Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolios: justice, law, honor
Races: human, elven
Animal Totem: bison

Physical Description: Most often portrayed as a stalwart human, with blonde hair and a large mustache. In paintings or renderings, there is a glint of steel in his blue eyes, reflecting the armor he is usually depicted as wearing. The twin longswords of Yatindar are usually shown as being slung low back on the wide shoulders of the god. Silver guilding is fairly common, particularly in the blue cloth of the tabard, cloak, and clothing.

History: Nathel's forces grew in silence and secrecy in the centuries preceding the Storm Wars. The dominant gods of Karatika were nature deities, such as Elinthar and Barith -- gods that sought a balance between good and evil. When Nathel struck, the blood his peoples shed literally made rivers turn red from the slaughter of so many. The first year of the Storm Wars, the Year of Blood, saw a frightened and furious Karatika astonished at the sheer capacity for evil. A front-line ranger of the Sebre Druids, Talon Richard, brought forth a new faith and a new Relic from the rivers of blood -- the worship of Yatindar. Yatindar's belief in good, honor, and the necessity of eternal vigilance -- not neutrality -- quickly caught on among the warriors of the Karatikan forces. Talon Richard's twin longswords became the rallying points for dozens of battles against Nathelian forces, and eventually came to symbolize Yatindar himself.

Relic: During the Storm Wars, Yatindar's Relic traveled with Talon Richard wherever he went, lending the first priest and prophet of the new god strength and faith. After Nathel's death, the Relic was moved to Karmen, one of the oldest and most populous cities in the Karatikan lands. As the battles against Nathel's successor (Nabrol) continued, the Relic was enshrined in the Faeleran, a fortress temple devoted to Yatindar. Talon Richard was killed while protecting the Relic from a Nabrolian strike force, and his blood was spattered upon the holy object. Though his body was entombed with high honors beneath the Faeleran, his blood was left upon the Relic. An honor guard continually guards the Relic from mortal thieves; the Relic guards itself from all immortal thieves.

Church: The heart of the Church of Yatindar is the Faeleran in Karmen. The Faeleran is a large walled fortification that refers not only to the compound itself, but also to the large block temple at the heart of the compound. The Faeleran is home to the Chosen of Yatindar, the ultimate mortal responsible for interpretting the faith of the god of justice. Several Disciples attend the Chosen, their numbers varying from year to year. Through the Disciples, the Chosen speaks with the cardinals. The cardinals represent the heads of the Church in each nation outside of Karmen, and is the most powerful follower of Yatindar found anywhere save in Karmen. The cardinals outline the needs of the Church to all the other members within each nation, making sure that the laws of each nation are inviolate and upheld, even though they vary simply by crossing a border. The cardinals, Disicples, and the Chosen are invariably specialty priests of Yatindar. The military arm of the Church reports to the Prelate in Karmen, usually either a paladin or crusader. The local military arms, those found with the cardinals, are the cordrans, under which serve the other defenders and protectors of the faith.

Clerics: The stalwart cleric serves as the backbone of the Church. They tend to wear considerable armor for defensive purposes, and have a great deal of combat training. Their weapons never shed blood, in reference to the Rivers of Blood that Nathel cast upon the land during the Storm Wars. Some clerics employ the use of twin longswords in symbolic fashion, using only the flats of their blades to subdue opponents. These clerics have been instrumental in the teaching of the Gordanic style of defense, using both longswords as a highly defensive blade barrier against attacks.

Crusaders: Next in strength within the Church, is the crusader. They led and organized the Crusades in the centuries following the Storm Wars, crushing the ogran races and nearly wiping out the dragons. In addition to their crusades against the evil monsters, they led the crusades against the wild magic that very nearly destroyed the land during the Storm Wars. Girded in armor, their twin longswords, and other bladed weapons, have been used to considerable effectiveness in wiping out the wizards. They are the most common of the Inquisitors. Ironically, the current schism within the Church pits the crusaders who are Inquisitors against the crusaders who believe the need for the Inquisition has ended.

Specialty priests: Rare in numbers within the Church, they are the administrative heart and soul of the Church of Yatindar. Their wartime duties require that they have major access to the spheres of All, Combat, Guardian, Healing, and Protection. Their peacetime duties require minor access to the spheres of Creation, Divination, Elemental, and Necromantic. Their weapons restrictions are like those of clerics, but they also are restricted in their choice of armors: it must not be obvious. For reasons of peace and good order, they are not allowed to wear casual armor; thus, they wear chain mail beneath their robes of office, or have studded leather beneath their cassocks. They are required by the Church to be formidible men and women, with Wisdom scores of 14, and Constitution and Strength scores of 13. Their sacrifices for the Church grant them considerable powers: 1) they are immune to fear or fear-based effects and spells (such as spook or dragon fear), 2) they have a permanent +1 bonus to their Armor Class at first level, and another +1 for every level divisible by four thereafter, up to a maximum of +7, due to their intense meditative physical disciplining, and 3) they can detect lie at will.

Paladins: The vast majority of paladins worship Yatindar, swelling the ranks of the Church with their power and abilities. Formidable warriors, they most often work alone or in small numbers, performing tasks for the Church such as messenger services, finding and retrieving holy items, and finding evil wherever it may hide. Policemen within the Church, they also serve as internal investigators, handling violations of the Church's laws within its own ranks.

Monks: Cloistered in heavily defended libraries within the cities, and in hard to reach monastaries in the wilderness, the monks of Yatindar are experts in the study of law, and its history. They bend a great deal of attention to dealing with both the spirit and the letter of all laws. When there exists no written law, the monks of Yatindar put it to paper, noting that it changes with each ruler or priest that hands it down. Thus, they act as records-keepers and lawyers, quick to defend the innocent, and harsh upon the guilty.

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