By the strictures of their faith the Clerics of Westrun are bound to wear clothing which is suited to their priestly state and which is immediately recognizable by the faithful. Even the armored cleric wears a cassock which is fitted to be worn over his armor. Such robes are shorter sleeved and cut high up the sides to accommodate movement and to make them easier to wear.
Along with the simple brown or black cassock, the Cleric is either shaved bald completely, or takes a tonsure cut in his hair. The bald pate
The Pilo of the Church of Westrun is the head covering which is used to protect the shaved or bare skull of its male Clerics and the long tresses of its female clerics. For men it is a close-fitting skull cap. For women it is a type of kerchief worn loosely over the top of the head. Since women clerics are forbidden from cutting their hair, it is worn in long braids with the Pilo drapped over it.
In both cases, colors denote the relative ranks in the church hierarchy. Black denotes a brother or sister. Brown denotes a chaplain. Gray is the color of Vicars while Blue is the color of a Shepherd or Sheperdess, Abbot or Abbess. Purple is the color of a Prefect and Scarlet is reserved to the Cardinal Prefects. The Patriarch himself wears White.
The Pilo has its origins in the simple headgear of the indentured servants who were once used for manual labor by the Grand Temple of the Ten Divines. Long after his elevation as Patriarch, the founder of the Church, himself once a shepherd in that very form of servitude; continued to wear his simple Pilo covering instead of the ornate Praxo of the predecessor pagan priests.
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