- "May the Sacred Flame light your path." —Traditional blessing
The Order of the Sacred Flame at Flamesgrace Cathedral
The Order of the Sacred Flame (聖火教会, Seika Kyōkai), also known as the Church of the Sacred Flame, is the largest religion in Orsterra. Based on the worship of Aelfric the Flamebringer and his Sacred Flame, the Order has long exercised an influence over the politics of Orsterra. As of the present day, the Order's seat of power is located in the Cathedral in Flamesgrace, where it is currently headed by Pontiff Julius.
Every 20 years, a cleric of the Order is chosen to perform the Kindling. This rite requires the cleric appointed as Flamebearer to travel across Orsterra with an ember from the First Flame, renewing the Sacred Flames in the cathedrals of Saintsbridge, Goldshore, and Flamesgrace.
The Order of the Sacred Flame is defended by the Knights Ardante, a military organization formed to protect followers of the Sacred Flame.
The known ranks of the Church of the Sacred Flame are presented in the order of Pontiff, Archbishop, Bishop, Priests, and Deacons (clerics).[1]
History[]
1500 years before the events of Octopath Traveler, the early Order of the Sacred Flame was born in the northern Woodlands. One century later, the church learned of the existence of the Sacred Flame in areas across Orsterra from a traveling cleric (presumably Graecia)[2]'s report. The Order therefore dispatched clerics to spread its doctrine, founding churches across the land.
1000 years before the events of Octopath Traveler, the Order of the Sacred Flame founded three cathedrals as bases in locations mentioned in the legend of the Sacred Flame: Flamesgrace, Goldshore, and Saintsbridge. One hundred years later, the church discovered the First Flame in the Cave of Origin. Odypus, who would be recognized as the first pontiff, united the different churches of Orsterra and created the lanthorn, inspiring the creation of the Kindling. Over the next three hundred years, pilgrimages to the Sacred Flame's locations became popular among followers of the Church.
591 years ago, the Knights Ardante were founded to protect the church and its believers on pilgrimage. 71 years after that, the Church discovered a ring engraved with the symbols of the gods and concealed it in a shrine on the Isle of Orsa, from which the ring was eventually stolen.
During a period of warfare, the Order of the Sacred Flame backed Ferien's territorial expansion and supported the Flatlands clans allied against Grandport. The victorious Flatlands alliance joined into the kingdom of Atlasdam, which assigned the southern Frostlands territories to the Order of the Sacred Flame. This became the Sacred Flame Papal State.
118 years ago, the leaders of Orsterra held an imperial conference at the summons of Pope Catalina. Similar conferences continued to be held as necessary in order to resolve cross-national issues.
21 years ago, the Highlands kingdom of Hornburg was invaded by southern clans. The imperial conference pledged its aid to the kingdom, and the Order of the Sacred Flame joined with the Orsterran alliance to repel the foreign clans, though Hornburg eventually fell due to the machinations of the Black Brotherhood.
Champions of the Continent[]
In an unspecified period of time, the Church recovered and safeguarded the Ring of the Flamebringer. The Flameguards, a special unit who deals with continental threats, are able to temporarily bear it in dire situations.
Sonzon the Flameguard died in a battle in the Gate of Finis without leaving a heir to inherit the Sacred Flame. In their effort of reviving the Flameguard duty, the Order turned their attention to Pharamea, a cleric with the innate gift of summoning the blue flame. As Pharamea had no interest in becoming the Flameguard, they suggested that at least her offspring could inherit her flames. They imprisoned Pharamea and forced her to have four children, three of which did not inherit the flame and were discarded as failures. The fourth, as soon as he showed the potential, was taken from his mother's arms and groomed to become the next Flameguard. The Order's actions, known as one of the darkest recesses of the Church, were recorded in the The Defenders of Ash, a nefarious tome where the Church justified their extreme measures as necessary to safeguard the continent from the evil influences.[3][4][5] Sazantos incinerated these documents with the approval of Julius, the newly appointed pontiff.[6]
When the Church joined with the Orsterran alliance to repel the southern clans from Hornburg, a young Knight Ardante named Tytos was hailed as a hero for his offensive against the southern enemies. Although Tytos wanted to exterminate the southerns, the Church—not wanting to put any more lives at risk—refused his request and instead granted him sovereignty over Emberglow, which came under the jurisdiction of the Scarlet Wings, a group of soldiers formed by ex-convicts, with the hero as their commander. The Church did this to keep Tytos away from the cathedral, as they believed an upset Tytos would retaliate against them due to the refusal of continuing the war against the southern tribes. Their suspicious proved correct, since the former Knight Ardante was scheming to raise of an army of strengthened but mindless townspeople to take over the Flamesgrace Cathedral and invade the southern continent to finish the deal. Tytos would also bribe members of the Order, such as Bishop Tarset, to weaken Flamesgrace's forces against his offensive. His plans were ruined, however, when Velnorte, a Scarlet Wing apothecary, turned the Scarlet Wings soldiers against their commander by using tampered scarlet elixirs in his suicidal attempt for redemption in what would be known as the Scarlet Snow Incident. Despite knowing the whole truth, the Order manipulated information and the public opinion to protect their own image and reputation, so Velnorte was portrayed as the villain responsible for the bloodshed, with Tytos being the hero who sacrificed himself to prevent it.
3 years ago, Orsterran sovereigns were summoned by Julius in the Council of Kings to judge Pardis III, accused by King Solon for breaking the non-aggression pact between Edoras, Riven, and Altinia. Taking advantage of technicalities and Gonska's shapeshifting, he managed to convince everyone King Riven was still alive and that the pact wasn't broken. The Order declared him innocent, which lead to the execution of Elrica, the alleged traitor who sided against her own kingdom.
2 years ago, the remains of the Scarlet Wings were assembled by the "New God" as the Black Scarlets. They successfully infiltrated and managed to cause distractions to the church, as Priest Monaris, a scholar, transformed townspeople into monsters by using an upgraded version of Velnorte's scarlet elixir. While inquiring about possible infiltrated Black Scarlet members, the truth behind the Scarlet Snow Incident became known due to a confession letter from Velnorte, found in the rubble of the burned training grounds in the Knight Ardante Garrison, leading to some of those bribed bishops to be interrogated and put behind bars. Even so, the atmosphere of distrust towards the Church only grew stronger. And other factors, such as The Savior's preaching about the "One True God," increased people's interest in faiths other than the Sacred Flame's as the Black Scarlet began to gain more members and public support, putting the Order in a stressful situation.
As the Church and its military forces were busy dealing with the villains and investigating about their mastermind, Phina would take advantage of the confusion to sneak into the secret room of the cathedral, stealing the lanthorn. She seized the First Flame in the Cave of Origin, transformed it into the Accurst Flame and escaping to a forbidden temple to reenact a forbidden ritual. By Julius' order, Sazantos the Flameguard, Captain Hugo of the Knight Ardante, and a novice named Rondo would be tasked to accompany the Chosen One to pursue Ceraphina to the ruins of an ancient magical kingdom in order to stop her and retrieve the lanthorn.
When Sazantos betrayed the Order, Rondo gained the support of the pontiff to become one of the Guardians of Light. In surpassing Aelfric's trials, the Knight Ardante managed to summon the blue flame, causing many people in and out of the church to assume that he would be the next Flameguard—although he still had his doubts. After his quest alongside the Chosen One and strengthening his resolve, the Order officially promoted Rondo as the new Flameguard and protector of the continent.
In the present day, the Order of the Sacred Flame continues to maintain peace and order in Orsterra, both through the work of the Knights Ardante and the teachings of its clerics.
Noteworthy Members[]
Pontiffs[]
Archbishops[]
- Josef †
Bishops[]
Priests[]
Deacons (Clerics)[]
- Graecia (~1,100 years ago) †
- Pharamea †
- Ophilia
- Lianna
- Phina †
- Rinyuu †
- Millard
- Stead
- Promme
- Menno
- Efrain
- Brigitte
Locations[]
Cathedrals[]
- Flamesgrace Cathedral
- Saintsbridge Cathedral
- Goldshore Cathedral
- Lorn Cathedral (defunct)
- Cathedral of Tytos / Emberglow Cathedral
Chapel Locations[]
Trivia[]
- Members of the church are often referred to by honorifics such as "Brother," "Sister," or "Father," depending on gender, age, and rank.
- Within the Order's cathedrals, only chosen clerics are allowed beyond the gate that cordons off the sanctuary from the altar of the Sacred Flame.[7]
- According to the "Wedding Bells" travel banter, the Order of the Sacred Flame conducts weddings in which the bride and groom stand before the priest and blow out twelve candles. They then make a vow before the gods, the words of which differ depending on local custom. The bride's family provides a wall of white cloth around the candles, as ill winds are said to blow out from the afterworld during the vows; the white sheet provides a barrier between this world and the next, keeping death and misery at bay.
- In the "Culinary Competence" travel banter, Ophilia admits that in the church "it's nothing but porridge and tack most days."
- The Order of the Sacred Flame teaches that monsters have souls, as Ophilia prays for the spirits of slain lizardmen, and a cleric in Stillsnow says when Provoked, "Even monsters may need the guidance of the Sacred Flame." This doctrine aligns with the fact that some hellfiend demihumans and other monsters appear in Hell.
- Some NPCs have a skill called "Wisdom of the Church," which boosts attack and defense.
- All cathedrals for the Order of the Sacred Flame have gold decorations on accent points such as doors and pillars. From a gameplay perspective, this feature makes the buildings discernible even from the low eyeline of players.[8]
- When designing the members of the Order of the Sacred Flame, Artist Shizuka Morimoto had a vague idea of what garments should look like for eminent members of the clergy, but when it actually came down to drawing such clothes, he found himself drawing a blank on the details. He ended up referencing a myriad of photos as he drew.[9]
References[]
- ↑ Bishop Timov's Inquiry
- ↑ The First Flame
- ↑ Sazantos's Journal 1
- ↑ Sazantos's Journal 2
- ↑ Sazantos's Journal 3
- ↑ Sazantos's Letter
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 83.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 83.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 111.