Greetings Carants!
In this edition of our lore deep dive, we talk about Thélème - a religious faction you’ll surely know all too well from the original GreedFall. A huge thank you to the art team for providing the art shown in the post below: it's a feast for the eyes!
Now prepare yourselves, Carants, and come seek enlightenment with us.
A theocracy ruled by priest-mages of the clergy, holding both political and spiritual authority, Thélème is a deeply religious nation. The inhabitants worship their one God, the Enlightened, whose word was spread to them by Saint Matheus, the legendary founder of the nation who taught them how to manipulate light magic.
Their religion affects every facet of the people’s lives. Their political hierachy is based on aptitude for magic and faith more than the circumstances of the person’s birth, yet political intrigue is nonetheless common. A powerful nation, supported by their magic wielding priest-mages, they’re a fearsome foe to behold.
Their foreign policy is centred around converting other nations and spreading their religious beliefs: by doing this, they gain both spiritual followers and allies, for no follower of the Enlightened would dare raise a hand against Thélème.
Notable converts are the Deutan Empire, and parts of the Congregation of Merchants; however, the Bridge Alliance sees Thélème in a negative light due to their encroachment upon their land and repels their spreading influence with steel, therefor plunging the continent into an endless war.
Priests teach that before their nation was a man: Saint Matheus. The first graced by the blessed light of the Enlightened, he passed down this Holy knowledge to disciples and taught them how to worship Him. Yet when the end of his life approached, he boarded a ship with his two most devoted disciples to bring the light to new lands. One disciple, Lucius, later returned and shared a testimony of Matheus’ travels – after much time passed at sea, he landed on an island and converted the natives, creating a land of perfection.
Believing the island to be related to one of their founding legends and noting the resemblance to the one described in Saint Lucius’ texts; the place Saint Matheus would’ve finished his days, Thélème colonists arrived on Teer Fradee around 10 years ago. Convinced that redemption and the cure for Malichor can only come from a total conversion of its people, they start their exploration of the island.
There is some truth to their legends. Saint Matheus did, in fact, set foot on this land. That said, it seems he found a new source of inspiration in En on míl frichtimen – something the Thélème clergy would never accept.
There are also subfactions within Thélème: The Ordo Luminis and the missionaries.
The Ordo Luminis are the most fundamentalist of the three, acting as the inquisition. Somewhat secretive, they aren’t opposed to using violence and torture. It was apparently founded by Saint Gregorius, a disciple of Saint Matheus who stayed behind in Thélème.
Vocal in their search for new disciples and with a purist view of the Enlightened, they’re also zealous when it comes to their tasks – hunting down those deemed heretics and ungodly cults. You witness this yourself in GreedFall 1 when they burn a Nadaig at the stake and murder a native in front of your very eyes.
The missionaries make up most of the clergy, primarily concerned with converting others. For centuries, this mostly applied to the continent. With the discovery of Teer Fradee and the founding of San Matheus, they had to change their approach. Unlike other factions, they have a reputation for being adept diplomats and naïve. Appealed by the extreme methods of the Ordo Luminis, they have a different vision of how Thélème should spread its influence.
Now locked in a near-perpetual war while the Malichor ravages their land, an illness even most of their holy healers are powerless against, Thélème has weakened. Despite that, it persists in trying to extend its sphere of influence, particularly on Teer Fradee.
You can expect to meet them again in GreedFall 2 through Fausta, a companion who’ll quickly join you and fight by your side. There’s also a new, highly secretive subfaction making the rounds.
That’s all for this theocratic nation. Next up comes Thélème’s traditional ally: The Deutan Empire. A nation torn apart by a war within, they make their grand appearance in GreedFall 2.
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