Church of Radiance

Humanity owes its salvation from catastrophe to the witches. For millennia, they held dominion over the world, and it was only in the lands they patronized that humanity found safety. But as the ages wore on, the yoke of the witches became heavier, and the people began to chafe under their oppressive rule. Resentment simmered just beneath the surface, and it was only a matter of time before it boiled over.

The witches and their followers fought back against the rebellion with all their might, banishing and persecuting those who dared to question their authority. The freethinkers fled to the snow-covered ruins of the North, where they hoped to find refuge from the wrath of the witches. But the Radiance that protected them from pursuits was also their bane, and they perished, smitten by the very power that had shielded them.

But from the farthest icy wastelands came six survivors, bearing gifts from a long-forgotten god. They possessed knowledge of how to turn the ruinous blessing of the departed Iron Moon against the witches and the frightening patchwork sorcerers, who were thought invulnerable. This is how the Church of Radiance was founded, and the people armed with its ordinances believed they could confront the sources of their fear.

The first Ladies and Lords of Radiance taught their followers how to wield the holy relics of their faith, instruments of scorching Radiance that could reduce the flesh of sinners to ash. Armed with these powerful tools, the people marched to war against the witches and their vile kin. It was a brutal and bloody campaign, but in the end, the men of Radiance emerged victorious.

Yet, victory came at a cost. The lands once blessed by the witches were now cursed and scorched by the Radiance, a wasteland of ash and ruin. The people fled, leaving their homes and their memories behind. The Church of Radiance, once a humble institution, rose to prominence, becoming the bastion of hope for a world beset by despair and lamentations of the Moon Infant.
Now the Church, which had once so solemnly refused to rule, helps people to fight against unnatural threats and lead righteous lives. Even split into three branches according to dogmatic doctrines, it maintains unity, holds conclaves and councils and moves towards the same goal, albeit in different ways.