Weaponizing kindness, how the Tenders play politics
Mera is the goddess of many things, but of the many different hats that Mera wear, her most prominent hat is that of the Goddess of the Hearth. Most Mera temples have a sacred ceremonial hearth fire maintained 24/7, so her primary followers are often called "Tenders of the Sacred Hearth", or simply Tenders.
In Mera's name, Mera's followers try to promote peace, charity, health, safety, strong families, and abundant clean water.
Mera, named by Zeta Gardner
We Tenders of the Sacred Tenders do not sully Mera's good name by wallowing in base politics. We strive to live lives of virtue and hope that we can inspire others through our good example. We conduct acts of charity and compassion in Mera's name in the hopes that we can inspire others to emulate kindness in Mera's name. Charity conducted under bribery or coercion is not really charity at all and this is why we don't like to play politics. -Beslyfle the gnome, matriarch of the Fumayan Tenders
This influences whether the peasants will perform their duties to their lords enthusiastically and fastidiously or slow and begrudgingly, and that is powerful leverage indeed.""Saying 'I don't engage in politics' is in fact a political ploy...and a relatively juvenile ploy at that. Everyone plays politics whether they admit it or not because everyone wants something. The Tenders have a very powerful weapon to wield in political struggles: popularity. The Tenders are beloved by the peasants. They can turn the peasants against their lord. They can't exactly whip up a mob wielding torches and pitch forks, that's more of a Lantern tactic. But they can tell the people whether or not their lord lives a favorable life in Mera's eyes or not.
Execution
Promoting Peace
Promoting peace is a noble endeavor, but it's easier said than done. All Tenders love peace, but they don't agree the best way to ensure peace between all the mortals of Scarterra. Some Tenders believe physical inclusion is the way to advance peace, creating integrated societies made up of diverse people. Other Tenders believe that good fences make good neighbors. The Paladins, a relatively young faction among the Tenders, believes that maintaining peace means keeping a sharp sword. Regardless of what strategy a Tender favors to achieve peace, peace, it's the feudal lords controlling the armies, not the Tenders. If a king or other lord is an obvious warmonger, the Tenders will sometimes back the Lanterns in a coup, but more often than not, there isn't an obvious and clear cut Good Side and Bad Side, so the Tenders don't have a clear enemy. The Tenders often volunteer to mediate between various warring powers, but they often have trouble getting both sides to agree to to follow their directives. A common criticism is that they are quick to encourage people to surrender rather than fight for what's right.Promoting Charity
The Tenders care for the physical well-being of all mortals (or at least most mortals), so they are naturally involved in all kinds of charities providing food, water, shelter, clothes, education and health care to those in need. When politicians trade favors to get things done, it's called "horse trading". When Scarterra clergy engage in the practice, it's called "mule trading". It's pretty easy to get a proverbial "mule" from the Tenders by supporting charities that the Tenders, and the Tenders reward nobles, commoners, and priests from other groups that help them out by providing public praise and facilitating good word of mouth.Promoting Family
Frieze of a Medieval Wedding by Thomas Stothard
Components and tools
Mera is the goddess of medicine, so it's no surprise that theTenders have a lot of well-trained healers among their ranks, both those with magic and those without.
Tenders normally provide their healing services for free. Mera is also a goddess of water, so the Tenders often help with magical and mundane methods of providing clean drinking water. These free services are the main source of the good will that the Tenders enjoy from the gneeral populace.
Most recipients of the Tenders' aid end up providing voluntary donations later. The Tenders receive more temple donations than most other Nonagon factions enjoy. This is primarily from large numbers of people making small donations rather than a small number of rich people making large donations though the Tenders are not above metaphorically licking boots of wealthy philanthropists from time to time.
The Tenders rarely hoard money. The coins and other resources the Tenders' receive are usually quickly funneled into numerous charitable endeavors, so very few Mera temples maintain a large "rainy day fund".
by me with Midjourney
Participants
When the hospital was first founded, initially the Tenders and the Rovers both shouldered half the burden in both labor and materials. That was a long time ago. Now the Rovers provided about 70% of the food, labor, and coins to keep the hospital running. The Tenders didn't cut their support...at least not by much. But the hospital ended up taking on far more boarders than expected, so the hospital kept expanding and the Tenders did not expand their support to match. Now we Rovers shoulder most of the burden. This pattern repeats itself across all of Fumaya and beyond. There is a nearby orphanage that used to be a 50/50 endeavor between the Lanterns and the Tenders. Now it's mostly a Lantern orphanage that the Tenders occasionally tosses a few coins to. To their credit, the Lanterns stepped up and filled the gap, but sometimes no one fills the gaps and many charities that the Tenders have started in the past sometimes end up withering and dying on the vine. I'd rather do a few charities well than do many charities poorly. Things have improved in Fumaya since Beslyfle the gnome became their high priestess. Beslyfle has quietly halted starting any new charities has upped the Tenders support of older charities by about 10% across the Boot of Fumaya. Gnome Tenders are better at taking a long-term view than human or satyr Tenders."-Aleesia the satyr, part-time staff of the Zeyvem Memorial Hospitalcomissioned portrait of Aleesia the Satyr by Zeta Gardner"The Tenders love to help people in need, and this is a good thing. But even the Tenders don't have enough money and manpower at their disposal to help everyone, so they often engage in joint endeavors with the rest of the Nonagon. The Tenders operate schools with the Keepers. soup kitchens with the Stewards, clothing distribution centers with the Guardians, and hospitals with the Rovers. Unfortunately, the Tenders are often overly fixated on shiny and new things. It's more fun to raise donations for an exciting new endeavor than it is to support older charity that is struggling. The Tapukeah Zeyvem Memorial Hospital was initially created as joint venture between the Fumayan Tenders and the Fumayan Rovers.
Well-armed Tenders
by me with Midjourney
Primary Related Location
Related Organizations
What About Tenders among nomadic peoples?
Comissioned Kalazotz Art (smaller version) by Diana Rahfoth
You always have interesting reads ^^
Thanks! That's very nice to hear. Religious politics is a cornerstone of Scarterra's lore, so I'm happy it is being well-received.