THE HIGH PRIESTS

A REVISION OF PRE-INTERREGNUM PONTIFICAL SUCCESSION

Written by Daniel Pontius de Senna

Published on the 5th of Sun’s Smile, 653 A.A.

FOREWORD

I had first written this essay as that final task of my acolyteship, under the late H.P. Bernard II. Whereas it was accepted by that present Pontiff, it has since lacked publication. I thus publish it in this rough and unedited form, for I lack both time and will to see it reviewed to any extent greater than I had done some two decades ago.

I ask, therefore, that the reader forgives any errors of grammar or phrasing; where argument or evidence is in question, I shall readily answer to any queries or counters. I maintain a rough reference of texts both primary and secondary which, due to its length, I have not hereunder attached. The greatest of my conjectures surround the Sack of Pontia, hence its relative lack of analysis, alongside my suppositions on the intentions of Anti-Pontiff Hogarth and Dawn of Perea. To these I eagerly invite the opinions of others, in support or otherwise. For the sake of convenience, I have used the traditional calendar of Man in my dating.

I do hope that this proves elucidating to some, and puts aptly to words the assumptions of others.

PREFACE

Forasmuch as the Mother Church maintains an able archive of its materials and histories, a considerable portion of its contents have gone unreviewed after their initial promulgation. I thus write this cursory examination of the progress of the High Priesthood through its establishment under Ex. Owyn, until its effective dissolution upon the first division of the Kingdom of Oren.

I shall establish first the limitations of this work: it is principally concerned with correcting the chronology of the early Church, with only limited analysis reserved for the tenures of the High Priests. I shall leave this latter element to another paper. Indeed, this is a necessary conceit of the study: without first correcting the broader Pontifical narrative, any close analysis shall walk on unsteady ground. Herein I thus deal in an uncontextualized world largely enclosed to the High Priesthood. The reader must be aware that this early Church was very unlike ours. Its structures were far more fluid and intertwined with the incipient Orenian state, with a dogma fundamentally unlike any which emerged in the wake of the 1455 Council of the One Faith. 

I begin first with an outline of the historiography of the early Church, and continue thereafter with my amendments. I shall offer thereafter a suggestion as to the origins of the various inaccuracies present in past histories, insofar as I am able.

HISTORIOGRAPHY

There is not a great deal to be said as regards those prior iterations of early Pontifical chronologies. As mentioned prior, there has hitherto been witheringly little historiographical revision of most any historical documentation of the Church. This earliest period has seen itself especially susceptible to such a deficiency, given both the scarce primary documentation and general insignificance in later narratives, both secular and religious, of this era.
 

The earliest extant history of the Church is dated to the tenure of High Ecclesiarch Radomir I, written sometime between 1444 and 1448.¹ The reign of the final pre-Interregnum High Priest can be decisively placed in 1315.² There thus stands some 129 years at minimum between Radomir’s chronology and the events it describes; that it is laden with inaccuracies should be surprising to none.

Its contents are thus:

I – HP EVARISTUS I & CLEMENT I

The first heads of the Holy Faith appointed by the successor of Horen, Owyn I.

II – HP SIXTUS I

III – HP ALEXANDER I

IV – HP PONTIAN I

V – HP STEPHEN I

VI – PAUL I

VII – PAUL II

VIII – SIXTUS II

IX – LIBERIUS I

X – MARK I

The last  leader  of  the Faith under the divine line of Horen, he was removed forcefully after 

the deposition of the king.

XI – BERNARD I

The  first  recorded  leader  of  the  Faith  under  the  usurper  Perea  and Sheffield dynasties, 

before which the Church was held in high regard by the line of Horen.

XII – EVERARD I

The progenitor of House Hightower, Everard I was the last High Priest of a unified Oren. He died a martyr, attempting to prevent the non-believer Sheffield king from abolishing the Church entirely.     After his reign the kingdom splintered, causing the Church to be absorbed 

into the Phoenix Kingdom of Renatus and lose a great deal of power and influence.

THE FIRST INTERREGNUM

Gospel tells us that it was during the year 38 that Ex. Owyn anointed Evaristus and Clement as leaders over his priesthood.³ We must therefore understand, per Radomir’s chronology, that twelve generations of High Priests reigned in excess of twelve centuries altogether. This is a dubious implication, and one evidently identified by Radomir’s successors, for the first amendment to this narrative emerged during the pontificate of HP Daniel I, after 1471.⁴ There are three alterations which may be dealt with individually.

i. ADDITIONS TO LIBERIUS I

IX – LIBERIUS I

It was under Liberius I when the great Priestly See of Pontian I was ravaged, the archives of the Faith lost, and the Priesthood destroyed. Whilst the majority of mankind still heralded the faith of Horen I, there was no singular Head of Faith until the High Priest Marcus; instead, the Church’s dogma was governed by various clerical circles who acted as peers. What little is known about the Church prior to the Sack of Pontia was due to texts saved in

his escape.

While the existence of a St. Pontian is attested so early as 1444 in the writings of Radomir’s contemporary, John of Corazon, there is no mention of a ‘Priestly See of Pontian I’, prominent or otherwise, until this very edition of Daniel I.⁵. It seems likely, therefore, that this addition was a later interpolation of a comparatively minor event, possibly intended to rectify the temporal dissonance implicit in Radomir’s edition.

ii. AMENDMENTS TO MARK I

X – MARCUS I

The first and last leader of the Faith under the line of Horen, he was appointed in the reign of St. Daniel, who sought to restore the Priesthood after centuries of decentralized clergy. He  proved  able  and  competent  in  swaying  the  various  religious  circles  to submit to his 

authority.

It should first be noted that Mark’s has here been rendered in the Flexio style - particularly notable given that the same was not done for the proceeding Bernard and Everard; this shall be taken up once more in my conclusions. What is stranger, however, is the complete recontextualisation of the subcontents. What was once an oblique reference to St. Daniel of Al’Khazar has become very explicit (and even seems to reference the unique manner of St. Daniel’s founding of the Kingdom of Oren, with the addition of ‘first … leader of the Faith under the line of Horen’; we must presume this an oddly-phrased reference to the aforementioned).⁶ There is a curious turn to historicity thereafter, absent in Radomir’s version: where Radomir’s Horenic monarch had been erroneously deposed, this omits any reference to the end of St. Daniel’s reign. One might also note that further adaptations have been made (see ‘restore the Priesthood’) that the text might align with the above Liberian inventions. I shall elaborate further on both these elements in my conclusive comments.

iii. AMENDMENTS TO BERNARD I

XI – BERNARD I

The first non-human leader of faith and the first recorded leader of the Faith under the usurper Perea and Sheffield dynasties, before which the Church was held in high regard by 

the line of Horen. Bernard was of halfling origin and relatively mild-mannered.

There is only a minor addition here, being that of Bernard’s background. One might note that, at this time, halflings were not considered as within the lineage of Horen - a matter later amended by a 1662 decree of Jude I.⁷ Daniel’s discovery of some additional information regarding the life of Bernard must be presumed.

So for Daniel’s edition. This particular iteration was copied ad unguem in both the c. 1578 Historem Pontificum and the 1760 Pontificum Historia, the latter being the most recent comprehensive chronology of the Pontificate. Thus stand the prior histories of the early Pontificate.

A REVISED CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY CHURCH

It is by necessity that my chronology begins in earnest at that same point as Tanith of the Westerland’s foundational A Brief Summary of Early Imperial History: with St. Daniel’s foundation of Al’Khazar.¹ Where we might certainly infer the existence of a continuous priesthood in the Thousand-Year Silence, it is wholly doubtful that any continuous High Priesthood was maintained through the period of the Seven Kingdoms.² I propose, therefore, that the High Priests Sixtus I through Mark I were priests raised to the office by individual ‘princes of piety’ [Gsp 5:26], but likely not in any sense of direct Pontifical inheritance - as was recordedly done by St. Daniel in the Kingdom of Oren, and later by Ex. Godfrey. To order them in any other manner than that presented by Radomir would be simple folly, for there remains only brief attestations of a scarce few among their number. Thus, to a new chronology of the Danielan High Priesthood.

Sometime in the late 13th century, the last remaining heir of an otherwise obscure King of Aaun relocated his seat from the historic center of Horenic authority, Jrent, to a small northwestern fishing village, ostensibly nearer to Gospel’s Paradisus. This town was known as Al’Khazar, and for a time boasted no High Priest, nor any great temple, save a small squareside shrine dedicated to Ex. Horen.

At a court gathering in the early period of St. Daniel’s reign at Al’Khazar, Everard Hightower was appointed as High Priest of Oren - the reasons thereof are, however, unknown. He established the first cathedral in the burgeoning capital, and would come to centralise his authority both within and without the kingdom. He was, in quick succession, appointed to the stations of High Chancellor and Archmage, thereby ensuring the prominence of his household for some few succeeding generations.

Everard would hold tenure through the entirety of Pampo Perea’s reign, even conducting his funerary rites. It was during the early stage of the rule of Pampo’s seneschal and successor, Edmund, that Everard would retire from the High Priesthood, investing his authority with the Bishop of Dunwood: Oliver Sturdyfoot II.

Oliver would reign as High Priest for only a few months, in the year of 1314: a period entirely contained within the rule of Edmund Sheffield. Upon his death later that year, he would invest the High Priesthood with his son, Bernard Sturdyfoot.

As with his father, little can be definitively discerned of Bernard’s High Priesthood. It is certain that he reigned during the final part of Edmund’s kingship, though there stands no evidence of any partisanship on his part during the succession crisis that followed Edmund’s death. 

Contemporaneously, the eminent Archbishop of Kal’Urguan, Hogarth Irongut, had his position within the dwarven capital revoked. Hogarth, who had to that point supported Perea’s Queen-Consort, Dawn, to succeed to the throne, was swayed to Enor’s camp with the promise of the Orenian High Priesthood. Shortly into Enor’s kingship, Bernard came to blows with the royal: Al’Khazar’s cathedral was requisitioned by the crown, and Hogarth was spuriously invested with the High Priesthood - an Anti-Pontificate that would retain the support of the state until the ultimate collapse of the Kingdom of Oren, at which point both claimants to the High Priesthood fell into obscurity, alongside the title itself. Thus did the First Interregnum begin.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY

I. THE POLYECCLESIASTIC CHURCH

While the Church has often deferred to a simplistic model of singular and direct succession through the line of Sts. Evaristus and Clement, composed of a unitary clergy in subservience to a singular High Priest, it is abundantly apparent that the consolidated post-Danielan church was very much an invention of its times. I therefore propose an alternative organisational model for the pre-Danielan clergy: a polyecclesiastic church, that being a church comprising a number of divided hierarchies, largely contained to individual temporal states, with each governed by its own High Priest.

Gospel speaks at length on the progressive degradation of the ecclesiastic institute through the Silence, taking particular care to emphasise that ‘virtue was preserved only by keepers of ashen urns, paupers, and princes of piety’ [5:26], a statement that implies much for the dissolute hierarchy of the post-Owynic clergy.

The nomenclature of the Danielan Church seems additionally informative. It is not for mere excess that its High Priests were known as High Priests of Oren; their role was implicitly bound to and confined by the state within which they served. This was not the universal church that was confirmed in the afterglow of Ex. Godfrey’s empire, but a limited one. The term appears to have come to such ubiquity by the time of the Danielan Church that it found use in both fictionalised tales, as in the High Priest of Nox of The Great Adventures of Tegchen, described to be the parish priest of ‘a small human town’ of the same name, and in the terminology of adjacent assemblies, as that High Priest Omni of the quasi-heretical Ascended.

It is this same model which serves with ease to explain the late placement of the First Interregnum. The temporal failings of the pre-Danielan succession in both Radomir and Daniel’s editions of the Church’s chronology have already been outlined - if, rather, this succession was not linear nor singular, then there would be no individual High Priesthood able to experience an interregnum (and hence no ‘First Interregnum’), and no direct succession of priests need be necessary to fill the 12-century gap. A polyecclesiastic clergy, therefore, adequately fills the gaps present in the historiographical record.

The dominance of the Kingdom of Oren in the late 13th and early 14th centuries over the Aegisian polities marks the beginning of the transition to a singular clerical hierarchy - a monecclesiastic church. Whereas the concept of heterogenous state-bound priesthoods had remained in the social conscience at least so late as the reign of St. Daniel, the High Priest of Oren was the de jure leader of the entirety of the True Faith congregation across the continent. De facto, however, prominent diocesan authorities preserved a significant part of their autonomy. By the First Interregnum, the ecclesiate was in flux.

Ex. Godfrey’s installation of Gideon Silverblade as the High Pontiff Pius I would formalise this transition, placing at last the entirety of his empire’s religious institute beneath both the de jure and de facto authority of the High Pontiff. No longer would a High Priest be beholden to the woes and wiles of the state, but a High Pontiff would exist beyond them.

II. THE SACK OF PONTIA

In following from the above, it becomes necessary to question the veracity of the Sack of Pontia under Liberius’ reign as a singularly cataclysmic event. I do not doubt the existence of the sack itself, but rather pose that it has been abstracted and massively exaggerated in the historical record. Rather, the sack might well be indicative of a greater historical pattern of institutional dissolution of both temporal and ecclesiastical institutions as was prevalent during the latter stages of the Thousand-Year Silence. In other words, the proverbial icon of an era of collapse. 

III. ON EVERARD I

While beyond strictly beyond the intended purview of this paper’s chronological examinations, a correction of early Pontifical histories would be incomplete without examining the historical status of High Priest Everard I. He has found much enshrinement since his lifetime: he has been held for centuries as a saint of the Lord, and is among the prominent few of them, bearing the Society of St. Everard in his name. For all the piety that tradition affords him, the historical record speaks otherwise.

Certainly, during his reign as High Priest little fault can be held against him. He was among the most prominent figures of the Kingdom of Oren, and served both parish and church dutifully. It is after his 1314 retirement, during the reign of Enor, that his legacy becomes wholly more suspect. 

It is widely known that the plague of the Undead came readily to the fore through Enor’s kingship (and this was in no small part a cause of the ultimate trifurcation of Oren with the Phoenix Revolution), though where Enor’s corruption has been presumed (and his notes seem to attribute his failings rather to simple ineptitude than a grander scheme), an extant letter more accurately locates the sullying of the Orenian state’s chief apparatus within his Chancellor, the by-then abdicated Everard I.

The contents of the letter stand as thus,

Mr. Hawk Whitestorm, 

On behalf of the Forsaken Nation of Drauchreich, I would like to express our gratitude for your aid in the conquest of Al’Khazar. The details you provided us regarding guard postings and defensive strategy were a great help to our decisive victory. We look forward to your continued services towards our great cause. We have dispatched the agreed upon compensation of 3 diamond stacks to the indicated location. 

Regards,

Apostle Everard, Member of The Forsaken Nation of Drauchreich.

While this remains the sole evidence of his malfeasance, the contents are quite explicit. At the earliest point of Al’Khazar’s fall, and likely spanning into even his tenure as High Priest, Everard held affiliations to and a position (‘Apostle’) within that reviled Undead hotbed of Drauchreich. This was a tie maintained even after death; while a transcription of his funerary announcement places him dead at 61, a letter of application has him yet living nigh two decades later, at the age of 79. The status of his soul itself, therefore, is readily debatable. 

I shall not theorise as to why Everard’s life came to be rendered so completely otherwise from the historical fact - but I shall reiterate the vitality of acknowledging his life as it was, and not as we would wish it to be. Aught otherwise would be wilful ignorance.

POSTWORD

I hope that I have demonstrated here the need for critical review of our Church’s inherited histories. It is very well and good to tend to matters more explicitly spiritual - the Scrolls, analyses of the plethora of virtues and sins, and all that common fare - but our Church is one burdened with acknowledgement of both a continuous tradition and the Holy Word. We cannot act as dutiful clerics if either field is let to fallow, else we become mere actors at play.

Penned in devotion,
Reverend Sister Ildegardaia
Vicar of Theology
Diocese of St. Thomas of Gaekrin
Prioress of St. Judith of Czena

A Treatise on the Duties, Trials, and Devotions of Women

In the Year of Our Lord, 653 A.A.

I, Ildegardaia Tommasa, daughter of Sigismondo de Savin, a humble servant of the Lord God and of those of his flock, have made myself known on multiple accounts. As a young woman, I actively served as a spiritual advisor to the courts of Alba, and now, I educate and advise the Imperial Courts with my previous responsibilities. It has been my mission to offer the education I was given to all, and I have strived toward my established spiritual community for quite some time, and I hope that this is the start of such. Being a member of consecrated life within the Holy Mother Church has led me to educate many and to walk a path of leadership and fulfillment that I would not otherwise have found. In this time, the Church has helped me find a path to healing and alchemical studies, and I continue to gain more as I serve. I do indeed wish to continue sharing my knowledge as I step foot on this new part of my journey.

I hope it is known that what I write is placed before the righteous scholars of the Holy Mother Church, for those souls who lack humility and the ability to submit and truly hold faith in the Lord God shall know vanity. It is with this understanding that I write and find purpose in preserving the instruction I have gathered from a life devoted to observation of the path, specifically that of women within the faith. I hope to capture and honor the duties and devotion of women who hold faith in the Lord God, and to instruct them onward in these duties, that we may build a wiser and more pious community in which younger girls may be raised. Not only do I turn toward that which is plainly seen, but also toward that which is a holy burden unto us women: the sanctity within daily labour and care, and the endurance and strength that is silent yet ever present. I offer these observations concerning the rites, duties, and spiritual life of the daughters of this faith, so that we may continue to build upon this house in the light of God.

It is always a prayer of mine that those who read my writings may find inspiration, but specifically in this writing, I hope to reach my fellow women. I speak directly to the feminine so that we may come together in learning of the divine, and of how we are created within the Lord God’s order and fundamental creation. Yet to those men who may find themselves under the steady trance of my pen, I pray you come to hold a deep reverence for the women who surround you - those whom I would consider the Lord God’s stewards of life, nurture, memory, and devotion.

I seek not to elevate one creation above the other, nor to speak as though my word were law, but rather to reflect upon the duties, trials, and devotions entrusted to women throughout generations. I believe those who are truly of the faith, and who sincerely seek the truth of the Lord God, may in time come to meditate upon these thoughts and form their own understanding of such matters.

This writing seeks to acknowledge both the seen and unseen burdens of our devotion - the call to preserve and to care, to suffer and endure hardship with grace, steadfast faith, and humility. Many times have the virtues and duties of men been documented and preserved, while those of their counterparts have remained less spoken of. Thus, this work is written so that the descendants of Horen may no longer overlook such things, though they have never once been overlooked by God.

Being raised in a predominantly Illatian household, the fertility of God's children is understood to be more than the bearing of children; the continuity of life through family in faith is a service unto God in which is also the continuation of our civilization, and so it is sacred and owed due honor. In this continuation, once a child is born, it is then both the man and the woman become stewards of the life. Thus, every stage is carefully observed and noted with celebration and dignified rites, reflecting that the young life must be guided carefully and fully until adulthood.

(Scroll of Virtue, Diligence:6-7)

In the custom of Illatia, a child is to be baptized shortly after birth; this act is typically a private event with family. This first year after the child's birth is seen as a time to give thanks to the Lord God through feast and festivities, the baptism being the initial step into both the Faith and the household for the young. Those following this custom hold that it is traditional to build the spiritual identity from a young age, which lowers the chance of the child turning away from the Lord.

Upon reaching the age of ten, a child of Illatian descent will have started early education, typically using the Holy Scrolls as the base of such. The child will undergo a second private rite, which in Illatian is called "Rinnovo," simply in common, "The Renewal." Once my observation was complete, I realized that this ceremony is seen symbolically as a cleansing of the child as they continue to grow. This second rite is performed to "mock birth," instilling purity, moral discipline, and readiness for whatever path is before the child. It is noted at this time that in Illatian customs, we do not see a difference in the education and raising of the masculine and feminine; responsibility to the faith, family, and society is equal to all members of your household.

Turning sixteen, the child's first public hosting shall take place- a festival, or "Festa del compleanno," in Illatian. This celebration will mark the youth's entry into the public, and they shall plan and host the festival, seeking more career-specific learning opportunities as they prepare for life as an adult; some even are guided along the path for consecrated life. Upon the notes that recall these traditions, I have noticed many times a priest or holy person of some kind is present to offer prayer for the youth as they continue forth in life.

By eighteen, it is traditionally hoped - and often expected - that an Illatian youth will have taken their first binding adult step, thereby completing the progression from child to adult within Illatian social order. For some, this step is marriage; for others, it may be sworn service, guild mastery, higher study, or religious commitment. Each path is regarded as an equal fulfillment of adult responsibility and honor.

I reference this tradition of a people I find myself very familiar with due to the belief that fertility does not end at birth, and is indeed something that extends into shaping the soul, which leads to our preservation of the Lord God's Virtue.

(Scroll of Virtue, Diligence:8)

My final remarks in this book on fertility within the Illatian perspective would be the observation of motherhood, loss, and endurance. Motherhood, though in some cases presents itself as a burden, is also held to be a blessing from God. For our Lord says He has given us the power of His creation, and in all the pain of labor, He has assured us to remain faithful unto Him, through whom we shall be brought closer to righteousness.

We speak of motherhood with reverence, for though the woman may endure physical pain, the wearying work of caring and nurturing the young is likewise to be honored. In many households, it is the woman who plans and ensures that children are well-educated and walk a path of faith unto God. It is through this responsibility that we see the continuity not only of the household, but of culture, discipline, and faith across generations.

I also wish to honor those women who have found themselves filled with grief in the absence of fruitfulness in motherhood. Women unable to bear children, or who suffer miscarriage, stillbirth, or any loss of a child, shall not be considered any less sacred nor any less cared for by the Lord God. Instead, I urge such women to find meaning in giving themselves to the youth who seek new beginnings within families or communities in need, and to find opportunity in teaching and service within their communities. For in this deep trial, many prayers and rites are offered unto you, women.

In the Word, I have read that all things are part of the plan of God, and we should look to Him always when we find ourselves in anger, grief, or confusion at the outcomes of life.

Prayer for Childbirth:
“O Lord God, we seek You to send the Saints Julia and Amyas to care for this coming mother and babe. Grant her strength and faith in You through these hardships she is to face. May You ease her pain and bring her encouragement through this sacred process. Saint Amyas, guide the hands of the healers and midwives who work through the birth, and bless the child forevermore. Attend to the child even after its birth, so it may remain strong and grow to serve You in Your name. Amen.”

The light of creation and the darkness of suffering do often meet in a struggle against one another. For example, a woman through childbirth shall go through many pains for many hours, and yet creation is met at the end of this suffering. Through this life, we see that the Lord God has not given us more than what we women can bear, but instead blesses us with the opportunity to fulfill such a righteous calling. I regard this labor more as a woman’s passage to grow closer to God and learn more of His warming light and love, and the joy that comes with such.

In this time of birth, women do fall to the mercy of God as they bring life into the world, as the perfection of such creation can only be achieved by our Lord. This point is a matter of divine attention, and one where many will care for her in reverent devotion, as God calls for us to seek guidance from Him in everything. Prayers are to be offered, as we ask God to steady the mother's and the babe’s heart, removing fear and offering mercy. We ask God to continue to hold the child and mother in His care, a fact not forgotten: all reside in the care of the Creator.

Somewhat directly after the birth, the child is then blessed and anointed with holy oils as a sign of welcome and the mark of the beginning of life within the flock of God. With this observation and study on the birth of children, I have come to realize that this sacrifice is one of endurance through the hope we continue to see in the light of God. This is a duty, to move forth in this creation despite the hardships that come with it—does this not show the devotion and sacrifice of the faithful woman of the Imperium this day?

The acts of midwifery have for some time been less relevant in the greater scope of medicine, though the most important part of this service is the fact of women caring for one another, working to continue the Lord's great Creation. It is my hope with my writing to emphasize this healing, and how a midwife's continued charitable care of our mothers, sons, and daughters is a step many women may easily find themselves trained to handle, which I believe would bring them closer to God, as selfless charitable works offered unto Him are pleasing unto the Lord. As I continue to pull from the Holy source, the Scroll of Virtue, I turn to the Canticle of Charity where we are given understanding of the great charity and love given unto us by God, and so we are to treat one another in the same kindness, and share in our abundance, as it says, “My abundance is the holy abundance, and My wealth is the virtuous wealth, and all the blessings of the Virtue shall fall before the righteous who share it.”
(Virtue, Charity: 11)

The midwife is not only a comforter of women who find themselves in travail, but also a servant of this charitable foundation within medicine. She must know the proper tending of the mother before a babe is born; she shall understand the proper care for the birthing chamber, preparing linens, waters, oils, and herbs, all to ease the suffering that a laboring mother goes through. The midwife will show an understanding of natural remedies and herbs of the world that are not seen within the progressive alchemical potions of today, along with a basic understanding of bodily functions.

Similar to her understanding of adults, she must understand how to effectively care for a newborn infant: cutting the cord, washing and swaddling, watching for fever and weakness, in which an imbalance of humors might present itself. With this care that is needed, and with the cultural rites offered from birth unto adulthood in some regions of this Holy Imperium, I would say that upon the emergency calling of babes near their end, the midwife shall also understand prayer, to bless and offer the child unto the Lord God in that quiet, departed moment.

Unlike many others who practice medicine, the midwife is surely called to present herself as a godly and pious woman. Like all who are in service of the Lord, she should understand, or seek to understand, the Word of our Lord God, and move to share such among kin, friends, and those she might call a patient. To render ourselves unto these virtues, we must accept the action in full, and so she must be willing to rest with others in their suffering, and act righteously unto the poor, showing impartiality unto all.

I find that in all of my observations, the midwife does see plenty of hardship when she finds herself wanting to have a relationship with God, as she is made witness to all the sufferings of her sisters within His Holiness. But within such trials, we must remember that the Lord does not call us to suffer more than what we can bear, as stated throughout the Canticle of Diligence. This hardship comes with great honors, as it shows the trust we must have in one another; the kinship God wishes for us to have is that which will bring us closer to the action of the Word.

So, be this my call to those women who seek not a full education in that of medicine, but seek to serve God in ways outside of taking the vows of consecrated life. Find me, and we shall educate you so you may serve your communities' women in their health and childbearing. Saint Julia and Amyas pray for us.

 “O Lord, guide our minds as we study the herbs and methods that were studied and given unto us by Saint Amyas. We ask that all remedies be blessed in your care and anointed in your light, so that we may use them as an instrument of healing unto the faithful flock. Saint Amyas, we pray you guide our hands as we measure and cure. Amen.”

We, as descendants, seek fellowship with those similar to us. Yet God calls for us to remain in fellowship with all in the world, and to remain willing to share His Word. Within my life, I have learned that healing is both that of the body and that of the spirit. Through day-to-day medicine, we heal the body, offering herbal remedies and tinctures to the sick, yet often do the medics forget to offer prayer and spiritual healing for their patients. Being called to act charitably in all things, we must remember that to bring one closer to God is to truly be fulfilled; to know God truly is to be healed in spirit. So those doctors, physicians, and midwives remain diligent in their work of the body and spirit.

In my own healing work, I have come to understand that those alchemical herbs most commonly used today carry plenty of risk that can be avoided in most common cases, if we choose to use those herbs and natural things given unto us through Creation. In my tutelage under the Matron Roswyn Halcourt, I had been instructed to study the herbs that are commonly found, as to the alchemical variants later studied by our forefathers. It is with her words in my mind that I have created the proper collection of oils, herbs, and household remedies, which I set forth here for the aid of those in need.

Natural Remedies
These remedies should be gathered in the service of God, His love and mercy, charity, and the care of those who suffer within body and spirit. For healing is twofold within this life: all that restores the flesh, and quiets the spirit from its suffering.

For Weariness of the Body- Take rosemary and infuse it into warm oil. Apply this rosemary oil to ease a woman's labor struggles, apply after labor is complete. The body shall take the effect of the infused oil as the patient rests, allowing the healing process to commence through steady prayer and rest.

For Sleep- Take lavender and steep it in warm water, or place it in the room near the patient to calm the mind. You could also take a mixture of lavender, passionflower, and skullcap to make a tea to ease the nerves and rest. Warm milk added to such a remedy for children is beneficial. Drink this an hour or so before slumber.

For Fever: To increase the chances of a fever being broken, take cool, clean water and infuse it with willow bark. A cool towel can also be placed on the patient's forehead in promotion of breaking the fever.

For Sorrow and Grief: Chamomile and mint are great herbs that can offer a calming effect to those who suffer grief; some even use chamomile to promote slumber. It is proper for these matters of remedies to be accompanied by prayer and a companion, for grief is something eased through the kindness and presence of others. This is the love of Kinship we descendants hold, the love for fellow creations we follow

A wash of vinegar and clean water, with pepper and mint, can be used to cleanse the hands, linens, and spaces of the sick. Cleanliness is to be protected from the worsening of the sickness throughout, this is for the patient, caregiver, and location of healing.

A layer of honey and aloe vera mixed into a wax made from the same bees can help skin with broken barriers to heal with consistent use. Many may turn this into a simple salve to carry in a jar, day to day. Other herbs healthy for the skin are: mint, rosemary, and turmeric.

In all these remedies, let the user remember that mercy itself is a form of this sacred art form we call medicine. To ease the suffering of another through any means is a service unto the Lord and unto this continent we live upon.

“22 But Julia was wise and recalled her husband’s warning. 23 She revealed Iblees, and the Denier was cast out of the camp, and he was very wroth.” (Scroll of Gospel, Book of Horen)

In my final book, I wish to touch on the upkeep of spiritual health that is found within the lands of the Imperium. For this, I speak on the first hours of a woman’s passed spouse, where a household embarks upon a temporary widowhood and mourning. It is upon the duty of the mourning widow to guide her husband’s passing rites, and the same responsibility is placed upon the husband. In many forms, the woman is seen as a wise individual who can discern the light from the dark, and so even in this time, the mourning woman shall guide her family into celebration, not an age of complete darkness, for it should be celebrated that a life has been given to peace, rid of suffering, as we pray they reach the heavenly skies.

The preparation of the dead is then undertaken within the household, where the body is tended by kin alone. It is washed and made ready for burial in reverence; these duties should not be given to outsiders. A vinegar wash, as stated in the natural remedies, shall be used on the body to promote cleanliness, though strong masses of mint and frankincense are used in this matter to avoid any smells from the vinegar. 

It is observed in some cultures that keening shall take place in honor of the dead, to offer a send-off, an audible viewing of the family’s mourning state. In this tradition, men shall not be called to participate and wail out, but instead, women of relation shall come forth and cry out in remembrance of their loved one, and so the fallen shall leave exactly as they entered this life, through the hardship, devotion, and cries of their mother and those blessed women who guide the child’s birth - as we offer our voices to the Lord, we offer our voices to those who may no longer be able to use theirs to honor the Lord. Rest their souls.

In this time, loneliness, endurance, and prayer are borne within the household, especially by the widow, who remains in restraint and devotion throughout. Prayer is sustained not only as duty but as comfort, carried through silence and procession, binding the living to the departed in continued spiritual care.

Within all we do to care for one another, women are held to be the natural preservers of memory and faith. It is through women that we are brought into life and first taught the Word of God in our early adolescence. It is likewise the hands of women who guide us gently through hardships when the body begins to fail. In their care, the memories of those who fought in battles past are kept alive, and faith in the Lord God is continued. So all that is given to us and learned, all that has suffered, and all that is loved is not lost to time nor to our loving God.

that having spoken of the duties of faithful women, I return to that which is most quiet: faith carried without witness, and that virtue without reward. For not all holiness is declared. Within this quietness is the true strength of the faithful, where God clearly sees, and where the world might not acknowledge. All things done in humility are not done in vain, and the Lord God shall not turn away from us in our quiet and careful service unto Him.

To those mothers who do hold sorrow and joy; to the daughters, whose mission is to learn and show their honored piety; to those widows, who endure in the absence of loved ones - take not my words as instruction but use them as encouragement. I encourage you to remain steadfast in these duties we hold naturally, not for the reason they are acts unto God, but for the reason that our acts and services are just extensions of Creation, gifted unto us. May God take you in your time of passing, and not give you an end but instead a welcome home into the skies, where peace and mercy is eternal with Him.

Preface: It is my great hope to join the church to do something of worth with my life. I must admit that I have little training as an acolyte, if any, currently. I believe in scholarship and debate, and it is my sincere hope to cause change in the manner of my writings and, hopefully, one day, preaching. I write this thesis as I notice the lack of Imperial Cathedral days ahead of the coronation of Marcus I. I humbly hope that during his reign, we may debate the manner of church building before constructing a church that brings glory to GOD through our creation that which he gave to us.

- Ailred Ruthern

A Thesis On: Ecclesiastical Decoration And Structure of the Sacred Architecture 

“There he Horen drove the stakes of his tabernacle into four corners, and they became the boundaries of the holiest city.”

Scroll of Gospel, 3:8

“Finally, Horen and his tribe built homes of wood and cloth in the plains, and they built temples of stone, and had many children.”

Scroll of Gospel, 2:13

As devout faithful, it is our most holy purpose to keep to the will of GOD. Within the scrolls, there is no single explicit command regarding the decoration of sacred space; instead, there is a tension between the command for ordered holy architecture and the dangers of material excess. With the creation of the holy space of Horen’s holiest city, of which temples aim to recreate with their consecration today, and the command to build temples in strong material such as stone, the canon reveals that the creation of divine architecture is not merely functional, but an extension of divine command in the material world.

This thesis shall argue that ecclesiastical architecture should reflect the glory of GOD with great splendour and ornament, as extensions of virtuous labour and divine hierarchy. This thesis shall also examine the counter; however, through simplicity and humility, we may steer ourselves away from excess that would give way to idolatry and worship of the material over the spiritual. 
 

“For I have blessed you with My miracle of creation, and you shall draw nearer to My throne by your labours.“

Scroll of Virtue 4:6

It is through the command of GOD that, through our labours, we would draw nearer to his throne. To further that, we should not be idle, the chief construct of worship in the creation of works in honour of GOD, namely, temples, we may grow closer to GOD. These temples are not merely places of worship, nor should they be ultimately any place of random before their consecration, such as a tavern or castle storeroom, but places built with holy purpose and set aside for such. Whilst Horen did set his four corners where he would similarly reside, one might argue that this came out of necessity over explicit need, and so we should avoid chapels within castles and the like unless this space has been specifically designed for such. No more should architects cram or find use of a small space in their castles and fill them with a temple or chapel, nor should the clergy consecrate them. A temple of any sort should be designed in mind to give GLORY to GOD. 

We must further stress that, by our works growing closer to the throne of GOD, these works are made of stone. When Horen and his tribe had their first materials, they built homes of material with no importance as wood and cloth. Temples were built of stone, with finality and greater cost than to them. By this same standard, we must ensure that the temple is the rock of all towns, villages and settlements in its finality. A temple may not be made of materials that can denigrate, and by the cost of the time, should be made to honour GOD through the cost of its materials. It is of import therefore, we lavish our temples with the strongest materials and the most costly, for to do so is to honour God's will and his design.

“And by His Word the planes were rendered, and His Throne was in the Seventh Sky.”

Scroll of Gospel 1:3

Through GOD'S divine creation, his design is ordered and created with a specific purpose. As the faithful seek to replicate and extend GOD’s holy works, we must build similarly with intent as GOD had done so. His throne, or altar, should be placed in the high point of the temple as the symbol of the highest prestige. None may be above the throne in their pews or seats as some have come to build in their temples. Through the use of the throne, it extends the symbolic idea of a great king that is similarly continued throughout the scrolls. This further argues in favour of the use of wealth to be imbued within the temple with items of worth, such as gold and other precious materials. It must be further stated that, from a perspective of conversion, precious metals helps the point of conversion for the poor and uneducated, with high symbolism, statues and and points of education through paintings, the masses may be better educated than the simple which, whilst may be better for those seeking deeper contemplation, hampers the ability to allow a temple welcoming of all rather than the select few. 

Those who believe in the more austere temple will argue that whilst sacred structure is permitted, they should be careful to avoid too much luxury or pride within their building. To restrain in ecclesiastical decoration avoids the faithful from seeing the visible with the divine. Rather than adding to their faith, items of great splendour may be objects of corruption. 

“They did not wish to reject the soft beds and good wines… Nor the finely worked jewelry.” 

Scroll of Gospel 2:26 

Indeed, oftentimes sin is often cloaked in the disguise of the divine, such as Saul disguised as Horen. The faithful must therefore be wary that these great religious works are done in service to GOD, rather than done in pride. We must aim to replicate GOD’s holy works, but within creating holy architecture, it must reflect the glory of GOD and those who bring glory to him rather than that of ourselves. Whilst these buildings may be points of pride in the towns and where they are built, they must be done so with the mind to not lead us to corruption or the worship of false idols or ourselves. The Scrolls recognise such an issue, stating: 

“You have been proud and called my work your own.”

Scroll of Gospel 7:21

The faith is one of built-in hierarchy, and sacred architecture must reflect this. We must ensure to bring glory to GOD through our ability to create, and there is no greater holy mission than to build temples within GOD’s sacred order, as well as to decorate them with works that further show GOD’s mystical awe to inspire the faithful, convert the wicked and replicate in what mediums we can of GOD’s holy grace. Yet, these must be done with the right purpose. Within, we must not stray into corruption, nor let these decorations sway others into Iblees’ corruption. We must be wary of those who build great designs, not for GOD’s grace, but rather for their own selfish means. 

In practicality, therefore, when building our temples, we must follow the instructions of the scrolls. Our temples should be built with strong materials, for they are the pillars of our communities and our faith. As when houses were built of cloth and wood, our temples will be built of stone. These buildings should bring honour and glory to GOD’s holy works, and so should our temples be ugly; they should be torn down as against GOD’s divine order. I believe there is still room for debate on the decorations between temples and monasteries, the house of GOD must reflect his glory, but man’s vanity. A monastery for those who have already learned and seek further contemplation shall be different to one of the unread or uneducated masses. It is the belief of this thesis, however, that they should be decorated to show awe and bring God's splendour to the world to honour him. However, it is of great importance that we address the issue of the corruption of faith within some ecclesiastical architecture. Temples built by families, named in honour of their ancestors, and the worship of their families within the centre, is certainly a corruption of faith. For whilst an ancestor may be blessed or a saint, to centre those temples around one’s ancestors is certainly more honouring oneself than GOD.

Thus, while there does exist a level of danger that excess can lead to corruption for the faithful as they may be lost to the great splendours of wealth wherein they choose to worship the false, or the material over GOD, there is of greater import to GOD’s work. Our temples should reflect the highest glory of GOD, not our palaces or those places of hero worship wherein we worship our ancestors, whether pious or not. Our churches must be built as our pillars, our great bastions, for in a world where the Emperor’s peace has permeated, it is not the castle that stands assaulted, but rather our minds. Our churches must be adorned with the purpose to convert those wayward in faith, those lost, or those who seek malignant powers, such as those we fight in a crusade. The church, with its adornment, will stand as the chief power in our great realm. Meanwhile, those smaller places of faith, such as monasteries for quiet contemplation, shall be less adorned, where one can truly find God's holiness. To state simply, where God's beauty is found within his great works, this thesis argues that it shall not corrupt, but rather inspire and reveal the truth of GOD’s glory.

Edictum Lothairus

 Cardinalis Montis Collieriensis

—————

צו לות'יר

מונטקולייר

Duly published,

13th of Owyn’s Light

650 in the Age of Ascension

Sermon on The Book of Horen’s End as a Crusade

Recited in The Cathedral of The Fifty Skulls Upon the 13th of Owyn’s Light, 650 AA

By Rabbin, Lothaire Cardinal Montcollier, Bishop St. Thomas of Gaekrin

St. Lucien I, pray for us. 

✠ ———————— ✠

Opening Prayer

Blessed are You, God, Who guides and protects Your Tribe, Humanity. Humbled and raised are we by Your prophecy, the Holy Scrolls. Blessed are You, God, Who commands us to be faithful, charitable, temperate, diligent, patient, full of fidelity, and full of humility. We shall study Your Scrolls, for the study of Scrolls can encompass all this. Amen.

✠ ————————————————————— ✠

Sermon Transcript

In my last sermon, I spoke of, on length, how we are to conduct conflict against our fellow Descendants. If you recall, I called upon all of us to fight not with anger in our hearts, or honour on our mind. Indeed, friends, it is for God alone we must fight. Now, more than ever, this is true, for we stand on the eve of a great and just crusade, the likes of which have not been seen in some time. Our enemies are now not just our simple, misguided, and ignorant Descendant kin Tribes of the last war. No. We stand now against the soulless servants of Ibless, may his name be erased from memory, who have long terrorized all Tribes. We stand against hordes of the undying and of daemon-spawn. This crusade we shall embark upon is against our greatest foe: the Denier, may his name be erased from memory.

What do God’s Scrolls reveal to us about crusades? We must heed the following enlightened passage, from Gospel 2:61 until 66. Now, mind, it is a long passage, so listen closely, and know it. It goes as follows: ‘In the evening of the war, the brothers came upon Iblees and Saul, and they engaged them. The Denier was enraged, and by his wicked power the brothers and their tribes were altered. Here, Krug and his people were marked from the others. All were overcome with the desire to sin, and they feared to falter. But the Aengul Aeriel descended, and he was preceded by a ringing clarion. Iblees was weakened, and the brothers cast him out, and his army fell into the Void with him.’ Now, I shall give context to this most enlightened passage. It describes what we might call the First Crusade, the four brothers’ divinely led fight against the Denier, may his name be erased from memory. Following the vanquishment of evil, another great history from our Scrolls occurs. Heed this passage most-enlightened, from Gospel, 2:69 to 70: ‘But at the command of GOD, Aeriel did not alleviate Horen’s pain, which was his mortality. For to Horen, GOD promised the Skies. And Horen was assumed into them, and here at His seat, GOD spoke to His prophet,’ and 2:77, 77 being a holy number, ‘So Horen was blessed with the divine Word, and the Lord released him from the Skies.’

It is following the victory of this Great Crusade, we, Humanity, are brought into the covenant of the Skies. Indeed, this is the very moment where our Tribe is blessed with the promise of the Skies. All of this follows a Great Crusade. Now, I am not saying that we shall, upon winning this crusade, receive a blessing as divine as the Skies. I am not even saying that we shall win the crusade. We are mortal, full of sin and divided. I pray for our success, but know that our failures are great and many. If we do win, it shall be through divine intervention. I know not God’s will. What I do know is that, when we fight in crusades, we follow in the steps of our fathers and mothers, for generations past. We must honour God and His prophecy, the Scrolls.

We bring holy light, spoken prophecy, unto all Tribes. And, on that topic, I wish to advise this, bring not hatred into this holy fight against our greatest enemy. You may well find yourself fighting next to a druidic warrior or a templar knight. Know in your soul that they sin, just as you do, but they also fight now for the greatest good, just as you do. You need not embrace them as a brother or sister, but fight them not, for you stand together, opposed to the encroaching darkness. Their fight now is for God, they just do not realize that yet. They shall come to know Him, in time.

Now, before we depart, please, I ask of you, if you can fight, join this upcoming and most holy crusade. If you can lift a sword, sign up for His Holiness’ Wargames.

God bless and guide you, each and all.

In the words of one wiser than I:

Remaining the least of His children,

Your servant,

Rabbin, Lothaire Cardinal Montcollier

Bishop St. Thomas of Gaekrin

A Thesis on: The Fracturing of Horen’s Sons

Kiriel Blackfern

GOD, in His wisdom, did not create one perfect people, but many—each flawed, each purposeful, and each bound together beneath His will. As Horen, Malin, Urguan, and Krug were brothers, so too are we all as their descendants. We must ask ourselves whether those among us have come to believe that humans stand above the other races. God has given mankind the duty to guide the other descendants to GOD’s path. I cannot help but wonder if this sacred duty has, at times, been forgotten. As High Pontiffs past and present have stated, it is our duty as the faithful to enlighten others with the word of GOD, not through war but through conversations and empathy. For it is GOD’s will that we shall all know peace once more, so to treat one as less than purely for his race is the sin of pride to believe you are superior to GOD’s design. 

My brothers, I ask that you treat one another in dignity and restraint, for I believe there will be no perfection if we do not allow others to learn of the true faith and GOD’s will—many, such as I, were not born into the religion but instead converted. I must ask myself if I were not treated with kindness, would I have ever heard GOD’s word? Would I have retreated to my own kind and fallen for heathenism? I ask you to consider this possibility when interacting with those of another race. As humans, you have been entrusted with a GOD-given role to guide those like me. As it is written in the Scroll of Virtue, reminding us that faith is meant to be shared “And as I have given to you this blessing of My Word, you shall also give unto your fellows.”- Virtue 2:8, And again, the Scroll of Virtue speaks to the abundance granted to the virtuous who act with generosity and compassion, “I am the Lord GOD without peer, and My abundance is the holy abundance, and My wealth is the virtuous wealth, and all the blessings of the Virtue shall fall before the righteous who share it.” - Virtue 2:11. I have heard too many stories of those who refuse to hear the word of GOD because their brothers and sisters were killed by those who saw themselves as virtuous. Such wounds do not fade—they fester, and in their pain, many turn from the faith, not because they deny GOD, but because they have only known Him through their suffering. The Scroll of Gospel tells us of the consequences of such division and harm, “You betray man with your wrath, and once again Horen’s sons are divided” - Gospel 4:53.  How many souls have been lost not to ignorance, but to cruelty? How many turned from GOD, not because they rejected Him, but because His people first rejected them? I believe we are not meant to wage war among those who have not yet known the word of GOD, but instead those who actively go against it. “The hand of GOD is the greatest weapon to bear, and His word is the paramount strategy.” - Spirit 2:12, For GOD teaches that our greatest strength is not violence, but faith itself.

 For those who are not descendants, consider that it was not their will to be born as such and that instead they are victims of Iblees’ wickedness. I believe it is possible for such creatures to live virtuous lives; can alienation bring forth anything but resentment? At best, I believe we should aim to live in peace with them while on earth and be gracious and teach them the word of GOD. I have heard of others speaking of wanting to kill children simply for being of a non-descendant race. Ask yourselves, is this holy justice or an excuse to act in wrath? According to holy law, if these individuals possess a light of wisdom, then they are to be protected by the Church. GOD is merciful; consider that those who forsake sin and worship GOD may have their soul purified upon death.

For in the end, it is not belief alone that bears weight, but the actions taken in His name. I ask you to reflect, then—what role you will choose: the sword that divides GOD’s children, or the voice that calls them home.

Edictum Lothairus

 Cardinalis Montis Collieriensis

Sermon On The Epistles Before Battle

Recited in The Cathedral of The Fifty Skulls Upon the 13th of Owyn’s Light, 646 AA

By Rabbin, Lothaire Cardinal Montcollier, Bishop St. Thomas of Gaekrin

St. Charles, pray for us. 

✠ ———————— ✠

Opening Prayer

Blessed are You, God, Who guides and protects Your Tribe, Humanity. Humbled and raised are we by Your prophecy, the Holy Scrolls. Blessed are You, God, Who commands us to be faithful, charitable, temperate, diligent, patient, full of fidelity, and full of humility. We shall study Your Scrolls, for the study of Scrolls can encompass all this. Amen.

✠ ——————————————————— ✠

Sermon Transcript

Humanity is now on the eve of battle against the Tribe of Urguan and their allies, the Tribe of Krug. We know well the long history of terrible war against us by our fellow Descendants and we long for the day that the Four Tribes are at peace and united under God. 

The Epistles given to Owyn speak well to this. Heed this enlightened passage, from Spirit 5:8, The Epistle to the Dwarves, ‘The Lord is the Lord GOD without peer, but you have divided his infinite authorities among many beings, and in such you profane what is holy. This is a grievous sin, for in parting holiness, you destroy it. You have traded one GOD of infinite power for many of little worth.’ Such is the sin of the Children of Urguan. They have shunned God and taken up stone idols carved in the images of their ancestors. 

What is the sin of the Children of Krug? Heed now this enlightened passage, from Spirit 6:13, The Epistle to the Orcs, ‘So I find that you seek power in wrath, but there is no power like unto GOD’s. For he is the Most Merciful, the Most Powerful, and even the thousand petty wraths of the spirits do not overcome His mercy.’ Heed further this, from Spirit 6:15, ‘Verily, brother, the Lord GOD is the Most Benevolent, and gives only mercy. And verily you must find that pain comes not from the wrath of the Lord, but as we reject Him.’ The Children of Krug wallow in wrath and reject God’s mercy. Their anger and pain consumes them.

Now, we Humans are not without sin either. Can someone from the congregation speak to me, what is the sin God does condemn in the Epistle to the Jorenites? Indeed. Heed the Epistle to the Jorenites, 2:11, ‘So I find that you are strict in your arms, but lax in your prayers.’ The Jorenites were great warriors, but they fell into the sin of secularism. They forwent the defense of God’s word for the defense of their cities and lands, which are material and finite. God, in His inconceivable greatness, is infinite. 

So the question of the day which rests upon us is, how do we fight this upcoming battle as good folk of Faith? We do it with God in our hearts. We must avoid the sin of Urguan’s Tribe, that of ancestor worship. Do not fight with your ancestor’s honour on your mind. Nae, you are all Faithful soldiers of God; fight with God in your heart. We further must avoid the sin of Krug’s Tribe, that of wrath. Do not lay low the walls of Urguan with hatred in your soul. Fight for God’s word and, and know that every arrow you loose towards the Children of Urguan shall go towards the salvation of their Tribe. If we can do such, we might avoid the sin of the Jorenites. Remember always, Faithful soldiers of God, it is not honour nor wrath that we must fight for, we must fight for God. 

God bless and guide you, each and all.

In the words of one wiser than I:

Remaining the least of His children,

Your servant,

Rabbin, Lothaire Cardinal Montcollier

Bishop St. Thomas of Gaekrin

Guiding with a Gentle Hand

Written by Father Maurus Üvegkészítő

Preface:
It has been a longstanding belief of my own that we should not always jump to the whipping of a misbehaving bull, but understand why it misbehaves in the first place. If we are to continue to lead our flock and faith into greener pastures, we must not always jump to violence and persecution. We must try and steer them back on the right path through education and patience… If we continue to cull and persecute those who look different or worship our Lord in what may be a strange way, we threaten our own existence.

I wish to implore my Brothers and Sisters of Faith to question before we strike down the sinner. There may be hope and a spark that remains to return them back to the warmth of our Lord, God. If you wish for examples, please come visit Sister Solene and I in the Monastery of the Wayward Heart and we would be happy to offer guidance and assistance.

Purpose:

There are those not just amongst our kin, but around the world that would first seek to correct with violence rather than with kindness. It is my duty to offer an insight into my practice and school of thought when it comes to those who have doubts within their heart or for converting the pagans that we welcome within our fold.

It is wise of us to seek to offer strangers a handshake and warm meal rather than a closed fist and the taste of steel. For the more we turn away and frighten by the might of our God, the more they are likely to convert to more paganistic beliefs and dabble in the Betrayer’s magical cabals. The more we can show the righteous path, the better it is for the health of our flocks.

Leading with a Gentle Hand:

“For I have given you the pains of the world, and I have given you their cure. And you shall know the trials of this theater of virtue, and know that they shall strengthen you.” (Scroll of Virtue, Canticle of Patience, Verses 7-8)

To lead a flock, whether in faith or in politics, must consider a lighter hand. We must always ask ourselves, what we can do for our people and not always what the people can do for us. Our mission is to serve and we should seek to do such through more than just prayer and confessionals. We seek to do more for those of the faith and those beyond - we must be the warmth we always speak of.

If we are not willing to do such for our flocks and those beyond, there will be those who are willing even if under deceiving guise. If we are open with our intentions and lead with kindness when appropriate, then our bonds between Brother and Sister will grow stronger and our flock will grow larger. We must be the beacon of hope that our God had always wished for us to be.

Striking with a Gentle Hand:

“I am the Lord GOD without peer, and My Word is the holy word, and My path is the virtuous path, and all the blessings of the Virtue shall fall before the righteous who tread it.” (Scroll of Virtue, Canticle of Faith, Verse 9)

This is to not say that one should allow the repeated sinner or the conspirators of evil to freely walk within our blessed lands. We shall not let those who wish to actively poison the well time and time again to be free and without burden. These people should still be cut down and their bodies torched in righteous flames. We should not afford them last rites or even an attempt to worm their way out of what needs to be done.

It is our duty to test, determine, and weed out those who appear to be wretched creatures of the shadows and cut them down before they can fester. There are those who wear the skin of man, but do the biddings of evil… and those who wear the skins of evil and do the biddings of man.
 

Conclusion

We must understand when to use the tools of patience and violence appropriately so as to not dwindle or become corrupted. Our hands are capable of doing both, but we must be able to differentiate when to use either one. For a vampyre may be cured of its afflictions, but the one spreading this disease should be struck down. Again, I welcome all to visit Sister Solene and I if you wish to discuss or learn.

KEY:
Sources are given in format of [X-X-X].
The first X refers to the Scroll. In order, one is the Scroll of Virtue, two is the Scroll of Spirit, and three is the Scroll of Gospel.
The second X refers to the section of the scroll as they are listed in. For example, the Canticle of Temperance is third.
The third X refers to the exact verse within the section.

ON THE SANCTITY OF LIFE, THE INFINITE PATIENCE OF GOD, AND THE ABHORRENCE OF THE DEATH PENALTY;
AND A PETITION FOR THE CHURCH TO HENCEFORTH ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY AS AN APPROPRIATE FACET OF JUSTICE
TO BE GIVEN BY THE PRIESTHOOD AS PUNISHMENT FOR CRIMES BOTH MORTAL AND GODLY.

OR;

ON THE DEATH PENALTY; A PETITION FOR ABOLISHMENT
 

I. ON THE ORIGIN AND OWNERSHIP OF LIFE

“I breathed life into your heart, and the hearts of your children. And I have given you life: I am your father, and the father of all things.” and so it is written in the Canticle of Faith. But what do these words mean? Allow to take a moment to examine them. If GOD granted us life, then it means there is an innate divine contract wherein we belong to GOD as creations of GOD, and innately, if GOD is our heavenly Father then that bond is not merely one of creator and created, but rather of a close familial bond. This is because our GOD is loving and kind, and desires a relationship with His creations; therefore, it is the natural assumption that GOD loves His creatures and that his commandments come from a place of familial affection

And so Descendent life is not self-originating, but rather the power to create life belongs solely to the Lord; even as the child jostles in the mother’s womb, it is only by the benevolence of GOD and by Him breathing life into the child that it shall be either conceived or born. Thusly, life is a gift from GOD; a gift is owned by no party, though in this context the recipient would act as the steward of GOD's gift. And if the power to create life belongs to GOD, ultimately, so too does the power to revoke the gift of life lie in His hands. In this manner, the child who is granted breath by Him is not the owner his breath but rather the steward of his breath, a gift which bears the mark of the divine may never truly lose such a mark. And if no man can make life, what warrant do they have to unmake life?

II. ON THE NATURE OF GOD IN RELATION TO MERCY AND BENEVOLANCE

In the Scroll of Spirit, it is declared: "Verily, brother, the Lord GOD is the Most Benevolent, and gives only mercy."

This is not a unique declaration, but it is a telling one. The Lord gives ONLY mercy. It does not merely extol mercy as a virtue and an expectation of a good person, but rather as a nature of GOD. His sovereignty is merciful sovereignty, His judgement is merciful judgement. I submit to you now that GOD would seek always the least violent path to justice, if indeed He must serve in the role of judge.

"Pain comes not from the wrath of the Lord, but as we reject Him." (2-6-16)

"There is no Vengeance in God" (2-6-6)
"GOD punishes not, but protects. And there is no pain with GOD, but without Him." (2-6-17/18)
 

Thus the Holy Scrolls remove GOD from the act of vengeance; suffering comes not from GOD and His justice, but rather as we move further from Him. How can we claim that the death penalty is in the name of GOD, when all manners of pain come as a result of distance from Him? If He does not proscribe unto us the power of life and death, and we seize it, are we not usurpers of divine dominion? As the Lord refutes any claim of pain being His doing we must then look at what this means. It means that wrath as we know it is not a movement of GOD toward rage and anger. The Lord is unmoved by rage as we are moved, for He is the Eternal Steward. He judges not in wrath and vengeance, but as a father judging his children, as a shepherd who must herd his flock back towards the path they have strayed from. I put it to you that death is entirely removed from GOD's judgement; was not even Iblees cast into exile when he rebelled?

As we look upon this topic, we cannot merely look at an ideal, but we must too look at the facts presented to us by the Holy Scrolls. If there is no pain with GOD, but without Him, then we must look at the truth which stares us in the face: he who causes pain is without GOD. Indeed, if pain is not born from Him, but with Him there is no pain, the Church must carefully consider whose spirit animates the will of death into men and ensure that it does not mistake distance from GOD for service to GOD.

Execution is not a remedy, it is a finality. In death, there is no room for penance or in His mercy. Wielded by imperfect men, which all are including the Exalted themselves, for even the Exalted Owyn slew his own uncle in wrath, death begins to take the form of vengeance rather than justice. The Scrolls do not present a GOD who is merciful until provoked; nor who alternates between violence and mercy. GOD remains benevolent at all times, even when Harren denied the sacred vocation of prophecy, GOD waited and allowed him penance. Therefore we may conclude that it is GOD's nature to be merciful; and if the Church claims, rightfully, to be the successors of His word then we hold a sacred duty to act as He would act. If the stewards and representatives of GOD extinguish life, we present the picture of a GOD who's mercy has limits, and that is the greatest of blasphemies.

III. ON THE PATIENCE OF GOD AND HIS DESIRE FOR PENANCE

"The Lord is merciful, and waits for our penance." (3-6-45)
This verse is more telling than most would realise; for the Lord does not only forgive, which would insinuate that He is limited by the transgressor's desire for forgiveness, but instead he waits for a sincere desire to repent. Waiting is definitionally an act of restraint, for why should you wait for your enemy to plead your forgiveness when you have the strength to slay him where he stands? Only relevant to those with strength, patience is therefore not weakness but dominion over your own strength and amongst the highest of virtues. If the Lord waits for our penance, then penance must be desired. And if penance is desired, then the life of the sinner still has value for as long as it takes for GOD to redeem his soul; the sinner is not cast beyond the reach of GOD and His mercy, for as long as he draws breath he may repent and redeem his place amongst GOD's flock.

What is penance? I put it forth that penance is the result of the turning of the heart, and does that not require time? How can a man repent if, in wrath, he is cut down for his crimes? A dead man cannot confess or plead forgiveness. A dead man cannot repent and be restored. He cannot amend. Penance is for the living, and so if GOD wishes for the penance of all, and waits for it, then it MUST be that to strip somebody of their chance to truly repent before GOD is a sin beyond sin, to reject the Lord's mercy and His will to see His creations repent. The Lord, in waiting for penance, is the one who establishes space between the sinner and death. For mortal men to bridge that gap is to usurp GOD's authority; for it is by divine provenance which establishes that even the most wicked of life holds value and is sanctified before GOD, for He seeks all of His creatures to repent. Who are we to deny GOD His desires?

In the canticles of the Scroll of Virtue, the world is defined by GOD as a Theatre of Virtue. That theatre is not a moment in time, but a span from the beginning of GOD's creation to the end. Throughout that span, all men will know trial; but they will know also strength, for when can remedy come but in the wake of affliction? If the Church sanctions execution, then she is cutting the thread of time and patience which GOD has proscribed, she cuts the possibility of penance and severs the thread of life in a manner which GOD cannot condone and indeed does speak against in the Holy Scrolls. There will be some who read this thesis and say "But are some crimes not deserving of death? So grievous that penance is unlikely, if not impossible?" Did not the Lord wait for the penance of Ex. Godfrey the Prideful? Of Harren the Faithless? Of Ex. Owyn the Kinslayer? GOD does not merely proscribe penance for the minor sinners, of the thieves and he who skips mass, but of all. Even Kinslaying, the worst of mortal sins, may you repent from. For the Lord's mercy is everlasting; his benevolence is infinite.

The pattern we see from GOD in all cases of great sin is patience. GOD is not hasty to condemn or cast judgement; but rather he waits as long as it takes for the sinner to repent. The patience of GOD is not indifference to the crimes of man, but rather it is an invitation to come forth and repent of your wrongdoings before His eternal mercy. Therefore, the Church must align itself with the nature of GOD. If GOD opens the door of penance, then how can the Church justify shutting it? Extinguish not the breath which your GOD has created.

IV. ON JUSTICE AND VENGEANCE
The Lord is Most Benevolent, but whilst He waits for our penance there still must be justice done amongst mortal men, for the grieving of the widow is as real as the Mercy of GOD. It is true enough that some will say: "Woe to you, Priest, for what of justice? Why should the murderer live, whilst the innocent lay dead?" and to you I say: "You shall not judge your own Virtue, for all fall short of GOD." (1-7-8). But in truth, this objection must be rationally reviewed and understood if it is to be rebutted. Justice is not contrary to virtue, and the Lord is not indifferent to evil, and he is the judge of all. The question at hand is not whether or not justice ought to exist, but rather if death is the highest form of justice available to man.

If vengeance does not belong to the Lord, then the Church cannot rightfully sanctify it as a manner of justice. For if all fall short of GOD, then all are imperfect, for GOD is perfection. If all mortal men are imperfect, then they lack proper moral clarity when they sit in judgement. Execution is the presumption that no alternative remedy is appropriate for the situation at hand; to grow drunk on authority and grow lax in mercy is to stray from His path and presume yourself to be mortally perfect. But GOD waits, and if GOD waits, then the right of finality belongs only to him; for He gives the gift of life. Whilst the grief of the widow is real, and the sobs of the injured are justified, and the anger of the burgled is understandable, grief does not grant divine authority; GOD does not condone the ending of a life. For if the murderer may be stopped through imprisonment then justice is preserved, and if the violent may pay recompense to the injured and repent for his actions then justice is preserved, and the thief may return the stolen goods then justice is preserved.

Justice, when rightfully enacted, preserves both the good law of GOD and the order of man. However, to end a life through judicial punishment when there exist other, merciful options, is not justice but rather vengeance. The difference between justice and vengeance lay not in the act itself, for that way they may be conflated, but in the spirit behind it. Justice restores and prevents further transgression, whilst vengeance serves only to destroy and to bring an end to the Lord's offer of penance. Therefore I put it to you that the Church, as His representatives, must embody justice which has been utterly purified of vengeance. Whilst the wicked must be punished, divine judgement must not be interrupted. The innocent must have their justice, and yet the wicked must also have the chance to return to His light. For if the Church sanctifies death as justice, then she grossly misinterprets the will of GOD; for if GOD waits, then so too must His Church wait.

V. ON THE TOPIC OF WAR AND BATTLE

There will be some who take my criticism of execution and extend it to call me a pacifist, to ridicule my objection to the death penalty by saying this thesis refers to all forms of killing. I write this paragraph therefore in inevitable defence of he who would make these claims: Horen bore arms, the tribes contended with one another, and even as the Jorenites were rebuked for being lax in prayer yet strict in arms they were not condemned for being strict in arms. The scrolls do not necessitate surrender to genocide, nor an end to all war where there is a Holy cause presented. Yet the difference here is that war is not execution, it is mutual self defence by two armies fighting amongst one another. Indeed, I would rebuke any who slay a civilian in war, or who torch a village, or who execute a captive enemy.

War is a mutual hazard. All those who participate know that each day may be his last, and he understands that his enemy is not evil for slaying him; for he would do the same thing were the chances of fate reversed. In war, two parties who bear arms against each other are combatants. Both parties retain the ability to yield or to flee. The soldier who advances on the field of battle does so knowing that he is defending his homeland, defending his innocent, and does so willing to die if he must. In contrast, execution is the killing of a bound prisoner, incapable of resistance. In war, force is used in self defence and to repel aggression. The aim is not annihilation or total destruction and death but rather it is to prevent further, greater violence. And yet, even as we discuss war, we too must be careful not to fall into the trap of unholy war.

The Church must be wary of unholy war. The Canticle of Patience commands "You shall not raise a hand in wrath", therefore war should not be baptised by anger. The Scrolls condemn envy and demand humility, therefore any war conducted for greed or for pride and ambition is also an unholy war. Yet when violence threatens the innocent, so too must good men and true rise to defend them; when disorder threatens to destroy the realm, the loyal few must rise to defend it. In these cases, where death is not through purposeful malice but rather a natural albeit sad consequence of conflict it may be endured as a requirement for the defence of the innocent, though I would advise caution before labelling it as a holy killing; for how can death be holy?

There is fundamental difference between war and execution. War prevents immediate violence, whilst execution serves as punishment only after violence has ceased. War is necessary, yet execution is vengeance. Whilst the Church may acknowledge the necessity of war, that does not mean she must sanctify execution. The Church may bless and sanctify those who defend the innocent and defend GOD, yet she must never bless and sanctify death as a means of punishment. Thus, the faithful should take up arms when they must defend the innocent and prevent greater violence, and yet they must also reject the death penalty as an abhorrent facet of vengeance and an innate contradiction to GOD's infinite patience and supreme mercy.
 

VI. ON THE SPIRITUAL CORRUPTION OF THE CHURCH

Whilst we talk of criminal and crime, of widow and widower, I have neglected to touch upon the matter of the Church herself. The death penalty spiritually corrupts and erodes the Church for what she permits she slowly becomes accustomed to, and what she becomes accustomed to she defends, and what she defends she normalises. If the Church is to normalise the death penalty, we will have lost our mandate from GOD Almighty to shepherd his flock; for the hands of the priest are meant to sanctify, to cleanse, to purify, it is not intended to tie the hangman's noose nor to let loose the executioner's axe. By the Church placing her seal upon the execution warrant, she binds the authority of herself and thus of GOD to the act of murder. Death which was once considered tragic will, eventually, become a routine no different than mass or confession. This is not a danger to be taken lightly.

The Scrolls present the Church as the shepherd, as the teacher who corrects and guides and restrains. The shepherd does not slaughter his flock because the sheep wanders off the trail, he toils through day and night, through rain and storm, to find the lost sheep and return it to GOD's path. We were not ordained by GOD, by the Exalted Owyn, as executioners but rather as teachers and spiritual fathers. What Father would condemn his sons to death? What Father would savagely demand the hand of his son as penance? What Father would whip his son through the street? By allowing murder to be justified by the Church, she obscures the character of GOD. The faithful will wonder: if the Holy Father, bearer of the Laurel, the Vicar of GOD, condemns this man to die then GOD himself must be accepting of death, he must revel in it. GOD's mercy is infinite, and so too as we preach to the populace we must also be the guiding beacon which serves as example to all of His children.

Further in opposition, I do raise that we will harden the hearts of men and normalise the act of violence if we do not preach against it. If the first execution causes outrage, and the second execution causes disgust, how many down the line will it be until execution is considered as normal as eating or drinking? This is a slope we cannot afford to descend. If we normalise death as a punishment from GOD, we will begin to trivialise mercy. Patience and mercy are virtues, and by definition it makes it difficult to follow as they are against our imperfect nature; and if the easier path is the one taken by the Church, why would anybody take the harder path? We are negligent in our duties if we allow mercy to become an impractical, lesser alternative to execution and vengeance.

The Church must remain a rock. A steadfast institution where the sanctity of life is held beyond any doubt, where sinners are encouraged to repent rather than executed merely because it is the easier punishment. I would remind you that the Church does not hold sovereignty over life, for that belongs only to the Lord, GOD; the Church holds his stewards, who must preach his word and manage his flock, but they must never deign to approach his level. As we speak of a most benevolent GOD, must not we also be benevolent? How can we speak of mercy if we practice vengeance? How can we claim to be the representatives of an all merciful GOD to the nations of the world and to the faithful of the Church if we do not follow what we preach?

IN CONCLUSION
Therefore, in humility and obedience to the Bearer of the Laurel, I submit to His Holiness Caius the Second that the Church as a steward of virtue and the guardian of GOD's word must renounce the death penalty as a recompense within her jurisdiction, lest she claim the very same finality which belongs only to GOD Himself. Let the Church be known not for her swiftness to wrath and murder, but to be extolled in virtue as a Holy Institution of His shepherds.

Signed,
Yours in Faith and Service,
Father Lucien.

. · : · .  ‡  . · : · .

On the Significance of Seven in Holy Scripture

A Theological Examination of Order, Completion, and Moral Wholeness

By Father Zechariah
Published 272 SA, on the 13 of The Deep Cold

· . : . ·  ‡  · . : . ·

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1. Introduction - Seven as Revelation

We as the faithful must reject the errors of superstition. The number seven holds no power in itself. If seven bears significance, it does so not because of mystical property, but because the Creator has chosen to employ it within revelation. Seven must be understood as revealed structure rather than invented meaning.

2. The mark of Completion

In the Holy Scriptures, the number seven most often accompanies completion. The number seven represents sufficiency. It reassures us that the Creator has not spoken incompletely, nor left humanity to guess at what remains hidden. What is marked by number seven is not infinite speculation, but finished articulation. In this way, seven does not glorify quantity, but integrity. It is not “many,” but “enough.” It is the form through which Scripture communicates that divine intention has reached its proper end.

3. The Seven Virtues and the Wholeness of the Soul

We can see that the Scroll of Virtue presents moral law not as scattered instruction, but as a deliberate sevenfold articulation:

1. Faith
2. Charity
3. Temperance
4. Diligence
5. Patience
6. Fidelity
7. Humility

No single virtue is permitted to dominate the rest. Each stands alongside the others as part of a complete order. Charity without temperance decays into indulgence. Diligence without humility becomes pride. Fidelity without patience hardens into severity. It shows us that each virtue is not a one-time thing, but a guide for a whole life lived under God’s Word. It also shows us that the virtues are defined and complete. We are not called to invent new virtues, nor to select preferred ones, but to inhabit the full order given.

4. Seven Speaks to the Human Condition

The recurrence of the number seven in Scripture does not only reveal divine order, but also answers a human need. We do not live well in abstraction. We require shape, boundary, and clarity. A moral law without limit becomes overwhelming for many. A narrow perspective becomes overwhelming. The sevenfold expression of virtue gives the faithful something that can be fulfilled. Not endless demands, but a comprehensive model and pattern. Number seven, not seventy. A simple structure, not an impossible infinity. It assures us that these seven virtues are necessary and demanding for a moral life, but they are neither chaotic nor impossible.

5. Boundary and Safeguard

The number seven does not only complete, it also limits. When the Scripture presents the moral law in seven virtues, it quietly draws a line around what has been given to us. It tells us that the Creator has spoken sufficiently. We are not left to endlessly expand the law according to our needs and anxieties, nor to reduce it according to our comfort. Seven stands as a safeguard against both excess and our neglect. We are prone to distortion. Some of us multiply rules until faith becomes unbearable. Others simplify until nothing demanding remains. The sevenfold structure resists both tendencies. It prevents us from inventing new measures of righteousness.

6. The Refusal of Extremes

The presence of number seven within the Scrolls also speaks to something fragile within us, specifically our tendency toward imbalance. We are creatures who cling to what feels strong and neglect what feels difficult. One virtue may come naturally, while another demands more effort. Left to ourselves alone, we would build our moral lives around preference, not around the Scripture. The sevenfold pattern refuses that comfort of ours. It does not allow us to choose only charity while ignoring fidelity, nor to cling to diligence while neglecting humility. The structure itself insists that the moral life is not selective. It is ordered. This has a demanding implication. To live within the seven virtues is to accept correction where we are weakest, not merely affirmation where we are strongest. The number seven disciplines us gently, but firmly. It reminds us that holiness is not intensity in one direction, but steadiness across many.

7. Conclusion - Seven as the Shape of Enough

The significance of seven in Holy Scripture lies not in mysticism, but in sufficiency. It marks what is complete, what is given, and what is enough. In the Seven Virtues, the Creator has outlined a whole life. In the repetition of seven throughout revelation, He has signaled to us that His order is deliberate and bounded. It’s not a mystery to decode, but a structure to live within.

Sources researched:

• Scroll of VIrtue
• Scroll of Gospel
• Scroll of Spirit

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Signed,

Father Zechariah

Priest of the True Faith
 

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A COMMENTARY ON
THE CITRINE CREED
By Fr. James Vursur

⋅──────⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰──────⋅

First, the text of the creed in full:
 

⊱༺ I confess one Lord and GOD, The Singular, Almighty, Most-Merciful Creator, fashioner of the heavens and the firmament, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Master of the Universe. Singular, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent. I kneel in obeisance to His will, and I keep faith with the Covenant between Him and our Forefather Horen. GOD alone do I confess, worship, and seek after.

I confess the one Holy, Apostolic, and True Faith of the Temple. I bend to the successors of Saints Evaristus and Clement - the Pontificate, the Episcopacy, and the Presbyterate who bear their laurel and cloth themselves in their authority. I profess that the Pontiff is the High Priest and Vicar of GOD, able to speak on His behalf. I acknowledge the Holy Scrolls and believe in the Four Sacraments and their efficacy as holy mysteries.

I believe in four sons of Man, the Fathers of Mankind. I profess to the two Sons of Spirit - Owyn, and Godfrey. I await with anticipation the coming of the Third Son of Spirit and the healing of the world, and place my faith in the mercy of God for hope of my ascension to the Seven Skies.

This is not to be a comprehensive account of the doctrines of the Citrine Creed, only an attempt to illuminate certain aspects as one who took part in its formulation. God grant that it be helpful to all those who hold these articles of faith as their own, and be a testimony of wisdom for those who do not.

⊱༺ I confess one Lord and GOD,

To confess in this context means to acknowledge and profess. By this statement, the Temple states that it acknowledges only one Lord and only one God, which it proceeds to describe.

⊱༺ The Singular, Almighty, Most-Merciful Creator,

Three attributes of God are described, first that He is one. We can know from natural reason that the origin of all things must be only one. Natural reason also tells us that this origin must have all power, here expressed as almighty and later expressed with the more technical omnipotent. 

The mercy of God has been revealed to us, and for many it is the most difficult to believe. The temple places this title as the last and most significant, and connects it to His identity as Creator. The creation was the first act of benevolence, by which He granted all things the precious gift of existence itself, and He continues to sustain us in this and grants us more gifts beyond it, even after we creatures betray His will and have used His gifts to spite Him.

⊱༺ fashioner of the heavens and the firmament

The creed specifies two objects of His handiwork, both connected to the sky, the Heavens, God's own realm toward which we strive, and the firmament, which refers literally to the sky, but implies the firmness of the created natural order, which was decreed by God and can not be unsettled except by His will.

⊱༺ King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Master of the Universe.

The original draft of the creed read "King of Kings, and God over gods". Though this could be understood in a theologically correct manner, that phrasing was rejected as the temple did not wish to dignify the created spirits with the term "gods". Rather, this expression was chosen.

It may seem that King of Kings and Lord of Lords is redundant, but this need not be so. For a King is chiefly considered in relation to the people over which he is king, and a Lord is considered chiefly in relation to the domain over which he is Lord. (Thus, as a digression, it is more proper to speak of "King of the Burgundians" rather than "King of Burgundy", though such technicalities are not observed in our day and age.) Therefore by use of the two titles the Temple signifies both the authority of God over all mankind personally, from which flows all authority in which Kings and other sovereigns partake, as well as his dominion over the physical creation.

Master of the Universe can signify both the relationship between a Master and his household, thereby signifying a close, personal ownership, or the relationship between a Master and apprentice, signifying that the universe ought to heed closely his instructions and strive to emulate him.

⊱༺ Singular, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent

The creed mostly reiterates. Briefly,  but in the strongest possible terms, it professes that God is one, that He has all power, that He is in all places, and that He is all benevolence itself.

⊱༺ I kneel in obeisance to His will, and I keep faith with the Covenant between Him and our Forefather Horen.

Here, the belief is translated into action, for mere belief is of no benefit to anyone. No mortal believes in the omnipotence and omnibenevolence of God more than does Iblees, the Deceiver. Well indeed could the enemy and his demonic hosts recite this creed up to this point, but here they must stop, for their kind kneels in obeisance to nothing but their own pride and envy, and they keep no faith even amongst themselves.

It may be objected that I, a son of Malin, should claim Horen as my forefather, but the creed does not here refer to the fathership of Horen in a physical sense, but is recited only by the sons of Horen according to their faith to the Covenant. This I have by virtue not of my ordination, but of my baptism in the waters of Gamesh, and my faithfulness to that baptism. In this sense the sons of Horen are all who follow the God of Horen and keep the covenant God made to Horen.

Thus we may say that persons such as myself, or Saint Pius of Sutica, or Saint Sertog the twice-born are true sons of Horen of whom it is said "where the virtuous are cast out of this world, He gathers them in the Skies" (Silence, 42) and we need not say that such men as Augustus of Blackmont or Ostromir of Dobrov or the pagan nations have any share in the glory of God in eternity.

⊱༺ GOD alone do I confess, worship, and seek after.

God is Truth itself, and by confessing God alone the Temple affirms all truth that partakes in Him, and renounces falsehoods that flow from some other source. The Temple intends by the word "Worship" both sacrifices and divine honor, which are rightfully directed only to the Creator of all things. 

To say that we seek after God alone is to say that we direct our attentions always to the Heavens, pursuing always the Will of its Master through outward actions, and pursuing the Master Himself through our interior disposition, and discarding such distractions the world dangles before us, which draw our attention downward and away from eternal things.

⊱༺ I confess the one Holy, Apostolic, and True Faith of the Temple. I bend to the successors of Saints Evaristus and Clement, the Pontificate, the Episcopacy, and the Presbyterate who bear their laurel and cloth themselves in their authority. 

Horen was selected from among his brothers to lead the faithful in the fight against the Deceiver. The scrolls record how the priesthood of Horen was scattered among many separate rites, each with a only fraction of the authority which had been placed in their father. Therefore God sent the Prophet Owyn to gather the rites together into a single laurel, so that the people of God would more easily act in a single accord with the fullness of authority. 

Owyn appointed the first Pontiffs, Saints Clement and Evaristus, to lead the institution he had established, and the Pontiff of the True Faith is nothing more nor less than the successors of those two. 

⊱༺ I profess that the Pontiff is the High Priest and Vicar of GOD, able to speak on His behalf. 

The Pontiff is High Priest of God, as it is through whom and with whom we direct our worship to God, and he is Viceroy of God, as He is authorized to act on God's behalf. The Temple knows that she has had faithless Viceroys, but their authority remains, and it is not for a subject to stand in judgement over  a Viceroy, but for the King himself, who sees all that is done in daylight and in the dark, and who reads perfectly the intentions of the heart, and Whose judgement upon those whom He has given such great responsibility will be terrible indeed.

Therefore, if one is to stand, in service to the King, against the Viceroy, they must examine themselves closely, scourging themselves of any impurity of intention. They must take counsel with the wise, and make themselves fully aware of the circumstances the Viceroy is facing, and proceed with great humility and steadfast virtue, knowing that they have, in a sense, taken their souls into their own hand. The same is the case for one who is to become Viceroy themselves.

⊱༺ I acknowledge the Holy Scrolls 

The Holy Scrolls are the Scrolls of Virtue, Spirit and Gospel, which were delivered to us by the Prophets Horen, Owyn and Godfrey, whose authenticity was verified by miracles witnessed and known to the people of their times. They were given to us that we might have assurance in those things of God we can know by reason, knowledge of those things we can know only by revelation, instructions concerning a life of virtue, understanding of our place in the history of the world, and many other things besides.

⊱༺ and believe in the Four Sacraments and their efficacy as holy mysteries.

The Four Sacraments are Baptism, Confession, Holy Orders and Matrimony. These four have been promised by the giver of all Grace, through the Temple, to effect the working of grace in the soul. Every working of Grace in the soul is a miracle greater than any miracle, for when all things were created, they offered no resistance to this action of God. Nor do the laws of material objects resist when He who declared them declares their temporary suspension, but souls with intellect, unlike all other beings, have the capacity to resist the will of their Maker. Therefore is the working of Grace beyond the understanding of mortalkind, and they are therefore called Holy Mysteries.

⊱༺ I believe in four sons of Man, the Fathers of Mankind. 

The four sons of Primordial Man were Malin, Urguan, Krug and Horen. They were born of Man and Woman, therefore they are of the kind of Man, and so also are the tribes given to them. To exclude any of the sons from the term Mankind, therefore, constitutes not only a denial of the creed and the clear teaching of the scrolls, but a denial of all histories told of our origin by faithful and unfaithful alike from the very dawn of the world.

⊱༺ I profess to the two Sons of Spirit - Owyn, and Godfrey. 

The Holy Scrolls record that Horen was promised three sons of Spirit through Julia. These are distinct from his sons according to the flesh as well  his sons according to the covenant, being sons according to the spirit of prophecy held by both the patriarch and his wife. 

The first was Owyn, called the Purifier, who reunited the Hurinaic priesthood and established the Church, and Godfrey, called the Redeemer, who established the first Empire which, though not in his lifetime, would create the conditions for relative peace among Mankind. Each played pivotal roles in the working out of Divine providence in mortal history.

⊱༺ I await with anticipation the coming of the Third Son of Spirit 

The Third Son of Spirit, called the Preserver, has been foretold and not yet fulfilled. He will likewise be a pivotal figure, perhaps, and I speculate, saving the Faith during a time when it would seem to be overcome by her enemies.

⊱༺ and the healing of the world,

At the end of history, the Deceiver will be finally overthrown, and the war of Horen against the agents of malice shall be concluded, and the Eternal Word will descend once again to put the world in order on that day as He had done at the beginning, and the virtuous of Mankind will be free to complete their commission of completing the creation of the world without the interference of our infernal foe.

⊱༺ And place my faith in the mercy of God for hope of my ascension to the Seven Skies.

Created beings are made in a state of debt for the enormous gift of our own existence, which we can never repay, for we have nothing to offer Him except that which He first granted to us. Who would say to a King "As I have not broken any of your laws, you therefore should allow me into your feast and grant to me a fiefdom." Thus would be even the most righteous angels, and perhaps even some of the Holiest mortals. But God owes them nothing from obligation, and we, who have broken his laws, can claim even less, except that God is eternally merciful and delights in rewarding the faithful, as an outpouring of goodness from He who is Himself Goodness. 

This is the hope, in which, more than all things, we can place our trust.

Recited in The Cathedral of the Fifty Skulls, and published for reading, upon the 14th of Owyn’s Light, 643 AA

By Rabbin, Lothaire Cardinal Montcollier, Bishop St. Thomas of Gaekrin

St. Jude, pray for us!

✠ ———————— ✠

Let us begin, now, with a quick prayer. Blessed are You, God, Who guides and protects Your Tribe, Humanity. Humbled and raised are we by Your prophecy, the Holy Scrolls. Blessed are You, God, Who commands us to be faithful, charitable, temperate, diligent, patient, full of fidelity, and full of humility. We shall study Your Scrolls, for the study of Scrolls can encompass all this. Amen.

We shall speak tonight of anger, of wrath. Anger is a sentiment we all know from time to time. Perhaps we think of the sins of the Southern nations, or, closer to home, of the defeat of a favoured knight in a tourney, and feel such. Yet, anger is a sinful emotion, and must be avoided. I shall explain why it is such, and what we might do with it.

God commands us to be patient. We read in the Canticle of Patience, being in 5:9, ‘I am the Most High, and in pursuit of My Virtue, I bid My faithful this: You shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin.’ Verily, this is clear: Wrath, being anger, is sinful, and patience is the way of Virtue.

Now, what happens to those in the Scrolls who act out of anger? We shall look to the Scroll of Gospel and see divine punishments and penance. First, we must reflect upon Saul's sins and the fate of those who listened to him. The Scroll of Gospel, 2:45, does say, ‘Horen went out of his tabernacle and found that in their wrath and wickedness, the unholy had slain each other.’ Those of Horen’s Tribe, Our Tribe, who fell into iniquity may not have been struck down by a bolt of lightning sent by God, or anything of the like, but this is most certainly divine punishment, for this is a natural consequence. The natural consequences of our sins are indeed divine punishment. For God did order the universe according to His perfect Virtues, and to stray from them is to enter into sin. If Virtue is nature, then of course the natural consequences of sin are divine. In His wisdom, God sees that sin is punished by the sinner himself. No good can come from sin. Now, we can look further into the Scrolls. The sin and penance of Exalted Owyn are known well. His sin was wrath, and through such, kinslaying. Our Lord God spoke to Owyn in the Gospel, 4:53, and He said, ‘You betray man with your wrath, and once again Horen’s sons are divided.’ The division of Horen’s sons can be seen as a natural consequence, but God, in His infinite wisdom, saw fit that Owyn took a penance. Owyn’s penance was the killing of the unrepentant, and such was done not in anger, but in grief, which, I would say, is the emotional obligation we hold to the memories of the martyrs, and thus, not sinful. So it was a penance well received by the Lord. The Gospel reads, at 5:20, ‘And Owyn was made again as the light of his blade.’

So what is to do with our wrath and anger? If it is anger at the sins of Godless Nations and Tribes, we can turn it to grief. That does turn our emotions from an uncontrolled spray of rage into a pensive, deep, and painful obligation we hold to the memories of the fallen and to the words of the Scrolls. If it is anger at the defeat of our favourite knight at a tourney, we must remember the Canticle of Humility, at 7:7: ‘And you shall be without pretense or conceit, for before the mountain, the ant and the aurochs are equally small.’ Upon the sight of the wretchedness of our world, our anger must turn to the obligation of grief, as it was for Exalted Owyn. Upon the sight of worldly losses and pains, we must forget it. 

God bless and guide you, each and all.

In the words of one wiser than I:

Remaining the least of His children,

Your servant,

Rabbin, Lothaire Cardinal Montcollier

Bishop St. Thomas of Gaekrin

On Obedience and the Error of Compulsion

By Father Florian

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Brothers and Laymen, 

Among the gravest errors committed in matters of faith is the conflation of obedience with compulsion. I can imagine many priests that would force or coerce our faith onto others, shouting in jubilation that they had saved a man's soul and brought him onto the righteous path of the Lord. Yet what I would have to ask myself if I were faced with such a situation is: Would this man be a faithful and obedient servant? To that, I believe the answer is no. 

Obedience to the Lord, if it is to be meaningful, must be freely rendered. Where there is no freedom to refuse, there can be no obedience, only submission. And submission, though it may very well resemble faith in form, lacks it in substance. For the Lord does not require coerced fidelity, as coerced fidelity is no fidelity at all. He who is most high has no need to extract loyalty through threat, nor to bind the conscience through fear. Indeed, if the Lord desired such, He would have fashioned man otherwise. That He did not is itself revelatory. The mere existence of conscience testifies that the Lord wills not merely action and compliance but truth and willing, virtuous servants. Yet still, some of my brothers argue that divine authority necessitates compulsion, that the Lord’s sovereignty would be diminished were man permitted to refuse Him. To this I say: Authority that depends upon coercion is already weak. And who is anyone to say the authority of our Lord GOD is weak? His authority is not enforced by fear of punishment. It is sustained, as I have said, by the reality of truth. He does not command as a tyrant commands, but as reality itself commands: irresistibly to those who see it and yet never violently to those who turn away.

Verily, brother, the Lord GOD has given no compulsion in faith.

Spirit 1:3

Thus, when the faithful speak of obedience, they must take care not to speak as though GOD were a despot demanding proof through compulsion or even suffering. The Lord is not appeased by grief or placated by sacrifice or deeds offered under duress. He is honoured only when man sees the cost of obedience clearly and consents nonetheless. Naturally the Church, in her instruction and discipline, should reflect this principle. Take the example of a young man who comes to confession, distraught and unsure of whether or not he should join our Holy Mother Church as a priest. To this I say: The confessor (or the priest), though vested with authority, must never usurp the conscience of the penitent (or layman). He is not appointed to decide and certainly never to compel but to witness and clarify. When a penitent asks: “What must I do?”, the priest errs gravely if he answers with a command. In this example, to command that man’s vocation would mean to destroy it. A vocation chosen under pressure will bear not the fruits of obedience but of resentment, fear, or eventual apostasy. Faith compelled upon a man would certainly have a similar outcome. GOD desires sons and not conscripts. 

And to those of my brothers who would have the opinion that suffering or pain is what truly strengthens our faith and resolve, it must be said that obedience cannot be reduced to mere endurance of circumstance. There are many who suffer and yet do not obey. And there are many yet who endure and inwardly rebel. A man may be forced into martyrdom and yet curse the Lord in his heart, yet another may be spared suffering and still obey with quiet faithfulness. GOD judges not the spectacle or suffering of a man, but rather what he chooses to do with the freedom he is given. Whereas I say about this freedom: That to obey freely is not to act without restraint nor to dismiss the boundaries of virtue or law. Freedom does not negate law, quite the opposite in fact, it makes law meaningful. Where there is no possibility of refusal, law is nullified. Where there is no alternative but to comply, any virtue dissolves into inevitability. GOD, in granting freedom, grants also the possibility of sin. This is not a defect in creation, rather a condition of virtue. A world in which obedience is unavoidable would be a world without holiness, piety, fidelity, etc.

And as I have created for you the struggles of the world, so too do I create the struggles of the spirit. And as I have created the struggles of the world and the spirit, so too do I bring their remedies. For I have given you the pains of the world, and I have given you their cure. And you shall know the trials of this theatre of virtue and know that they shall strengthen you.

Virtue 5:5–8

Indeed, the Lord’s holy word itself clarifies. The trials and sufferings of the world are not instruments of forced compliance. What they are are arenas in which obedience may be freely chosen. GOD creates His "theatre", however, He does not dictate the actor’s consent. Indeed, even the saints, those most perfected in all the skies, are praised for their unwavering and, more importantly, willing faithfulness. Will any say that the saints or even the prophets were coerced or compelled into seeking out a life of virtue in the path of our Lord? Nay. They chose of their own accord without need of any compulsion, be it by the sword or something else. 

Let it therefore be held that for obedience to be truly virtuous, it must be free and that for authority to be truly divine, it must not depend upon coercion. The Lord’s sovereignty is not weakened by man’s freedom. Instead, it is magnified by it. For it is no great thing to command what cannot resist. It is a far greater thing to be obeyed by those who may refuse. Our Church must guard against every doctrine that exalts compulsion as piety. We must never coerce a man before the altar and force submission. Neither should we convert heretics or heathens by the sword. Only a man who truly believes, truly feels the Lord’s love, and truly wishes to give his life to Him, serve Him, praise Him, and pray to only Him, of his free conscience, will be a faithful servant and have GOD smile upon him. Faith that is compelled, that lacks choice, is no faith at all. What is truly faithful is the right use of this choice. And in this, the dignity of man stands, and the glory of our Lord GOD is truly heightened.

Written by Acolyte Oliver Peter de Sarkozy, 272 S.A.

☩

To this day, the True Faith lacks a written True Dogma outside of the Holy Scrolls. While many of the dangers of this may seem obvious, I wish to highlight them so that the urgency of this matter is fully understood.

For this purpose, I must sadly bore you with past Elven cultures and the late Aegisian Elven Faith. Most notably those of Haelun’or, Celia’nor, and the aforementioned Aspectist Faith. All three, though heavily contradicting one another, are nonetheless of Elven origin.

It appears that the very nature of the elf leads him to assume that there is no need for any written record. As a result, they scarcely write anything down. What, then, do we truly know of the history of Haelun’or, the oldest state still, at least in some form, in existence? Barely anything has been recorded [1] beyond a few occasional historical events, and even these are incomplete and barely comprehensible.

The same can be said of Celia’nor. Aside from a single incomplete book [2], roughly the length of one volume of the famed Interregnum [3], The Historia Pertinaxi [4], or The Decline and Fall of the Holy Orenian Empire [5], nothing can be found.

So too does this pattern persist with the Aspectist Faith. For many centuries, this faith was not codified in any form. Only recently, in historical terms, has a proper and comprehensive book been published [6]. This was only about a Century Ago. Yet this Aspectist Faith was once dominant across the entirety of Elvendom. Over the centuries, however, due to the lack of a written doctrine, it has declined further and further. Remember that the aforementioned Haelunorians and Celianorians originated just as much from these original aspectist tribes, and have abandoned and abandoned their worship of Aspectism long before the latter of both has even been formed. Only a small fraction of the elves worship these Aspects to this day.

And it is precisely for this reason that I burdened you with Elven history: the True Faith risks the very same fate if we do not act.

To this day, the True Faith lacks a proper written doctrine that explains the teachings of our elders and ensures their preservation. What will happen when those who knew Harentzdek are dead? Will word of mouth truly be sufficient to uphold his Prophetic Teachings? We may possess our Holy Scrolls, but they are of little use if they are not understood correctly. And even a correct understanding of the Holy Scrolls is itself of no use if this understanding is not passed on to the next generation. For this reason, it must be written down.

”Lo, in the name of the Lord GOD the Most Merciful,
Singular, and Omnipotent, listen and attend
with pious heed to this inspired text.”

(Scroll of Gospel, Book of Provenance, Verse 1)

Thus, the Scrolls themselves highlight the value of written teaching. For why else would they be written down? As we can see, the Scroll of Gospel places this meaning in its very first verse: they are written so that we may know.

“Lo and attend, for I am the Lord GOD, and I am in the foremost part of heaven.
Though the spring flower withers and the fruit of the tree falls to the ground,
My Word lasts into the eve of the world, and the fruit of virtue cannot rot.”

(Scroll of Virtue, Canticle of Faith, Verse 1-2)

While it may appear to be solely a Holy Truth that the Word of GOD will last into the eve of the world, there is something the common translation overlooks. In common speech, we usually deal in direct imperatives and indicatives; yet Flexio recognizes expressions that exist between these forms, encompassing aspects of both. Thus, the final sentence of the second verse is not merely a statement, but also a call to action: Make GOD’s Word last into the eve of the world. This is His charge to us.

A charge we had most likely failed in the past, as, according to the research of the Elven Priests of the True Faith, even the elves once worshipped the GOD almighty. This was in the earliest days of Malin’or, before the Aspectist poisoned the minds of the Elves. The grace of God, however, was that the Aspectist failed to codify and solidify their faith, weakening it. And even the Temple fell to the Sigismundites - whether their teachings were burned or just never written down, we cannot tell. But one thing is certain: if they had survived or been written at all, this heresy would not have lasted for so long.

GOD BLESS YOU, DEAR READER.

[1] Tradition and Silver

[2] History of Celia’nor

[3] The Interregnum

[4] History Pertinaxi

[5] Decline and Fall of the Orenian Empire

[6] On Aspectism

I am Lucien, a humble Acolyte in service of the Church. By approval of the Priest I serve under, I have been deemed ready to write a thesis towards my ordination. The topic I have chosen to write about comes from a place of forgotten divine law, as the state grows ever stronger it seems as if the Church is left behind. I do not mean to critique any national governments with this thesis, and indeed my time within the Empire has shown me that the vast majority of people are holy men and women who would never dare to profane a Church of GOD. My motivation for this thesis comes from a standoff just a Saint's day ago, whereby a questioning order was to be enforced within a Church, but they stayed outside for they understood they had no right to enforce orders within holy ground. Thusly I submit this thesis as my decree of learning and education, that I may be granted ordination within the Church as a Priest of the True Faith. Further, I request special dispensation for ordination despite being wed.

ON THE CONSECRATION OF HOLY GROUND AND THE RIGHT TO SANCTUARY

ON THE BASIS OF HOLY GROUND

Sources:

Here, the Lord spoke “O Owyn, Son of Godwin, Son of Horen, you spill the blood of your uncle in the tabernacle of Horen. Even as My holiest city was sacred in spite of Harren’s rejection, it is spoiled by the blood of kin.

Scroll of Gospel, Book of Owyn, 51-52

And so the Lord rebuked, and in doing so, He established the sacredness of land, the Divine Charge which may not be revoked by human deed or will. Consecration is not of human imagination, it is not of custom and tradition, but of a genuine real quality laid forth by GOD Himself. If the Holiest city remained sacred despite the scorning of the horn and laurel, and within the same breath that sacredness may be profaned, though not altered, by human sin, then precedent is set by GOD ALMIGHTY that ground which bears Holy value is held higher than common soil. Hence, to treat Holy ground as ordinary is a terrible sin and offence against GOD. And if Holy ground exists by GOD’s decree, then it follows in natural succession that His worship, His temple, His ground and His presence stands under a custodianship which may not be trifled by any worldly magistrate or ruler. The threshold for Holy ground is not timber and stone, it is not mortar and brick, but instead it is a boundary between the domain of man and the domain which we dedicate to GOD. Therefore the representative of the Almighty holds a charge entrusted unto them by the Heavens to safeguard the Holy places from profanation, and to save them from sin; for where GOD has consecrated, no earthly power holds dominion.

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HOLY GROUND

Sources:

Owyn obeyed the command of GOD and anointed the brothers Evaristus and Clement, who jostled in the same womb, as joint bearers of the laurel of Horen. He entrusted to them the Word of GOD, which were the Virtue and the Spirit, and charged them to instruct their brethren in the path of holiness. At Owyn’s command, the brothers set shepherds over the flock of men, and so created a priesthood for their instruction, in anticipation of the second son of spirit.

Scroll of Gospel, Book of Silence, 3-5

And as consecration is not of human imagination but of GOD’s decree, so too is it left not to the bickering and uncertainty of men. In the Book of Silence it is written that Owyn, as commanded by GOD, anointed Evaristus and Clement as bearers of the laurel of Horen, and so too were shepherds set over the flock that the Word might endure through GOD’s Silence. And in the days of Godfrey, the Lord’s servant James was named pontifex and crowned beneath the laurel, that worship and unity might persevere among all manners of doubt before the Lord’s faithful. Therefore, the High Pontiff stands by revealed succession as the earthly steward of God, as heir to the charge entrusted first to Horen and continued through Owyn and Godfrey. And his church remains GOD’s Church, established by the anointed representative of GOD in all matters of theological instruction. Thus, it reasons that he declares what is consecrated and what remains common by the Virtue and the Spirit preserved in the priesthood. What he sets apart in accordance with the Word is set apart before GOD; and what he guards as holy is not subject to scrutiny from earthly powers. For where the laurel rests, there speaks the authority of Heaven, and where Heaven has marked its ground no earthly power holds dominion.

ON THE VIOLATION OF HOLY GROUND BY SECULAR POWERS

Sources:

And Godfrey set aside the Throne of Man for a holy purpose, consecrating it to GOD. Thus it was sworn that no Son of Malin, of Urguan, of Krug, or any magi shall hold it.

Scroll of Gospel, Book of Godfrey 36-37

And so it was so, by the will of GOD that the Throne of Man was consecrated to GOD. And in being consecrated it was bound to His law. And if even the seat of rule over all of mankind is bound to the law of GOD, then how much more sacred are the houses of His word, set apart for worship in His name? For whilst the throne is sacred in its holy governance of men and land, the temple is holy in its absolute charge over soul and eternity. For consecration innately alters jurisdiction, and what is set aside for GOD is removed from the authority of the earth and placed into His charge. The Scrolls bear witness that sacred places remain so even when profaned; therefore no secular authority may annul by decree or earthly authority what GOD has decreed in heaven and what His representative has decreed beneath the Laurel. For whilst the crown governs the affairs of man, it does not command what Heaven has claimed.

ON THE INNATE CONSECRATION OF CHURCH AND THE HOLY VALUE OF PRAYER; AND ON THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Sources:

None but the Lord resides in the Seventh Sky, and it is His throne.

Scroll of Spirit, Epistle to the Godwinites, 7
 

So I find that you are strict in your arms, but lax in your prayers. But to pray is to gird the spirit. The hand of GOD is the greatest weapon to bear, and His word is the paramount strategy.

Scroll of Spirit, Epistle to the Jorenites, 11–12
 

But like Iblees, Horen also felt the separation of GOD from man. Horen feared to be without GOD, so he prayed, and received a message.

Scroll of Gospel, Book of Horen, 14–15
 

Now he was overcome with faith and knelt in prayer, and wept for the fate of his kindred. At once the darkness was cast out by a sword ablaze, and there GOD spoke to Owyn. “You stand before me in the waters of Gamesh, Owyn, Son of Godwin, Son of Horen. Your people cry out for justice and purity.”

Scroll of Gospel, Book of Owyn, 20-23

None but the Lord resides in the Seventh Sky, and it is His throne. Therefore the dwelling of GOD is not among men as a creature among creatures, instead He is eminent above all creation, and His throne is fixed in the highest of the Heavens. And he is unapproachable save by His infinite mercy. From this it is understood that the presence of GOD is not common to the earth in the manner of man or rock, but instead his presence descends purely by His own will and is invoked by His ordinance. Thus all sacred presence originates in Heaven and proceeds downward; and therefore it is not seized by man, but granted by the Lord who reigns above the planes. Hence, to be close to GOD is to call upon Him, and to beseech Him to reply.

And as it is written that to pray is to gird the spirit, and that the hand of GOD is the greatest weapon to bear, it is therefore the conclusion natural to reach that prayer is no simple ornament of a faithful, but is instead discipline and armament of the soul. To neglect to pray is to stand unguarded in your soul. For prayer aligns the spirit with the Word, and the Word with the will of GOD. It is through prayer that men submit themselves beneath the throne of the Seventh Sky; humbling and prostrating themselves before the Lord who is without equal.

And when Horen feared separation from his Creator, he sought no earthly reassurance nor did he commit grand works to His name, but instead he committed the most simple act known to man: he prayed. He presented himself as a humble servant before GOD, and by doing so he received a message. And as Horen received divine revelation through prayer, so too did the Prophet Owyn in a moment of weakness and desperation call out to the Lord, and the Lord did answer. And the Lord answered. And thus it is so that prayer is the bridge between the infinite cavern which separates the World and the Skies. And this bridge is formed not by man diminishing GOD’s height, but by God lifting man towards him. Through prayer is the distance innately wrought by sin lessened, and man stands symbolically before the throne which he can never reach. Therefore, the place appointed for prayer is no hall of stone and wood, but instead is a meeting ground between Heaven and Earth where men gather to invoke the name of the Lord and the Lord, content with His authority acknowledged and His presence sought, lifts he who seeks Him up, and listens to his prayer. In this manner, the temple of prayer becomes GOD’s earthly court to listen to the woes of his subjects whenever called. That is not to say that prayer outside of church goes unheard, but instead that the holiness of prayer cannot be understated, and therefore the hall dedicated to prayer is innately holy.

ON THE INHERENT RIGHT OF SANCTUARY; A CONCLUSIONARY PARAGRAPH

It is established within His holy scrolls that where the name of GOD is invoked and the laurel has been placed upon the ground there, that heaven has claimed dominion. Therefore the house of prayer is not merely consecrated for prayer, but instead comes with an additional appointment as refuge for those with a trembling heart, or those who flee hasty wrath. For it is written within the Scroll of Gospel that when corruption and sin surrounded the camp of Horen, the wicked attacked the tabernacle but could not enter it. Thus it is from the beginning of all things that the right of sacred enclosure stands, that the ground claimed by the Lord stands as sanctuary, as barrier from wrath and inequity. For if sin itself could not breach the walls of the ground which GOD had consecrated, then by what right do earthly princes claim to do so by mere earthly warrant?

Therefore, sanctuary within the house of prayer comes not from Kings and Princes but by the infinite mercy of GOD. When a man flees into the arms of GOD, and lays himself before the laurel, and grips the altar of his steward, that man is rightly under the protection of the church.  This is not to say that a man is abolished from the guilt of his crimes by requesting the Lord’s mercy; nor is it to say that the good order of law and secular power is to be revolted against. Instead, a man who is within a church is a man who is within the domain of the Lord. And whilst a man may be seized by authority as soon as he leaves the Lord’s domain, the necessity for this sanctuary can not be overstated. To suspend vengeance and to remove the sword from the wrathful guardsman, to allow time for emotions to settle and for good order to return, is to be further in the Lord’s grace; for whilst the Lord is merciful, he is also just, and all men who break the laws of GOD shall be punished in death and all men who break the laws of man shall be punished in life, but any man who stands within a church is under divine judgement. What world would it be to live in, where man thinks he may profane the house of his creator?

So long as a man remains within the domain of the Lord he is not shielded from righteous sentence but instead shielded from unrighteous haste. And if a man requires an hour to come to his bearings, let him turn himself in to authority, but if a man seeks a week to starve himself within the bounds of GOD’s domain, then let him do so. For if a Priest cannot storm into a Court and take a man from the magistrate whilst under secular judgement, why should a magistrate storm into a Church and take a man whilst he is under divine judgement? And if any should think to themselves that the crime of the man is so severe that they might storm into GOD’s domain and grasp the man and drag him out, or they might storm into GOD’s domain and slay the man where he stands, then be reminded of the great blasphemy of blood spilled on holy ground with the slaying of Horen, as the earth itself shook with fear of GOD’s righteous wrath.

Signed,

Lucien,

Acolyte of the True Faith

. · : · .  ‡  . · : · .

To Be Made by the Light of the Blade

On Judgment, Mercy, and the Cleansing of Edel

By Zechariah Mayer
Published 271 SA, on the 17 of The Deep Cold

· . : . ·  ‡  · . : . ·

________________________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction - On the Fear of Light

We are often troubled by images of light that wounds. In common thought, mercy is gentleness and judgment is thought to be cruelty. Yet the Scroll of the Gospel teaches us that the Creator’s methods do not need to be always so gentle and soft. Mercy may at times manifest in means that appear severe and cruel to mortal eyes. When God commissions an instrument, and that instrument illumines what it cuts, then we must focus not on spectacle, but on the purpose: the revelation and removal of corruption. The narrative of Owyn’s blade bestowed in the waters of Gamesh, turned against Harren’s corruption, and later spoken of as the means by which Owyn was “made again” presents a single, coherent image: that divine judgment, when all gentler measures fail, serves as mercy’s final boundary against corruption.

2. Owyn’s Vocation: Instrumentality, Obedience, and Penance

The Scroll’s portrait of Owyn ensures we do not portray him as a wrathful autocrat, nor on the contrary as an instrumentless force of fate. In the waters of Gamesh, “GOD spoke to Owyn… Take hold of this blade, a symbol of holiness, and by it you shall cleanse mankind of sin,” (Scroll of Gospel 5:21-24) making the sword an authorized instrument and Owyn an obedient bearer rather than an original judge. After the deed is finished, he cries for forgiveness. He receives the Lord’s reprimand, demonstrating that even divinely commissioned instruments remain morally accountable. The text teaches us three points at the same time:

1. The blade is an instrument of God
2. The bearer is morally responsible 
3. The act may be grievous even when obedient

This trinity ensures orthodoxy while allowing for the possibility of divinely ordained, agonizing correction.

3. Corruption and the Necessity of Cleansing

In the Scroll, mainly in parts of Scattering and Book of Owyn, we can see how falsehood, once tolerated, becomes a habit, a serious matter, and becomes ingrained. The works of Iblees and the spread of mixed-blood lords are not mere mistakes. They become entrenched orders that resist reproach. The text shows us repeated opportunities for reform. Admonitions, prophetic calls to fast in Gamesh, and offers of vocation, which are refused until the entrenchment of sin renders gentler correction ineffective. Canonist theology distinguishes error, which is susceptible to teaching, from corruption, which is a habitual, self-sealing lie. Where the second option prevails, the Scroll implies, the Creator's mercy may lead to decisive cleansing in order to preserve the moral order of the community.

4. The Cleansing of Edel: Narrative and Norm

In the Scroll of the Gospel, the cleansing of Edel is presented as both judicial and sacramental. Owyn’s entry into the city, the illumination of his blade, the blinding of Harren, and the death of the wicked are shown with a mixture of command and sorrow. The blade itself is named “a symbol of holiness,” yet its use is marked by grief, tears, and repentance rather than triumph. The Scroll does not allow divine authorization to dissolve moral weight. Owyn himself is shown to us in penitence. The Lord rebukes him for the spilling of kin-blood. Judgment, though commanded, still remains grievous. The pattern that emerges tells us that decisive force may be employed, but it is never separated from lament, confession, and correction within the faithful community.

5. What It Is To Be “Made by the Blade”

From these parts of the scroll, we can see a clearer definition. To be made by the light of the blade is not to be formed by violence, but to be revealed through it. We must understand that the blade does not manufacture righteousness, it exposes what already stands in accord with truth and cuts away what does not. When we read that “Owyn was made again as the light of his blade,” it binds sanctification to obedience rather than destruction. The bearer and the instrument are sanctified only as they are rightly used. Only what endures the blade’s light is shown to be aligned with the Creator’s order. Purification must not be mistaken by us for annihilation. It is the painful removal of that which obstructs the flourishing of the faithful.

6. What It Continues to Represent

The light of the blade endures not as a relic of violence, but as a boundary set within mercy. It reminds us that the Creator’s patience is not without limit, and that judgment may become necessary when corruption refuses correction. It is also a testimony to the price of obedience, because Owyn's task did not lead to celebration, but to sadness and remorse. As I stated in the previous chapter, everything that could not endure the blade’s light was revealed as already opposed to truth, confirming judgment as an act of preservation rather than domination.

7. Conclusion - Fear Not the Light That Reveals

The Scroll of the Gospel teaches us that the Creator’s mercy may be exacting and costly. When corruption hardens and the truth is fading, GOD may entrust a mortal instrument to remove it. Such a calling, however, is never free of sorrow, accountability, or repentance. To be made by the light of the blade is to be returned painfully, yet faithfully to truth itself. The preservation of what is true through the removal of what would otherwise destroy it. We do not need to fear illumination, but we should fear the corruption that cannot endure it.

Sources researched:

• Scroll of Gospel
• Scroll of Auspice

______________________________________________________

Signed,

Zechariah Mayer

Acolyte of the True Faith
 

╚════════════════════════════════════ † ════════════════════════════════════╝

════════════════ 🕂 ═════════════════

ON THE HOLY DIARCHY

A THESIS BY ACOLYTE MIRION ZIMRABÂR

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“Those virtuous freedmen that remained were anointed as priests of GOD, and they bore the Virtue and the Spirit.” - The Scroll of Gospel, Book of Owyn.

PREFACE |

During and before my time as an Acolyte, I have seen a great and unfortunate resurgence of unwarranted pride and self-absorption in the people of Idunia, a sin mirroring that of Harren, our forefather as Adunians. In this thesis, I intend to explain some of the history and life of the Twin Saints, Evaristus and Clement, alongside other early High Priests, all while comparing their struggles to those of our own times, and how their perseverance can inspire us, supposedly redeemed Harrenites, to further our virtue and respect for the faith and word of GOD-AERADAR. 

THE THESIS |

Saints Evaristus and Clement lived in a time of great uncertainty. They were born into a time when pride ruled from Old Alduun and the world, still young, was ripe for the capture by evil. After Exalted Owyn slew his uncle in wroth and expelled the half-blooded lords to the north, it was not Owyn’s fellow Godwinite, nor a warrior, who received the Priesthood, but instead these humble men, bakers and butchers of the common Harrenite, folk of the earth who would usher in a priesthood for the Skies. It was because of their humble nature and willingness to allow GOD’s will to supplant their own mortal desires that allowed them to become the holy diarchy, saints for the common man, saints of supplication and reverence, not pride, arrogance, or demand. During the lives of them and the following High Priests, these holy men would have dealt and struggled with the pride of mankind, be it ambitious nobility, bickering clergy, or arrogant lords and commoners thinking they knew best, yet they never succumbed to the quarrels of their times, nor their own demons, carrying the faith though the long age of silence, allowing us the chance to carry it ourselves.

It can be presumed that many of the early High Priests following the diarchy would also be Harrenite in origin, continuing this tradition of humble willingness to let GOD’s will overtake their own. We should take inspiration from the Butcher and Baker of Old Alduun alongside those other early High Priests, Sixtus, Alexander, and Pontian, to name a few; let us not repeat ancient history, let us abandon pride and arrogance to the winds and allow GOD to work through us, enacting HIS will as spoken through the Vicar, successor of the holy diarchy. Let us assume that we are wrong, and that GOD-AERADAR is right, all while striving to learn of HIS ways, emulating the ways of Horen and the ways of the saints.

If I were to have a direct message to the people of Idunia today, the people of New Alduun, I would say to look to the ancients of Old Alduun, compare their failings and triumphs to our own, and always strive not to repeat the sins of the past, of our ancestors, that of pride, arrogance, and refutation of holy authority. 

Remember the past, and learn from it.

On the Pride of Magi and the Chains of Discipline

Attributed to Holy Ser Valithaël af Bene Lisse

I. An Introduction On the Hubris of Magi

“The Lord is the Lord GOD without peer, but you seek power alike to his, and even power equal. This is a selfish and impossible sin, for there is no power alike to GOD. For He is the Lord GOD incomparable, and who can truly understand Him?”

Spirit: 7:8-10

Magi of the Void are drawn to power like moths to an open flame; like vultures to carrion. Like the power of entropy from which they draw; Magi themselves do manifest absence, but manifest as an appetite– one that if left untempered, shall never be sated. It is thus fated that without intervention, they shall consume and consume without so much as a shred of remorse.

Indeed, the path of a Voidal Mage often begins as one of seemingly acceptable justification and sacrifice. An acolyte of the Void may claim they wish to manufacture magical protection for the faithful, yet quickly this spirals past the point of acceptance, and past the threshold where the Magi, believing themselves powerful beyond reason, attempts to– knowingly or not– recklessly imitate feats achievable by only GOD in HIS resplendent glory. So too does the Magi often perform these acts without care for the consequences. Such reckless abandon is reminiscent of the tyranny of Iblees. In doing so, their psyche shifts, caution becomes permittance becomes acceptance or even reverence of fel powers that ought only be used in moderation.

So too does this arrogance manifest externally, socially. As their power grows, and their acceptance of the vile plane of the damned along with it, their outward demeanour towards others does in turn. Their desire to reach outwards and expand their corrupt influence yet grows. Over my centuries of life; of witnessing realms of Canondom and True Faith alike rise and fall with the ages, I have witnessed a common trend among Magi communes– their ability to seduce Liege Lords into a similar state of acceptance, but one no less sinful. Inaction is action and vigilance is a virtue.

This oftentimes begins with a promise, words of guaranteed power whispered directly into the unknowing ear of a King, of a Lord, of a Chancellor. A vow to shield the realm from Voidal threats– or an oath to educate magi to keep them from the path of chaos made manifest. The Magus behaves in such a way over the span of years or even decades, often acceptable in their eyes due to common elven blood or usage of vile means to stave off death, to make their petition, their word appear credible. The Liege Lord need not even accept in full, for even an initial compromise seals their damnation.

Thereafter, once collectives are established, guild halls are constructed, the groups fall silent before their lords, locking themselves within their State-funded walls to continue their degeneracies from under the noses of those who have unwittingly fallen into their trap. Experiments will often initially seem meaningless and tame to ease the minds of their enforcers into a false sense of security. Over decades, and often across the reigns of multiple lieges do these endeavours steadily grow, and boundaries are increasingly stretched, often so slowly that they go unnoticed to all but the most vigilant of Mage Hunters. At this point, the inactivity of the Mages, and the precedent that ‘no news is good news’, ensures that trust is so implicitly placed into these skilled manipulators, agents of Iblees that accountability becomes a soft suggestion and warnings from usually credible sources go discredited until tragedy inevitably unfolds.

II. On their Historical Failings 

 “But you reserve your gift for your own power, and your own gain, and unknowingly, the gain of Iblees.”

Spirit: 7:5

Magi, even those of apparent high intellect or renown, are  prone to overstep whenever security or comfort is extended when left unchecked. The Church’s annals record repeated failures in which colleges, orders, and isolated mages assumed doctrinal parity with the realms of The True Faith:

• The Fallen State of Hohkmat and (more recently) the Imperial Mages College are prime examples of corrupt Mage groups who took advantage of MAN’s grace. Both were permitted magi autonomy under the pretense of  benevolent scholarship and a willingness to defend their Liege lands. Many concealed lack of faith or openly paraded their deviation. Heretics and apostates were permitted to fester in mass beneath the noses of idle lords until such a point where attempts to curb their heresies were actively spat upon and resisted by the general population and their liege lords alike. In more recent history, so too did the Imperial Mages College and their enforcing ranks grow so complacent that an assassination attempt on the Emperor himself was permitted to unfold. Inaction begets consequence, and so too does complacency breed tragedy. Ritual and Office, for Magi, became shields and fodder for their gluttonous pride.

Overconfidence and institutional comfort led to failures: misuse of Voidal power, unsanctioned experiments, and ultimately, blatant and unapologetic breaches of Canon authority that almost led to the vile sin of regicide in the present day, and dangerous Voidal saturation in the days of Hohkmat.

• The Fallen Malinite Princedom of Celia’nor, despite being subject to frequent Church scrutiny, were left unchecked by foreign states. The first instance of this occurring was late in Almaris, whereupon not one but two Voidal tears, created and stabilized by ‘trusted’ magi were located. The first, located in on the top floor of their library and Mage Academy was destroyed with no harm to moral life via a ballista bolt. The second was more covertly placed beneath their throne room and left to fester until a terrorist Mage broke into the chamber and destabilized it, resulting in their immediate death, the destruction of the palace, the nigh irreversible tainting of the surrounding lands, and the release of multiple dangerous Voidal demons, that roamed rampantly through Almaris until their defeat. The land was never cleansed of its blight, and such was inherited by the Mori’quessir, who subsequently invaded and drove descendantkind out of the continent, leaving behind an uncertain future for all souls who wish to settle the land and serving as a permanent, dangerous reminder of the risk civilisations take by welcoming all magi.

Celia’nor’s Voidal recklessness continued well into Aevos, with many rumors, both confirmed and unproven, of Voidal tearing beneath their land. This Voidal liberalism set a precedent for other mages of wicked origin, who proceeded to settle in the lands both before and after the Church’s Crusades and expunging of blatant darkspawn found within. Warlocks, Necromancers, Infernal demons and Kobolds were all confirmed to have existed in Celia’nor. 

Overconfidence and institutional comfort led to failures: misuse of Voidal power, unsanctioned experiments, and ultimately, blatant and unapologetic breaches of basic common morality that almost led to mass deaths of Canonists and Virtuous Pagans alike.

The lesson is clear: comfort and permittance is the enemy of submission, and unmonitored respect is corruption’s ally.

III. On the Necessity of Constant Penance

 “It is the role of the faith to guide magick users in understanding how best to serve God and their faithful with their abilities and to purge the apostate without mercy.” 

Owynist Dogma and Ideology, rediscovered and rewritten by Guy de Soissons

Penance for Voidal magi must be continual, not episodic– for when one surrenders their being to the Void, they threaten to surrender their very soul to its entropic whims. A sin that transcends the mortal plane begets a lifetime of penance. 

This additionally provides mental stimulation for the penitent mage, who threatens to sway back towards their old life of sin and inequity should they be left unoccupied for even a moment. Penance ought to be structured in such a manner that it becomes part of the Magi’s daily life, and, in turn, part of their very nature. 

As with any lesson learned, penance must be structured, and balanced to accommodate purification of body, mind and soul. Acts should vary in nature from physical, mental and spiritual as to grant the penitent soul the best possible chance of redemption. It is important to mention that while Magi of the Void are not directly tied to Iblees’s realm [as told by Guy de Soissons in his interpretation of Owynist Dogma and Ideology, The Betrayer’s plane is instead the Nether, a different realm entirely]; however, the chaos entrapped within the plane– a paradox of pure potential and pure destruction in equal measure serves as an unknowing lure to The Betrayer’s machinations, and one the Magi must strive to resist throughout their lifetime.

Over the ages, numerous methods have been tried and tested. The list below is not conclusive, as more methods of penance may later be discovered. All below though have been proven effective methods of keeping a Magus of the Void on their path of sacred penitence. Mandated Penance should include:

• Frequent confessions before a specialised member of the Holy See
• Ritual fasting and deprivation rites
• Assigned liturgical labor under ecclesiastical supervision
• Periodic abjuratory rites that symbolically and spiritually suppress Voidal affinity, including the forced carrying of thanhic objects.
• Written Theses or general studies of historical Void misuse.
• Regular attendance of punishment of rogue magi

As Penance ought to be proactive, so too must it be reactive.  Should a Voidal mage be compelled to invoke their power, regardless of intent, immediate sequestration and intensified penance should follow, until such a time that a specialised member of the Holy See under the pretense of inquisition, conclude that the use of Voidal castings was reasonable and presented no risk to the lives and immortal souls of the True Faith’s flock.
 

IV. Rare Penitent-Ascendants:  Exceptions, Not Precedents

“So I find that you seek impossible knowledge not for the good of your fellows, or precious wisdom, but in the desire of power.  Indeed, this is an insatiable desire, for none can overcome the Lord. This is the sin of envying GOD.”

Spirit: 7:11-13

While exceptionally rare, it has been proven that not all Voidal Magi are condemned immediately to the Void. Indeed, in scarce instances, faithful, repentant Magi have been permitted to ascend to the Sevenskies alongside their fellow brothers and sisters in faith. Those souls who live and die by the sacred exaltations of GOD’s sacrosanct messengers and serve their penance without grievous overstep or complaint might be spared their loathsome fate as slaves of Iblees’s whims by overcoming the temptation of vice that follows them throughout their life. 

Rarer still is the Mage who ascends beyond the First, Second or Third skies, reserved for virtuous pagans, Faithful and those who actively spread the word of GOD  alike. A prime example of Avenel of Belvitz, a Void Mage who, through faith, achieved feats beyond the reach of Voidal interference, and rose posthumously to Sainthood, as the patron of Alchemists and Magicians– joining the likes of  St. Godwin of Paridisus and St. Humbert of Bar in the Fifth Sky. Such an ascension serves as an eternal testament to the notion that Magi may always make the conscious decision to rise above their inherent nature under the eyes of GOD, or surrender to it, and fall to the pull of Iblees.

While examples of Magi reaching the seven skies do exist, it should be noted that numbers are low. The common Magus should not strive for sainthood, nor should we expect all Mages to be capable of ascending to the skies; merely a select few who are particularly strong of will and faith.

In the instance of the living Magi, exceptional circumstances may permit the acting High Priest to grant occasional luxuries or prestige within Church or State ranks through public or private words of commendation. These ought not be given out in excess, as to ensure the penitent remains grounded in humility and does not forget their life, as with any other living soul, is not without sin. Common examples of acceptable leniencies afforded to the Modern Magi are the permits distributed by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Hadrian I and his most trusted councilmen, often petitioned by members of the clergy on behalf of their penitent mages.

These names should not serve to soften doctrine, merely to justify it.

Conclusion –  Presence Under Penance, not Permittance

From heavy study, self-reflection and hours of prayer, I can conclude with a clear conscience that while not all magi have a place in among the faithful, or within the safety of our walls, a degree of patience should be afforded to the penitent few, though never in a manner that crosses into permittance or acceptance of any casting beyond that which is considered integral; or in situations the church concludes that the masses shall suffer in the absence of. To summarise:

• Voidal magi may be present, but only under ecclesiastical custody or that of the state’s with ecclesiastical blessing.
   
• Mandated, perpetual acts of penance are required for their continued presence.
   
• Their participation must be visible, accountable, and subordinate to doctrine and must take a number of diverse forms.
   
• Magi who falter, or give belief that their faith is feigned must be treated as apostate magi, for the scions of the Void take after Iblees in demeanour and talent for deception without intervention.
   
• A mage must always answer to a greater mortal presence, if political or ecclesial power is afforded, be it the Crown, the High Priest, a General, or a Chancellor.
   

This is not an act of cruelty but one born of the will of preservation: the Church’s duty is to guard the souls of the faithful and to ensure that power never supersedes obedience. In this matter, mercy is found not in normalization, but in disciplined containment, a penance that never loosens and a custody born of virtuous vigilance that never ends.

Thus is tolerance made holy: by chains that do not slacken or shatter.

   De Intercessione Sancta
On the topic of Saintly Intercession



By a Humble Servant of the Lord, Brother Florian
__________________________________________________________________________

Among the doctrines of our Church, few are as frequently misunderstood as the practice of intercession through the Saints and the Blessed. Some brothers of ours argue the Lord requires the assistance of the Saints to sieve through prayers. This is false. For the Lord is omnipotent and omniscient, He is all seeing and all hearing. He hears all prayers immediately and perfectly, whether uttered by the living or echoed by the Blessed. He does not require the assistance of those lesser than him for any purpose, lest he not will it.

For His power is not parted among His many servants, but imitated, and in His multitude of ways, He is above them all.

                                    Spirit 5:19

Some scholars claim that invoking the Saints place distance between the faithful and the Lord, that His presence were diluted by additional voices. This is false. The Lord’s nearness is not diminished by many voices, nor is His attention divided by their number. For He who hears all prayer at once cannot be crowded.
Yet more say that since the Lord hears all prayers, intercession is redundant. This is false. That the Lord hears all prayers does not render prayer itself unnecessary, nor does it render communal prayer meaningless. The Lord needs no prayer. Yet he commands it. For He does not lack, but man does.
Furthermore, there exists the rare opinion that the Saints and Blessed, having ascended the Skies, no longer receive our prayers. This is false. The Skies are not realms of severance. For indeed the Lord did lift the Exalted to the skies nearer to him, just as he receives his most faithful and devoted servants. As the Saints and Exalted are perfected in obedience, it is incoherent to assert that they are rendered indifferent to the struggles of the faithful.

So Owyn joined his father’s father in the Sixth Sky.

                                                                         Gospel 5:22
 

Meanwhile, the heretics and enemies of the faith argue that intercession is idolatry. This is also false. In fact, I argue the opposite. Indeed, the very grammar of prayer testifies against idolatry. The faithful say not “grant us,” but “pray for us”; not “deliver us,” but “entreat the Lord on our behalf.” Such language presupposes the Saint’s inability to act of their own accord. A Saint cannot act lest the Lord will it, a prayer cannot be answered lest the Lord grant it.
Thus, both the Saint and the Blessed functions as a supplicant rather than a source. For indeed the Saints are exemplars of virtue. Their proximity to the Lord is a result of their holiness, not its cause. To ask a Saint to intercede is not to bypass God. Rather it is to appeal to a member of the faithful. No different than asking a neighbour to pray for oneself. The Lord, in His mercy, permits the faithful to approach Him supported by the prayers of those who are His most devoted servants.

__________________________________________________________________________
 

Below I have provided examples of prayers to St. Kristoff, Patron Saint of Martyrs, Victims of Strife, and Bishops. The listed prayers explicitly acknowledge the Saints intercessory role. They do not attribute any authority to the Saint, for all authority sits with the Lord alone. One appeals to the Saints merit and virtues, one asks them to bring the request before God.

“Saint Kristoff, the foe presses me from all sides. The occasion of sin gathers round about me, and I am too weak to resist alone. Therefore, pray for me to God, to grant me strength in this difficult time; bid Him dry my tears and renew my Faith.”

“Saint Kristoff, who died a noble martyr, pray for me. Use the merits of thine own glorious death and advance my cause, and grant me a courageous and faithful end. Amen.”

“God, who didst give us Thy humble servant, Kristoff, give us the Grace to imitate his virtues, that, by his example, we may all deserve to live, as he lives, with Thee, in our heavenly home. Amen.”

Comprehensive Book of Prayers, Father Humbert

Now consider an improper prayer, one that slides toward presumption or misplacement of authority. I shall provide an example of mine own:

“Saint Kristoff, I call upon thee to command the Lord to grant me victory over my enemies, that I may triumph by thy own power”

This prayer, while plausible in scheme, is misplaced. For one directs the Saint command God, rather than ask. One attributes authority to the Saint, rather than acknowledging that all power belongs to the Lord alone.

__________________________________________________________________________

Dear Brothers, the errors addressed herein arise not from intercession itself, but from misunderstandings of the practice. To those who claim that intercession implies divine insufficiency, it must be answered that the Lord’s sufficiency is not threatened by communion. To those who fear distance from God, it must be said that the Lord cannot be crowded. To those who cry idolatry, indeed the grammar of prayer itself stands in rebuke. For the Saints are never asked to grant, but always to pray.
Let it therefore be held that intercession is not only permissible but fitting. For in all things it adds glory upon not the Saints, nor the Blessed, but upon the Lord who raised them, He who hears all prayer, He who rules indivisible and supreme above every Sky. 

Admirable and Holy are You, O’ Lord, and greatly shall thou be praised. You o’ so generously bestow unto your flock riches without envy nor without reason and take them without cruelty, and to each spirit you provide what it requires for salvation— Although often we mistake Your gifts for our own accomplishment. I therefore speak naught only of gold and mina, nor wonders held within the Seven Skies, but of the mercy and workings of a man of whom you saved. A saintly-man named Tobias. 
 

For Tobias was born not in luxuries, nor was he ever truly rich in himself. Born in low estate and raised in service, he carried within him what all sons of Horen bear: a restless heart, an unquiet spirit, wounded by ancient sin cursed into us by Iblees, desiring fullness yet seeking it in inherent sinfulness, in what often pass away. When abundance came upon him in flourishing torrents beyond measure, his soul did not grow satisfied but alas more inflamed, for wealth heals naught the will - it tears such asunder and reveals it. Thus did he wear himself in gold and silk, gazing upon his own gifts wickedly, loving the gift more than the Giver. 

O’ GOD, you o’ yet you, who dare not abandon those even astray further than the reaches of Aeldin or Anthos, struck not his body but his spirit. In the midst of his dominion and prosperity, You taught him that the hunger of the soul is fed not by gold nor mina nor praise even. That this was not his doing, for no man turns himself unless You turn him. By bounteous grace You bent his will, and in that bending he was made anew. What he renounced outwardly — pleasure, lineage, honor — had already been feverishly renounced inwardly, where salvation first takes root. 

From his rebirth flowers charity, not as cold burden but as a joyous delight. No longer did Tobias possess his wealth; rather, he was possessed by love. What had once been a distant idol had become an instrument, and all folly of gold and mina had learned obedience to mercy. Churches were hoisted from the soil, the poor were nourished and fed, the lost and wayfarers found shelter, and knowledge was preserved. For it was not because Tobias sought righteousness, but righteousness had seized him. Salvation does not remain hidden in the heart; it moves the hands and reshapes the realm.

But, o’ Lord and o’ reader even the redeemed remain mortal, bearing in their flesh the consequence of our Fall. Tobias was laid low by disease, and his body, once obedient, became a source of suffering and waning rot. Yet here his salvation was not undone but perfected. For when his needs were in its greatest flurry, and his strength was the least, he chose love over life itself. Giving his meal to the hungry, he surrendered the final claim of self, and so passed from this realm as he had finally learned to live in it: jolly, charitable, and free.

Thus he is called the father of Tuvmas, a holiday centered around feast and giving, not because he scatters toys like a merchant of joy, but because he teaches what the feast truly proclaims: that GOD gives Himself. As you o’ GOD willed his salvation in poverty to enrich us, so Tobias learned to rejoice not in having, but in giving. Children sense this truth in their wonder, though most cannot yet name it, for joy always follows charity as light follows flame. 

Therefore let none praise Tobias for his riches, nor even his miracles, which were signs given by You and not powers possessed by him, nor look down upon him for his inherent sin. Let him be praised in his saintly chair only by this: that by Your willful grace and benevolence his loves were reordered, his spirit healed, and through the effort of rebirth will his soul be brought to rest in You. For this is salvation that we celebrate merrily in Tuvmas — that the heart, long divided, is gathered back to its source, and finds peace not in gold nor mina, but in you o’ GOD.

Praise be, AMEN.

Child of GOD,

Kieran Victor Elendil

@LordofCabbage

Section 1: De Virtute DEI, 'On God's Power', unpublished Owynist theses cut short by ejection from the Lectorate.

De Virtute DEI

On God’s Power

By Aether Mills

Dedicated to the Lectorate

Prologue

It has come to my attention after periods of study that the Canonist church aught not to teach only those learned scholars who have spent years of their mortal lives higher concepts in theology, but should aim to spread their missionary dogma in a more meaningful and fulfilling way to save the souls of as many as possible. In my short time in Duloc, reading the Gospel and the four scrolls which have been given me, I have come to realize that the evangelization of cultured nations is of utmost importance. Every time the world has strayed away from the teachings of the faith, terrible tragedies have occurred. One such example within human reader’s lifetimes, one they can relate to, is that of Voidal magic.

I was a citizen of Haelun’or in my earlier years, and although that citizenship has long been abandoned and my house evicted, I remember the horrors and tragedies that voidal magic has concocted. The consequences when one strays away from GOD. The fall of Ando Alur left hundreds dead, and even though they were sinners, some of those poor elves were innocent. I have seen Voidal magic infect the empathy and rationality of descendants over time- once good colleagues, full of life and love, turned into cold, callous creatures, husks of their former self, focused on only their power and nothing of the good in life.

I may have also found that path as well. I may have, in a different life, decided to quench my unending thirst for hidden knowledge after I finish my alchemical studies, if not for the theologians ar Duloc. By writing this treatise I hope to educate those scholars to consider lay theology as a safe, fulfilling theory of study that saves souls instead of corrupting it with the vices of sin.

I admit. I, as an elf, will never go to the seven skies, and I have already coped with such. But all mortal men have the chance, and devoting my long life to the greater good of those accursed with age leaves me with a sense of warmth unlike any other. Alongside this- the spreading of the Gospel limits the veil of Iblees, who has struck us from our home time and time again. I write this missive in the case that I die, whether it be due to the savageness of the Dulocian green boar or revenge from Sillumir spies, my evangelism will continue to live on in written form, and more might be saved by GOD’s grace from wherever my mortal soul resides. For even though elves do not forget, they die, yet books never fade.

Chapter 1: Does GOD exist?

PROLOGUE: The existence of GOD is important, as it is the founding block of Canonism and all its denominations. To take in this question, we must review the counter-arguments that ‘no, GOD does not exist’, and then use reason and logic to provide a rational counterargument.

OBJECTION: We have not seen GOD, ever. No one alive has seen GOD. He is unobservable in this lifetime. Therefore, he does not exist.

COUNTERARGUMENT: I answer you thusly: Many people alive have indeed, seen GOD, in the flesh- The Aenguldaemonica. The Aenguldaemonica have seen the Lord with their own eyes, and testify to his existence. Iblees himself testifies to GOD, and the Aengudaemonica have no reason to lie that GOD exists. (Some do have reason to lie about him being dead- This will be covered in a later chapter.) Amongst that, the first Descendants of the first man and woman- Krug, Horen, Urguan and Malin- all testify to his existence.

Chapter 2: Did Horen Exist?

PROLOGUE: An objection to the counterargument stated above could be that the Descendants never actually existed. These doubters state a theory of ‘evolution’, that all the races came about through something called ‘natural selection’- that each race was bred for specific traits like animal husbandry. I reject this notion.

OBJECTION: The line of Horen and lineage of man go so far back it is nearly impossible to prove their existence. Therefore, since Horen is not alive, and not anyone alive has lived in his time, he does not exist.

COUNTERARGUMENT: While it is indeed true that no living mortal has ever witnessed Horen or the other first kings, again, it is within the immortal that we find our answer. Every single Aengudaemonic entity has testified that, indeed, Horen, Krug, Malin and Krug existed. However, that may not be enough proof for them- for many do not trust the Aengudaemonica. Well- then perhaps you can talk to Krug himself? You see, Shamans are well-known for their ability to commune with the dead. And, as it turns out, they are definitely able to commune with Krug’s soul- and Krug will definitely inform you of Horen, Malin, Urguan and GOD’s existence, if Krug’s standing there is not proof enough for you- if, of course, he does not slaughter you and the shamans first.

Chapter 3: I Have Not Seen Him?

PROLOGUE: Maybe all of this is not enough. Many people oppose all of these views, of being able to talk to people who witnessed GOD, as actual ‘proof’. They need to ‘witness’ him...

OBJECTION: I have not personally seen the glory of GOD myself. Therefore, as I have not observed GOD, GOD must not actually exist.

COUNTERARGUMENT: This notion that you have to see something for it to exist is absolutely absurd. There is something in the world, an idea, a mental skill that even the lowliest dogs have. It is titled ‘object permanence’. Just because you no longer see something does not mean it stops existing, or rather, has never existed. Let me give an example. Aegis. All of you have certainly heard of the land of Aegis. However- many of you, probably the majority, were not alive during the age of Aegis. However- you all are aware it exists, yes? You all believe it to be so, based on what has been told, yes? Indeed, even though a small amount of faith is required in such matters as believing in GOD, it is no less an amount of faith than believing in lands long past.

 Chapter 4: Did GOD Die?

PROLOGUE: The notion that GOD could have ever died is an absurd one that goes against his every nature… but, sadly, a very prominent theory in many religious circles. In the following few chapters I will be covering the several different beliefs on how GOD ‘died’ and postulates against them.

OBJECTION: GOD has died. He has died of old age. There is no possible way that GOD exists anymore within this realm, as no being can live past a thousand years- even the elves, gifted with long life, go insane after 20 measly stone years.

COUNTERARGUMENT: Dying is against God’s nature. To be more specific on the topic of old age, GOD is a timeless being. He is akin to a bar of carabarum. Carabarum does not age. Carabarum does not weather. Carabarum is virtually indestructible- it is timeless. However, unlike Carabarum, God also cannot melt, and He never forges into a different thing- His nature stays static, the same at all times. And, given that He was able to make many things which are timeless, it is suffice to say that He is powerful enough to be a timeless being, one that will exist forever.

Chapter 5: Does GOD Change?

PROLOGUE: An objection to this could state that GOD is a changing being. It is a notion that does not hold up when examined too closely, however.

OBJECTION: GOD has changed himself as he is omnipotent. He is omnipotent, and has the ability to change Himself, and He has decided to do so.

COUNTERARGUMENT: God has definitely not changed Himself. However, it is not because he cannot. He definitely can- He just has absolutely no reason to. After all. He IS perfect. He HAS been perfect for all millenia. Why would you ever dream of changing something that is absolute perfection?
You see, something particular about GOD is that He does not act, look, or function anything like a Descendant. He is not exactly a ‘force’, either, as He is intimately personal. See, GOD is a being outside the physical world. He is on another plane, the ethereal plane of Heaven and the Seven Skies, where imperfection can be eliminated. Most everything on Eos and Aos have imperfections, no matter how minute or massive they may be. But when one is on the same plane GOD is on, the ideal form of something is able to actually take place. GOD is the ideal being, one and alone, with the perfect traits, qualities, and a glorious form the mortal mind could never hope to comprehend.

Chapter 6: Was GOD Killed By Iblees?

PROLOGUE: The other main theory is that GOD did not die of old age, but was slaughtered. The main idea is that magic somehow killed GOD, or maybe Iblees, or perhaps the Void itself.

OBJECTION: Iblees killed GOD. He must have killed Him during an event, like, say, the fall of Aegis. GOD is dead.

COUNTERARGUMENT: GOD is most definitely not dead due to Iblees. You see, Iblees is far, far less powerful than GOD. And the proof is within us, directly. You see, while many of the Aenguldaemons did, in fact, have the ability to create animals, none have ever been able to create a creature of the descendant’s power. The closest anyone has ever come is the Kharajyr- but even the Kharajyr have abysmal limits to their capabilities. What I refer to is not the capabilities of the body, but of the soul. You see, early on in the Book of Provenance, it is mentioned specifically that GOD made something in particular- man’s SOUL. No other soul like man’s has been created by anything other than GOD- Nothing even able to withstand the hatred of the Void, nothing unable to receive the blessings of the Aenguldaemon, nothing able to survive the corrupting, evil aura of dark magics. No, for even the Kharajyr, Metzli’s supposed ‘creation’ bursts into flames when attempting to receive Azdromoth’s curse. If Iblees could not do something as simple as create a soul, something that only took GOD one measly breath, then what is to say the denier could even dare touch the Lord?

Chapter 7: Was GOD Killed By The Void?

PROLOGUE: Another popular theory by heretics is that GOD succumbed to the void- whether it be through voidal magic, or the slow, creeping corruption that spreads across the planes. This is, utterly, scientifically impossible, as we will see soon.

OBJECTION: GOD was ‘killed’ by the Void. He came into contact with the void- nothing can live in the void! Therefore, he died.

COUNTERARGUMENT: This is an advanced answer which will eventually devolve into the paradox of the stone, so pay close attention. No, GOD cannot die in the void. And, in a sense, he can’t exactly touch the void either. You see, the Void is not just nothing, it is the absence of GOD. Proof of this is found early on, within both the book of Providence and the book of Horen. The planes are angled thusly- First, what is closest to GOD is the seven skies. What is second closest are all the other planes- such as the world. What is farthest is the Void. If GOD were to move towards the void, the void would cease to be void and would begin to be normal space. This is, and although we can never be sure as GOD is unknowable, possibly a reason why GOD stays on his throne. If GOD were to grow near the mortal plane his glory may very well turn it into heaven.

ADDENDUM: You may be wondering, dear reader, about the paradox of omnipotence. ‘Oh- if God can’t touch the void then he isn’t omnipotent’! Well, no, he can touch the void. And, if he did, he would definitely be fine, but this argument is about the void trying to physically kill him, not whether GOD would wander into the void himself. God very well could, and would not die or could not be hurt as he is an omnipotent being, but.. Why would he want to do that?

And please don’t bring up ‘ohh the stone what if he makes a stone too big’- It’s sophistry. The paradox is meaningless, you’re not funny and your mother never loved you.

Chapter 8: Why Does GOD not Smite Sinners?

PROLOGUE: A common question asked questioning GOD’s judgement and power is, that if he despises sin so much, why does he not simply destroy those who do it? The answer lies not in GOD’s ability, but in GOD’s nature- in his grace, in his unending love for his children.

OBJECTION: GOD does not destroy the sinners who bring evil into the world, despite GOD hating sin. Therefore, GOD must not have the power to do so. Therefore, GOD is not all-powerful.

COUNTERARGUMENT: GOD definitely, absolutely has the power to smite sinners. GOD has the power to create anything, even descendants- which alchemists, in almost two-thousand years of history, have been completely unable to do. There is nothing stopping him from doing something as simple as manifesting a large rock atop a person, crushing them instantly. Indeed- the real reason it does not happen is not due to lack of power, but due to a lack of want. GOD does not want to punish in such a manner- GOD is graceful. GOD is ready to accept and forgive nearly everyone, no matter how horrible the sin. Take, for example, the worst sinner of them all- the king of sin, the emperor of evil, Iblees himself. GOD still extends his grace to Iblees. As is stated in the Scroll of Gospel, GOD extended his grace to Iblees several times, and continues to do so. However, it is Iblees, in his wroth, who rejects forgiveness. Even in the end times, in the latest part of the Scroll of Auspice, GOD offers his grace to Iblees. Iblees does not accept it, and is destroyed under the overwhelming grace. GOD does not wish to destroy his own creation- rather, he seeks to redeem them, preferring them to repent and come towards Him of their own will. GOD is aware that killing a sinner would be a sin- and the cycle would perpetuate infinitely. The only way to stop it is to forgive.

ADDENDUM: What should we do about forgiveness, then..? Should we, too, forgive sinners? The answer is yes. Forgiveness is the utmost virtue- it ends the cycle of sin right in its path. Sometimes, a swordbearer may find themselves in a predicament- against those of the most evil forces- necromancers, Saul Ivan’s and the like. In these cases, to kill them is not good, but to not kill them is to damn many many innocents to a painful death. The path of least sin would be to end the necromancer’s life, and should be followed- but no matter what one does, one should never find joy in extracting wroth upon evildoers. You must do what you must, but never kill wantonly or needlessly. 

Chapter 9: Why are The Aenguldaemons Lying?

PROLOGUE: A truly terrible secret lies within the Aenguldaemon’s plans. They are known to lie about the death of GOD, to be worshipped for their own good… 

OBJECTION: The Aenguldaemons have no reason to lie about the death or nonexistence of GOD. Therefore, if Aengudaemons are telling us that GOD is dead, then they are obviously not lying- then they are telling the truth. 

COUNTERARGUMENT: Unfortunately, this is not true. Many Aengudaemonic entities, those who are particularly unfaithful to their creator who gave them their spark- for example, the dreaded Xan and his worshippers, and Gazardiael who attempted to end us all- they wish to go against GOD’s teachings for their own power. I have, with much deliberation and discussion from other lectors, devised the exact reason they want to be worshipped instead of GOD- it grants them power. When someone elects to worship one of these false deities, they do grow somewhat more powerful as a result- they are able to call on earthly arms far beyond their normal scope of power to fight for them, and conquer more of this mortal realm- the only realm that truly, actually matters to Aengudaemons as it is the one they have the least power in, and was the one created by GOD. As well, whenever a poor soul signs up for an Aengudaemonic pact, such as Xannic Paladanism, they are often granting their soul over to one of these heathenous beasts. The Aengudaemons are able to use the unique and unrivaled energy the soul produces, such as mana, to grow stronger. In short, Aengudaemons wish to use soul energy to power themselves and their own crusade.

ADDENDUM: It should be noted, of course, that not all Aengudaemons or Aengudaemonic pacts are inherently bad. For example- Malchediael’s templars are granted boons, but nothing is inherently ‘taken’ from them. Malchediael himself is still true to the LORD. Avalier was also considered quite true to the LORD- though, since he unfortunately banished, he has not appeared much since,

Chapter 10: How do the Realms Function in relation to GOD?

PROLOGUE: This is a more experimental part of the thesis, and I am fully aware that my position on such will be incredibly controversial. This chapter will cover the topic of GOD’s position in the realms, and what exactly his power means in reference to this.

OBJECTION: GOD does not have a particular place in the realms. GOD resides everywhere, all at once, as he is omnipresent. There aren’t tiers of reality emanating from GOD, everything simply exists at random.

COUNTERARGUMENT: We shall split this argument into several sections.

1. “GOD does not have a particular place in the realms.” Indeed, in a way, there is no one place where god solely as. However, there are places where he is more at as opposed to less at. Allow me to explain this with an an analogy. Imagine all the realms, voidal and mundane,  as a flat disc, completely two dimensional. Upon this disc is a heaping pile of fine gravel. Near the edges of the disc is less gravel, of course, and near the center of the disc is more gravel. However, there is still gravel upon each inch of the disc- therefore, there is gravel “everywhere”- it is just in some places more than others. This is akin to how GOD works- he is more there in the Seven Skies than he is in the mundane realm or the void.
2. “There are no tiers emanating from GOD”. This objection can be overturned by reading over the scroll of Gospel again. While it does not explicitly detail the direction of creation, close examination of Iblees’ descent and climb reveals many things. See, whenever the scroll of Gospel refers to Iblees moving between realms, it refers to it as him climbing the ‘emanations of glory’. An emanation is defined as a radiation from a source. Therefore- it can be said that, whenever Iblees climbs though the realms, he is climbing up towards the source of GOD- his glory. As he grows closer to the void he is descending away from the source of GOD. Given close examinations of the text, we can determine thusly:
   1. The first realm, closest to GOD, are the seven skies.
   2. The next realms are several aengulic realms, as they are responsible for ‘things’
   3. The next realm is the mundane world, Aos and Eos.
   4. The next realms are several daemonic realms are they are responsible for ‘nothings’.
   5. The final outer realm is the void.
3. This reveals that the realms are created outwards from GOD’s glory, his source- possibly in a ring-like shape, or perhaps, given the coin-like nature of the realms- a stack of coins. (It also, in turn, reveals unto us proof of the previous discussion- that there is, indeed, a “center” to GOD).

Chapter Finalis: The Horrible Realm

[There is no text left.]
 

Section 2: Notes on the four scriptures.

Scroll 1: Virtue

 PROLOGUE:

• DIRECTLY first person
• GOD speaking to Horen DIRECTLY in scroll
• It is GOD’s MORAL LAW.
• Each different canticle covers a different aspect of GOD’s nature.
• Each canticle describes how to use GOD’s gifts.
• Each canticle begins with the same 3 verses, and ends with mostly the same verse. Very specific wordings.
• First scroll, given directly to Horen.
• Good for finding firsthand accounts of GOD’s deeds.

CANTICLE 1: FAITH

This section seems to deal with the soul, GOD’s power, and why one should believe in him in a more focused sense. It plays an excellent part as a beginning section.

• GOD foremost part of heaven
• His word lasts forever
• No peers, no one else as powerful as him, he separated world from Void and gave souls to beasts
• GOD gave souls to descendants too, and, all things.
• GOD guides in pursuit of his ‘virtue’.
• Virtuous only live by his ‘Word’.
• Blessings of his ‘virtue’ fall on righteous who follow word and path

CANTICLE 2: CHARITY

This section seems to describe how GOD is charitable by giving man things to survive with, while simultaneously demonstratin his glory.

• GOD made everything- metals of earth, rocks, trees, stuff inside trees, hair, beasts, everything.
• GOD gives both abundant physical things, and the word for us to spread.
• GOD gives us lots of virtue, but also lots of stuff in garden.
• Word can be spread without it dividing, it multiplies as it is closer to a memetic idea than a physical thing.
• GOD wants us to not covet what is in garden and has been given to us however, but instead desire to grow closer to GOD. Temperance is key.
• Those who share wealth will receive blessings.

CANTICLE 3: TEMPERANCE

This section seems to be about enjoying oneself in moderation in all things,

• GOD gives many things- gave Horen first grapes for wine, and gave Horen wife.
• GOD gives us worldly pleasures, but also spiritual pleasures, and love of husband and wife
• GOD given us wine of ‘sacrament’, and also wine of merriment (drinking wine)
• Pleasures of world exist to comfort us WHILE we achieve virtue spiritually
• Take pleasures CAREFULLY
• Do NOT overindulge like mindless beast
• Do NOT sleep with relatives
• Do NOT sleep with other tribes (i.e. elf + human, orc + dwarf)
• MUST stay MONOGAMOUS (only 1 spouse at a time in holy unison)
• Following GOD’s joy bring joy, following GOD’s comfort brings comfort.
• Blessings fall upon those that do not over-indulge

CANTICLE 4: DILIGENCE

This canticle seems to cover the idea that idle hands should not exist. One should always strive to work towards something, and have some sort of job. Labor is good.

• GOD made all things. He made seeds and husks, heat, fire and iron.
• GOD has made ways to make working easier.
• GOD made new fruits and new jobs to labor over.
• GOD’s creation is to be used to work on.
• Work brings one closer to GOD.
• Strength of heart comes from working.
• Faithful should not idle or be lazy.
• Labor is virtuous. Virtue goes to laborers.

CANTICLE 5: PATIENCE

This canticle seems to be about why bad things happen. GOD’s response is that bad things happen as they strengthen people’s spirits.

• GOD created all world- from heat in desert to cooling wind, to brine in sea and sweet streams.
• GOD created all struggles, double-meaning in previous section. He also created all remedies to struggles.
• GOD also made struggles of spirit, and remedies to struggles of spirit.
• GOD created pain, and also cures.
• Pain not for no reason- pain strengthens one.
• Do NOT resort to violence for anger, envy, or any other sin
• His trials are holy, his cure is virtuous, all who follow this path will receive virtue.

CANTICLE 6: FIDELITY

This canticle seems to be about loyalty and faithfulness, but not to a partner, but more to an ideal.

• GOD has made all things. He made all paths and places essentially.
• GOD tells us what path we need to go on
• GOD chose where we were born and in what circumstances
• Should not envy lives of others
• All paths that are virtuous and follow him are good in his eyes
• All will be recorded according to their virtue, NOT whether they have a good position in life
• Keep fast to word and place, do not aspire to greatness, simply follow his path of Glory
• Law is virtuous, his order is good, blessings of Virtue upon both king and servant

CANTICLE 7: HUMILITY

This canticle seeks to humble the reader, reminding them of the awesome power of the Lord.

• GOD made EVERYTHING
• GOD made earth, seas, skies, heavens
• GOD breathed life into all beasts, and all men
• GOD is eternal, men are temporary
• All are equally small before GOD, so stay humble
• GOD is most high
• Do not judge self higher or lower than what you are, as all fall short of GOD
• GOD is only one with real power, GOD is the only one with real eternity
• Virtue will sustain righteous for aeons, as GOD made virtue

Scroll 2's notes are missing.

Scroll 3: Gospel

BK. 1- PROVENANCE

• Divinely Inspired 
• God is singular, no polytheism
• God was the first thing, existed in nothing 
• God made all things- farthest is nothing, or the ‘void’, closest is the skies- he resides in the seven skies. Inbetween is the material ‘world’.
• God created Immortals via breath: Aenguls and Daemons. 
• Aenguls rule all that exists. Daemons rule all that doesn’t.
• NO ONE can go to the void, it is forbidden.
• God ordered Immortals to make the world.
• God gave beasts life through his breath. (Souls = breath of God? Ask Paco.) 
• Chief daemon = Iblees. Doubted God’s strength, was annoyed he had to rule over ‘what was not’- nothing.
• Iblees wanted to rule without God, become God himself. 
• Iblees touched the Void, grows physically corrupted (Remember- void corruption is a thing!), God grows angry 
• God sees ‘Bounty of His Immortals’ + is pleased - The deeds of the Immortals? Bounty as in ‘fruits of labor’.
• God sees corruption in Iblees, asked why he did this. 
• Iblees refuses to repent, even though given chance. Iblees locks himself in the void by his own volition.
• Immortals did good, but did not finish God’s plan. God does it himself.
• God makes man and woman. Important to note: AENGUL-DAEMONICA did NOT make them. This is the first thing God has directly made so far without relegating orders. This must be what makes Descendants so special.
• First man and women had no name and no language and no culture. We will never know what or who they are. God intended it to be this way.
• First people had 4 children. (Author’s note: The eldest, Malin, seems to live the longest, while the youngest, Horen, lives the shortest. It seems to be in a descending order- Malin, Urguan, Krug, Horen. Their age parallels to their race’s age.) 
• Eldest is Malin- Ancestor of the elves. Roamed in the forest, tall, lots of hair. Loved fruits and animals a lot. Made his home a sanctuary for beasts- also possible ancestor of druidic mindset
• Second eldest is Urguan- Ancestor of the dwarves. Lived in a mountain home. Dense, rough-skinned already. Loved mining and gems.
• Third eldest is Krug- Ancestor of the orcs. Strong, fierce- notably lived in the Desert, not the jungle. Loved the hunts, battle and strength.
• Youngest is Horen- Ancestor of the humans. Completely average, wise and restrained. Only ambition was to love the Lord.
• God told first man and women it’s time to go to heaven, the Sixth Sky, and leave the world to their sons. The man came eagerly, but the woman did not as she loved her kids. (Author’s Note: The first sin was brought into Iblees through the void, but the first sin by mortals was not until the woman disobeyed the Lord, technically)
• God revealed the kid’s greed to the woman and she came to the Sixth Sky. 
• Sons were all that left, but kept faithful. Each got language, and tribe of 7,000 people. (Not mentioned how they got wives in Ancient History, so this clears it up!)
• Made Sons kings of their people.

BK. 2- HOREN

• Divinely inspired 
• All kings care more about earthly possessions than God now.
• All kings took wives- Malin, Urguan, and Krug took concubines, Horen was monogamous and only had Julia as a wife (monogamy regarded as Holy).
• Iblees watching from void entire time, avoiding grace, still distrusts God. Sees kings are less godly.
• Even Horen less holy, outwardly.
• Iblees ‘ascended’ emanations to world from void (Definiton: Emanation: the origination of the world by a series of hierarchically descending radiations from the Godhead through intermediate stages to matter. Essentially, Iblees ‘climbed up the ladder’ closer to god to get to world.)
• Malin + followers went to forest (already tree-dwellers)
• Urguan + followers went to cave (already cave-dwellers)
• Krug + followers went to desert (already tribal).
• Horen + followers went to plains (building normal homes, have many children)
• Horen sees less Godly world, prays to Lord for guidance.
• Horen goes to Grotto of Gamesh, very far away, and fasts for 3 days in water.
• Before goes, Horen senses Iblees. Tells his followers, tells them what Iblees looks like, tells them to get him away if he comes near when Horen gone.
• Julia get her 3 sons, hid 3 sons in holy tent, went looking for Iblees. 
• Horen went east, Iblees goes to Horen camp and tempts people.
• Julia sees Iblees, casts him out. Iblees mad.
• Iblees goes and tempts sons of Malin, Urguan and Krug while they still at camp, in new disguise, claims Lord would pardon.
• Laziness and orgies ensue.
• Saul leaves Horen camp, goes to others, despite Julia warning. 
• Iblees disguises Saul as Horen.
• Saul-as-Horen corrupts many, acts as Iblees proxy. Julia does not see.
• Back to Horen, and Grotto of Gamesh.
• 3rd day, Aengul Tesion (first named Aengul) cleansed Horen with water from silver horn, and give Horen laurel as crown. 
• Horen crowned First Prophet.
• Horen returns, sees two-thirds of his people corrupted by Saul. They cannot enter the tabernacle.  
• Saul is dead. Died in an orgy, trampled to death.
• 2/3rds sinful could not approach glowing, holy Horen, who wept. Talks to wife, gets informed.
• Horen gets out of tabernacle, sees that all unclean have killed each other. Entire camp ‘unclean’.
• All the ‘clean’ people fled to the forest. Horen gathers them- and begins to travel to gather his brothers.
• Krug was attacked by own subjects. Horen tells Krug iblees up to something- Krug kills the unclean, those who lived repented. Horen not bother stopping him, his forces are too little at the moment.
• Krug wants Iblees dead. 
• Both went east, Urguan and Malin join + good ones in tribes. Most sinners killed.
• Iblees foiled, but murder stained earth, give Iblees power. Iblees controls Saul’s body (resurrects, first necromancer.)
• Iblees resurrects all dead as undead army.
• War ensues between Iblees+Saul and Kings of Descendants.
• Brothers attack Iblees and Saul directly. Iblees cursed Kings of Descendants (See Ancient History for curses.)
• Aeriel descends, plays trumpet. Iblees weakened, defeated, all forces of evil fell into Void.
• Aeriel gives brothers gifts to alleviate pains. Krug, honor. Urguan, strength of will. Malin, sanctuary.
• Horen still mortal. Horen given Seven Skies (presumably, heaven after death.)
• God speaks to Horen, talks of his three sons… 
  • Eldest: Purifier, righteous justice. Name: Harren.
  • Middle: Redeemer, glorious. Name: Godwin.
  • Youngest: Perserver, wisdom. Name: Joren. 
• Horen tells brothers. Horen’s kind now inherit creation.

BK. 3- SCATTERING

This book discusses the scattering of the Horenian people, and Harren’s refusal to become prophet- his generation is skipped.

• Divinely Inspired.
• God went back to heaven.
• Horen’s people could not prophecy, could only use speech and example.
• Krug angry because, even though he resisted Iblees, not receive God’s word. Krug’s people attacking Horen’s.
• Most of Horen’s people stopped preaching, except best of people.
• Horen leads people to Holy City, in Isthmus of Kramoroe. Stakes of tabernacle mark bounds.
• One of Krug’s servants finds Isthmus, sees people there very trusting. Krug makes servant ancestor of goblins.
• Krug attacks unwalled Holy City, kill many people.
• Krug want to attack Horen, but, Horen already asleep and killed, along with Julia.
• Krug and followers get tusks as mark of sin.
• Krug and followers, and holy city, washed away by tsunami.
• Holiness gone from world. Year 1 begins.
• Horen’s people scattered. Sons must gather.
• Harren leads third to Peninsula of Whispers. Established kingdom of Idunia and city of Alduun.
• Godwin leads third to Valley of Jrent, where they lived before, got wife, became king of Aaun.
• Joren took last third and went to mountains, became king of Edel.
• Lineages grow. Godwin’s kingdom is largest. 
• Harren’s greatest in strength, as Harren allies with Wildewynn- children of Malin north of Jrent. Harrenites and Wildewynn marry, even though Horen’s virtue forbids it.
• Year 21, aengul Artifai appears. Offers Harren to be next prophet, through horn and laurel.
• Harren rejects. He loves elven ***** too much
• Lord instructs Artifai elsewhere. In meantime, Harren and mixed-blood children attack Kramoroe and Krug, drive them to towers of Aemon and Daemon.
• Harren builds city where holy city used to be.
• Harren offered gift of prophecy again by Artifai. Denies it- wants 3 days to celebrate victory.
• Harren gets drunk, forgets to go fast in Gamesh. Offered chance to do so third time- he goes to Gamesh.
• Harren does not pray, but instead constantly thinks of taking over his brothers.
• On third day, Harren hears fanfare of mixed-blood subjects. Harren goes to festival, breaks fast, and Artifai does not return.
• Harren attacks Godwin’s place, killed Godwin. Realm of Aaun divided, heir Owyn cannot accept. Taken into Joren’s household.