Church of the Torch

The Church of the Torch, alongside its militant faction the Duskwatch, is the dominant religion in Immerstrad. The organization stands guard over all of the "non-monstrous" races in the region, fighting valiantly against the creatures of the night and ensuring the people live long enough to see the sunrise.

Origins of the Church
The Church was first founded by the mighty hero, Sigmar the Lightbearer, who fought valiantly against terrors that had infested Ubersreik, including werewolves, vampires, and Azdan (a god of darkness and genocide). By casting the dark god down, Sigmar ascended to divinity, and was worshipped by the people who eventually founded the Church of the Torch in his name. The chosen leaders of the Church have been called Lightbearers ever since.

Leadership
The Church is overseen by a small council of elder clerics. When a paladin of the Church commits a deed of sufficient bravery and selflessness, this council then votes to determine whether or not they are worthy of the title of Lightbearer. The Lightbearer then wields absolute power over the Church, but will very rarely execute a major decision without first consulting the elder clerics.

The current Lightbearer of the Church is Helbrecht of Ubersreik.

Church Doctrines
"Exalted Sigmar, eternal star in the heavens, I come to you in my time of need. Guide my soul so I may vanquish my demons, both within and without. --Common prayer of the Church of the Torch"The Church of the Torch believes (with good reason) that without them, the whole of Immerstrad would be overrun by the ever-encroaching darkness. To this end, their official stance on recruitment is to remain open to any and all who would assist them in their never-ending crusade. It is worth noting, however, that the actual openness of the Church can vary depending on the head cleric in that region. For example, a priest in Braildorn may be significantly more selective of who they would allow into their ranks, as opposed to a priest in Red Yharnam who might even attempt to redeem those monsters they capture.

On the whole, though, the Church of the Torch recognizes that there is a greater evil brewing in Immerstrad, a terrible emptiness that threatens to consume existence itself. To prepare, the Church has allowed some "controllable" evils to persist in Immerstrad, such as the von Stromkirk family. Make no mistake, though: these creatures, such as the von Stromkirks, walk a political tightrope. Their behavior is constantly, carefully monitored, and should they stray towards darkness, the Church stands ready to exterminate them entirely.

The Duskwatch
The Church of the Torch maintains the cathedral and the holy scripts of their order, but it is the Duskwatch that fights against the darkness that is so prevalent in Immerstrad. A common analogy used is that the people of Immerstrad are like sheep, with the Church acts as their shepherd and with the Duskwatch hunting down the wolves who may threaten the flock. While the Lightbearer of the Church can take command of the Duskwatch's operations, the Duskwatch does have its own internal hierarchy, with special mention going to a singular leader who oversees the Duskwatch on behalf of the Lightbearer.

The current head of the Duskwatch is Orzael the One-Eye.

A Militant Church
The strong arm of the Duskwatch is its steady backbone of warrior priests. A warrior priest of the Duskwatch will be trained to combat all manner of monsters, and are usually armed with prayer, stakes, and hammers of blessed steel. Often these warrior priests will take command of a small battalion of troops, guiding them in the ways of the Church's doctrines while ensuring they do not fall prey to heresy. These warrior priests then take command from senior warrior priests, who in turn take orders from the head of the Duskwatch.

The Redeemers
Given the Duskwatch's constant interaction with the ever-changing forces of darkness, there comes an ever-pressing need to know one's enemy. The Duskwatch has come under scrutiny by the Ubersreik Council for occasionally capturing soon-to-be repentant criminal vampires, nicknamed "Redeemers."

These vampires are heavily muzzled before being forced to assist in training budding warrior priests and the troops under their command. Should a vampire somehow manage to slay anyone during such training sessions, they are chained to the outside walls of the Church of the Torch's cathedral-fortress and left to burn in the sunlight. The bleached skeletons of several vampires are left at the "Sunrise Wall" as a warning to those who would dare to defy the Duskwatch.

One particularly infamous military tactic involving the Redeemers has been referred to as the "Crimson Curse." When the Duskwatch faces a particularly fortified enemy, they will gather a small contingent of Redeemers and give them a specialized tincture, which drives them into a feeding frenzy and alters their strain of vampirism. Under the potion's effects, the vampire's bite will create a newborn, bloodthirsty vampire almost instantaneously. The newborn vampire will then seek out still-living targets to quench their thirst, who are then immediately converted into newborn vampires, and so on.

Once the chaos reaches a fever pitch, the Duskwatch moves in and exterminates all remaining foes, along with any vampires who might have survived.

The Weeping Bastards
While the occasions are limited, there are times when the greatest enemy the Church faces is its own people. While the Church is tolerant of the worship of deities other than Sigmar, such tolerance is lost upon those who dare to pry into the dark arts, such as witchcraft or demonology. In the face of such vile heresy, the Duskwatch created a regiment of elite inquisitors to track down and eradicate those who would dare to darken the day with their black magics.

While their formal name is the Ubersreik 666th, the people have come to know them as the Weeping Bastards. This unfortunate nickname was acquired when the unit was first deployed against a coven of witches who had taken up residence in Ubersreik's barrows. Witnesses claim the inquisitors sobbed violently as they set about their grim task, bemoaning the fact that they had to cut down those who were once decent folk.

The Weeping Bastards are often clad in light armor, with signature long coats and wide-brimmed hats. They are trained to be almost superhuman in their agility, making them difficult to pin down through conventional weaponry. At the same time, one witch hunter of the Bastards will carry a battery of magic charms and blessed artifacts, the most prominent of which being a small altar to Sigmar they carry on their backs. The altar constantly generates a magic-dampening field around the Bastard, meaning that magics (particularly unholy magics) in their vicinity have a greater chance to fail or be miscast.

In battle, the Bastards wield rapiers, which they often use to slice at the throats of those who dare to utter vile obscenities in their presence. To assist in the dismantling of unholy structures, the rapiers are often blessed by the Church's clerics before they are used. The Bastards will also make use of a brace of pistols, each loaded with a blessed silver bullet. The pistols are single-shot, so the Bastards don't have to cease their assault to reload; they simply drop the weapon and draw out another one once it's expended.

Sigmar's Breath
While heroes are often the stuff of legend in Immerstrad, the elusive weapon known as Sigmar's Breath is more the stuff of nightmares.

Developed by Randolf Reikhauser before his death, the weapon consists of two devices: a massive tank of unlucky, screaming spirits, and a single, unwieldy tube that leads back to the tank. The spirits are forced from the tank through the tube, and the volatile mixture of ghost and chemical is then ignited in a spectacular display.

The Duskwatch has recruited the finest inventors of Immerstrad to replicate the device, and their results have been less-than-stable so far. Nevertheless, they persist, for the cleansing fire may yet prove to be the turning point against the Duskwatch's darkest foes.