It is undeniable that Nassian people do have a close and distinct link with their gods, not only as a counterbalance to the mages, but also as a social and cultural support structure. Nonetheless, in the current situation, while basic survival is secured and a basic standard of living has been achieved, it is also undeniable that there is a distinct lack of basic infrastructure, resources and skills bases, to be able to divert significant amounts of resources to the development of a religious infrastructure. From careful estimates, this may be the case for some time to come.

This will leave the population at a disadvantage and loss, potentially leading to more serious problems and religious deprivation in the long term. The proposals presented do aim to counter this and provide sensible structures and resources for the mid and long term, without depleting the limited resources available overly much.

Once our resources and population have grown sufficiently (I'd hobe 10-30 years i the future), a natural progression will allow for expansion of this system. But until then, it will ensure that we do not deprive any of our gods of the worship they deserve.

Temples, Priests and Worship

The probably most controversial suggestion here would be the creation of a single substantial temple in Dragmos which can be utilised by all gods when required. The aim should be to make this temple the most impressive building we are capable of building and it would be the ideal aim to undertake with the first supply of stones, if we manage to resolve the provision of stones from the potential quarry in the north.

It would subsequently be possible to create a group of lay staff to manage and maintain the temple, support ceremonies and assist the priests with any tasks required. These lay staff members would not be attached to a particular faith but would be able to provide the necessary administrative and procedural support to all priests and paladins. They would also provide an competent recruitment source for priests, should the gods desire to anoint more of them. At the same time, it will be possible to undertake worship and support services to the gods, without excessively stretching the resources expended.

This approach would also provide a substantial pastoral support structure and would free up time for the single current priest who is undertaking this matter for a population that he realy can not realistically support on his own for much longer. He would be in a position to provide basic training and induction for lay staff, who can then, with the help of the scholars and their own knowledge, bring together a system for supporting the population, introduce regular services of worship, celebrations and so on. 

Ultimately, we would be able to bring religious structure back to ou population in a fraction fo the time it would take to do this for every god in isolation.

It should be noted that, at least in the beginning years, a significant amount of training/support for the priest(s) will be required from the magi/druids, as well as the paladins, simply to reach a point where we have a number of fully trained priests.

Paladin Orders

What holds true for the Priests does also hold true to a similar degree for our Paladins. We are all painfully aware that we only have two Paladins with us and that to bring one through training is a long and slow process. The fact is, that a mage is often out of harrowing for 5-10 years before a paladin is fully trained. In addition, only two of our original paladin orders are represented.

In a similar approach to the lay staff, one might propose an approach where promising candidates are brought together and trained and educated together for a period of time and then examined if they can progress to become paladins, assuming their souls please the gods. If they are, they can be taken into training by the current paladins where more individual instruction is required later on.

On the point of Paladin Orders, it might then be suggested that or traditional organisations may not be able to be carried through into the near future, on a similar basis as noted for the priestly orders at this point. As such, it would again be sensible, to work with a monolithic structure providing support and administration where the paladins of all gods can be catered for. The tasks undertaken by the traditional orders will have to be shared out between the existing and future paladins  and will most likely require a substantial amount of flexibility and creativity from the Paladins in service. There will likely be a requirement for extensive support by the men at arms, which might suggest that some overlap in training and facilities may be of benefit to both sides.

Magi and Druids

The Magi have the current advantage that they have brought representatives of the majority of their original houses with them, while the Druids have always been a fairly monolithic organisation without much further differentiation. As such, it might be possible to re-instate the houses fairly quickly, without overly large efforts. However, as in the above cases, the overhead from the support structures would currently lead to a duplication in resource usage and general wastage which can currently be ill afforded. As such, a similar arrangement as for the priests and paladins is therefore currently desirable. 

This could be coupled with the organisation of a core structure not entirely unlike the University of Karrath, but providing a source of learning for scholars, mages druids, priests and paladins alike. For a few decades, this would likely be a fairly informal process (very much as it is now), but appropriate review and variation can be brought in when things begin to reach limits.

Social and Integrative Measures

A core point in the strengthening of this new society must be the avoidance of the mistakes of the past. to this end, there should be a strong encouragement of an integration of the above orders of Magi and Druids (if not Paladins and Priests) to ensure they do remain close to societal roots. The purpose of their continued existence is the protection of and service to society as a whole. 

Possible ways of encouraging and hopefully achieving this could be:

• Ensuring regular and direct contact with the population through participation and social interaction
• Encouragement of forming families. 
• A requirement could be considered, where certain perks and positions for mages are dependent on their links in the population 
• Regular requirements of “communal service” through training, public works, taking of apprentices, etc.
• Retaining family links during apprenticeship and training.
• Forming of solid links with the military through permanent shield grogs/guards, common training, etc.
• Regular collaborations in research between Mages, Druids, Priests and Paladins