Belegûr is the name of a Greate Sage who lived countless years ago. The name is pronounced "Beh Leg Your"

The Inheritors Of Belegûr are a religious movement who seek to spread the teachings of Belegûr to all peoples of The Known World. The organisation's Advertising Campaign Manager and First Voice (Elect) is Jax-Ur

A number if texts are available to help describe the ethos.

The Inheritance Of Belegûr

A Beginner's Guide

This is a philosopical system based on the writings of one Belegûr. They revolve around a number of principles, mainly those of Justice, Heirarchy and Knowledge.

Belegûr was a warrior who later turned to magic and was reknowned as a seer. Belegûr lived and passed from this world many, perhaps thousands, of years ago. The writings which have been found so far, which form the research materials for any codex, are all phrased in such a way that the gender of Belegûr is never infered. We believe this is by Belegûr's intent, so that the author is not raised as an icon above the philosophy.

Belegûr is called Ancestor by us in that we revere Belegûr's teachings and long ago being. The Inheritance Of Belegûr is open to all, whether of Belegûr's bloodline or not. Whether Belegûr is part of the august chorus from who the Incantors devolve their supernatural powers we do not know and do not claim it. It is known that the essential essence of Belegûr has been called upon by Ritual Magic and from time to time visions sent in return.

Justice

The codeces do not set out many general or social rules. It is taught as a general principle that Inheritors should obey the Laws of the place they are in. The primary aim is to achieve Justice, which may be thought of as the Spirit of the Law rather than the Word of the Law, which is often perverted to suit the gaols of the corrupt.

Heirarchy

The codex teaches that Inheritors should support and encourage heirarchies. There is of course a heirarchy within The Inheritors. Where the issue can be clearly delineated to Faction, Guild or Inheritance, the Inheritor should defer to the appropriate heirarchy and their position within it.

The most important aspect of the system of heirarchy is that while those of a Lower Order should seek to obey, those of a Higher Order have what is termed here Duty. Duty is the responsibility to act and resolve in a manner which one considers to be in the best interests of those Below. By this combination of Law and Heirarchy we strive for Justice.

Knowledge

The teachings of Belegûr say that learning is the food of the inner person. All should take time and effort to learn new things and to share their knowledge with others. Thus many of what The Inheritors Of Belegûr call chapels or chantries, most may see as schools. The function of the incumbants of these places is to teach numbers and letters to all the landsfolk around them and record the local histories. As resources allow, the incumbants cycle around to different areas and to sabbatical terms of study. We are advised to remember by Belegûr that Knowledge is not just the dry record of facts, but encompasses music and art, skill at arms and the practioning of Lore amd Magics. The Inheritance is in the balance of the learning to oneself and the passing onto and teaching of others.

The rediscovery of the writen teachings of Belegûr is almost as recent as the Gathering Treaty itself. Many pages have been found and translated from various scripts. As we travel through the lands, we stop at any place with stored writing, whether Mighty Library or shelf of books in a guest's house. We examine as many tomes as we can in the hope of finding extensions or clarifications to that which we have yet found.

A more formal statement of Ethos

Praise Belegûr, He Who Arises In Might.
-Some Points Of Ethos -

The Inheritance Of Belegûr, He Who Arises In Might, Sage and Knowledge-Gatherer in the World Before, whose Spirit still guides the World Now Known.

Law, Heirarchy and Obedience;

The First Pattern of Belegûr is Those Who Obey May Be Rewarded, Those Who Disobey Should Be Chastised. Where there are Laws, those who follow Belegûr must obey them and should expect similar compliance from others about them. Justice is the equal application of Law to those the Law governs.

The Second Pattern of Belegûr is Justice is the Right of the Obedient. The Duty of Heirarchy is to effect Justice by the Senior for and upon those subordinate. Heirarchy is essential and must be respected. Where Guidance is made by a Senior, a subordinate should not subvert it.

The Family and Marriage;

The Marrying Of Two Persons shall be for Life. No Divorce is Enactable by The Inheritors Of Belegûr. Those persons who are married to Each Other are forbidden to indulge in Sexual Practices with Each Other. They must enjoin with others in this respect. It is the duty of those who are married to have Progeny so as to replace themselves in the cycle of living, and to care for them all equally. In a marriage, the Man shall be Senior to the Woman, and for this Heirarchy he bears the Duty of Heirarchy and the Duty of Provision. In a Wealthy Household, it is the obligation of those Senior to Sire and to provide Dowry and encourage marriage.

Praise Belegûr, He Who Arises In Might.
Let Belegûr guide me in this world.

The Family

In the majority of societies in this an past times, the most common form of family unit has been one man and one woman who produce offspring between them, raise such offspring between them and in many cases educate their offspring between them. The teachings of Beleg^ur do not deride this, or claim it 'wrong', in any way, save that The Second Pattern is claimed to provide for a more peaceful World.

The way of the teaching

A Man and a Woman shall choose each other for life, and save the death of either party, this shall not be terminated. Any children born by the Woman are (in the eyes of Belegûr) the children of the Man, and are the heirs and responsibilities of Both. We are taught by Belegûr that those who raise a child are at least as important as those involved in the Inception. It is the way of the farmer to chose wisely with regard to the seed he choses to have planted and fed and grow and reap. Thus might those who are Wise or are Strong may hope to fill the world with those who are both, rather than those who are never given the opportunity to be either. Do not the Leaders of Beasts seek the spread their power in a similar way. Let us study the secrets of nature and enrich our own society and companions in it. The intent of the family way of the teachings of Belegûr is that those who form the family shall be at least as wise and caring as any other style. Foolish are they on any family who create progeny beyond their means. Any persons who wish to enjoin with, or study, or condone the teachings shall not be castegated in any way for any previous ways of life which would be seen to be against the teachings. As such, those who already exist as a family with offspring may enter into the Way of Belegûr with no need or concept of redemption. The teachings of Belegûr are intended to aid strength of family, not tear any asunder.

Interpretations

The reasoning behind Belegûr's family model is thus, as we understand. The Man and Woman have chosen to live together for all their days. As such they should chose partners who they like, and respect and who are their friend, rather than, as is in many cases, those for who a brief animal interest must be the bane of their lives and their offsprings for many years. Also there is no implied or construable license for blind fecundity. The creation of life is sacred. In the world as it is, where some men hold much wealth and power, as compared to a greater number of others, it would actually be considered the duty of any Great Lord to sire himself amongst those who live about him. The Duty whoever, would also require him to have any fruit of his munificence raised in a way coherent with the Teachings. Thus, for any who he is desirous to ensire and who is not already wedded, the Great Lord must seek out a suitable Husband and provide a dowry for their setup as a family. Justice requires that the Duty of Provision is not evaded or paid lip service to.Seniority is not an idle gift.

Exceptions

The teaching of Belegûr is that Laws must be followed. Where they are in general conflict with The Ethos there is a great problem. Where they are in paradox, then Justice shall be enjoined. In most regions of the Known World their is a requirement for primogeniture and other Laws which govern the conceivers of a hier for purposes of continuing a line of rule. This then places a Duty upon some Man and Woman who are married in the eyes of Belegûr to engaging in that which is against the teachings. The action of Justice would be to permit and condone the act.

Clarifying The Inheritance of Belegûr

Pronounciation

The name Belegûr (sometimes required to be written Beleg^ur) has, as can be seen, a circumflex over the letter u, to make it a long vowel; 'yoo'. Thus the name is said as three syllables; Beh Leg Yoor. Whilst this is a natural way of speach to many these days, the details of the name are included for completeness.

Reference

When a gender is needed, we refer to Belegûr as 'he', because the name appears to translate as "He who arises in might" in an ancient, possibley Elvish tongue, but there is no actual definative reference found so far to ensure whether Belegûr was actually a man or a woman. Certain of his teachings are Patriarchal, but this may just be a factor of different social conditions.

Origin

Belegûr is believed to have been a great warrior in his younger days who became a great sage in later life.Such that is currently known about him is that he was the advisor to great kings and his teachings led to peaceful and fulfilled times for those nations who held to his words.

Certainly Belegûr lived on this world a long time ago; before the Cataclysm that change the face of the Heartlands, before the Founding of The Great Library, before the greate empire itself even. From our analysis of the writings found, even those which have clearly being copied through the ages, it is estimated that Belegûr lived wel over one thousand years ago but not more than three thousand years ago. Belegûr may then have been one of the First Born of the Younger Races.

Clarifications

Not all of the teachings of Belegûr have come to light. It is the function of The Inheritors not only to preach the way, but to search for yet undiscovered writings at all times. Such ethos as is presented is subject to deliberated revision, as further works are revealed to use by the blessed guiding spirit. The formal ethos should be read along with these caveats; In the First Pattern, May and Should are intended to be flexible, taking into consideration the circumstances in force. This is not meant to permit poor adherance or perversion of intent. There can be no false justice which is Justice. Although there are some pronouncments regarding the roles of gender in the family, there is no inference that this applies to any other parts of the ethos, especially to Seniority.

Intentions

The Inheritors will strive to spread the word and intent of Belegûr to all peoples of the Known World, and to set up priests and teachers in all known factions.It is hoped that a consequence of this will be to improve the desire and mechanism for discussions before any major situation falls to determination by large scale violence. Should any parties who have Belegûrians on both sides fail to resolve disputes except by resulting to war, then said Belegûrians will fight in battle for their respective sides. To do otherwise would be against the need to respect ones hierarchy and also against the acceptance of guidance by the great ancestoral spirits on the realm of trail by combat.

Fish On Friday

We are having trouble translating one particular text into the modern, common tongue, from the archaic enscripture in which it is writen. We feel it is an important litany, due to its age.

The body of the litany appears to be; Do not wear fish on Friday

However, the particular preta-phonetic lexiconic enscribed in the possition for the word wear is ambiguous in its interpretation. We have produced a number of potential interpretations;

The great philosiphers of the Order are generally undecided on which interpretation is most valid......

In order to be entirely safe, we advise all Inheritors Of Belegûr to avoid fish completely on Fridays!!

Out Of Character - How to say the name.

The text Belegûr is meant to appear as Beleg(circumflex-over-U)r. Not everone's browser may support this character set. So imagine!

The name is taken from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, which defines the way it should be pronounced.

Out Of Character - On Being A Church in the Gathering Gameworld.

They are not a church and Belegûr is not a god, because The EarthWorks LRP system used by the Lorien Trust who run The Gathering and related LRP events do not want to incur the the attentions of the True Churchs. So what's in a classification, oh mighty and wonderous Belegûr ???