Heretic

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A heretic is a person who defies the religious teachings of the Holy Order of Dav, and the act of defiance itself is the sin called heresy. Heresy can be minor, if an individual merely questions or defies a small tenet of the religion - but it can also be major, up to full acceptance of magery or belief in an alternative religion.

Heretics are generally viewed with even more disdain than mages, as some mages can be sympathetic figures. Most Davites believe magery is inborn, not chosen, so some kindly individuals often understand why mages reject Davism out of fear for their lives - even while knowing that these mages are wrong and must still be burned. Heretics, on the other hand, have chosen to reject Davism without any such sympathetic reason.

Serious but repentant heretics are most commonly branded with a mark that tells others of their heresy, letting them know that the branded individual requires careful guidance (and careful watching) lest they fall off the path to righteousness once more. This mark often results in shunning lest any taint remain or suspicion fall upon the heretic's associates. It is only repeated and unrepentant heresy that is typically punished by excommunication or, in cases where no repentance is ever seen as likely, death at the pyre.