Eccles, more formally known as the Holy Theocracy of Ecclesia is a Theocracy centred around the belief in a singular Ecclesia, whom they believe is actually the only god in existence.

Eccles is the largest nation on the island of Urt and its religion is therefore quite influential. The nation is led by Pontifex Pious, the current Pontifex.

The nation is primarily populated by humans and dwarves, but it features many different races. Eccles is a well-ordered nation where the central tenets of the faith play a central role in daily life.

Factions within Eccles

• Cult of Saint Molina
• Cult of Saint Theris
• House Asa
• House Celya
• House Dankil
• House Garra
• House Helfi
• House Winford

Ecclesian Power Structures

Eccles is a theocracy and as such law is made by the Church, governed by the Pontifex who rules via the College of Cardinals, with each Cardinal governing a large city and surrounding territories. The Cardinal of Duirt resides in the great Cathedral. The church has its own armed forces. Within Eccles, there are two types of factions: Cults and Noble Houses.

For cults, please see the relevant section in Cult.

Ecclesian Noble Houses

Noble Houses within Eccles are generally less powerful than in South Vorus or the Silver Rain Republic, but otherwise function very similarly. They have their own lands which they rule, but instead of swearing fealty to the king, they are sworn to the Church. They can have their own armed forces but are subject to church law.

The leader of an Ecclesian noble house is called a Lord, but may have different titles depending on the lands controlled, but they only ever have a single title. Titles for Ecclesian Nobility are Baron, Earl and Count. Baronies, Earldoms and Counties are usually similar in rank and size, as there is a finite amount of power the church will allow a noble family to hold, and a minimum to be worthy of being called a Noble House. The titles as such cannot be truly compared to similarly named Voran titles.

Though there's a lot of history in it, baronies generally centre around an estate and surrounding land, earldoms are centred around a castle and the area under its protection and are usually located at the border of the country, while counties are centre around a town or city and surrounding land, and often they are shared with the Church. House Asa controls an Earldom, while House Dankil and House Winford control a Barony. The city itself is controlled by a Cardinal.

An Ecclesian noble house which doesn't have the Ecclesian religion will be stripped of its position, its lands confiscated and its wealth redistributed to the church. As such the Ecclesian noble houses make sure to make a show at church services regularly and members of the family make sure everyone knows their religious persuasion.

Besides noble houses, there are also untitled noble families sometimes called Minor Houses, which are not considered proper noble houses, but which are considered to be nobles and who's children are also nobles. Sometimes these are knights and their descendants or they are Cadet branches of the proper noble houses.

Nobles in Eccles

Eccles recognizes noble houses. In the city of Duirt, there are three Ecclesian noble houses present, namely House Asa, House Dankil and House Winford. Houses consist of the House leader and his wife and children / grand-children, plus uncle's, aunts, cousins and so on, though only the House leader holds direct power.

Succession in Eccles is Agnatic Primogeniture, meaning only men inherit and the oldest son inherits everything and all other sons get nothing. As such, the head of a House is always a man (though his wife probably wields significant influence). Family members hold no official sway in decisions of the house, but they often have influence due to their relation with the house leader.