Who were the first humans on Khorvaire to worship the Silver Flame? Those of you well-versed in history may have jumped in to say The Ghaash’kala in the Demon Wastes! and indeed, that is a Flamic tradition far older than any of the Five Nations. But the question was who were the first humans to worship the Silver Flame? The answer is the inhabitants of Galethspyre, a port town on the Dagger River. The people of Galethspyre came from the Sarlonan nation of Khalesh, whose folk had long called on the power of the Great Light to help them fight against supernatural evil. Few Khaleshites joined in the colonization of Khorvaire, but one expedition did make its way along the southern coast of Khorvaire and up the Dagger River. The leader of this expedition was the priestess Galeth, and she was guided by visions of a beacon of light. Galeth finally found what she sought: a spire of blue stone overlooking the Dagger, nearly six hundred feet in height. The spire is an artifact of the Age of Demons, infused with the power of the Silver Flame. Galeth could sense the celestial energies within the stone, and she knew that it would protect her people from evil. And so they settled the town that came to be known as Galethspyre. At the time, there was considerable tension between Khalesh and the other nations of Sarlona, especially the Vassal missionaries of Pyrine; as a result, the people of Galethspyre largely kept to themselves as Wroat rose around them. They traded with other settlements, becoming a prominent textile center—Galethspyre is the original source of the famous “Brelish Blue” dye—but never sought to spread their faith or to engage in the crusading behavior that had characterized Khalesh. They knew they were safe in the light of the Spire, and sought to make their town a bastion against the forces of evil abroad in the world. By the time Breland was born, people had largely forgotten their ties to Khalesh and Pyrine. The tension between Vassals and the people of the Spire faded, and the faith of Galethspyre spread to other villages in western Breland. But it remained a quiet faith focused on resisting the influence of the Overlords and drawing on the Great Light to defend the innocent from evil. The faithful are encouraged to live virtuous lives, to be ever watchful for supernatural threats, and to work together to defend their communities.

When the Church of the Silver Flame rose in Thrane, it spread rapidly. The people of Thrane didn’t just want to defend their own families and villages; they raised an army of templars and sought to establish garrison-temples across the Five Nations. They built the Cathedral of the Cleansing Flame in Sharn and sought to recruit templars in every nation. Some of those who answered the call were entirely new converts inspired by the tale of Tira Miron. Others were people of the Spire. The Galeth—the title given to the spiritual leader of Galethspyre—declared that the Great Light of the Spire and the Silver Flame of the Church were one and the same, and the ‘Spired were proud to serve as templars and priests. But they still held to the quiet practicality of the Spire traditions, used Old Common in their rituals, and taught their traditions for resisting the Overlords. They were devoted to fighting evil, but held to their Brelish practicality. This became apparent when the Last War broke out. Those most devoted to the Keeper and the Church immigrated to Thrane. Those templars who remained largely fell into two camps: those who had joined the church driven less by faith and more by greed and a desire for influence, and those whose faith in the Flame was grounded firmly in Breland—the people of the Spire. This can be seen today in Sharn. The Cathedral of the Cleansing Flame is a direct arm of the Church of Thrane, but it is riddled by corruption and graft. On the other hand, Coldflame Keep is a garrison temple that holds only a handful of templars compared to its height, but those who serve there are devoted to fighting evil; what’s not mentioned is that their faith is rooted in Galethspyre.

The key point here is that the ‘Spired acknowledge the Keeper and maintain the basic standards of the Church. Most outsiders can’t tell the difference between the ‘Spired and devotees of the Church of Thrane. The ‘Spired wear Brelish Blue, use Old Common phrases in their prayers (even though most of the faithful don’t speak the language), and wear a thin silver teardrop instead of a silver arrowhead; the teardrop shape is reminiscent of the Spire. Their core beliefs are the same—defend the innocent from supernatural evil—but the people of the Spire place great emphasis on personal honesty and common sense, and are less aggressive in seeking out evil beyond their own communities.

With this in mind, we’ve now identified three distinct sects of the Silver Flame in the Five Nations

• The Church of Thrane. Established in Flamekeep following Tira’s sacrifice and the binding of Bel Shalor, this is the primary manifestation of the faith in Khorvaire. It has a strict hierarchy and a standing army—the templars—dedicated to defending the innocent from supernatural evil. Followers are encouraged to establish local militias ready to defend their communities and use archery as a devotional practice. Faithful are encouraged to listen to the Voice of the Flame and to beware the temptations of the Shadow in the Flame. They stand ready to lay down their lives to defend all innocents from supernatural threats, regardless of their faith; this is seen in the Silver Crusade, where Thrane templars went west to defend Aundairian Vassals from werewolves. The Keeper of the Flame is the spiritual leader of the faith. The Church is now the government of Thrane, though followers of the Church in other nations can maintain their loyalty to their own leaders. The Church of Thrane has always been tolerant of variant beliefs, just as it considers all mortals to be innocent regardless of their faith. As such, it has welcomed People of the Spire and Puritans and allowed them to serve as templars and priests within the Church hierarchy while maintaining their local beliefs, as long as those beliefs don’t directly oppose the doctrine of the Church.
• The People of the Spire. Established in Pre-Galifar Breland by Khaleshite settlers. ‘Spired respect the Keeper of the Flame and serve as templars, but they are also devoted to the Galeth and place more faith in the Spire of Galethspyre than in the font in Flamekeep. They encourage the faithful to stand ready to defend their communities from supernatural threats, but archery isn’t a devotional practice. They are vigilant against the influence of all of the Overlords; the Shadow in the Flame is just one of these. While they do believe that the faithful should oppose all supernatural evil, the primary duty of the faithful is to defend their own communities; ‘Spired resist the idea of dramatic actions such as the Silver Crusade. Many of their rituals use Old Common, and it is possible that there is a hidden line of Shulassakar guiding the people of the Spire.
• The Pure Flame. Established in western Aundair in the wake of the Silver Crusade. Founded by Aundairians who had endured decades of terror at the hands of lycanthropes, the followers of the Pure Flame see it not as a shield to defend the innocent but as a sword to smite evil. While the core principles are the same, Puritans advocate aggressively rooting out evil and are the one branch of the faith that turns that aggression against mortal evil rather than focusing on the supernatural. This resulted in the infamous inquisition of the Lycantrhopic Purge and the death of countless innocent shifters. It can also be seen in the brutal actions of Archbishop Dariznu in Thaliost. Puritans encourage the formation of militias to defend (and police) communities, but aren’t devoted to the practice of archery and lack the discipline of Thrane templars; they are more likely to rely on the hue and cry and zealous mobs. The followers of the Pure Flame revere the Keeper of the Flame as the spiritual leader of the Church, but they believe that the Cardinals are weak and corrupt and prevent the Keeper from wielding the Flame as it should be used. They largely see the theocracy of Thrane as a manifestation of this corruption. The appointment of Archbishop Dariznu as governor of Thaliost was an effort by Thrane to win the loyalty of the Puritans, and many followers of the Pure Flame—many of whom were displaced from their original homes by the Eldeen uprising—have settled in Thaliost.

The Silver Flame has few followers in Karrnath; in Cyre, most followers of the Silver Flame were tied to the Church of Thrane. Meanwhile, we have a number of traditions beyond the Five Nations. The Ghaash’kala orcs of the Demon Wastes revere Kalok Shash, the Binding Flame, and have their own Voice that guides them. The Masvirik’Uala draw on the Light in the Land in their fight against the Poison Dusk. However, the Church of Thrane has no direct contact with the Ghaash’kala or the Masvirik’uala, and those two sects know nothing of Flamekeep and its Keeper.

Why are we talking about Galethspyre? Every month, my patrons can ask me questions. This month someone asked How do the people of Breland, who are typically Vassals, feel about the fact one of their larger towns is a bastion of Silver Flame worship? Has the mainstream faith in Thrane tried to take action against Galethspyre? Answering those questions directly: Galethspyre has been devoted to its faith before Breland was called “Breland.” It’s nothing new and beyond which, the Vassals of Breland aren’t especially zealous. It was a point of tension in pre-Galifar Wroat centuries ago, but in the modern day there’s no concerns with it. This further explains WHY there’s not a lot of tension against the Silver Flame in Breland; most Brelish templars are ‘Spired rather than directly serving the Church of Thrane. Meanwhile, there ARE Brelish representatives of the Church of Thrane—such as Ythana Morr in Sharn—but they are often pragmatic folk who have found ways to gain influence in their communities. As for the second part of the question, the mainstream faith of the Church of Thrane is tolerant of variant beliefs, and people of the Spire have long served as Church templars and priests in Breland. It’s a point of tension that ‘Spired believe the theocracy distracts the Church from its true mission, and the ‘Spired refused to serve Thrane during the Last War, but they still supported the Church and the divine mission of the Silver Flame.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

When you create any character tied to the Silver Flame, pause for a moment to think about which branch of the faith they follow. The Church of Thrane is the mainstream faith with the widest following and deepest pockets. It’s a tolerant and compassionate faith that seeks to defend all innocent people regardless of belief, but this mission is now complicated as it’s tied to the theocratic government of Thrane. This has also led to greed and graft weakening some branches of the Church, especially in Breland. On the other hand, Breland has its own homegrown branch, the People of the Spire, whose followers strive to be virtuous and to oppose evil, but who are more reserved than the Church of Thrane; they defend their own, but aren’t starting a crusade to defend strangers. The People of the Spire have traditions tied to a wider range of Overlords and lore that goes directly back to Khalesh; they are less familiar with Bel Shalor but may have some surprising nuggets of information about other Overlords. And the Pure Flame is the most intolerant and aggressive branch of the faith, the most likely to pursue what is seen as mortal evil and the most likely to produce a rampaging mob. If you’re playing a Paladin of the Silver Flame, are you an aggressive Puritan, a compassionate servant of the Keeper, or a pragmatic ‘Spired?

This also adds the mysterious hook of the Galethspyre itself. This is a Couatl artifact from the Age of Demons. Is there an Overlord bound beneath it? Could the Spire release couatls, or perform other miracles? Are there Lords of Dust conspiring to destroy the Spire? Beyond that, is there a secret line of Shulassakar in Galethspyre? Is the Galeth herself a disguised serpent-person? Is the Galeth guarding a cache of artifacts from ancient Khalesh—the tools of ancient crusaders waiting to be used again?

I hope you find something useful here. Thanks to my Patrons for their ongoing support, which makes articles like this possible—the first article on House Phiarlan will be posted on Patreon later this week!