Church of the Evernight Goddess

OverviewList of MembersMisc

Church of the Evernight Goddess
Spoiler : (Toggle to activate or deactivate the hidden element.)
Chinese	黑夜女神教会
General Information
Type	Orthodox
Founded	Third Epoch
God Worshipped	Evernight Goddess
Enemie(s)	Church of the God of Combat (Until 1352) Eggers Family Numinous Episcopate Rose School of Thought's Indulgence Faction Outer Deities' Believers
Founder	Evernight Goddess
Pope	Dabomachie Marianne† (Former)
Archbishops	Arianna Anthony Stevenson Ilya
High-ranking Deacons	Crestet Cesimir Leonard Mitchell
Notable Members	Ince Zangwill† (Former)
Influence
Pathway(s)	Darkness Death Twilight Giant Fool (Incomplete) Hermit (Incomplete)
Domain(s)	Northern Continent Loen Kingdom Southern Continent East Balam Highlands Kingdom
Headquarters	Cathedral of Serenity at Amantha Mountain Range, Winter County, Loen Kingdom
Related Group(s)	Nighthawks Red Gloves Church of the God of Combat (Taken over since 1352)
First Appearance
Novel	Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 3 (Mentioned) Circle of Inevitability, Chapter 4 (Mentioned)

“	Praise the Lady!	„
— An Evernight believer on Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 26

The Church of the Evernight Goddess was officially founded after the Cataclysm in the Third Epoch. They helped humanity through the Cataclysmic Era.

After The Apocalypse, the Church of the Evernight Goddess merges with the Church of the God of Combat and the Church of the Death to form the Church of the Eternal Darkness.

This organization is in control of the Darkness Pathway and is one of the Eight Orthodox Churches. Along with the Church of the Lord of Storms and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, the three churches are influential throughout the Loen Kingdom. However, after the World War in the Fifth Epoch, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery was expelled from the Kingdom.

The headquarters, as well as their Holy Cathedral, is the Cathedral of Serenity. It is located in the Amantha mountain range, Winter County, Loen Kingdom.

The Church is at odds with the Church of the God of Combat since its foundation. But after the death of the God of Combat, the Church of the Evernight Goddess took over the Church of the God of Combat.

The Church of the Evernight Goddess has thirteen archbishops and nine high-ranking deacons which make up the upper echelons of the church, convening at a Council of Cardinals. The twenty-two ladies and gentlemen are all equal in terms of their rankings. They only follow the orders of the Evernight Goddess, and are only answerable to the Pope. The Church uses the Chanis Gate to contain various Sealed Artifacts.

Sacred Emblem

• Official Sacred Emblem
• Star Phantom Tarot - Ace of Wand

The symbol of the Church of the Evernight Goddess is the Dark Sacred Emblem. Its base is black, with a crimson half-moon that is surrounded by radiant points of light.

After the World War of the Fifth Epoch, the symbol changed the crimson moon to that of stars since the Goddess gave up her authority on the Moon Pathway.

Prayer Gesture

Their prayer gesture is to tap their chest four times, drawing a clockwise circle. Sometimes believers won’t draw four stars on their chests; at most, they’ll just go through the final motions.

History

According to Snowman's dream, the Church appeared earlier than the historical records and can be traced back to the Third Epoch, but it existed in the form of a secret organization.

According to Mobet Zoroast, the Church of the Evernight Goddess’s archenemies were the Church of the God of Combat and the Southern Continent’s Eggers Family. He also said that in the Fourth Epoch when deities directly walked the land, the divine kingdom of the Evernight Goddess was the Tenebrous Heaven in the Amantha mountain range, and was separated from the real world by an illusory door. When the deities no longer walked the land, “Her” kingdoms became the headquarters of "Her" respective Church.

According to Old Neil, the Moses Ascetic Order had a very good relationship with the Church before their fall. Their beliefs and results on ritualistic magic have heavily influenced the Church.

Starting in 1194 of the Fifth Epoch, after Roselle discovered a new, safer sea route to the Southern Continent, this discovery jumpstarted the colonization of the Southern Continent, and the Orthodox Churches began to spread their influence there. The church, along with the Church of the Lord of Storms, has domains in East Balam.

During Fall 1350, the Church of the God of Combat along with the Feysac Empire attacked Backlund, provoking the Loen Kingdom to declare war against the Feysac Empire. The God of Combat intended to destabilize the anchors of the Evernight Goddess, in order to weaken "Her".

In Spring 1352, when the World War had escalated further, a Battle of Gods took place above Backlund. The God of Combat along with the Earth Mother invaded the divine kingdom of the Evernight Goddess, Tenebrous Heaven, and attacked the Evernight Goddess. However, "He" was betrayed by the Earth Mother who was secretly Lilith in disguise, resulting in "His" fall. The churches and the military of both sides were ordered to stop the battle and retreat.

The Church of the God of Combat was subsequently taken over by the Church of the Evernight Goddess. The Evernight Goddess decided to spare Beyonders of the Church of God of Combat and the Feysac Empire, and only kill those who were extremely loyal. They did not advertise the death of the God of Combat.

The Church of the Evernight Goddess later extending its reach to the Highlands Kingdom due to the weakening influence of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery there because they supported the losing side in the World War.

Characteristics

The Church of the Evernight Goddess is known to promote gender equality between men and women. They believe that women should have the same standing in society as men.

The Church values marriage, and seek equal gender roles in families; women are not forced take their husband's last names.

The Church's clergymen's attire is a black and red, double-breasted robe.

Unlike the Church of the Lord of Storms and the Church of the God of Combat, clergymen of the Evernight Goddess are prohibited from excessive drinking. They are required to reject distilled spirits, and can only drink champagne, beer, and red and white grape wine in moderation.

The Church is not a powerful force at sea.

Pathways

Complete

• Darkness Pathway
• Death Pathway
• Twilight Giant Pathway

Incomplete

• Hermit Pathway
• Fool Pathway

Enforcement Divisions

Main article: Nighthawks

• Nighthawks: A division formed of Beyonders from the Church of the Evernight Goddess, they usually act undercover as law enforcement or security companies. They primarily deal with Beyonder related crimes, cults, and influences.
  • A Sequence 5 is qualified to be an enforcement division deacon or a diocese bishop. If they can gain the favour of a Holy Artifact, the Beyonder can even compete for the position of an archbishop or a high-ranking deacon.
• Red Gloves: The elite team that are promoted from the Nighthawks. Their mission is to reinforce Nighthawk teams that have called for help, as well as to track down and arrest evildoers without any restrictions.

Festivals

The Church of the Evernight Goddess doesn't have many festivals, and the most important one is Winter Gifts Day. The second most important is the Mass held during the full moon, also known as the Moon Mass. The rest are just normal Masses and prayers on weekends. However, different dioceses and different cathedrals have their own patron saints and angels which would have corresponding special festivals for them.

Winter Gifts Day

Winter Gifts Day is the Evernight Goddess’s holy memorial day. It is the longest night of every year, believed to be the birthday of the Evernight Goddess.

On this day, all Evernight believers would head to a nearby cathedral to witness the sunset. When night falls, they would participate in Mass, enjoy a holy meal, listen to the hymns, and do all sorts of activities.

White Gifts Day, 2023: "The crimson full moon rises, reflecting the earth, and everyone falls into a sweet dream, dreaming about themselves, dreaming about their parents, wives (husbands) and children, this is forever..."

Moon Mass

The Mass is held during the full moon. The believers will go to the church to remember the dead, and to celebrate and mourn the life of a loved one. They believe it will help them sleep in the Goddess’ nation and receive eternal peace. The priests will give water and bread representing the loving grace of the Goddess; the food that people both alive and dead can share.

List of Buildings

Headquarters

• Cathedral of Serenity (Amantha mountain range, Winter County)

Dioceses

• Saint Selena Cathedral (Tingen City)
• Morse Cathedral (Morse Town, Awwa County)
• Saint Samuel Cathedral (North Borough, Backlund)
• Myriad Star Cathedral (Hillston Borough, Backlund)
• Unnamed small Evernight cathedral (Empress Borough, Backlund)
• Sleep Cathedral (Dinos Island)
• Unnamed Cathedral (Midseashire County, Midseashire)
• Unnamed Cathedral (Unknown City, Midseashire)
• Unnamed Cathedral (East Balam)