A small devotional biography sold at temples throughout Solara. The cover shows a stylized portrait of an elderly man with kind eyes.
In an age when cynics claim the Church has grown soft, when whispers of corruption echo in shadowed corners, one man stands as proof that true faith still burns bright. His name is Theodric Brightspire, and for over thirty years he has served as Luminarch—High Priest of Elandria and spiritual guide to our kingdom.
Theodric was born in the year 1190 to a family of modest means in a village outside Solaris. His father was a carpenter, his mother a seamstress. Nothing in his birth suggested greatness, yet from childhood he displayed an unusual gift: the ability to make others feel the Light’s presence simply by speaking. Teachers at the village temple noticed first. Then priests from Solaris arrived to observe. By age twelve, Theodric had been accepted into the Grand Cathedral’s most demanding program of study.
He rose through the Church’s ranks with unprecedented speed—not through political maneuvering or family connections, but through sheer brilliance and unshakeable faith. He could quote scripture from memory. He could debate theology with scholars twice his age. And when he prayed, witnesses claimed the air itself grew warmer and brighter.
In 1235, at the age of forty-five, Theodric was elevated to Luminarch—the youngest in recent memory. Some questioned whether one so young could shoulder such responsibility. Theodric answered by immediately beginning a program of reform: rooting out corruption, improving education for priests, and reaching out to the poor and forgotten who had felt abandoned by an increasingly wealthy Church.
His most important contribution, however, may have been his mentorship of Prince Aldric. For ten years, from 1235 to 1245, Theodric personally guided the young prince’s spiritual and intellectual development. When plague claimed the prince’s older brothers, making him unexpected heir, it was Theodric who helped him bear the weight. When Aldric was finally crowned King, he credited the Luminarch with making him worthy of the throne.
Today, Theodric Brightspire continues to serve—a figure of white and gold who moves through crowds blessing the sick, comforting the grieving, and reminding all who see him that the Light endures. His hair has turned white with age, but his eyes remain sharp, and his voice still carries the warmth that first marked him as Elandria’s chosen.
He sees the world in clear terms: light and darkness, truth and heresy, order and chaos. To those who walk in the Light, he offers boundless compassion. To those who threaten the faithful, he shows no mercy. This is not cruelty—it is duty.
May Elandria grant him many more years of service.
—Published by the Order of the Kindled, with ecclesiastical approval