Devoted of Ilbarych

The Devoted is the Crowndom term for those who give their day-to-day lives in the service of one of the Covenants of the Unctae, seeking transcendence, enlightenment, atonement, or even simply escape.

The Devotions

There are two kinds of oaths (called Devotions) taken by the Devoted: the Lay Devotion and the Anointed Devotion. There is a third type of Devotion, the Ward Devotion, that is taken by a child who is raised and reared by a Covenant.

• Lay Devotion: The Lay Devotion is an oath of service to the Covenant of one of the Unctae for a period of ten years. Someone must be at least adult age (sixteen years) in order to take this, and during this time they forswear personal possessions and reproductive rights (ensured through potions referred to as "devotionals"). During a Lay Devotion, the Devoted serves in a Covenant Hall, learning new skills and laboring on behalf of the Covenant, including possibly being moved to different Covenant Halls as their skills are needed. Once a period of Lay Devotion ends, a Devoted may either immediately take another Devotion or they will receive help from the Covenant in setting up new lives for themselves. Such lives inevitably are tied to allies of the Covenant and use the skills and trades they learned within the Covenant. Guilds are usually happy to accept newly-released Devoted as journeymen.
• Anointed Devotion: A person may take a Lay Devotion twice in their lives (for the purpose of this reckoning, a Ward Devotion may be tallied as a Lay Devotion). The third time they take a Devotion to the same Covenant, they are permitted to take the Anointed Devotion, which is a lifelong vow of service. The leaders of the Covenants are all taken from the Anointed Devoted, although not all of them are leaders.
• Ward Devotion: A child who is raised in a Covenant remains within their care until either the child is claimed by family, or the child reaches the age of adulthood (sixteen). Their time as a child of the Covenant is referred to as a "Ward Devotion," and they are always welcome in the halls of that and allied Covenants. Such young ones who show the proclivity may be taken as squires and apprentices by other Devoted, though a child who chooses to go their own way upon reaching adulthood is given a modest stipend for six months after they depart, to give them time to settle in to life on their own. They are also often aided by the Devoted, who help connect them with allied families and businessfolk, and in general aid them in getting on their feet, although there is no law requiring they do so.

Covenant Halls

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