| “ | You have been elected to die for Almighty Tyr. Do not shirk from it. Raise your blades and your voices and sing His praises for the blessing He has given you to fight, to kill, to live and die in His name! | ” |
–Katherine Pike, High Evangelist | ||
The Purifying Flame is an unofficial subsect of Light worship evangelized by Katherine Pike and followed by her Red Hand of Tyr, along with some converts among the general body of the Scarlet Crusade. Its precepts are apocalyptic in nature, with its primary tenet being the overthrow of all "impure" governments and nations and the establishment of a worldly paradise governed solely by the Light. Its followers distinguish themselves from lesser followers of the Light by calling themselves the Elect, though some are also called the Flamebound after the text at the core of their faith, the Flamebound Tome. It is a proto-Scarlet ideology, falling just a bit out of step with the mainstream Scarlet religion; its followers were never numerous, as the sect's encouragement of martyrdom and harsh internal inquisitions regularly culled members.
Background[]
The exact point when and where the Purifying Flame began as an organized ideology is not known, and likely never will be. The faith finds its roots in the aftermath of the Third War, with Lordaeron in political collapse and its landscape and people marred by the Plague and an equally-deadly fear. Survivor groups, often lacking the guidance of established religious figures, fell under the sway of self-proclaimed oracles and prophets, many of whom espoused views that were apocalyptic in nature. One future cleric of this faith, Zechariah the Castellan, is known to have been one such oracle.
Regardless of its exact origins, it found its first congregation of sorts in the radical group of zealots known as the Red Hand of Tyr. The leader of this group, Katherine Pike, was a widow from a small town in the Eastweald and a mere novitiate of the Church of the Holy Light, yet under this ideology she became known as a prophet, declaring that the end times were upon Azeroth and calling the Elect to her banner. Many converts were initially taken by force from villages that the Red Hand raided, and few of these forced converts lasted long, found to have subversive tendencies by Katherine or one of her lieutenants and executed, usually by burning at the stake. This ensured the religion never grew far beyond its original core membership, but that number was filled with nothing but true believers, willing to fight, kill, and die for their faith.
Katherine Pike led the Red Hand to the Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal and integrated them into the Scarlet Crusade. Pike soon numbered among the Crusade's increasingly radical priesthood, preaching her apocalyptic ideology alongside more mainstream Scarlet preachers. She attracted some converts from the fringes of the Crusade, but never enough to give her even a meaningful minority within the Crusade's ranks.
As Katherine and other Purifying Flame leadership were no longer present in the upper echelons of the Crusade by 30 LC, this sect is presumed to have died out by then.
Principles[]
The Purifying Flame builds off the canon of the Light, but suggests that the Elect have been granted the authority - and indeed, the compulsion - to act beyond what would be traditionally viewed as chivalrous or holy.
Differences[]
The Purifying Flame espouses to follow the three tenets of the Church in their daily interactions: respect, tenacity, and compassion. However, they consider these tenets to be applicable only amongst the faithful. To show respect to a heretic faith is to not show respect to Tyr; to be compassionate to those who commit blasphemies to spite the Light is to conspire against the faith. They also see these tenets to be secondary to their divine purpose as the Elect. Unlike the mainstream church, the Purifying Flame expects complete adherence to all its tenets at the cost of family, friends, and other aspects of the convert's life.
The Purifying Flame also acknowledges the Titan keeper Tyr as a messianic figure, often spoken of with the same reverence as one would speak of the Light. The exact nature of Tyr in this faith is somewhat ambiguous, but Tyr and the Light are often seen as interchangeable, or are spoken of in tandem.
Beliefs[]
- Messianic Monotheism: The Purifying Flame holds both the Light and Tyr in religious reverence. While the Light is the divine force behind the faith, Tyr is seen as a worldly embodiment or avatar of the Light, and as such they are worshipped in equal measure.
- Purification by Fire: One's purity can be determined only by holy fire - this is both symbolic and very literal. Just as the Silver (or in their case Red) Hand is seen as Tyr's symbol, fire is seen as the Light's. Converts to this faith often bear horrific burn scars from purification rituals.
- Kingdom Come: The Purifying Flame believes not only that a holy paradise of the Light can be created on Azeroth but that it is their sacred duty to make it so. The Elect acknowledge no authority but holy authority and see their purpose on Azeroth to be the creation of this new order.
Concepts[]
- Apostasy: Those who are not among the Elect are apostates and heretics, without exception, and are unworthy to exist in the Light's paradise that is to come. The Elect are ruthless in their extermination of anyone outside their faith.
- Apocalypticism/Anarchism: The Purifying Flame prophesies the downfall of all governments and nations in a holy apocalypse and actively works to subvert any organization that is not their own. They are firmly anti-nationalist and typically see Lordaeron as corrupt as any other kingdom, putting them at odds with many more nationalist Scarlet Crusaders.
- Pan-Humanism: While not often explicitly identified as such, most of the Elect see humanity as Tyr's chosen people and are dismissive of - if not downright hostile towards - other races.
- Martyrdom: The Purifying Flame encourages its members to not fear death, a fear they consider the root of human corruption, and to give their lives freely in their holy quest. As a result, followers of this faith are, more often than not, willing to martyr themselves for the cause.
Holy Text[]
This sect was one cobbled together from the philosophies of different vagrant prophets; as such, it does not have a central defining text defining its faith. The closest the Purifying Flame gets to having such a text is the Flamebound Tome, the diary of its leader Katherine Pike, in which she recorded hymns, dreams, and other revelations and laws of the faith she espoused. If the legend is true, she recovered the white leatherbound book, fully intact, from the wreckage of her home, utterly destroyed by flame, marking the book as holy.
Pike carried the tome on her person at all times, often chained to her waist to prevent it from being lost. With her disappearance from history, the tome disappeared as well, leaving its exact contents a mystery to historians.