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Restrictions: Priests of the Hol (and most followers) are restricted as follows.
Contamination - Priests of the Hol are not allowed to handle or be near bats, for they associate bats with Demons. If a priest of the Hol comes into contact with a bat, he must engage in the Ritual of Purification before being able to cast divine magick spells. The appearance of a group of bats flying overhead is a sign of great woe to a priest of the Hol and a priest will not begin any important journey or quest on the day following such an evil omen.
Clothing - A priest of the Hol is required at all times to wear an amulet featuring one of the holy symbols of the Hol (a raven, a desert fox, or a horned viper). If the priest loses his holy symbol, he is required to enter upon a Sacred Wandering through the desert for three days without food or water in an attempt to "find" his amulet. The head priest of the temple will provide the priest with the "found" amulet after the priest completes the Sacred Wandering.
The Hol is, at its heart, a religion of the common people and therefore priests have little interaction with the rulers of various lands. A few local chieftains and khans sometimes keep a mystic-astrologer of the Hol as an advisor on matters of faith, but the advisor has little power.
Most people see priests of the Hol as genuine workers of good who are honestly trying to help people. Sometimes the priests are perceived to be a little annoying in their constant quest for force people to adopt the Sacred Path to save themselves from demonic corruption.
There are three main types of priests:
The Sa'Alik is a type of high priest and represents the highest level of the priesthood that can be achieved in the faith. Sa'Alikan (the plural) are commonly found in major cities and in the larger camps of the desert nomads.
A Qallam is a more common, lower-level priest who preaches in out-of-the-way areas and in smaller cities that cannot support a Sa'Alik. In larger communities or desert camps, the Qallamin (plural) act as assistants to the Sa'Alik.
The Caller is a special rank of priest whose main duty is to chant the Realities of Corruption every day at dawn, noon, and dusk in order to call the faithful to prayer. While each city or camp may support several Qallamin and even a few Sa'Alikan, there will always be only one Caller. The Caller is typically not consulted for guidance like the more "regular" priests of the faith.
In addition to these three more "official" ranks, there is another type of priest within the Hol that deserves special mention. Note that while this type of priest is not necessarily sanctioned by the authorities of the religion, neither is it discouraged.
Mystics: These wandering desert priests are prone to consulting the stars and partake of the Sacred Fumes much more frequently than other priests of the faith in order to divine the future and read omens from the Hol and also the Elysians and Djinn. These holy mystics are often not very clean or well-clothed and can be quite rude and unmannered. Because of their prophetic visions, however, they are tolerated by members of the faith. Female mystics are someimtes referred to as "Hakima".
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