P is for Patriarch Marten

Patriarch Marten, along with King Eadric, is the most important person in the Kingdom of Meterra. While Eadric is the secular ruler of the land, Marten is the head of the Church in Meterra. As such, his word is virtually law, and even the king will not dismiss his words lightly. He is a good, devout and holy man, beloved by not only the Europeans, but the Meterran natives as well.

Born in Brussels as a third son to a poor tailor and his wife, Marten showed quick wit and strong piety as a child. Through the encouragement of his parish priest, he entered seminary at the age of 13 and soon discovered not only a love of the Church and Scripture, but also a knack for dealing with Church politics. This knack enabled him to rise quickly in the Church hierarchy, and he was ordained as a Bishop before his thirty-fifth birthday. 

He served as the bishop of a small Belgian diocese before being assigned to a new posting: Jerusalem itself. This posting was a tremendous reward for his piety and ability, and Marten was determined to live up to the Pope's expectations. Accompanied by a small army of crusaders and knights from across Europe to ensure his safety, everything went well on the trip to the Holy Land...until the transportation to Meterra and a new beginning for the Europeans.

At first, Marten believed they would soon find a way home from this strange land. But events proved otherwise, and the realization that they were in an entirely new world was an utter shock to the Europeans. Instinctively, they turned to their bishop, who was himself trying to adjust not only to the new world they found themselves in, but also the sudden discovery that his prayers now received instant and tangible results. As the Europeans began accepting their fate, Marten was recognized as the head of the entire Church in this new land. There were those who suggested that he take the title of Pope, since they were cut off from Rome, but Marten refused, choosing a different honorific that had ties to the Church back home.

Now, Patriarch Marten works along with the king to help settle the European refugees in their new home. He is the titular head of the Order of the Holy Cross, although he wields no weapon and is no fighter. He avoids anything to do with the Arimore Academy or its headmaster, although at the king’s personal request he no longer denounces the Academy as a breeding ground for evil in his sermons. He still distrusts magic, although he does understand, on some level, that the magic of Meterra has a more naturalistic origin, which will be explained in a later post. Nevertheless, he has excommunicated several Europeans who have discovered that they have the seed of magic within them and deigned to begin studying at the Arimore Academy.