Fear and magic, how the Children play politics
Most ordinary Scarterran have a complicated relationship with the goddess Greymoria. Rather than asking for Greymoria to bless them with good things, most Scarterrans' prayers and venerations are begging Greymoria to spare them from her wrath.
Greymoria's primary followers, the Children of the Dark Mother or simply "the Children" are feared and respected by ordinary Scarterrans. They aren't like or trusted though. Talking with one of the Children is not unlike talking to a representative of a powerful crime family, with fear and respect.
Peasant or prince, no Scarterran wants to invoke Greymoria's wrath, but this doesn't mean that the Children can get away with anything they want. The Children get a lot of leeway with minor indiscretions, but they will still find themselves on the wrong end of a hangman's noose or a vigilante's dagger if they are caught committing a serious crime in Greymoria's name.
History
by Zeta Gardner
Kahdisteria
Not everything Kahdisteria does is in Greymoria's name, but regardless of whether or not their politics stems from Greymoria's Children, Kahdisteria has many enemies due to their mass enslavement of humans and other non-elves. In the lands of the Colassian Confederacy, the Children are not welcome among them even when the Children in question do not have pointed ears. Here in Fumaya, we are far away from Kahdisteria, so our local Children do not have the stigma for being associated with the dark elves, but this doesn't erase the memories of the dark deeds committed by other Greymoria-affiliated groups. I believe the Fumayan Children are trustworthy, but not every Fumayan agrees with me and I suppose that is understandable".-Aurum Zara of the Dawn, chief historian of the Fumayan KeepersPurple Cow Placeholder by Me with Midjourney"Kahdisteria is a unique case. During the Second Age, the ancestors of the elves who are now called dark elves made a pact with spirit minions of Greymoria and promised that they would venerate Greymoria above the rest of the Nine for all time. The dark elves kept their promise thus far and the nation of Kahdisteria is the only nation in Scarterra that has Greymoria as their official state patron. The ruling elites of Kahdisteria get in bed with the Kahdisterian Children both figuratively and all too often, literally.
The slow rise of Magocratic Governments
This gave the local Children a foot in the door to sneak into the halls of power. The Swynfaredian Children are bunch of spineless lapdogs, but at least they have the right general idea. Magic is raw power that can be converted to soft political power, and wise Children set themselves as the gatekeepers to said power. Swynfaredia and Kahdisteria have it written into their royal charters that only arcane mages can hold certain positions of rulership, but this is not the only way Children can gain political power. Further south, the Elven Empire is not technically a magocracy on paper, but it is a magocracy backed by norms rather than backed by laws. Of the last nine emperors and empresses, eight of them were wizards. Well over half of their mid-level feudalistic rulers and colonial governors are also wizards. Long ago, the Elven Empire was suspicious of the Children of the Dark Mother, but over the centuries as the Empire grew to depend on arcane might to maintain the realm, anti-Greymoria stigmas loosened overtime and now the Children are at least on even political footing with most of the rest of the Imperial Nonagon. It is my opinion, this is the general strategy of political action that the Children should be pursuing across Scarterra and it's certainly what we should be working on in Fumaya.""I am pro-Greymoria and anti-slavery. Best case scenario, Kahdisteria will one day end the practice of slaver, but that's neither here nor there. I don't think we will ever get another large nation with Greymoria as the state's official divine protector, but that doesn't mean we Children can't find a place at the table even if we aren't sitting at the head of the table. The Kingdom of Swynfaredia is deeply flawed, but they are right in one thing. They recognize that spell-casters are above non-spellcasters. They add a bunch of heretical nonsense of about the greatness of their Four Founders and the supremacy of draconic sorcery over all other forms of magic, but at least they recognize the benefits of a mageocracy.
Components and tools
Most Scarterran religious factions value their members with magical abilities, but the Children are the only large faction to require their priests and priestesses have magical ability.
Any member of the Children who is not a mage or a theurgist is stuck at the rank of acolyte. The few Children who are mages and theurgists often find themselves rising in the ecclesiastical ranks very fast even if they aren't particularly powerful casters. Just being able to wield both kinds of magic a little bit is a mark of high status.
The Children often rub elbows with criminal cartels of various sorts, even those not directly associated with magic. Criminal connections of course can be leverage into political influence with careful handling.
Whether of divine or arcane origins, magic is power.
The Children are certainly not above the quid pro quo trading of magical favors in exchange for political favors. They often trade magical favors for coins and reagents. Sometimes, this exchange is even above board and legal.
Because of this peddling of spells and potions, even in places where the Children are not well-liked or well-respected, the Children are seldom poor.
by Me with Midjourney
Participants
The Children of Spite
"The Children of Spite" is a nickname for the Children's most belligerent and antisocial priests and priestesses. They inflict pain, misery, and death on Greymoria's perceived enemies (who can potentially be almost anyone at any time).
A lot of priests and priests of Greymoria joined the Children because they feel, rightly or wrongly, that they too are victims and they will rationalize how the people who wronged them are much like the people who wronged Greymoria.
The Children of Spite are a minority of the Children as a whole. A large and vocal minority, but a minority never the less.
by me with Midjourney
What about the Non-spiteful Children?
Sometimes the other Children can make a niche for themselves playing "Good Cop" to the Spite Children's "Bad Cop", but many more peaceful Children see the Children of Spite as more of liability than an asset. The less vengeful Children of the Dark Mother spend a lot of their time sweeping the actions of the Children of Spite under the rug in one way or the other. Many Children preside over Greymoria worship ritual at designated times, but otherwise live their own independent lives the rest of the time. More politically minded Children have two broad agendas that they follow they believe will aid Greymoria in the long-run.Some Children want to spread arcane magic as far and wide as possible in Scarterra.
Some Children want to convert, silence, or (if necessary) eliminate mages who are not sufficiently pious towards Greymoria.
It is possible for one of the Children to be in both camps at once. They want to want to spread arcane while simultaneously reminding mages where their true loyalties should lie.
There are some extremists that want to slay all mages who are not pious towards Greymoria, but most mainstream Children are satisfied with mages who are politely neutral to Greymoria.
by Eron12 with Hero Forge
Softening Maleficium laws
Fairly Oddparents Screenshot by Nickelodeon Studios
by me with Midjourney
Primary Related Location
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
What About the Children among nomadic peoples?
Commissioned camazotzflying, grey background by Diana Rahfoth
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