Description

Holy Symbol of Callera, in the form of a Pendant. (Generated by Dall-E. Prompt: “Cinematic oil painting of a golden pendant. The pendant features the face of a beautiful goddess with a serene expression, smooth skin, and hair made out of fire. The background is a soft, dark velvet to highlight the pendant's luster and the fiery hair's glow.”)

The Joybringers act as the official Marcandrian clergy for Callera. She is a goddess of artistry, dance, passion and revelry, with the message that one should seek a fulfilling life, and to find a joyous life through passions and artistry. The Joybringers seek to spread and nurture the worship of Callera and her values.

The Joybringers are a loose organization, one in which each temple act independently, keeping only the minimum organizational hierarchy necessary to function. The Joybringers tend to be heavily involved in Marcandrian festivities and revelry, and are often the ones who both plan, organize, and run public events in Marcandria; be that on their own accord or on behalf of either nobles or other influential entities. The Joynringers are passionate and free spirited individuals, all deeply engulfed in artistry, who seek to both teach and show the people how to achieve a fulfilling life, will with ones joys and passions. While the Meranzeum aids people's financial wellbeing, and the Greenwardens see to their physical health, the Joybringers seek to heal people's souls and to elevate what it should mean and feel to be Marcandrian.

The Joybringers are most present in the larger population centers in Marcandria, tending to stay in areas with a lot of culture and opportunities to engage with the people. Their massive temples often stand among the most exquisite and luxurious buildings in the city they're in. The Joybringers do have some presence in the more rural regions of Marcandria as well, though tend to only consist of one or a few individuals whose decided to put the inhabitants there “under their wings”.

The Joybringers tend to avoid bickering or politics between nobles or other factions. So long as neither side seeks to hamper the Joybringers endeavors, they see little reason to get involved. Rather, they see staying out of such conflict as a way to avoid alienating either side, and as a way to potentially act as a bridge for each side to. They tend to have little they can offer by themselves if drawn into conflict. However, due to their charismatic nature and deep involvement in both the populace and leadership, they can have a lot of influence when it comes to swaying public opinion.

 

Faction symbol/insignia: Callera's visage with her fiery hair, often worn as a pendant.

 

 

Members

The Joybringers tend to be very eccentric and outgoing people, who not only live by Lady Firehair's teachings, but who has an irresistible urge to exude and share it with all others. Its members tend to come from the middle-to-upper classes within Marcandria. Lower class citizens are not turned away, though because the Joybringers tend situate their temples in the finer areas of settlements, most who are in close vicinity to them tend to be from the middle or upper classes. Those of lower class thus tend to have less opportunity to involve themselves with them. Lower class citizens also tend to have fewer possibilities when it comes to pursuing and developing their artistic skills, which means there's a gap in the reality of them and the Joybringers who tend to be engulfed in it.

The Joybringers are all artists, be that as musicians, painters, singers, sculptures, stylists, poets, dancers, theatre performers, or otherwise. They act as organizers, mentors, and guides in all things artistry and revelry. They are often employed by nobles to teach their children etiquette, artistic literature, and to help them develop their artistic skills. Many burdened by guilt or tragedy also seek out the Joybringers in hopes of regaining their joy of life, with it not being too uncommon for those who have been helped through such hardships ending up as Joybringers themselves.

Some, though not all, Joybringers have divine powers gifted upon them by Lady Firehair. Those who lead temples often tend to have such gifts, though it is by means mandatory. The Joybringers tend to place much more emphasis on the strength of one's character than the power one has been given. Though, Lady Firehair's favor nonetheless tends to be strongly correlated with the strength of one's character, meaning the two are often one and the same within the Joybringers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Meranzeum is a religious organization and acts as Meranzi's clergy in Marcandria. However, most of its members are not what one would traditionally consider a cleric. The majority of the Meranzeum's members do not have divine gifts — such as clerical powers — instead simply being deeply religious worshippers. Those with clerical abilities are considered to be part of the actual clergy portion of the Meranzeum. This includes everyone of Holycoin rank or above — who are also required to have Meranzi's Gift. It also includes basically everyone in the Department of Divination, as well a minority of the rank-and-file members. Rank-and-file members outside the Department of Divination tend to serve dual roles, both filling their designated position as well as occasionally performing clerical services. If you're a rank-and-file member who only deal with clerical services then you're a member of the Department of Divination — since that is what they do.

The Meranzeum's membership base is incredibly varied. Most of the organization's leaders are former merchants, traders, artisans, and business-people — whose exceptional results made them the clear leaders and drivers of their fields. One must prove oneself through such a high level of success while part of the Meranzeum, as well as having clerical abilities and Meranzi's Gift, to even be considered for a leadership role within the Meranzeum

The Meranzeum is perhaps best known for the numerous merchants, traders, and artisans that exist among their rank-and-file members, as it is they who run the business-empire side of the Meranzeum. However, the Meranzeum also includes economists, accountants, analysts, bankers, librarians, scholars, researchers, administrators, secretaries, receptionists, assistants, and whatever other position the Meranzeum needs filled.

All members are required to be avid worshippers of Meranzi — one is not allowed to become a member if this criteria is not fulfilled. Worship of the other two deities that make up the Diostri — Callera and Fiori — is permitted, though Meranzi should be their primary deity. The Meranzeum also, to some extent, tolerate a member paying homage to other deities, so long as they are not considered adversaries of Meranzi, and so long as they are clearly secondary to Meranzi.

The Meranzeum also have numerous business partners that they've made through investments and sponsorships. These partners can come from all facets of Marcandrian society, or even be from abroad, though they all have in common that the Meranzeum has deemed their abilities exceptional enough to warrant investing into their future growth and progress. These partners are technically not members of the Meranzeum, though it's not uncommon for them to join the Meranzeum down the line.

 

 

 

The members of the Joybringers primarily come from the middle class of society, particularly the upper reaches of it. Members from the lower class is, however, not uncommon. While the Joybringers include both sexes, the majority of their members are female. This has much to do with the Marcandrian view of women being the fairer (more beautiful) sex, and Callera preaches beauty. They are deeply passionate individuals, being deeply in touch with all the pleasures life has to offer, and finding joy in even the smallest of events.

 

All Joybringers are artists of some kind, in addition to being clerics. This may be as a singer, musician, painter, dancer, and so on. Many also work as organizers for celebrations, as well as teachers of song and dance. They also practice and teach personal beauty, as well as proper etiquette, manners, and proper clothing, for children of nobility. Their members also often perform spa treatments at their temples, as well as operating beauty salons and other luxurious ways of pleasure at their temples. In some cases, people can even find partners for night-time activities. As one of Callera's virtues is beauty, the Joybringers also teach others how to make themselves as beautiful as possible. This is through proper clothing, mannerism, as well as offering beauty treatments. It is the Joybringers who usually prepares a bride for her wedding.

 

 

Beliefs

Find peace and fulfillment in your passion. Let it heal old wounds, and allow you to move on from whatever past hardship still haunts you. Find yourself in its art. Find your joy in art.

When life has hit you hard, others can reach out a hand to help you, but it is always up to you to grab on to the help they offer. When times gets tough, pursue your passion, so that it may alleviate the pain and bring joy to your life, so that you can move forward.

Want everyone to live a good life, one that they find fulfilling and that they enjoy living.

 

 

Goals

Spread and nurture the worship of Callera.

 

 

Organization

 

Operations and Endeavors

Locations

 

Relations with other Factions

 

Stance of Succession Conflict

 

 

 

 

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Keyowrds: jovial, whimsical

a rather loose and informal organization where temples operate mostly independently from one another.

 

Members: Clerics, bards, artists, musicians, performers (dance, theatre, etc), entertainers, festival/party planners, “beauty salon thingy”.