Religion and the Gods

It should be no surprise to visitors to the city, there are more shrines to the Smith than any other God. The Steel Temple in Hammerplatz is a place of pilgrimage for Charterwrights and other craftspeople, and new apprentices are brought before the shrine there for a blessing and a rare moment of quiet contemplation when first they start their trade.

There are shrines on nearly every street, however – small affairs where gifts can be left and notes can be scrawled asking for the Gods to intercede in some way or other. Some of these are tended to by pious, civil-minded individuals, others by Clemencers. Clemencer shrines are usually to two Gods, with a lockbox built into it. This lockbox has two coin slots – one to each of the Gods that are represented there. By tradition, whichever God gains the most donations has the money donated to a worthy cause in their name, and all the faith garnered by the Clemencer given to that God. The lesser donations keep the Clemencer in bread and beer.

Some Clemencers, especially those devoted to the Jester or the Shadow, accept donations in secrets as well as coin and maintain the balance of power in streets due to just how much dirt they have on their neighbours.

Most Coteries have a Speaker, a priest who acts in the interests of their Coterie as an adviser and guide, and in many cases, fixer. Some Speakers are independent, offering negotiation services for hire, alongside advocacy and other business best suited to the quick of tongue and sharp of mind. Several of the larger temples around the city hold schools for such candidates, learning advanced theology and scholarship in all manner of things that might be of use. The largest of these is on the Westwyk, and many of the taverns on the island are regular host to debates between students of the magical college of Vellichor, and Speakers-in-training on all topics from ethics of warfare to metaphysical application of weaving magic. On occasion these have to be broken up by scrags.