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.
