The Order of Thesla

The following is a summary of the religious history and ecclesiology of Lord Thesla.

• 422BP - Thesla was recorded being born in a small village outside of Woldsworth, he grew up amongst the poor without education and worked the farmlands.

• 400BP - Many men his age travelled to Weswick at the call of the High Lord to join the armies of men, for there were many opposing factions unwilling to join the High Lord’s reign. Thesla denied the call and became the first “green martyr.” He went into the wilderness and during his time in the forests of Kinsdale he was gifted a series of divine truths which he recorded in his own language, this was the first structured written language known to man. In his Revelations he not only structured an alphabet and grammar but he proceeded to write an entire manuscript on the meaning of life and the way one should live it.

• 322BP - On the eve of his 100th birthday the hooded hermit came down from the hills to his birthplace. He began preaching his revelations, and was thrown out by the local chieftains. Although before he left, a few men and women took to his teachings and followed him to Woldsworth, as they trekked with him he taught them and told them stories of great insight and wisdom. In Woldsworth he gained a small following but again when the teachings were heard by the authorities they kicked him out, fearing the crowds gathering to learn from him would turn on them and place him as their chief.

• 321BP - While making his final pilgrimage to Weswick to confront the High Lord and the use of young men and women for soldiers, Thesla turned a century old. The hooded hermit made it to Weswick with over twenty followers. He leaned heavily on his staff when hobbling around, but when it came time to share his revelations he set it aside and preached with the charisma of a man in his youth. It did not take long for the teachings to attract crowds, and word quickly spread to the highest ranking. Finally, Thesla challenged the High Lord to a debate, in which they would argue the necessity of war and poverty. The High Lord accepted his challenge and thought he could make easy business of the crazed elder. But when it came to philosophical articulation Thesla outshined the High Lord and became a grassroots favorite within the city. They even took to calling Thesla, Lord Thesla, a clear rebuke of the High Lord’s power.
          After the debates the city was on the verge of a revolution, so the High Lord used his soldiers to arrest Thelsa out of fear of him leading the rebellion against him. In his final statements before his execution for treason Thesla stated that he’d had no will to rule over his fellow men and women, he only sought peace and enlightenment. The High Lord did not heed his words and within the hour Thesla was bound and set upon a pyre in a kneeling stance and burned alive. Witnesses claimed that he did not scream but gave blessings over those who killed him and prayed, “May we all one day see gift in the other.”
  
          In the same year it was announced that any followers of Thesla would face the same fate, and any writings of his or copies found would be burned as well. A group of 8 smuggled his revelations out of the city before they could be found. Helped by fellow followers at the shipyard they made their way to Norholm and ended up settling what is now known as Penton. The monastery there still stands and has been expanded due to the rapid growth of followers. They took on the symbol of “8” noting its infinite cycle, a common saying of the faith tradition is, “What started as eight, grew to forever.” Some even stayed in Weswick and faced tortuous martyrdoms, while some fled back to their homes near Woldsworth, starting followings within their impoverished communities. Although any found out there were persecuted and many began to make their way to Penton to escape the persecution.

• 100BP - The High Lord Viktor declared rulership over the three islands and demanded a tax and military support from both the dwarves of Sutland and the elves of Norholm. When both parties denied such a ludicrous claim the armies of men marched upon their lands, raiding and pillaging, leading to a full fledged war lasting an entire century.  

• 20BP - A young follower of Thesla named Elric Whitehammer joins the ranks under the High Lord’s command. He traveled from the impoverished settlements outside of Woldsworth to Weswick to begin training. His officers soon saw the gifted path of the warrior and quickly brought him to the front lines of the War of the Three. He fought for twenty years and was awarded the title of High Commander directly under the High Lord, whom bore no children and was nearing his final years.

• 1LT - After many years and at the point of death Viktor was convinced that he needed to die in a blaze of glory, wielding his sword one last time. The High Lord fell in battle, establishing Elric as the highest ranking man. Elric’s first order as High Lord was to parley with the dwarves and elves to make peace on the war ridden islands. They came to a conclusion, that there would be a monarchy that governed over the three islands, and the tax would only be used to help those in poverty or under attack from foreign powers. Trade routes were made and Elric’s sons were sent out to help rule over the other islands. One was sent to Penton, now a fully formed city, and another sent to Auchtercrag, which was built as a military fort and became a port city to help the dwarves trade their mined goods to both Weswick and Casana.
          Elric Whitehammer also took on the title of King, claiming that the only High Lord shall ever onward be Lord Thesla, naming it the first year of our Lord Thesla, and making it the religion of his kingdom. Persecution ended amongst the islands toward followers of Thesla’s way. Theslas’s revelations became well known and cathedrals and monasteries were built throughout, establishing the Order of Thesla, made up of those abbotts, monks, bishops and clerics who devoted their lives to the religion. The language Thesla created became known as Theslan and was taught alongside common. King Elric though did not force his religion upon the elves and dwarves, and he in fact created a council in Weswick made up of the three races to act as representatives to the king, while his sons acted as his representatives to the lands of Norholm and Sutland.

• Present Day - Since the first year after peace the three races/islands have never been at war against each other. Although some clergy did aid in the wars against the orcs in the 700s, acting both as healers and warriors.

Through Thelsa’s wisdom, peace shall ever be the plight of our people: man, dwarf, elf alike.
- King Elric, first king of Treland 1LT ∞