Worshippers of Enoch do not ever kill without a purpose before hand. They are often very proper, and they do not overindulge in the pleasures of the flesh or in that of drink. They are always one to run to the defense of the weak or needy, especially those who are defenseless, such as women and children. Everything they do is with the idea of furthering the causes of justice and righteousness for Enoch. Anything done in the name of Enoch is an act of goodness and righteousness. Evil is brutally destroyed, with no thought given to ever allowing enemies to repent. They are slain without mercy.
History
For thousands of years Enoch and Aramon have been at one anothers throats in the heavens, and their earthly followers have been trying to kill one another for just as long. It was not until around fifty years ago that Enoch came to greater power, overwhelming the goddess Ceris and gaining power by pushing her followers away in the southlands of Derlith, and stepping into the resulting gap. The fledgling Order of Enoch had moved into the Kingdom of Sendral as a minor cult, and they ended up gaining popular support due to several bad decisions by the monarchy as to how they treated the masses of peasants in Sendral. Peasants were offered salvation in return for service to Enoch. The resulting peasant revolt saw the Monarchy deposed and executed as evildoers. The Pope then stepped in and formed a new government around the Order in Sendral. Using the paladins of the Order of Crusaders and the priests in The Inquisitors' Order, he crushed all resistance brutally and ruled all with an iron merciless fist. Everyday order was formed around the worship of Enoch. Failure to adhere could mean excommunication, which often leads to being stoned to death by the masses, or tortured to death by Inquisitors. "Cleansing the soul" is what the Inquisitors' Order calls it. Currently, the Pope has two goals. One is to route out and destroy all remaining bastions of the worship of Ceris in his lands. The other is to seek out and destroy the agents of Aramon wherever they may be found throughout the world. The Order of Crusaders is used for this purpose primarily. Advisors are placed in every town in Derlith in some form or another. The Free City of Highport has given the Pope much trouble of late, as it insists on freedom of worship within its borders! However, they have been spared invasion simply due to the fact they still will not allow open worship by the Cult of Aramon, no matter what they say about religious freedom. Many high clergy in the Order, however, are very concerned and outraged at rumors that Highport will be opening a new Church to Ceris inside its gates. Nobody knows what the Pope will do about that, but it is said that military intervention is possible should the Council of Highport allow the decadent church to open, with all of its disgusting and immoral worship practices, and its open degradation of youth.
The Priesthood
The priesthood of The Order is extremely hierarchical. All clergy must follow the orders of their superiors. Failure to do so can result in "slashing of the cloth", which is what it is called when a priest or priestess of Enoch is thrown out of The Order. Followed is mandatory one month of imprisonment and penance, and then exile for one year. In addition, the Inquisitors have to screen them to be sure they are "true" to Enoch. After all, who would do such a terrible thing as to renounce holy service to him but an agent of Aramon or some other dark god?
The majority of clergy of The Order are men. There are a few priestesses, but they are very highly discriminated against and do not often rise high in rank. Different ranks in The Order hold different bureaucratic responsibilities. The highest ten priests, or "The Lightbringers", are the ones who make most of the decisions of every day operation of The Order. However, the Pope has final word on everything should he step in. The Pope names his successor, and if he dies without designating one, the most senior priest of The Lightbringers becomes Pope. New members into The Lightbringers are directly appointed by the Pope himself. It is the primary responsibility of all clergy to further the worship of Enoch to all lands, and to destroy agents of Aramon wherever they may be found. They are also often likely to involve themselves largely in any local politics, and will always try to build new churches wherever they find any place where there is not one.
Roleplaying Notes
Players playing clerics of Enoch need to be vehement about the destruction of evil. All kinds of evil. Remember that anything that can be seen to be having any effect against the ways of Enoch or The Order can be twisted always to be considered "evil" by definition. Any kind of disorder is bad. Stealing is never tolerated, unless it is gaining to Enoch in some way. Enoch priests will seek out and destroy priests of Aramon at all costs of men, money, and resources. Undead are the willing agents of Aramon, and thus they are similarly treated. Priests of Enoch will always try to convert other players, by talking up the righteousness of Enoch. Think about any time you've run into a rabid born-again Christian, trying to tell you how you are doomed unless you take Jesus into your heart, and will not leave you alone. That is what a Priest of Enoch is like, but other than preaching of Christian love Jesus has for you and how he died for sins, he'd preach to you about how it is your duty to follow the righteous path of Enoch at all costs, as to do else would be to be without a soul. Priests of Enoch will never abate when it comes to debate about their religion. Enoch is a righteous god, and he is the only true god there is. All others are pretenders.
