“Protect the innocent. Punish the guilty. Serve the people.”
Symbol: circle with three points
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: justice, honor, protection
Worshippers: paladins, law enforcement, commoners
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN
Domains: law, good, knowledge, strength, war, retribution
Favored Weapon: long sword
Animal Totems: bison, ibis, dove
It is the responsibility of the Church of Yatindar to enforce law and order for the greater good of the community. It is also the church's responsibility to ferret out and punish the guilty. Church members help define the laws of the land, enforce those laws, and punish violators. When the letter of the law and the spirit of the law are in conflict with one another, it falls upon the priests of the church to judge in favor of the spirit of the law. The church reserves the right of 'high justice', or execution, for criminals that are beyond salvation. The church's members are also supposed to maintain vigilance for criminals and evil-doers, to prevent crimes before they happen. Because the church's priests are essentially judges, their honor is under constant scrutiny, earning Yatindar another name – the God of Honor.
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 gilding is fairly common, particularly in the blue cloth of the tabard, cloak, and clothing.
Nathel's forces grew in silence and secrecy in the centuries preceding the Storm Wars. The dominant gods of the Karatikan Alliance 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. The first year of the Storm Wars, the Year of Blood, saw a frightened and furious Karatika astonished at the sheer capacity of evil to destroy. 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.
After the Storm Wars, the church led the Inquisition in 'silencing the mages'. Some sects within the church have questioned the church's validity in leading the persecution of an entire people, but the gods have remained silent on the spirit of their decree that the mages would have to be silent. The church continues to funnel resources into the Inquisition, with several sects hoping to eradicate mages for good.
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.
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 interpreting 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. Each nation that accepts the teachings of Yatindar has a cardinal that resides over that nation, as well. The cardinal appoints bishops to administer over each parish from among the locals. Each Disciple has a following among the church, in that the sects that follow one particular Disciple adhere to that Disciple's interpretations more often than another's.