First Look: The Temple and Academy news - The Lays of Althas : Sundered Order

With the establishment of the Anointed Kingdoms, order and law were brought to Althas. However, this did not address the deeper issues of wisdom and moral behavior and principles. For that, Driomi prepared his second Diasair, the great teacher Drioloseb.

Driven by the inspiration of Driomi, Drioloseb began going and teaching throughout all the Kingdoms. He systematized teaching and created standardized methods of teaching. He established cornerstone doctrines on morals and theology and laid the groundwork for philosophy in Althas. The culmination of this labor was the establishment of the Chemoveshi, a system of schools with a presence in every Anointed Kingdom of Althas.

These schools were divided into two distinct units: one focused on theological doctrine and moral teachings, the second focused on philosophical and practical study. These branches would come to be known as the Temple and the Academy respectively. These two together would eventually form the common name for the whole of the system: The Temple and Academy.

The Temple not only deals with worship but all teaching and study of theology, spiritual matters, and morality. As such, the duties of the Temple are far reaching. At the height of the Chemoveshi, the various Temple chapters in the Anointed Kingdoms had lecture halls, gardens, or other venues established in most cities where practical moral teachings and even theological and philosophical lectures were presented. The Temple also saw to the gathering, storing, and copying of scriptures as they were written as well as aiding the Diasairos as they appeared.

The Academy is the center of philosophy and practical learning as well as other forms of study of the natural world. The essential divisions are the study of philosophy and the study of trades. For many centuries, nearly every artisan in Althas was associated with an Academy chapter and taught his trade to his apprentices with the authority of the Chemoveshi. Advisors of the King as well as Apothecaries also received schooling in the Academy chapters. While public lectures were not as common with the Academy chapters as with the Temple, they were still given in major cities, particularly the capitals.

The Temple and Academy at the Time of Sundered Order

The Chemoveshi, now commonly called the Temple and Academy, has long passed its zenith. After the War of Calamities, only three chapters remain. But of those, only the chapter in Anorthile, whose headquarters is in Thavairos, remains faithful to the old ways. In Nosmalos, the royalty and the aristocracy have corrupted the Academy chapter and abolished the Temple chapter of that Kingdom. In Vishethas, the Temple and Academy have become complacent and have lost much of their autonomy; both branches are now under near complete royal control.

But the War to come will challenge many ideals and cast many dark machinations into the light. The fires of war may serve to purify the corrupted branches and reforge the now fractured order. And so some still hold out hope for a return to glory for the once great Temple and Academy.