Holy Tome of Light: Book of Gela (Book of Rituals)

[Telum]

Holy Tome of Light:
Book of Gela*
(Book of Rituals)

In the Name of Lord Avalon, Holder of the Light, Bane of Darkness, Vanquisher of the Undeath, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

I. Praying/Prayer
1. When to do it, where, how often.
2. Blessing things (NOT consecrating)
3. Different prayers for different occasions (illness, newborn child, death of friend/family (similar to Funeral Rites), good fortune, good weather, good crops, basic prayer, etc.)
i. Cleansing the body of Undead taint.
ii. Cleansing the soul.

II. Baptism (becoming an Avalonian, Cleric or Paladin).
1. To become Avalonian: Only a priest can do it (yes, I know, you can do it at character creation… work with me here); priests can be found near Crestwind.
2. By becoming a Paladin or Cleric Avalon has already blessed and baptized that person.
3. Blessing a warrior and sanctifying the person into become a Knight of Avalon.

III. Ordination into the priesthood.
1. Lead off with the prayer from Ensis 1:1,2
2. Can only be done by Avalon, DS of Avalon or a properly ordained priest/priestess
3. Ordaining someone at each level of the church.

IV. Consecrating a place
1. To properly consecrate a place, be in out in the open, a building, a room, or even an object, only Lord Avalon Himself, praise be upon him, one of His Divine Servants, or a properly ordained priest/priestess in the Church of Light can perform the consecration. Anyone can bear witness to the ritual so that they may watch and rejoice in His glory. The ritual can only be performed during daylight hours. This is so that His Light can properly shine from above.
2. When a place has been cursed it must be properly cleansed of the taint of evil. However, to do so is no small matter. Just to stand in the presence of a cursed location requires the strongest of faiths so that the soul is properly protected. The one leading the ritual must be well-rested and have the required prayers memorized. When the servant is ready they will stand before the focal point of the curse. They will then kneel down with hands clasped. The first prayer must be to illuminate the area with His Light by speaking the Prayer for Light:
”Lord, please allow me a portion of Your Light so that I may shine it on all those who stand in the way of Your Holy work.”
Next, you must twice speak the prayer to Remove the Curse, however, changed to:
”Lord of Light, shine Your Light upon this place so that Your Power will remove the evil that corrupts this place!”
Once you have done this, cleanse the place or object by praying:
“O Lord! Burn your foes with Your righteous fury!”
Now that the curse has been removed and the location or object cleansed it must now be consecrated. Bless the place by praying:
”Lord Avalon, though we are not worthy of you, we ask that you Bless this place and thus consecrate it, in Your name, so that evil may never taint it with its unholy corruption.”

3. declare place holy: to declare or set apart a building, area of ground, or specific spot as holy or sacred



V. To vanquish the Unholy, the heathen, the heretic and the Undead in battle, call upon the power that the Lord has blessed you with. Utter these prayers and you, like the golden hammer in His hand, will become His weapon battle!
1. To Bless Weapon a weapon that will crash upon the Undead,
"Lord of Light, bless this weapon so that it may smite the heathen Undead! "
2. For the living His power can heal wounds for the Undead, his power hurts them. When all else fails Lay your Hands upon the Unholy beings and channel His Divine power into the Undead.
“See the Light, fell wretch, see the Light!”
3. The Lord’s greatness alone is enough to harm those whose souls have been tainted by evil. Call forth the Hammer of Avalon so that his glory may shine on the wicked!
“Lord of Light, shine your greatness upon your foes!”
4. The Undead fear Lord Avalon, praise be upon him. Turn the Undead away from their fell mission.
“The Light of Avalon compels you!”
5. Protect yourself and others. His Holy Might is truly Undeath’s Eternal Foe and will always protect the souls of those who are not completely shielded in faith.
“Lord of Light! Protect these warriors against the Unholy powers of dark magic!”
6. Call forth the Lord’s mightiest concentration of His Light. His Light, in full glory of a Sunbeam, will blind and purge with wicked and righteous burning! This is particularly powerful against the unholy and the Undead.
“O Lord! Burn your foes with Your righteous fury!”
7. To change Undeath to Death, save their souls by sending them to the Village of Souls:
“Angel of Light! Take these souls and convey them to the River of Souls!”
8. DWs for Divine Power
9. DWs for Searing Light.
10. To Bless those that will serve the Lord and perform His Work, pray:
”Lord Avalon, though we are not worthy of you, we ask that you bless us so that we may vanquish your foes.”
11. Armor yourself and others with a Shield of Faith.
”My faith in the Lord shields thy soul.”
12. To illuminate your surroundings with a portion of His Light, speak the Prayer of Light: ”Lord, please allow me a portion of Your Light so that I may shine it on all those who stand in the way of Your Holy work.”
13. DWs for Word of Faith
14. DWs for Holy Sword
15. DWs for Prayer (pray to Avalon and he shall bless then and make them better while cursing (find better word) the foes).
16. DWs for Divine Favor (similar to Prayer)
17. To summon a Warhorse of Lord Avalon, pray in the words (Paladins only): “Lord, I beseech you to send your warhorse so that I may better serve the Light and Your Will. May he be the instrument of Your Will. May the Light never fade!”


VI. To protect yourself and others in battle you must call upon the Lord and ask him to protect those you deem worthy of his blessing.
1. His divine power can shroud you in an Aura against the Alignment of evil. The heathens and heretics will have great difficulty in striking you with sword or spell. For those that are successful in hitting you with their weapons they will in turn harm themselves! For His Aura is an anathema to them and thus will cause them great pain to touch you.
2. DWs Aura of Glory

VII. Raising the dead from the Soul Fissure is a task reserved only for the Lady of Souls and those priests and priestesses who have been blessed by Lord Avalon to do so. This is a most Holy task. You are restoring the soul to its body so that it may control itself. This is right and proper of a servant of the Light. It is the Undead and their masters that would restore a soul to its body so that the victim may be used to their wicked ways.
1. To bring a soul back to its body and to the brink of death, call upon the Angel of Light to use carry the soul back from the Soul Fissure
”Angel of Light! Please, this soul is not ready to cross the River of Souls. Convey it back to its body so that it may live out its life.”
2. Resurrection

VIII. Funeral Rites
1. Asking Avalon and the Lady of Souls to send the soul to the Village of Souls (give name to good part of village), blessing bones so that a soul may be at peace, etc.

IX. Matrimony
1. Avalon’s blessing in the marriage, etc.

X. The power and glory of the Lord can also be used to help the faithful. His divine grace will heal wounds from the smallest scratch to the near-death blow.
1. For defenders of the faith, Lay your on Hands on them and pray:
“Lord of Light, please, heal this person. Shine Your Light upon them so that they may be healed and better serve Your Will.”
2. In times of need, a person may be temporarily imbued with an essence of the Lord, thus allowing the body to Regenerate slowly over time.
”O Lord! Heal this body and restore it to what it once was!”
3. To Cure Wounds, even the smallest ones, channel a small portion of the Lord’s divine grace.
”Lord, heal thy wounds.”
4. Those priests whose faith are Healing Circle
5. Heal
6. Prayer
7. There are forces of great evil in his realm. If they cannot harm your soul they will place a curse upon your physical being. The evil ones will curse the body, making it weaker. The person’s speech will show that their mind has also been afflicted. If your faith is strong enough you can Remove the Curse by praying,
”Lord of Light, shine Your Light upon this body so that Your Power will remove the evil that harms your servant so!”
8. To remove the strong taint of the Unholy, a Greater effort of Restoration is needed to remove this corruption. Such an invocation will cleanse the body and will heal its wounds, though it will not heal the mind.
”Holder of the Sacred Light! Cleanse this body of the taint of the Unholy and heal thy wounds!”
9. When a large number of people need healing and you are strong enough, channel His divine power to Heal others en masse. Be warned, however, His glory is such that if too much of it is channeled through your body you will be weakened.
”Lord! Heal these faithful so that we may continue to serve Your Will!”
10. Defenders of the faith have the ability to cure and disease as they themselves are immune to any ailment the Unholy may try to lay upon them. Remove the Undead’s taint of the body by placing your hands upon the victim and pull the disease into yourself. Your faith will defeat the bodily invasion and shield your soul from its corruption.


XI. Damnation
1. When someone doesn’t repent and/or has gone back on their repentance. Avalon knows what’s in their hearts, etc.
2. Can only be done by Avalon, DS of Avalon or a properly ordained priest/priestess
3. Slaying the person with spells or weapons.
4. Prayer to Avalon and Lady of Souls to send the person’s soul to bad part of Village of Souls (give name to bad part of Village).

XII. Exorcism
1. The importance of shielding one’s soul with unbreakable faith cannot be overstated. Faith in the Lord and His Divine Light is the barrier that prevents evil, denizens of darkness, and the Undead from claiming your soul. For such forces to even touch your soul will open you to corruption and, ultimately, enslavement by the infidels. Faith will guard your soul. However, when the Unholy cannot corrupt your soul they will corrupt your body. This is known as demonic possession.
2. Demonic possession is more than the body being corrupted by the touch of the Unholy. Some necromancers and pale masters can control the body before death has taken hold, thus trapping the soul inside. Evil spirits and even demons will control the body in effort to weaken one’s faith or the faith of others.
3. Possession can be identified by many of the following criteria:
i. Speaking in languages that they cannot or should not be able to know.
ii. Their voice has changed to one that should not come from the body (such as a deep, male voice from a young girl; a loud screeching from a grown man)
iii. They abhor the light.
iv. Seeing icons of Lord Avalon caused them pain.
v. The presence of those who are instruments of His Divine Power cause the person pain.
vi. They have unexplained strength or abilities.
vii. They speak blasphemies against the Lord of Light, His Angels or his Divine warriors.
viii. They try not to hear prayers or rituals to Lord Avalon.
4. To rid a body of possession, an exorcism must be performed. An exorcism’s goal is the save the soul first, the body second. The ritual can only be performed by an ordained priest, divine servant or paladin of Avalon. Is it preferred to have more people present, with their souls properly shielded with faith, thus helping to bolster the exorcist’s power to drive the corruption from the body. These assistants must be baptized as a follower of Lord Avalon for only then will their faith be strong enough to withstand the attacks of the Unholy. More than one person may perform the ritual of exorcism. The exorcists, however, must wear their armor. That armor must, before the ritual, be anointed with the proper oils and holy water, have purity runes and seals etched into the plating and upon the under-armor padding, and be blessed by the exorcist themselves.
5. Note, however, that more than one spirit may inhabit a body. An exorcism for each spirit must be performed, thus the ritual may take anywhere from a few minutes to many months. While there may be one or many spirits and/or demons in the body the person’s soul, and thus their consciousness, is still inside. While the possession controls their body their being is left to hear and see all that happens. However, despite losing control of the body they still have the power to fight the corruption. An Unholy being may be powerful enough to control the body, however, this is only if they are powerful enough. The original soul of the body can fight back, especially if it, the soul, remains untainted by the possession. During the ritual, speak to the soul. Encourage it to fight the corruption. Remind it that you are there to save it. The Lord helps those who help themselves. The soul will be able to draw upon your divine strength and thus help to expel the evil spirits and thus banish them back to their plane.
6. First, the location must be properly consecrated and blessed. With the Lord’s Light high in the sky, restrain the possessed where His Light will shine on them. The person will abhor His Light for it is anathema to the Unholy. Do not heed their screams and tirades. Remember, their body and, possibly, their souls are a stake. Do not falter from your task. If others are helping you have them gather in a circle around the possessed. Their faith will help to shield the victim from further possession.
7. The exorcist must prepare themselves by praying to the Lord. Utter the prayer for the Shield of Faith and a prayer of Protection from Evil. If others are present, speak the prayer of Protection from Evil for the entire circle. Ensure that the armor is properly sealed and blessed.
8. Read, out loud, passages from the Book of Solas, particularly those that are about the Unholy. Call for the possession to repent its evil ways. Speak the prayers of Bless and those that will Remove the Curse of possession. Utter prayers of healing for the possession will try to cause physical harm to the body. Speak to and encourage the soul to fight back. Repeat all of these again and again. If His Light should lower below the horizon then adjourn the ritual. Take that time for all people to rest, even the victim. For, as you fight on the outside to save their body and soul, they fight from the inside to keep the Unholy from taking their soul.
9. Once the possession has been broken, fully heal the body with His Divine power. Give thanks to the Lord of Light for He was with you, aiding you in your struggle. If the exorcism fails and the body dies, cleanse it with holy flames. This will prevent the body from rising again as an infidel fo the Undead and, thus, fully release the soul to the Lady of Souls. Pray to the Lord to ensure safe passage of the soul.

XIII. Redemption
1. Repentance; expound upon Solas 14:1-6.
2. Can only be done by Avalon, DS of Avalon or a properly ordained priest/priestess
3. Holding cross (can be obtained by Avalon priest in Crestwind) to the person seeking redemption.



* Gela is the elvish word for rite or ceremony, based off of the Grey Company’s website http://www.grey-company.org/Language/Files/elven.pdf