The Church of Mercala
The Church of Mercala is an organization centered around the worship and emulation of Mercala, the Goddess of Life. The Church of Mercala is touted as the most organized religious epicenter, being very well-known and valuable to the Great Six -- largely in part due to the healing magic their devout Priests are given. The Church of Mercala makes its headquarters on the continent Lordwain, specifically Lispool.
History
ca. Year 40
The Church of Mercala has existed since around the year 40, though the worship of Mercala has existed a little while before then. The most prominent worshippers of Mercala are known as the Mehana, a very old bloodline that has been around since the establishment of the Church. The Mehana are regarded as a holy bloodline due to their compatibility with Mercala, allowing them to be vessels for her. There are several reasons as to why Mercala houses a vessel, but the most commonly understood one is that Mercala's true form is too radiant for mortals to directly gaze upon, which necessitates the existence of a vessel, and thus a Speaker.
ca. Year 260
Around year 260, the Church of Mercala inadvertently spawned an extremist sect known as the Sun's Ichor, helmed by the Glykin known as Azorus. The Sun's Ichor were hellbent on hunting down Vampires and ashing them, and initially this was not viewed as a problem. However, soon Azorus and his compatriots began to hunt down mortals suspected of being Vampires. Even the methods used to ash actual Vampires was viewed as excessively cruel (gagging them, racking them up, and 'baking' them in the sun; Azorus would even force-feed known Vampires his own Glykin blood as a form of torture), and this began to shake faith in Mercala. Because of this, not long after in the year 260 did Mercala denounce the Sun's Ichor in totality, and thus established the Church Knights. The fear that Azorus inspired soon became replaced by the chivalric and honorable trust that the Church Knights inspired.
With the Church Knights established and the Sun's Ichor hunted down by the law of the land, Vampire hunting became outlawed for the commonfolk and those who would take on the charge themselves, instead leaving it to the Church Knights where and when necessary.
Present
The Church of Mercala serves a crucial, pivotal role in the world due to their medical teachings and access to miraculous healing magic. Because of this, the Church of Mercala is heavily regarded by the general population in good light. The Church of Mercala very seldom uses their leverage, and when they do, people are bound to listen due to the power they exercise when necessary. Examples of necessary exercise of this is when hunting apostates or abusers of Mercana. Even then, sometimes the law of the land may balk the Church's efforts in doing so, and if they do not view the target as worth forcing their hand, they may not do so and await a better chance to capture them -- if ever.
The Church of Mercala and their healers are necessary for the Great Six due to them being the only option during an emergency. Because of this, it is often unwise to upset the Church in any manner.
Goals
The Church of Mercala's primary goal is to maintain peace and lead conflict to peaceful resolutions. If and when that fails, they would employ their healing tactics after any and all struggles, if they were to become violent. This is in line with Mercala's value of keeping people alive and healthy.
The Church of Mercala also has a primary goal of curbing complacency and recklessness, which they manage by restraining the usage of Mercana and healing magic altogether, so that humanity does not grow dependent on it and stoke the fires of war.
Role
Along with teaching devout Mercalans the healing magic of Mercana, the Church teaches non-Mercalans proper medical treatment beyond first aid, such as how to mend broken bones, suture, and treat wounds. Complex surgeries and injuries are more commonly treated with Mercana, due to the stasis of proper medical procedures in the world, in part by Mercana and magic existing.
The teachings of Mercana are heavily moderated and scrutinized by the Church. Typically the Church deploys their healers on a basis of need and has at least one within reasonable distance to known settlements, although some are so far out of the way that they need to fetch a Priest from a bigger town if they need one.
The Church also teaches reading and writing almost everywhere.
