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Mirroring the real world, people who live in fictional realms have their own struggles. Some are merely just scrimping by, others have difficult families, and so on. Their struggles spur them to turn towards people who give inspiring sermons that enable them to keep going on or try to change an aspect of their lives. These people are known as the fantasy clergy.
The clergy, while they are deeply devout to their religion, live in specific spots such as temples or churches. These places are typically located in urban centers like cities though some can be found on the wayside alongside major traveling roads. No matter where they are, these holy sites provide the same service for all those who venture inside.
Regardless of their position in the religious organization, all fantasy clergy live solemn lives. They devote part of the day for worship and they spend a good chunk of the day helping troubled people. They encourage them to do right by their fellow citizens and provide services like feeding them.
Since they live in a world full of people struggling, the clergy makes it a key priority to develop messages of hope. The purpose of their hopeful message is to inspire people to choose actions that benefit their fellow citizens. They hope that by choosing to help each other out, they can make the world a better place.
As for their role in the world, the fantasy clergy is to serve as the link between the faithful and the deity they all believe in. They consider themselves humble servants and are dedicated to spreading the deity’s words across the world to the people who step foot in the holy places found all over.
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When people think of clergy in fictional worlds, they think of deeply religious people who wear robes and spend every moment of their day doing the deity’s bidding. They come to the marketplace and spread words of gospel and insist that people listen to what they have to say. Regardless of if they’re bombastic or not, they all live solemn lives.
Holy sites like temples enable the fantasy clergy to spend some time praying, seeking guidance from the deity. After all, they consider themselves his messengers and they ask him for counsel whenever they are troubled or if they wish to help someone out. In some places, they do so in their private sanctuary, believing that such intimate quarters makes it easier for them to hear his words. In others, they go to a specific area where they come together as a group.
One of the duties the fantasy clergy do on a daily basis is to clean the site. That means scrubbing the floors, getting the dirt out of the curtains, and so on. They believe that it is important to keep the place immaculate since they consider themselves representatives of the deity.
Some clergy like priests or their equivalence in whatever religion you create for your world, listen to people in confessional rooms. These rooms enable troubled people to unburden themselves of the problem they’re facing and the priest imparts some wisdom to help them overcome said problem. They do so so because it is their duty to help people.
The fantasy clergy also provides services that are designated to help their fellow citizens out. They hold food drives, have charity events, hold events for fundraising, and so on. All these events are meant to bolster the connection between the faithful and the clergy and within the faithful, leading to a better community.
People have their own demons. Some wrestle with drugs, alcoholism, family troubles, and so on. Many of the time, they’re unsure on how to overcome them, leading them to turn to those who they believe can help them. That’s where the clergy comes in.
Some fantasy clergy like priests have a weekly sermon that the faithful attend. The sermons range from encouraging people to do a good deed for someone or working to remain true to themselves in the face of great adversity. The point of these sermons is to help put or keep people on the right path.
In the sermons, the clergy also provides words that motivate people to look inwardly so that they can work on becoming better versions of themselves. They operate on the fact that everyone is flawed by nature and they counsel words of wisdom to encourage the faithful to do the work that needs to be done, whether it be being more thoughtful in their words or being less mean-spirited.
Many of the time, the clergy preaches messages that spur people to take actions that ultimately serve the greater good, even if it means making a personal sacrifice. For example, they ask people to donate some of their hard-earned money for someone who desperately needs it, even if some donors are having difficulties making ends meet. These acts of kindness makes people be less selfish since they are helping someone out.
People who are wrestling with a moral issue often seek the clergy for advice on what to do. Whether it’s in the confessional room or a priest’s office, they hope that they get guidance on what move they ought to make. In return, they get their answers which are cloaked within words of inspiration, meaning it is up to them to decipher said answers themselves.
The clergy’s role in the world is to serve as emissaries of the deity their religion believes in. To bolster their connection with him, they eschew many forms of technology, choosing instead to live simple lives. They receive messages from him and act accordingly so that they can help the faithful.
In a world full of temptations, the fantasy clergy endeavors to steer people away from them and live a righteous life. They actively encourage people to choose good over evil, saying that the former will lead them to salvation. They also urge them to denounce the temptations and do what they can to avoid them.
The clergy also works to make the community around them stronger. They subscribe to the belief that a community full of happy and good people helps make the world better. Events such as holding food drives and so on are all designed to strengthen the community.
A key priority of the fantasy clergy is to spread the deity’s words across the world. They do so by holding speeches, whether in the church or in the market square, where they speak directly to people. They want people to take heed of their deity’s words and work on trying to persuade them to join their religion.
Finally, the clergy also serve as teachers. They consider themselves paragons of virtue and work to uphold their reputation in the community by doing selfless things like teaching the next generation the things they need to live in a hostile world. They also teach people the ways of their religion so that they can continue on the work after they’ve passed away.
The fantasy clergy is a social class full of rich storytelling options. Some stories paint them as bad whereas others focus on the good they do. Regardless of how they’re portrayed, there is no doubt that the clergy lacks passion. They’re the opposite, working feverishly to spread their deity’s words to masses of people.
No matter where the world is in terms of its history, there is one universal truth to the clergy: they live solemn lives. They consciously avoid using technology since they believe that it weakens their connection with their deity who they revere above all else. Part of their day entails them telling the faithful to roll up their sleeves and lend a helping hand to someone who’s down and out.
To help people overcome their struggles, the fantasy clergy uses words of inspiration to compel them to find the strength they need in order to become better versions of themselves. By doing this, they believe that having people become better makes the world a better place since they will be more committed to doing the right thing than ever before.
Serving as the link between the deity they worship and the faithful, the clergy’s aim is to spread his message to the world. They also endeavor to make the community around them better and safer and they also encourage people to help each other out.
The fantasy clergy plays a role in the world, regardless if they appear in the story or not. They are an active force against the darkness that doesn’t just lurk on the lands of the world but in the hearts of people. They urge them to reject the darkness, choosing instead the light. They are an invaluable component of building a fictional world and you would be missing out on a great opportunity for storytelling if you didn’t include them into yours!
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