A white patterned marble Sphere, like a perfectly crafted lattice of millions of interconnected marble plates, Cervitas is a serene sight when viewed through the ritual magic that opens up the Spheres. Cervitas is a well respected Sphere, whose followers are seen as important cohesive forces in the world. Those who seek out Cervitas are loyal individuals who work together towards their goals. The presence of Cervitas binds both the Concord and the Church together as it represents community cohesiveness, the strength of the whole, and bonds forged together through hardship.
Cervitas - The Sphere of Imperial Wisdom,
See Cervitas Ceremonies for more information.
Doctrine of Cervitas
One is None, Two is One
Anything worth doing is worth doing together. Even a conspiracy is stronger with more conspirators, and the variation of opinion and experience will make any group stronger.
Loyalty is the Tie that Binds
Be loyal to those worthy of your loyalty, for it is that unity that brings strength. Allow your bonds to grow over time, and you will be raised to new heights whenever one of your bonds is raised high.
Trust, Despite the Danger
Build trust and loyalty wherever you can, steeling yourself with the knowledge that you put yourself on the line. Those who are worthy of your trust and time will prove themselves by trusting you in return.
Act with Loyalty; Oaths Bind with Words
Where possible, act openly on your loyalty, and stand by your brethren and allies. Where impossible, stand at the very least by your oaths that you may be seen to be true to your word.
What Cervitas is not
Dominating
Cervitas is the Sphere of voluntary loyalty, not of mandated unity. An organization bound together by fear, or held in line by force or by threat are not working together to Cervitas’ glory.
Priests of Cervitas
To be a priest of Cervitas is to be a true people person. Often leaders and captains, Cervitas priests are the masters of putting people together, finding allies in the darkest hour and knowing who is worthy of trust. Many come to priests of Cervitas to seek out new allies but also to sanctify new allegiances. The key for a priest of Cervitas is that while one’s own group of trusted brothers in arms is important, not every member of the flock must belong to the same sworn group. While priests of Cervitas very frequently find themselves at the head of a dedicated and closely bonded group of allies, it is also their place to understand where introducing a new person to that group would damage it, and support them in finding a place elsewhere.
Priests of Cervitas spend a great deal of time reminding others of the bonds that bind them, regardless of the nature of their devotion. They aid in forging such bonds, sometimes formally by witnessing oaths or legal documents, but also informally by introducing like-minded people to each other through teaching, mentoring, and serving as examples of trust and trustworthiness. They guide others to recognise the bonds they already have, remind them of those they have neglected, and show them how new bonds can be forged that will strengthen all of those who would be bound together.
Priests of Cervitas are therefore commonly given roles as judges, arbiters, and bureaucrats in order that their abilities to hold groups together can be used to the utmost. The construction of a strong social or cultural system which can be shared by all its members in order to build and maintain unity or patriotism is a key drive for many Cervitas priests. It is through their construction and work within these circles, and the bonds they forge along the way, that lead them to tend to rise in authority in their townships and countries.
High Priest of Cervitas
In addition to seven extra votes on Church matters, the Concordian High Priest of Cervitas is given the task of being the tiebreaker in both the Senate and the Church. If a Senate vote should come to a tie, and there is no potential casting vote, and the High Priest is present, they may take to the floor in order to break the tie. Likewise, if there is a church motion or vote which is tied, the side which the High Priest voted for is successful. In the unlikely event that they did not vote, the motion or vote is always considered to have failed on a tie.
Realmic Traditions of Cervitas
Iron Valley - Gravers
The Priests of Panoply and Cervitas within the Valley are often referred to as Gravers. Once a joking insult, it has become a title of respect. Priests of Gold and of Imperial Wisdom have for the longest time been the greatest advisors, Reeves and leaders of the Valley and it is their requirement to make hard choices that lead to their reputation and disposition. It is the task of a Graver to consider the ways in which any action might lead to weakening the Iron Valley and ensure that such risks are known. In a macabre fashion, Gravers carry a single human skull on their person, a reminder of the weight of their task.
Greenweald - Houndpriests
The mysteries and dangers of the Greenweald are many. Some are ancient curses that are burned into the soil, others are great beasts that migrate through the trees themselves and far crueler things besides. Many priests see it as their duty to attempt to understand these threats - these individuals become known as Houndpriests.
Sometimes dedicated to Cervitas, these Houndpriests wander the forest roads seeking out danger or signs of ancient magic. From there they attempt to quantify and control these dangers, so that this knowledge may be used to help the Baronies overall. They are known by the symbol of a hunting hound often worn as a badge or amulet.
Followers of Cervitas
Those who follow the Sphere of Imperial Wisdom value more than anything the bonds of community. Mutual obligations, friendships, promises, duty, love, debt, respect - these are the bonds which bind people together in common purpose. Followers of Cervitas are called to strengthen such bonds, to highlight them, and to maintain them. They recognise that with such forces holding a community together in common purpose, that culture can better survive and prosper. For those of Cervitas, the successes of every person in their community, of those they are bound to, is shared by every other person within that community.
While the doctrine and teachings of Cervitas might seem on the surface to be fairly simple for the average aspirant to build into their lives, there are expectations inherent with striving for Cervitas that are potentially more than initially bargained for. On its surface, Cervitas calls its aspirants to trust each other, to be trustworthy in return, and to do everything that can be done together with as many others as is possible.
What this fails to address is that Cervitas does not only call you to act in this way with those who have proven themselves worthy of trust but to everyone you meet. If someone has not proven themselves disloyal, or unworthy of trust, Cervitas calls you to treat them with unswerving trust and belief, and to only become guarded once someone has actively proven themselves deserving of it. This extreme level of trust opens followers of Cervitas up to the potential of betrayal far more than the other Spheres, which is why it is such a big deal to break their trust - they extend it openly and without condition, so to swindle them or break oaths made to them is to be calling forth immediate retribution; it is a brave soul that dares to do so.
Symbols and Aesthetics
Cervitas’ symbol is that of a pillar, one of many that holds up the world. Beyond this, the three Eternals of Cervitas are represented by a skull wearing a crown, clasped hands and a standing trithilon stone respectively.
Spheric Beings of Cervitas
Common Worship of Cervitas
Rites of Cervitas tend to be either celebrations of culture or community, or else a communal effort of some kind. Celebrations can include feast days, stories of great deeds and legends of the past, or ceremonies to honor those who have served with distinction within the town or congregation for some reason. Communal efforts could be getting together to make something that will last, gathering food or resources for someone in need, or repairing something that is beyond its owner’s ability to fix; in all of these cases the focus is on working together and learning from each other.
Common Prayers of Cervitas
Cervitas prayers are never to be said alone, and indeed many cannot be properly said alone for they are call and response, or written to be said in pairs.
The Crowngrave
Priest: In the Spheres’ Light together we pray
All together: Together, we pray!
Priest: We listen to your teachings and follow your Heralds just as we listen to and follow our leaders faithfully. Be with us as together we serve each other.
All together: Together, we serve each other!
Priest: We acknowledge our Blights and Failings, and raise them up to you for forgiveness. Take them from us as together we repent.
All together: Together, we repent!
Priest: We ask for your guidance and instruction as we push ever onward through life, that we might be worthy in the Journey to come. Instruct us as together we move forward.
All together: Together, we move forward!
Priest: In the Spheres’ Light together we pray
All together: Together, we pray!
The Masses
Person 1: We gather together before you in contrition
Person 2: lifting up our Blights and Failings before you, O Masses.
Person 1: We have striven to walk the path of the Journey
Person 2: but we have fallen short of your perfect ideal.
Person 1: We seek out bonds in our lives, and strengthen them
Person 2: though our efforts sometimes end in strife and anguish.
Person 1: We find our strength through those we gather around us
Person 2: gift us the power to act in unison together - body and mind.
Person 1: In the Spheres’ Light
Person 2: We pray.
The Blooded Stone
*To be read by the eldest priest, listened to by the congregation*
The eyes of our ancestors are with us here and now, looking from within our souls and present in our very beings.
They gaze upon us and judge us, both approving and disapproving in their turn.
May we strive to do good in their eyes and be worthy of both their approval and of Cervitas.
Take our Blights and Failings, O Blooded Stone, as we lift them high to your judgment - send us the spirits and Heralds of tradition to carry us forth from this Sphere in triumph, that we may pass through the Journey with Grace.
In the Sphere’s Light I pray for us all.