The Order of Epona
and the structure and practices therof
The Order of Epona is one of the largest Orders in Europe and the Mediterranean, currently (as of the beginning of 1348) eclipsed only by the Order of Morrigan. The Order's adherents are concentrated in Ireland, Germany, Russia, and Spain, with smaller centers in England, Norway, Andorra, Hungary, and Algeria. There used to be a large Temple in France, as well, but the Order is currently out of favor with the government, and what remains there is underground.
The Order has two main branches: the Temple of Epona, which contains all of the clerics, and the Knights of Epona, which is the general term for the militant order, paladins all. The two branches are completely autonomous, and the only authority to which both branches answer is Epona Herself. The clerical branch has no power to order the militant branch, and vice versa. On an individual basis, knights or clerics may be under orders to take direction from each other, but the knight's or cleric's superior's orders always trump the person to which they're assigned.
Thus, a knight assigned to protect a cleric would take orders from the cleric, but would be obligated to leave the cleric if their commander changed their orders.
Fortunately, relations between the two branches are quite warm, and they work together constantly. Epona, also known as the Queen of Horses, tends to emphasize cooperation between her herd members. Note: the Order of Epona and the Order of Sucellus (the god of druids and plants) merged in late 1347 upon Sucellus' death. The Order is still working out the kinks this has caused. The Knights of Sucellus aren't numerous, but they do exist; the druids made up the bulk of Sucellus' people, and they're still being integrated into the Order.
The following is a discourse on what is commonly known about the two branches of the Order, and how they relate to each other.
The Temple of Epona
(the clerics)
1. The Goddess and Her Herd
Epona is the goddess of all animals, but horses are undoubtedly her favorite animals. Her symbol is a silver horse rearing on a field of green, a banner above the head words in Gaelic meaning "Life, Love, Honor, Healing". For the militant orders, the horse's back hooves are resting on a broadsword, for the clerics, the back hooves are on a sheaf of wheat.
Epona's nature is usually best described as earthy, well-grounded, and pragmatic. She's one of several gods who spend much time on the mortal plane, and there is quite a bit of evidence that she tends to have affairs when she's on this plane. Though the Order is closemouthed about exactly how many of their number are actually children of Epona, most outside observers place the number at about twenty, and certainly not all of her children are in the Order. Those who do not become clerics or knights tend to be found in places where they can work with herds of horses.
She appears in the form of a human woman, a centaur, or a mare, each of these being an incredibly beautiful example of their kind. Her human form is generally described by those Europeans who have seen her as black-haired and green-eyed, with fine features and a very graceful manner. (In other parts of the world, she evidently manifests differently.) She does not radiate power, unlike many other the other gods' mortal forms--instead, she is extraordinarily charismatic and charming.
The sort of people who are attracted to the worship of Epona usually share with her a certain pragmatism and earthy nature. Most are relatively sociable people, and without exception they have a strong love of animals. They also tend to share certain characteristics with the horses that they care for, including a tendency to react badly when hurt or startled, and a very forgiving nature.
Epona clerics are also known as the veterinarians of the pantheon, and most will hire on as caretakers for organizations that house large numbers of animals--farms and ranches, for the most part, though in some areas they will be hired as herdmasters for certain nomadic populations. Some clerics will also go on rotation, being assigned to a certain area of countryside, acting as a traveling vet for donations. Clerics who prefer being on rotation will often end up doctoring humans almost as much as they do animals.
Clerics of Epona must render aid to any animal that is ill or hurting, and all clerics must have a horse with them as much as possible. The Order has several breeds of horses that are bred specifically for intelligence--a sub-breed of the Andalusian for the clerics, and a breed of warhorse for the knights. The Order believes that any horse that may be asked to go into battle must be intelligent enough to be a partner with their rider instead of just a mount. As a result, the horses of Epona clerics and knights have a reputation for being extremely difficult for anyone not of Epona to handle, to the extent that once the symbol (which is usually displayed somewhat prominently on their tack) is spotted by your average stablemaster, the cleric or knight will usually be asked to care for their horse themselves.
With the addition of the Order of Sucellus, Epona clerics have been given more responsibilities, including conservatorship of forests and teaching farmers ways of working with their lands to make them more fruitful. It has yet to be determined exactly how this will affect the normal duties of the clerics of both former Orders; for the moment, the former druids of Sucellus are continuing with this responsibility.
Because of the sort of people that the Temple attracts, the taboo against sexual experimentation that most European societies have is nearly nonexistent. Liaisons between clerics are considered customary, and most often Epona clerics marry within the temple when they marry. Children are considered a blessing and a delight, and any temple of Epona, no matter how tiny, is almost guaranteed to have a small herd of children underfoot at all times. (There are, however, certain amulets available for those who choose not to have children, both male and female. These are provided as a matter of course to all trainees when they enter the Temple.) Children who are raised in the Temple are raised communally, and every adult is considered to have a responsibility to each child.
Liaisons between clerics and those in their community, while not looked upon with any particular disfavor, are usually cause for a chat with the predicant of their local church or temple. Clerics are generally encouraged to keep behavior that might be looked on as promiscuous or licentious within the temple, and to obey the mores of their area while out in the community. Epona clerics are usually considered too valuable to be truly censored for unfortunate romantic entanglements in their community, but more than one cleric has had to depart for another country under the cover of night.
Most Epona clerics try their best not to take life too seriously. Life, they believe, is far too short and fragile to spend too much of it worrying.
2. The Hierarchy
Though to the outside observer, it has a somewhat chaotic organization, there is a definite hierarchy in the Temple of Epona.
The major organizations inside the Temple are regional temples, and each temple has quite a bit of autonomy. Inside the region that each temple oversees are a number of churches of various sizes. Most Epona churches are small, with no more than ten or fifteen clerics permanently assigned to the church, and most churches most serve as a sort of home base for those clerics who are on rotation in their region. Many churches have but one or two Epona clerics plus however many clerics happen to be on rotation in the vicinity.
The small churches are the grassroots of the Temple, the face of the Temple that most people see much of the time. They minister to their community, mostly in the form of healing animals and often people, and acting as advisors to local farmers and ranchers on all things animal-related, including advice on how to reduce the damage predators often do to herds and humans. The physical buildings that the churches are in vary, but usually they have living quarters for those permanently assigned to the temple, guest rooms for those on rotation, a chapel of some sort, stables and stableyards, and a surgery or two for examining and patching up those who are brought to them for healing.
A small church has no need for a leader; a church with more than five clerics in permanent residence will usually have a predicant, the official spokesperson for the church as well as the person with whom certain practical matters reside. The predicant is usually not the strongest cleric but instead the cleric most suited for the administrative work of running a church.
Each church is overseen by the local temple, but as the temple is often only local in name only (for instance, there is no temple in Austria but there are a number of churches, who are officially overseen by the temple in Germany, a whole country away) they have quite a bit of autonomy.
The regional temples are much larger than the churches, with the smallest being composed of about fifty clerics (in Norway) and the largest housing about a hundred and fifty resident clerics and about a hundred trainees at any given time (Madrid). Each regional temple has a Headmaster, who has general authority over the regional temple and associated churches. There are a number of positions within each temple--trainee master, stablemaster, administrator, archive master, etc--and these have authority over certain aspects of the temple.
Rank within the temple is based partially on position and partially on strength, in a kind of equation that is seemingly transparent to all Epona clerics but can confuse outsiders. For instance, a predicant of a local church who is a very strong cleric will outrank a stablemaster in the temple who is an indifferent cleric. This invisible hierarchy is very similar to that present in horse herds, and changes on a somewhat regular basis.
Fortunately, clerics of Epona tend to be disarmingly straightforward, and political scheming is kept to an absolute minimum. They just rather like to know where they stand.
The only exception to the invisible hierarchy is the Headmaster positions. Each Headmaster is of equal rank to the others, no matter how strong a cleric they are. All of the Headmasters answer to the Headmaster of the Temple, who is basically the ultimate authority of the Temple and answers only to Epona Herself. The Headmaster of the Order is usually one of the strongest Epona clerics in the world, though this is occasionally not the case. No matter how strong the cleric, the Headmaster of the Order always has a very close relationship with the goddess, in one way or another. (It is rumored that, through the ages, most of them have been Her lovers. There is, of course, no way of telling if this is actually the case other than asking Epona.)
In times of peace, each Headmaster has a second, who is acknowledged to be his or her chosen successor. The second has no particular extra privileges granted by this, but does have a responsibility to be aware of what's going on with the Headmaster he's second for, and thus will be included on the large majority of decisions that the Headmaster makes. It's important for a Headmaster to have a good working relationship with their second, as it makes the transfer of power on the death, incapacitation, or resignation of the Headmaster much more smooth, as well as making day to day life more pleasant.
During wartime, a Headmaster will have not only have a second, but the second will have a second, and so on--they try to have a clear line of succession that extends for at least five people, to avoid having to search out a new Headmaster on the fly if both the Headmaster and his second die about the same time. Each second has a responsibility to keep his own second informed, but the relationship is usually not as close as the Headmaster/second relationship.
If a Headmaster and his second both die before a longer line of succession is established, there are a number of rules that go into effect. Regional Headmasters are chosen by the Headmaster of the Temple, so if there is no clear successor, the Temple Headmaster simply chooses a new Regional Headmaster, usually from that temple. If the Temple Headmaster dies with no successor, what happens depends on the manner of death of the former Headmaster. If the Headmaster was killed by illness or outside forces, the regional Headmasters will choose a new one. However, if the Headmaster was killed by a cleric (or a knight sworn to that cleric, which is considered by temple law to be the same thing), an evaluation process takes place. If it is determined that the cleric killed the Headmaster in order to take their power for themselves, then the cleric can and usually will be brought up on charges and a new Headmaster will be chosen, as before. However, if the determination is made that the killing was justified (usually execution for treason against the Order, specifically ordered by Epona), the Headmasters fall back on a very old law from the original teachings that founded the Order--"the strongest stallion will rule the herd".
The hand that did the execution is considered, for these purposes, to be the "strongest stallion" and is placed in the position of Temple Headmaster. Mostly, this seems to be a way to let Epona take a more-or-less direct hand in choosing the Headmaster. This happens very rarely, but when it does it is invariably a sign that very troubled times are approaching. The Headmasters who are chosen under the "strongest stallion" rule are usually clerics who would otherwise never rise to the level of Headmaster, but more often than not they have special skills that come in very handy in the situation they're in.
The exception to the rule that the Knights and the Temple have no authority over each other is the position of Knight Protector in the Temple. Each headmaster has one Knight Protector position associated with them; this position is always filled, both in peacetime and in times of war. The Knight Protector is both bodyguard and military advisor to his or her Headmaster. The Knight Protector does fall under the authority of the Headmaster and thus does have rank in the Temple, approximately the same rank as the Headmaster's second. (In other words, the Headmaster of the Temple's Knight Protector would just slightly outrank the Regional Headmasters, though a Knight Protector would actually use that rank about the same amount that a Second would--very, very rarely, and with great caution.) In the case of the Knight Protector, only the knight's general has the authority to change the knight's orders. The knight's immediate superior within the Knights of the Order can request the Headmaster to release his Knight Protector, but cannot order the Knight Protector to be recalled.
Other clerics may have paladins assigned to them, but the commanders of those knights do have authority over them. The position of Knight Protector is unique this way in large part as a safety measure--protecting them from being used as pawns by the Knights to manipulate the Headmasters. It also facilitates the military advisor part of their role, and emphasizes the fact that the Knight Protector is one of the major bridges between the Knights and the Temple. Knight Protectors also tend to be unofficial liaisons between the two branches of the Order.
As of the beginning of 1348, these are the current Headmasters of the Temple of Epona, with a few notes about each.
Headmaster of the Temple: Callas de Navarre. Young and untried, Headmistress Callas rose to her position under the "strongest stallion" rule. Her knight, Sir Nobre, killed the former Headmistress Ulan Adshea in combat. Callas executed Headmistress Ulan's second, Nara Cagliari, on a more or less direct order from Epona Herself, for treason against the Order. She is a strong seer, which is a rare ability in Headmasters. While she's not the strongest cleric in the Temple, it is generally acknowledged that, if she survives the coming war, she will be a more than competent Headmistress. She is strongly charismatic, though occasionally somewhat erratic.
Headmaster's Second: Galvin Dubois. Also young, but already proven capable of commanding a small fleet of ships. Second Dubois is very quiet, but a quick thinker and an excellent tactician.
Knight Protector: Gaviao Nobre, Commander Paladin of the Knights Templar, Knight of the Light. Sir Gaviao is one of those who were affected by King Louis' disbandment of the Knights Templar, and currently holds the rank of Commander (on the death of Commander Corison Mordain) of a column of paladins which are the remnants of the Knights Templar, as well as the rank of Knight Protector. An accomplished warleader with many victories to his name, he seems to be a steadying influence on Headmistress Callas, as well as serving as her military advisor.
Headmaster, Region Spain (based in Madrid): Maria Covas. Headmistress Maria has led the temple in Spain for twelve years, earning a reputation as a hard negotiator and a competent administrator. Less kind observers would note that she seems to be a trifle stiff-necked.
Headmaster's Second: Gloria Corinth. Second Corinth is also currently the stablemaster for Madrid, and is one of the best horse healers in Europe.
Knight Protector: none at this time.
Headmaster, Region France (base of operation moves): Nyot al-Iskadar. Originally from Morocco, Headmaster Nyot is quite a bit more subtle than the usual run of Epona cleric, which he needs to be as the Order is currently out of favor with the French government and has mostly gone underground. The main Temple in Provence was abandoned some years back, and the Order currently exists as a loose network of contacts that move information, supplies, and people in secret around the country.
Headmaster's Second: Jeanne d'Aquitaine. Not much is known about her; it has been rumored that she is Headmaster Nyot's spymaster.
Knight Protector: Orleandi Marquesa, Lieutenant of the Knights Templar. A rogue knight who never accepted a place in the Knights of the Light. Credited for keeping the Headmaster alive despite numerous assassination attempts. One of the few elves in the Knights Templar.
Headmaster, Region Russia (based in Moscow): Peter Zhukov. Also known as Epona's Bear, he is probably among the top ten strongest clerics of the Order. He rose to Headmaster fourteen years ago after being a Second for five, when his predecessor died of old age. A large man with a fearsome temper when provoked, he runs the Temple in Russia with a steady hand. Strongly dislikes the worshippers of Morrigan, and with good cause--Morrigan's heavily involved in tribal politics in the various principalities of Russia.
Headmaster's Second: Andreja Rublev. It is rumored that she comes from royal blood and repudiated all ties to her family when she joined the Order. Known everywhere except to her face as the Sword of Ice, she is a woman of extraordinarily striking aspect, with an ageless face and pure white hair.
Knight Protector: Marisel Aliseria, Captain Paladin of the Teutonic Knights. Sir Aliseria's position is somewhat of a familial one, though she is the first woman in several generations to serve as the Knight Protector. Stern and seemingly humorless, she none the less seems to have a strong working relationship with both her Headmaster and his Second.
Headmaster, Region Germany (based in Hamburg): Tol Ludendorff. A small, elderly man with a crisp manner, Tol has led the temple in Germany for thirty-one years. Though older by far than most of the other Headmasters, he's probably one of the most intelligent. Before the current conflict, there were rumors that he was about to retire, but he appears to have changed his mind now that war is coming.
Headmaster's Second: Jatar Haig. Far more than most Seconds, Second Haig co-runs the Temple in Germany. Has a wicked sense of humor and is a cleric of extraordinary strength. Also serves as stablemaster for the Temple in Germany.
Knight Protector: none at this time. Headmaster Tol has requested one in light of the recent disturbances.
Headmaster, Region Ireland (based in Belfast): Elata Hall. Headmistress Elata is a relatively recent convert to the Order of Epona, but before joining was a powerful sorceress. When the former Headmistress (Brenna MacCariad) was given the Irish warleader position, Headmistress Callas chose Elata to fill the Headmaster position, as Brenna's second turned out to be the Headmaster of Morrigan in Ireland. Currently fighting a war against the Order of Morrigan, Headmistress Elata seems to be a creative tactician. Somewhat handicapped by the fact that she appears to be about twelve years old, but those who work with her soon learn to look past her appearance to the mind beneath.
Headmaster's Second: Was Brenna MacCariad. Brenna is now dead, and Elata has yet to formally declare a new second.
Knight Protector: Sigurd Torson, Captain Paladin of the Knights Templar, Knight of the Light. Sir Sigurd is a large Norseman with Viking blood running in his veins--and some say he's from the same family line as that ancient hero, Beowulf. He doesn't look that bright, but in his case looks are deceiving. Uses a bastard sword one-handed as his main weapon.
3. Training and Cleric Ranks
Though a number of clerics come to the Order later in life, most are promised to the Order as children or young teenagers. Because of the amount of knowledge one must have intimate familiarity with in order to become a full-fledged cleric of Epona, the trainee period for children lasts from around age ten or eleven for seven years. Older trainees go through an accelerated program that is three years long.
Trainees learn a wide variety of things. First and foremost, they learn the rituals and responsibilities of the worship of Epona, though they do not gain any magic other than orisons until they're initiated. They gain a comprehensive veterinary education, as well as a grounding in the practical aspects of herd management. All of them learn to read and write. They learn history--not just of the Order, but of the various countries of Europe. They learn about various religions, and get a grounding in the theory of magic. They also receive some training in fighting--sword, quarterstaff, mace, morningstar, and dagger, enough at the very least so they know how to use the weapons without injuring themselves. They also learn the basics of tack maintenance and repair, as well as advanced riding skills--a mid-level cleric of Epona can do anything she can do on two feet on horseback. Usually, they learn two or three languages, especially if they didn't come into training bilingual.
Depending on the interests of the trainee, they often take lessons from full-fledged clerics who share the secrets of their specialties with them. On occasion, this turns into something of an apprenticeship. For instance, a trainee with particularly literary turn of mind might apprentice with the archive master, learning how to do research and keep up the annals of the Order.
Trainees also do a lot of the heavy work around the Temple they're training at--feeding horses, mucking out stables, etc. The point of all this training is to enable trainees, once they're initiated, to be prepared for the needs of the areas they're going to serve.
Initiation is done, usually, in batches twice a year, at the winter and summer solstices. The Headmaster of the Order presides over the initiate ceremony, which is usually held in Madrid. Regional Headmasters can also initiate trainees, if time is short and/or travel to Madrid is too difficult.
Once initiated, the clerics are known as initiates usually for a period of a year, and then transition to novice status. Usually, for the two years following initiation, the initiates are either traveling with an older cleric, acting as wandering veterinarians, or are sent somewhere to become a resident cleric. This is known as being on rotation. Some novices will continue to be on rotation for most of their lives, but most will alternate their rotation with periods of time spent at the main temple of their region, or spend time working at one of the smaller churches in the area.
At the end of the novice period, new powers are granted the cleric, and they become acolytes. In time, most acolytes become full-fledged priests/priestesses. Most clerics of Epona do not advance beyond priest status, though a few will become high priests.
[Novices are level 1, acolytes are level 2-3, priests are level 4-12, and high priests are levels 13 and above.]
4. Daily Life in the Temple
No two days are ever alike for the temples and churches of Epona, but life does follow a reasonably predictable rhythm. They hold services that are open to the public each evening, and have "open hours" where people bring in animals in need of healing.
This is what a typical day in the life of a large temple might look like:
5:00 AM (First Bell): Stablemaster, any hired stablehands, and whichever trainees are currently on morning stable duty rise to feed and take care of the horses. Trainees on breakfast duty show up in the kitchen. Everyone else gets to sleep for another hour.
6:00 AM (Second Bell): Everyone is expected to be awake. Clerics eat breakfast and, depending on when sunrise is, meditate. (Epona clerics usually meditate while in contact with their horses, so many will be found in the stables at this point.)
7:00 AM (Third Bell): Trainees have their first classes of the day. Clerics who are riding routes that day leave. Clerics who are on resident duty prepare their surgeries for the day. Headmasters begin to deal with the business of the day. Long watch is over. Daytime guard shifts begin.
8:00 AM (Fourth Bell): Open hours begin for the residents.
9:00 AM (Fifth Bell) through 12:00 PM (Eighth Bell): Everyone works at whatever tasks they have for the day.
12:00 PM (Eighth Bell): Lunch, usually eaten communally. The surgeries are closed from the eighth to ninth bell.
1:00 PM (Ninth Bell): Surgeries reopen. Trainees on afternoon stable duty muck out stalls and other work.
3:00 PM (Eleventh Bell): Trainees report for afternoon classes.
5:00 PM (Thirteenth Bell): Clerics who were riding routes begin to arrive back at the temple. Trainees on dinner duty report to the kitchen. Surgeries close for the day.
6:00 PM (Fourteenth Bell): Dinner.
7:00 PM (Fifteenth Bell): Trainees on evening stable duty report to the stables to help settle the horses in for the night. Evening classes for the trainees begin. Evening services (open to the public) are held. Strong watch begins.
9:00 PM (Last Bell): Evening classes end. Both clerics and trainees have free time until they choose to go to bed.
10:00 PM (First Candle): Watch change, brave watch begins.
2:00 AM (Fifth Candle): Watch change; long watch begins.
Churches usually don't have guards or watches, but they do usually have open hours and evening services.
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