Post by Arazlam Durai on Sept 7, 2015 20:38:22 GMT -8
The Factions
The factions in Prayers of Heresy serve as a way to cement your character's place in the story by taking a "side" in it. Each faction serves as a different mentality in Ivalice for what they place highest in their priorities when it comes to politics of the country. Ultimately this is the political mindset that your character is most loyal towards. How you go about proving that loyalty is completely up to you. It is mandatory that you select a faction for your character when creating them. All faction selections will be secretly data-based and not displayed on your character profile.
TRUTH: In serving TRUTH your character disbelieves, in some form that High King Delita Heiral became the hero of Ivalice during the War of the Lions. Since the war ended, rumors have flared up that a companion of Ramza Beoulve by the name of Orran Durai knows the truth and is documenting a full report of the war stating the reality of the ordeal in detail which includes many of the atrocities committed by not only Delita, but the Church of Glabados, as well as the other noble houses. However, the document itself has yet to be published; and the King is going out of his way to make sure it stays that way. To make sure that the report, and its author, is out of harm's way, a secret task force called The Messengers of Beoulve were assembled by an unknown leader to protect Orran Durai at all times. The messengers comprise of various war veterans that fought, served, or knew Ramza Beoulve during the War of the Lions. Some may have been his allies or enemies during that time, but now they unite under a common banner to clear Ramza's name of false heresies charged against him.
These individuals also vary in levels of wealth, prestige, and location in order to consistently move the scribe from one place to the next. From the most common of thieves, to some of the wealthiest and well known noble families that remain alive past the war; the Messengers have now found their purpose in protecting the truth of Ivalice's history, and honor the man that truly brought peace to the land. Will your character join these ranks of war heroes and become a Messenger? Or will you secretly support the writer on the sidelines in your own way? Many of these roads lead to death and historical shame if not handled correctly. But the glory of success could forever change the face of destiny when you defy the fate that's been per-ordained.
Serve TRUTH. Serve Orran Durai. Honor Ramza Beoulve.
ROYALTY: Serving the faction of ROYALTY means that your character fully believes that High King Delita Heiral is the hero and savior of Ivalice. The blasphemies written by the friend of a heretic, Orran Durai, are nothing more than a political move by the upper class to smear the name of the king and bring back the horrible times where nobles ruled over the commoners as though they were cattle. In a short time King Delita is in the throes of making basic education a public commodity; something no previous ruler or noble would even consider in the past. Access to public education would mean that civilization as a whole will be on the road to tremendous improvement. With more educated people means more advancements in science, agriculture, magic, and technology. No longer will Ivalice be in the clutches of the dark ages of superstition and terror. While Delita may not have made a heretic display of himself like Ramza, internally he brought down the political poisons that had plagued Ivalice for many years causing tireless, unnecessary wars. A feat Ramza hardly came close to accomplishing during the war, and now the ex-noble isn't even alive to rebuild the country!
Since Delita's rule, commoners are quickly gaining more ground and even a voice equal to the nobles; something that the upper class are obviously not happy about. The individuals that are the most loyal to the royal family are those of common origins. There are still a good handful of nobles that are not threatened by the new laws being passed, although many of them have been back-handed and blackmailed by the King, not to mention taxed to death in order to pay for the new laws that serve the people. But those who have been loyally serving the royal family's commonwealth ambitions have also found themselves greatly rewarded with new titles, land, and power in commanding many of these new implementations. It's apparent that good things are flourishing under the rule of King Delita and Queen Ovelia. Will you pledge your undying loyalty and sword to the young, ambitious monarchy as a knight of the guard? Or will you support them in your own meager ways as you till the land and enjoy the new opportunities given in your hometown? Times are tough, but the light of a new era is commencing and peace has the chance to reign once again! Forget the past, and look now towards the future.
Serve ROYALTY. Serve your King. Enjoy the dawn of a new age in Ivalice!
BLOOD: Your allegiance to BLOOD is a precarious one, because the precepts of its origins are still yet unknown to the vast populous of Ivalice, even the new king himself. Court has now become a joke as commoners are knighted and allowed to reside in the castle, paupers are given rights to be heard, and education has been degraded to be accessed by those of the trashiest of origins. Pretty soon everyone will be on the same social and economic levels despite the very obvious differences between the street urchins and upper echelon of the kingdom.
Since most of the original aristocracy has been stepped on and ousted by the king, there is no reason to love or respect a man who was once a commoner himself and just happened to murder and marry up into royalty. There is, after all, an alternative to this sensitive situation. Although Queen Ovelia is a decently just ruler in the art of politics and compromise, she's still the King's puppet. One individual can supersede the current king and queen within legal rite: Prince Orinus.
In great secret, the aristocracy has been harboring Orinus' whereabouts throughout the War of the Lions and now is a better time than ever to begin the plans of acceding him to the throne over the petty commoner king that now dominates Ivalice. While King Delita may not be privy to this particular information, he's not stupid. If it's one thing your character respects about the new king is that he is quite the cunning cur who is not afraid to get his hands bloodied when threatened. If you are not successful in your missions it is considered treason against the royal family, and having your title and wealth stripped from you will be the least of your concerns. There is no room for commoners here, unless you happen to serve a noble's cause and act as their subordinate through this turbulent ordeal. With Orinus upon the throne, you can begin to reclaim power by convincing the child prince that these decisions are for the best.
Serve BLOOD. Serve the aristocracy. Put Prince Orinus upon the throne.
FAITH: The War of the Lions was, to say the least, a complete embarrassment to the Church of Glabados. Ramza Beoulve and Delita Heiral not only managed to thwart their plans, but also murder all of their most prominent clergy figures and cemented utter shame to their sacred beliefs. They would have the King executed if it wasn't for the fact that a renegade compatriot of Ramza Beoulve plans to publish a text documenting the events of the war. Not to mention that their power over the populous of Ivalice is tumultuous at best.
With King Delita planning to educate the masses, it won't be long until Orran Durai's rumored "report" will get out to the public and put the final nail in the coffin for the teachings of Glabados and Saint Ajora. This must not happen! A temporary alliance with the king is necessary in order to hunt down and root out the problem that could destroy the reputation of the Church and royal family in one fell swoop. The people of Ivalice have no idea that without faith in Saint Ajora their world could crumble into the abyss once more.
Putting their trust in Folmarv Tengille was a mistake. Giving a servant of the Church power to foresee over a mission, as delicate as the resurrection of their mighty savior Ajora should not ever happen again. The Templar Knights serve the church only as messengers and not leaders to later endanger all of them into becoming deviates of the Lucavi. Because of this, a new hierarchy of clergy will reside over the plan to resurrect Saint Ajora once more. In the meantime, the new order of Templar Knights shall focus their attention on other important matters, such as hunting down Orran Durai and executing him for treason against the church and state.
Once that is out of the way, they can then turn their attention to removing King Delita from his throne and assisting the begrudged aristocracy in placing Prince Orinus as the new High King of Ivalice. Only then can the Church of Glabados can flourish once again, and the people will come back to the teachings. Are you prepared to fight in the name of Ajora? Will you bring peace to Ivalice by showing the people the way of righteousness and humility?
Serve FAITH. Serve the Church of Glabados. Resurrect Saint Ajora and live in eternal salvation.
