Sisters of Avei

Faction Type: Religious Order (Cult of Avei) Patron Deity: Avei (Goddess of War, Justice, and the Protection of Women) Religion: Avenism Alignment: Lawful Good Primary Base: Temple of Avei, Tiraas Leadership: High Commander (currently Farzida Rouvad)

Overview

The Sisters of Avei are the religious order, or cult, dedicated to Avei, goddess of war, justice, and the protection of women. The faith they practice is called Avenism, and the Sisterhood is the part of that faith that observes Avei in a religious capacity, as distinct from the Silver Legions, the military branch whose soldiers serve in Avei's name without necessarily worshipping her.

The Sisterhood admits only women, though men work alongside both the Sisterhood and the Silver Legions in various capacities. Because of the common seclusion of female Avenists, the religion tends to attract misandrists, a tendency the faith itself attempts to discourage. Avenists are known for upholding the law, sometimes to a fault, and common professions among them include law enforcement officers, lawyers, and judges.

Goals and Mission

Primary Objectives

Protection of Women: As servants of Avei, the Protectress of Women, the Sisterhood works to shelter and defend women. Abbeys take in those fleeing domestic violence or other unsafe circumstances, and they raise female orphans until they come of age.
Justice and the Law: Avenists are dedicated to justice and the upholding of law, a devotion that runs through their common professions as judges, lawyers, and officers of the law. They are known to enforce the law strictly, sometimes to a fault.
War in Avei's Name: Through the Silver Legions, the faith maintains a standing military arm to defend the faithful, guard temples, and act on Avei's will.
Religious Observance: The Sisterhood proper observes Avei in a religious capacity, maintaining temples and abbeys where worshippers can pay homage and where devoted women can take up a life of service.

Organizational Structure

The faith of Avenism is divided into two principal branches: the Sisterhood of Avei (the religious order) and the Silver Legions (the military arm). A mortal paladin of Avei, the Hand of Avei, stands as her chosen champion.

Internal hierarchy

High Commander: The High Commander oversees the Silver Legions and stands at the head of Avei's forces, keeping an office in Tiraas. The position is currently held by Farzida Rouvad.
Bishops: The cult of Avei maintains Bishops who serve as its liaison to the Universal Church. Known Bishops include Basra Syrinx and, as an interim Bishop, Nandi Shahai.
Hand of Avei: Avei's mortal paladin and chosen champion. Hands of Avei are normally accorded the rank of General in the Silver Legions and have a reputation as leaders and ferocious warriors. They are given divine weapons and armor and are permitted horses drawn from Avei's divine stables, all of which they can summon at will. Hands are frequently, but not always, called one at a time. Many (if not all) known Hands were practitioners of the faith in some capacity before being called.
Enlisted Legionnaires: Rank-and-file soldiers of the Silver Legions, organized into squads such as Squad 391 (whose members have included Ephanie Avelea, Casey Elwick, Meredith Lang, and Principia Locke). Soldiers enlisted in the Legions do not necessarily have to be worshippers of Avei.

Membership

The Sisterhood only accepts women. Men nonetheless work with both the Sisterhood and the Silver Legions in various capacities. Women practitioners may join an abbey, where a variety of professions await them; some come seeking refuge, and orphans raised within an Avenist abbey or temple are given the surname Avelea.

Avei supports the right of women to love whoever and however they choose. Homosexual relationships involving women are looked upon favorably and are even idealized within Avei's abbeys. Trans women are accepted in Avenist culture and may become priestesses of Avei, though they are not permitted to serve in the Silver Legions; the reasoning for this is not recorded.

Major NPCs

Trissiny Avelea — Hand of Avei, the only current paladin of Avei. A tall, wiry blond; like most Hands she is powerful, outspoken, athletic, highly trained in Avei's doctrine, and extremely competent in battle. Raised at Viridill Abbey since birth.
Farzida Rouvad — High Commander of Avei's forces, with an office in Tiraas. A highly pragmatic and straightforward woman with bronze skin and black hair going a little gray. (Not to be confused with Ravoud of the Army.)
Basra Syrinx — Bishop and liaison to the Universal Church from the cult of Avei. Known to be quite ruthless; lean, with a prominent nose and coppery skin.
Nandi Shahai — An elven Silver Legionnaire (a plains elf with pale gray eyes) who serves temporarily as an interim Bishop.
Principia Locke — A dark-haired wood elf and former Thieves' Guild member who enlists among the Silver Legionnaires of Squad 391.

Practices and Observances

The Sisterhood observes Avei in a religious capacity, distinct from the Silver Legions who merely serve in her name. General worshippers visit Avenist temples to pay homage to their deity, while devoted women may take up residence in an abbey.

Avenists do not, as a rule, worship the Hands of Avei themselves; they are practical in their beliefs, though fanatics exist in every religion. The Hands feature heavily in Avenist poetry and romance, most famously in the prototypical epic the Aveniad.

Bases of Operation

Temples and Abbeys

The faith maintains both abbeys, where women practitioners live and work and where orphans and those fleeing danger are taken in, and temples, where the general faithful come to worship. Known locations include:

Temple of Avei, the central temple, located in Tiraas.
Viridill Abbey, the childhood home of the current Hand of Avei.

Notable Details

Relationship with the Universal Church

The cult of Avei maintains a formal relationship with the Universal Church through its Bishops, who act as the cult's liaison to that umbrella institution. Basra Syrinx serves in this role, with Nandi Shahai having stepped in as an interim Bishop.

Role of the Silver Legions

In the present era the Silver Legions are more often occupied guarding the temples of other cults than preparing for actual military conflict; their standard equipment is sword and armor. Enlistment does not require worship of Avei, making the Legions a broader institution than the strictly female, strictly devotional Sisterhood.

Sources

https://tgab.fandom.com/api.php?action=parse&page=Avenism&prop=wikitext&format=json&formatversion=2
https://tgab.fandom.com/api.php?action=parse&page=Silver_Legions&prop=wikitext&format=json&formatversion=2
https://tgab.fandom.com/api.php?action=parse&page=Hand_of_Avei&prop=wikitext&format=json&formatversion=2
https://tgab.fandom.com/api.php?action=parse&page=Avei&prop=wikitext&format=json&formatversion=2
https://tiraas.net/cast-list/