Pholsense
Dotted in quiet provincial towns, fertile farmlands, and humble woodlands, life is peaceful here so long as people remain on the Silver Path. Within the great cities built from the same stone as stoneborns are carved out of, zealous militants of this faith seek wayward and wicked souls judge and purge swiftly and without mercy.
People all across the province strive to keep their footfalls along the path of righteousness so they might be rewarded ascension to the blinding light of the one true god. In this society, it is paramount to put the Silver Path above neighbor, friend, family, and self, and vigilantly watch for and report any transgression or heresy.
Magic achieved through any means other than faith is deeply distrusted, and casting the wrong spell at the wrong time can ensure a fiery fate.
Provincial Folklore
The Silver Path
Not just a religion or a divine philosophy, it is the god itself. This deity exists as an imperceivable divine that upholds the five holy tenets: piousness, temperance, diligence, unity, and sacrifice. There is zero tolerance for sin or apathy that affronts these virtues. Has suffered far worse from the witchcraft of the Coven of the Midnight Moon than any other province.
Most of Pholsense, serve as devout members of the faith, celebrating with regular ceremonies in a variety of houses of worship from small chapels to grand cathedrals. The near-constant ringing of great bells can be heard. Members of the hierarchical clergy insist only they can truly decipher the voice of their god, so they act as their intermediaries with increasing authority all the way to the head of the church, Archbishop Renault.
The Silver Hammer
A knightly order of inquisitors and crusaders dedicated to purity above all else, traveling across the province and unfalteringly seeking out evil as the Silver Path defines it. While many genuinely want to protect the innocent of Pholsense from the machinations of Mother Midnight, some methods are extreme and often cruel, justified as a necessity to rid the province of witchcraft and wickedness.
Practitioners of arcane and primal magic are deeply distrusted by the Silver Hammer and are sometimes dealt with indiscriminately. Magic-users who report and register their powers with the order and take a vow to use them in the service of good are generally tolerated or even tasked to fight alongside the knights to unleash their spells upon the wicked, fighting fire with fire.
Noteworthy Folk
Archbishop Danton Alexandre Renault
The ruler of Pholsense that holds his lordly duty and loyalty to the Crescent Court firmly secondary to embodiment and obedience to the Silver Path. Strives for perfection in all things, particularly in carving stoneborn that he views as his flock (as well as with other species). Expects similar perfection from his people but regularly offers forgiveness for those who confess to sin and accept harsh penance.
Every year he becomes more fond of indulging in food, drink, flesh, and coin, as well as the ramping sadistic glee with which he conducts interrogations, complete with torture.
Mother Midnight
The matron of the Coven of the Midnight Moon. Looms over the province like a gloaming goddess of witchcraft and wickedness- a deliberate and direct mockery of Pholsense's rigid god. Has probably been in the domain as long as Phillip Druskenvald has ruled it. She seeks, draws, twists, and consumes the sin that lurks in the hearts of mortals. While she does genuinely love her twelve daughters, she fosters competition and pits them against each other to ensure they are ruthless in the execution of their own machinations.
A master of the general magic arts, with particular talent for shapeshifting, corruption of mind, body, and soul, potion brewing, and familiar conjuring and manipulation. Spends her time in Pholsense turning its people to sin and cause them to veer off the Silver Path. Slowly siphons occult energy from their corrupted hearts that she plans to use to usher a single night of sin that turns the province into a hellscape of wickedness and staging ground for her conquest of Druskenvald.
Location Location Location
Cyril
The shining capital city of Pholsense. One of Druskenvald's greatest metropolises full of grandeur and has achieved levels in architecture and stonemasonry that outmatches the other provinces. Despite widespread poverty, famine, and disease throughout the province, the city is a monument of polished stone and glittering silver, filled with towering statues and complex, multi-tiered fountains.
At the center of the city is the enormous Cathedral of the Silver Rapture, which rings dozens of colossal silver bells that chime through the city and at all hours of the night. Also home to the Silver Hammer and where the most wicked heretics are imprisoned and tortured, whether innocent or not.
Near the city outskirts is the Cyril Orphanage, the biggest in Druskenvald. It houses thousands of children that have lost their parents to inquisition, witchcraft, or the dangers of living in the overcrowded and unsanitary districts of the city.
Sprawling beneath the city are miles of catabombs so famous that visitors from across the provinces travel to explore them- though not all return.