Loptr Church: Difference between revisions

The '''Loptyrians''' ({{hover|ロプト教団|Roputo kyōdan}} ''Lopt Religious Order'') were a sinister cult which worshipped the [[Earth Dragon]] [[Loptyr (dragon)|Loptyr]].  Once dominating [[Jugdral]] in the era of the [[Loptyr Empire]], they were forced into hiding in subsequent years until their resurgence was orchestrated by their archbishop, [[Manfroy]].

===Rise and the Loptyr Empire===

In [[Timeline of Archanea, Valentia and Jugdral|Grann 440]], following his [[Holy Blood|blood rites]] and subsequent possession by Loptyr in [[Archanea (nation)|Archanea]], the bishop [[Galle (Genealogy of the Holy War)|Galle]] returned to Jugdral and founded the Loptyrians as a religious order, in competition with the numerous primal faiths prevalent across Jugdral at the time.  The primary advantage the Loptyrians held was their then-exclusive access to magic, the product of the dragonkin, which allowed them to supplant the other religions and seize control of Jugdrali society; this eventually culminated in the foundation of the Loptyr Empire in the year Grann 448, following the Sect's obliteration of the continent's prior superpower, the Grann Republic, a year earlier.<ref>''"The holy workers before the Loptyrian church commonly practiced rituals of the primal religion, and in reality they had no special abilities other than that they could read and write, had knowledge in herbs, and performed basic doctoral techniques. However, one of those people, Galle, acquired the power of Loptyr and came back to the country. After that, holy workers of the newly constructed Loptyrian church used special spellbooks and staves and was able to acquire supernatural powers. Then, they controlled the world using those powers as its backbone, and eventually founded the Loptyr Empire with Galle as its emperor."'' - Designers' notes from {{title|Treasure}}, as translated by [http://www.serenesforest.net/general/designer4_1.html Serenes Forest]</ref>  The Loptyrians were instated as the official religion of the Empire, which imposed a strict caste system upon the society of Jugdral, condemning followers of other faiths to the lowest caste of society and to slavery unless they were capable of paying enough money to themselves join the Loptyrians.<ref>''"Then the Loptyr Empire developed an absolute caste society. Especially followers of the other religion who was in the lowest caste became the Empire's slaves, and was forced to live a life worse than poverty. On top of that, in the current situation the majority of civilians were followers of another religion because they were too poor to enter the Loptyr Sect, meaning they were slaves."'' - Designers' notes from {{title|Treasure}}, as translated by [http://www.serenesforest.net/general/designer4_1.html Serenes Forest]</ref>

The Loptyrians experienced a minor schism in Grann 535, as a result of the actions of [[Maera]], the brother of the Emperor Galle of the time.  In contrast to the tyrannical and bleak view of the main body of the Loptyrian faith, Maera sought a more peaceful view, seeking to harmonize the Loptyrian faith with the pre-existing religions of Jugdral and present Loptyr not as a tyrant, but as a benevolent deity, and to end the discrimination against non-Loptyrian people.  For his efforts, Maera was exiled by his brother, but not before his own variant of the religion, "Maerist Loptyrian", was established.<ref>''"Under this situation, the group called Maerists was in the Loptyrian religion but believed in the teachings of Maera, and for that they were labeled as revolutionists or justicists. Maera, although he was a member of the imperial family, protected the civilians, and was a saint that later on caused a rebellion and was exiled. However, the teachings of Maera was something that tried to place the Loptyrian god to the high ranks of the Earthen gods and plotted for the gods to be harmonialized to try to lose the discrimination within the Empire, so it (the teachings of Maera) was recieving pressure and obstruction from the Loptyr Empire. Although Maera was said to be the one and only good person within the Imperial inner circle, he was put in a place as a secret messiah."'' - Designers' notes from {{title|Treasure}}, as translated by [http://www.serenesforest.net/general/designer4_1.html Serenes Forest]</ref>  Though persecuted in subsequent years, Maerist Loptyrians nonetheless worked to help and protect people; one of their benefactees was [[Bragi]], later one of the [[Twelve Crusaders]], who was raised as a Maerist in [[Orgahil]].  Following the Empire's fall, Bragi returned to Orgahil to find the Maerist conclave obliterated, which motivated him to found the Church of [[Edda]] and create the [[Bragi Tower]] as a memorial.<ref name="bragi">''"Bragi, one of the Twelve Crusaders, was a holy worker who received the teachings of that Maerist Loptyrian church. As he was about to become a sacrifice at a young age, he was saved by a Maerist bishop, and grew up in a hidden small island located in Agustria's northern area which was one of their central locations. Then, in that land Bragi took in knowledge of a bishop, and joined the liberation army at a young age. He continued to fight against the oppression of the Loptyr Empire, and as one of the last twelve fighters, met the [[Miracle of Darna|miracle at Darna fortress]]. Bragi, who acquired the powers of the dragon race, was idolized as the one who controls fate and life, and did myriad amounts of services during the Holy War.<br>After the Empire was destroyed, Bragi went back to his Maerist home town that saved and nurtured him. However, that land was already destroyed by the Imperial army, and what struck his eyes was the dispersed corpses of priests. Suprised and terrified, he went on to save the ruined world, and in order to release the people from the aftereffects of the Loptyrian Church, strived to revive the old Earthen religion. This was because it was the one and only religion for the people who are put in a place against Loptyr, and the Maerist bishops were also wishing for it. At that point, Bragi constructed a new church with his homeland of Edda as the base location, and at the same time constructed a gigantic tower at the island that protected and nurtured him. In one theory, it was said to seal his own powers, but the tower's goal was to mourn for the Maerist priests who saved the world from destruction, and to serve as an omen for the next generation. The omen was that the reason to build the tower was to tell them there were people in the Imperial inner circle and the Loptyrian church that saved the people by sacrificing their own lives, and to pay the debts owed to their heavenly souls."'' - Designers' notes from {{title|Treasure}}, as translated by [http://www.serenesforest.net/general/designer4_1.html Serenes Forest]</ref>

At the conclusion of the Holy War, when the Loptyr Empire fell to the [[Twelve Crusaders]], the Loptyrian faith took possession of the [[Loptous (tome)|Book of Loptyr]] in which Loptyr now lay dormant, and was forced underground; despite Bragi's wish that no persecution against the Loptyrians take place<ref>So, Bragi wanted to leave a warning to the future generations that the descendants of the Empire’s upper class citizens shouldn’t be persecuted or discriminated. Actually, Bragi wrote that himself in the altar’s stone monument, inside the tower, but somebody destroyed it later. Then, the warning was once again forgotten, and the results of such are well-known by everyone."'' - Designers' notes from {{title|Treasure}}, as translated by [http://www.serenesforest.net/general/designer4_1.html Serenes Forest]</ref>, as worshippers of the dark god which blighted Jugdral for so long, Loptyrians were the subject of disdain, hatred and witch-hunts.  The cult retreated to the [[Yied Desert]], where it occupied the Yied Shrine as a hiding place, remaining there for the following centuries, passing on their teachings to their descendants and wishing for the revival of Loptyr, the resurgence of the Empire and being able to freely live in Jugdral again.<ref>{{Cite|'''Lewyn:''' For ages, descendants of the Loptyr Empire lived in hiding underneath the shrine. They had no choice. They would've been persecuted and burned at the stake otherwise. I doubt they differed much from you or I at first, but over time the ways of evil took root.<br>'''Seliph:''' It's like they're being punished just because their ancestors were a part of the empire! And people are always calling them the 'family of the devil' and whatnot. ...is this is a child's handwriting on this wall? It's a prayer for the Dark Lord's revival... ...Is Loptyr the only god they have?<br>'''Lewyn:''' Yeah... You have to be careful when placing labels on good and evil, Seliph. Never waste your anger on individuals. Always focus it on the evil within all of us.|[[Lewyn]] and [[Seliph]]|Genealogy of the Holy War}}</ref>

|jap-mean=Lopt Religious Order. In the Japanese version, Lopt is used for things relating to [[Loptyr (dragon)|Loptous]], such as the [[Loptyr Empire|Lopt Empire]] or the [[Loptyr Mage|Lopt Mage]] class.