Difference between revisions of "Church of Tubbius"

Revision as of 01:37, 21 May 2015

Summary

The Church of Tubbius is the official name of a religion devoted to the worship of Tubbius, an Amasynian god of the harvest, natural growth, and gluttony, with followers drawn from both the humans of Amasynia and Myrken Wood and the fairies of Old Hibera and New Hibera.

Origins

As noted in Sabinus Willoughby's Legends of Myrken Wood, the modern order of the Church of Tubbius stems from the worship of the nature god, Ploav, who was revered by a druidic community in central Amasynia approximately five centuries ago. The final leader of this group, a man named Tobias from nearly three centuries past, proclaimed that the full name of their deity was "Ploav Tubbius" and that the god was slowly starving to death without a proper understanding of what He wanted from them. The Great God not only demanded the obvious acceptance of their beliefs about natural growth through the following of their existing rituals and services, but He wanted evidence of their devotion shown through corpulence as well. By gorging themselves on their divinely granted harvest bounty, they were showing outwardly to others not only that Tubbius was blessing them beyond what they needed but also that they were physically, obviously different from all others. The new practices caught on quickly, and, within five years, the formerly frail Ploavians were fully faithful, rotund Tubbians given over to their new beliefs.

Current Beliefs and Internal Misconceptions

The teachings of Tobias both revived and reorganized the faith, expanding its reach to include the deities Marta, Libri, and Porcus. The Tubbians believe simply that Tubbius is husband to Marta, the Amasynian mother goddess; father to Libri, the deity over scholarship; and owner of Porcus, the Amasynian mother to pigs. They also believe that their Tubbius Regalis--the ultimate head of their order--is the human conduit of Tubbius Himself. Finally, despite the focus on gluttony and self-importance, the Tubbians are commanded in their scriptures to help see to the needs of their communities out of their excess that they receive.

The chief concerns come with their ideas of how to include Marta, Libri, and Porcus into their belief system. These inclusions are riddled with mistaken beliefs that have gone uncorrected over time; all but one of the Tubbians are unaware that the relationship of these deities has changed over time. Much of the faith secretly originates with The Glutton, an omnivorous monster married to Marta who has indirectly manipulated potential followers over time, appealing to humans and fairies alike through the less threatening appearances of Tubbius and Porcus. His exposure as Porcus and replacement of Ploav as Tubbius saw The Glutton gain believers, and, in time, he also absorbed Marta's life, responsibilities, and role into his own self. Therefore, where the Tubbians think they venerate four gods, they truly only worship two--The Glutton and his son, Libri--without knowing the truth.

Church Leadership

The single Tubbian who knows the truth about the deities behind the faith and the faith itself is Aloisius Treadwell, descendant of Tobias and the mortal body of The Glutton. Of course, it is in his best interest to keep everything going as it is: smooth and easy, with no alterations or disruptions. Thus, Treadwell voluntarily keeps the rest of the Church uninformed about the truth behind the above internal misconceptions, letting them believe the much simpler framework that more easily appeals to them.

Church Membership

The Church of Tubbius, as of 215 AR, has ten separate churches that meet throughout Amasynia, Myrken Wood, and The Western Reach of Hibera.

Orson: A four member church composed of a single family of brothers in the middle of the Amasynian plain.

Mountain Grove: A ten member church in the forest at the base of the Wekslo Mountains. Known for disregarding the mandates of their Tubbius Regalis.

Chalmbury: Found in the Amasynian plain near a small river, this church hosts twenty, containing the town council, the local governor, and several of its moneychangers.

Furt: Far north of Myrken Wood on the coast, the church at Furt is a self-sufficient group of fourteen housed in a tower outside the town itself.

Wane: Out of a town of around seventy, eighteen are devoted faithful with others on the fringe of acceptance. However, these eighteen include the most prominent members of the town: Mayor Tom Kutch and his family; Edgar Bumpo the innkeeper, his wife Mabel, and their family; farmer and swineherd Manfred Blinney, his wife Lotha, and their children; and local blacksmith Ned Smith. Because of their focus, the town houses a life-sized statue of Aloisius Treadwell in its central plaza. Of special disagreement in town is one Father George Cobble, a faithful preacher of Marta, emphasizing her worship devoid of that of Tubbius.

Colmouth: A town on the coast between Myrken Wood and Furt, the forty-six meeting here make for one of the largest of the human churches devoted to Tubbius. Colmouth is destined to be the ultimate home of the Church of Tubbius in years to come due to its growing seafood and baked goods industries.

Westenford: Twenty-eight of the twenty-nine seated members of the Westenford Ruling Council are the active members of the Church in Westenford, overseeing the town's politics and part of its religious activities. The final member, Doug Wiggins, is a firm believer of the One True Faith.

Myrken Wood: This location once served as the seat of the Church. Counting Aloisius Treadwell, there were fifty here until August 214 AR, when Treadwell asked most of the members present to leave to return to where the Church was founded and worship there in order to avoid potentially conflict with the One True Faith. The former church building itself in Myrken Wood has been converted to an orphanage, although the deed for land and building is still under Treadwell's ownership. Therefore, Treadwell maintains his former office there with its access to the hot spring beneath the church.

New Hibera: The Tubbian faith is royally mandated by Richard Aengus and Dr. Orin Barrin, and it is thus divinely supported; Tubbius has blessed the kingdom with constantly rejuvenating food and drink, allowing all of the roughly thousand fairies there to grow very fat, very happy, and, admittedly, very lazy. In short, the fairies of New Hibera are in many ways the ideal Tubbian faithful.

The Merchant Company of Captain Gord Griffum: Twenty-five seafaring dwarves formerly of Stonepath, this company is led by Captain Gord Griffum, great-great-great-grandfather of Aloisius Treadwell. This is by far the most mobile of the Tubbian churches, covering much of the northern coast of Amasynia in its mercantile pursuits.

Church Benefits, Symbols, Scriptures, and Attire

Given the Church's devotion to natural growth of food sources--including grains, fruits, vegetables, livestock, and swine--Church members and their families are generally highly knowledgeable of farming and raising animals and are normally well-fed to the point of exorbitance. In most of the individual congregations, many of the members are upper-classed or are placed in important positions, making being in the Church a mark of usually high socioeconomic status. This is especially visible in Westenford, Wane, Chalmbury, and Colmouth.

The primary symbol of the Church is known as the Rings of Tubbius: two circles, one inside the other, with the inner circle offset lower inside the outer. These Rings are not only sewn into the fronts of the robes and undergarments that the faithful wear, but, in the cases of Aloisius Treadwell and his young son Gideon, the man and boy display them as fatty, puffy circles in their bellies, there since their respective births. In the elder Treadwell's case, these Rings have been shown to serve as a rare conduit for magical energies that are infrequently used but provide a brief, golden glow when active.

The singular scriptural book for the Church of Tubbius is known as The Folds of Tubbius. A slim volume combining prose, hymns, poetry, and religious laws, it dictates ultimate obedience to farming practices of many kinds, celebrating the harvest, and enjoying the gluttonous desires of the flesh meant to accompany life as a Tubbian. Originally written down by Tobias as the product of divine inspiration, the book itself has been copied and passed down many times over.

Due to the Tubbian emphasis on size, padding, and girth, the ceremonial attire for Tubbian faithful is a multi-layered outfit composed of an outer robe, an inner robe, a light vest, a light pair of trousers, and a one-piece, buttoned up, pajama jumper beneath all else. Matching gloves and boots accompany the outfit. The robes, vest, and pajamas are all embroidered with the Rings of Tubbius at the stomach area. Coloration will vary depending on the wearer's rank in the Church: hunter green, burgundy, purple, or yellow. Higher ranking officials--the Tubbius Princeps in his purple or the Tubbius Regalis in his yellow--may wear extra garments, as well. The Tubbius Princeps wears a white sash around his middle with a purple alb and miter, and the Tubbius Regalis wears a yellow sash, alb, and miter, and he may carry a ceremonial staff topped with a sculpture of the Rings of Tubbius.

Church Rankings and Advancement

Five ranks exist within the Tubbian Church: Novice, Member, Lord Tubbian (or Lady Tubbian), Tubbius Princeps, and Tubbius Regalis. Novices wear the hunter green garments; Members wear burgundy; Lord and Lady Tubbians wear purple; the Tubbius Princeps wears the same purple attire as the Lord or Lady Tubbians with the addition of the white sash, purple alb, and purple miter; and the Tubbius Regalis is the sole member allowed to wear the yellow ceremonial vestments.

Advancement within the Church is a matter of two factors. One factor is girth; faithful seeking advancement beyond mere Novices or Members must constantly seek to gain weight, many pushing themselves to dangerous levels of obesity. Another factor is stated approval; faithful seeking advancement, even those who have reached a peak of their weight gain, must seek a blessing from a higher official in the Church, either given through an oral test and confirmation or through explicit recognition of a miracle or of outstanding devotion to the principles of the Church. However, there can only be one Tubbius Princeps and one Tubbius Regalis in the entire organization. Otherwise, at the local level, the highest rank that can be attained is Lord Tubbian or Lady Tubbian.

Impressions of the Church by Other Faiths

When multiple religions are in an area, with the Church of Tubbius among them, Tubbians usually face an uphill fight to prove their usefulness and worthiness in a community. For example, in Furt, the Tubbians are shunned by the city officials and are close to being social outcasts, thus yielding their self-sufficiency in their tower a mile outside town. In Myrken Wood, where they number 50 out of 3,500, the opinion is generally either negative or apathetic, with only marginal acceptance given to it thanks to Aloisius Treadwell's multiple roles in the town. By contrast, when the Tubbians are in a position of power in their respective communities with few other influences, such as in the unique case of New Hibera or in the example of Chalmbury, the Tubbians are seen as beneficent, generous individuals who help control and oversee the careful, proper distribution of food in the area.