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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Priestesses

General


The primary and most common job regarding the religion is the all-female staff that are the public's guide and aid to the faith.  They are government employees that work at the temples closest to their home, aiding in prayer, teaching religious tales and lessons, group meditation, consoling,  as well as more specialized tasks of dealing with spirits and demons, and protecting people they care for.  Priestess are required to always be willing to help those who are in need, and if a dishonorable person seeks redemption they are required to aid them in the task and speak on their behalf in regards to any trouble they've got in.  This isn't a get out of jail free card for the criminal since the priestess has to actually believe they want to change, and even then it only reduces the sentence and not actually removes it all together.  They are well respected in the community and serve as sort of community mother and big sister figures to many people of all ages for how much they assist others and their warm friendly attitude.


To become a priestess one has to go through a year of classes which take place every day at the temple, and once they prove they have learned the basics and concepts they are made a priestess in training where they shadow a more experienced Priestess for several years learning more and more of the practices as well privately studying with them to ensure they become as dedicated and understanding as the job requires.  As time goes on they are allowed to do more and more things on their own until they are allowed to take a final test to prove they are ready.  The test involves memorization of several legends and holy texts, at least a basic understanding of how to do magic, consoling a person in need while the Head Priestess observes, explaining how the Tenets of Faith apply to  them on a personal level, and the sacrifice of their great accomplishment (if it's not a physical object then a symbolic sacrifice of it) on an altar to the Great Mother.  


Caretakers 


The Caretakers are the most common form of Priestess, and the one most people think of when they hear the word or think of temples.   Serving as the face of the religion these women can be found in the temples all day, the younger members of the order actually living inside of them.  During their 12-18 hour shifts they walk around the complex praying, meditating, and maintaining the building as they wait for people to enter.  If the day is slow they will send a few of the women out into the streets in order to help random people with their daily tasks or anyone they notice is in need.  When people are there they lead in group meditation, personal prayers, and tell stories of the faith to children. They are who Zhu confess too when it comes to being dishonorable and they serve as counselors for various trouble for life, ranging from marriage issues to business deals.  They are obligated to help anyone regardless of who or what they are, and are the people who talk on behalf of prisoners to get reduced sentences or second chances.  They feed and provide blankets for the homeless every day, often bringing the younger ones and letting them sleep in the temple. 


Galeizou 



Galeizou tend to have their own buildings, but they are often smaller additions to an existing temple or the top floor of a particular large one.  They serve as a form of healer for the spiritual ailments, though they do have a moderate degree of skill in physical healing as well.  They don't have specific shifts such as caretakers most of them instead being on call, with one or two left in the building to document the needed cases.  When they are told about a spiritual issue such as possession, a mystical curse, or in some cases malevolent spirits lurking around they quickly assign someone to go and look into it.  While there they will uses their various magical and specially attuned chi to deal with the threat or ailment, often carrying a spell book of sorts with them though more experiences Galeizou end up memorizing the entire book and creating their own methods.  At least once a year every Galeizou is required to do a pilgrimage across the entire kingdom that they live in, walking across the landmasses and helping everyone and everything they come across with spiritual issues.  This period is also treated as a time to seek out spirits that lurk in the outskirts of settlements and deal with them. 


Slayers



Slayers tend to have their area in the basement of temples, the floor normally filled with training equipment as well as various texts for them to look into.  They are known as Slayers because it is their job to deal with the more "earthly" plane of magic, them combating demons  and monsters instead of just raw spirits like their sisters.  They use magic but it is normally either to enhance their equipment or to summon benevolent allies, their primary fighting method utilizing chi attuned to the needed energy signature for the threat.  Their job is equal parts preparation as it is actual fighting, them spending countless hours researching the threat and fine tuning their traps and equipment before actually engaging and enemy.  While small ones can be dealt with by a single slayer, most creatures are attacked with a group and through planning, scouts constantly on the lookout for new ones and listening to every report they come across.  


Guardians



Guardians tend to be scattered around the temples and any other places a priestess may be.  They are a defense force for the order, serving to help quell civil unrest towards them as well as defend them from more "human" level threats.  While they are trained in magic they mostly deal in hand to hand and a variety of melee weapons, mostly non-lethal.  They have unique martial arts forms of their own developed specifically for them to efficiently take on large groups as well as incapacitate people without causing much lasting harm.  They often boost themselves with chi in ways that vastly improve dexterity and general agility to they can be swift in their actions instead of prolonged fights.  When a situation causes for lethal force they most commonly use a single edged sword and use a graceful fighting style to try to end the life as painlessly as possible, their duty to people extending even to their enemies. 




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