I traveled into the lands that are to be granted unto me: the Crimsforest, a cold place shrouded in dread. There stood statues of carved faces, their eyes weeping frozen tears of blood. The trees were tinted in blood red leaves, and a river lay locked beneath ice, which I crossed in silence. Beyond it rose a hill bathed in pale moonlight, and there I made my rest. I raised only a small tent and a fire, listening to the chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind.

As I sat beside the flame, I was reminded of my own path of Owyn. I recalled the night spent by the flamewell, enduring discomfort so that I might better understand the suffering Owyn bore while he served Harren, who killed his father. Yet here, in this forsaken land, the flame did not bring hardship. It brought comfort. And in that moment, I came to an understanding.

The fire commanded by Owyn was a flame of purity and zeal, meant to burn away those who stood opposed to the Light of Aerader. It was a weapon, wielded without hesitation against corruption and defiance. Yet the fire beside which I rested was not wrathful. It was warm, steady, and sustaining, Akin to how Owyn felt when he first held the flaming blade.

“Owyn took up the sword and was consumed with warmth”. Book of Owyn p:29

Owyn came before Aerader, a broken man, scarred by betrayal and loss. Through his service and through the blade entrusted to him, Aerader not only granted him purpose, but he granted him warmth. Thus, it is revealed that Aerader’s Holy Flame is not solely a force of destruction, but also one of mercy and a blessing to those who accept it.

To the faithful, the flame gives warmth, guidance, and purpose. To those who deny Aerader as the One True Creator, it reveals its other nature: wrath, judgment, and consuming fire.

The Holy Fire of Aerader offers a choice. It may be wielded to warm the faithful and strengthen them in righteousness, and to defend them from those who seek to destroy,
Yet those who reject Aerader and His mercy shall not escape the flame, for they too shall feel its burn, not as comfort, but as judgment.

Yet Aerader is not cruel in His offering, nor is His Flame given without mercy. Even now, the fire yet burns low and steady, awaiting those who would draw near. No soul is cast into the blaze without first being offered its loving warmth. As Owyn himself was forgiven by the holy flame rather than consumed by it, so too could any who turn toward the Light be strengthened and renewed by it.

Thus, the holy flame is not only a righteous wrath, but a guiding light to the faithful, a beacon to follow so that you may stay on the pious path to serve the lord Aerader better and live a fuller life than one cast in shadows.

I do not know if this shall mean much to any others who read this, but I shall always praise the lord when I rest by the fire, knowing that if I keep living a virtuous life in his name, that I will never be alone in darkness as Aerader’s light shall be beside me.

[BORING OOC note] 
 

Issued by the Flaming Covenant Cohort

11th of the Sun's Smile, 2A74

In honor of Brother Isaac.

PREFACE

Tsutenkaku and Takajiro were two fortresses of Eastern origin that formerly resided North-West of Yong Ping. The location was wedged between the Tomblands and the Jade State; it was distinguished by a bamboo forest and lake. Tsutenkaku was the fortress erected on the surface of the continent whilst Takajiro was suspended above via a blood magic circle. The destruction of both strongholds occurred when Takajiro collapsed in devastating fashion on top of Tsutenkaku. The cause has been determined to be a lack of fuel. The result was the release of numerous monstrous entities from the bowels of Tsutenkaku and environmental ruination within the immediate region.

The South-West of Almaris has seen years of chaos wrought upon by dark entities. Xionists and Vampires have all sought to prey upon the helpless normals of the world. The Lectors initially came to Luciensburg with the intent of living a purely monastic lifestyle; yet, after Owyn de Vitus’s attack on a local guardsman, the Flaming Covenant Cohort has made its focus to defend the parish and virtuous life. This is the culmination of years of investigation.

TSUTENKAKU TIMELINE

An entity now identified as THE LAUGHING HAG has existed for centuries. Confirmed to be a turned abomination known as a KIJO, this entity was vampiric in nature and possessed the ability to float upon clouds and teleport at will. This Entity can be identified by their bloody armor, deformed, callous grin and their cosmetic crimson horns.

The HAG was first reported to the Lectorate [30] years ago by a group of children known as the “Yokai-Za”. It was said that the HAG sought the blood of these children and that there would be consequences if they reported the incident to any adult. It was also stated that mundane weapons had no discernible effect on the entity.

One child, Lex O’Hara, directed the Lectors to the fortress known as “Tsutenkaku”. He claimed its owner, Hirano Tsune, was a Vampire. His claims were further justified by the strange change in behavior demonstrated by Masamune Yukio, another member of the Yokai-za, who had acquired an apprenticeship in the fortress.

At the request of Lex O’Hara, the YPA conducted a search into Tsustenkaku helmed by Watanabe Setsuna. The YPA discovered nothing suspicious within the walls of the fortress bar a book labeled “XIONISM” that was given to them by Tsune herself. 

Yokai-za member Kato Oijin is bitten by an unidentified male Vampire roaming the roads between Luciensburg and Yong Ping. The Vampire is described to have floated upon a cloud. Search attempts failed in apprehending the entity.

A Hexer by the name of Grifter identified a fog which indicated a soul prison on the premises. Similar fog was discovered North-West in the Tomblands proper, the home of the Xionist Mystics. Lector reconnaissance identified numerous Mystic actors leaping about the fortress of Tsutenkaku as if they were residents.

Hirano Tsune “dies” of old age and is cremated before a crowd. Hirano Nanako, her supposed adopted niece, took control of the Hirano clan with the intent of finishing Tsune’s work. Hirano Nanako is confronted and explains that Xionist actors sought to liberate the creatures lying in the depths of the fortress. Hirano Nanako PASSES a salt test.

Hirano Nanako explains to the Flaming Covenant that the creature they were pursuing was known as a Kijo, a vampiric monster of eastern origin. The Kijo is described to be the result of a woman consuming the fruit of an evil “Blood Tree”. These yokai supposedly seek to make deals with descendents for some twisted goal, and possess a great fondness for children. It was also explained that there were Three Kijo, the Sisters, who were truly immortal; the HAG is one of them.

The HAG continues to pester the South-West as if it were playing with toys and pets; most engagements are non-fatal. In one encounter, the Flaming Covenant Cohort identified the Kijo’s critical weakness to fire. The HAG fled the scene.

Following the destruction of Ando Alur, a similarly floating fortress known as Takajiro appeared to the South-East of Yong Ping. Its owner is identified as Juniper Wick.

The HAG engages in a Shadow Game against Lector Isaac, and is defeated in a game of chess. They explain to Isaac their concept of “Cosmic Alchemy”, a synonym for what will later be identified as blood magic.

During the Du Locian Flesh Pit Incident, a Third unidentified Kijo appears alongside the HAG when attempting to commune with and feed an extra dimensional being known as the “Gibbering Heart”. The duo are engaged by the Lectorate and flee the scene, having taken the Heart’s brain with them.

Hirano Nanako and her Ishiguntai work alongside the Lectors in the detainment and eradication of a vampiric cell located within Yong Ping. Lex O’Hara is identified as a member of the coven and opts to take his own life before confessing to his crimes and/or attempting to clear his name.

A fourth unidentified Kijo appears alongside the HAG in an attempt to acquire service at the Boppin’ Scrib Cornerclub, Du Loc. A fight breaks out and the unidentified Kijo is slain via beheading. The corpse and head of the creature vanish; it is presumed that Kijo are truly immortal.

Flesh Alchemy is instructed to the Lectorate by Hirano Nanako as a reward for furthering Medical Alchemy and to act as a possible alibi. It is explained that, through alchemy, one can cheat the curse of Iblees. It is also explained how one can make artificial abominations which can take the appearance of people. It is noted that homunculi can resemble already existing descendents.

The HAG is confronted by Lectors Danzen and Paco and is beaten in a Shadow Game. As per the terms, the HAG confessed their sins and answered the questions of the Lectors. The HAG confirmed that they were at Dobrov and used blood magic to rip the castle from the continent and transport it elsewhere. It was also stated that the HAG sought vengeance upon Hirano Nanako for having imprisoned them for centuries. The HAG also claims that they used Juniper Wick to infiltrate Tsutenkaku.

The HAG is spotted attempting to murder Yokai-Za member Kin in the streets of Yong Ping. The HAG themself is spotted floating, as if defying gravity, linking them to the unidentified male Vampire that bit Lector Oijin. Lector Danzen dialogues with the HAG and convinces them to leave the city, and to not seek vengeance on Kin.

Nanako Hirano is spotted fleeing Tsutenkaku, being pursued by the HAG. Nanako Hirano is slain and the HAG is beheaded by a Lector patrol. Though immortal, the creature is stripped of its infernal armor.

The Lectorate receives testimony from the Orenian government that a male vampiric entity offered the Empress of Oren immortality. He was described as having floated upon a cloud similar to the HAG and the unidentified male Kijo that bit Lector Oijin.

Hirano Nanako manifests into a new body and confesses that they have always been Hirano Tsune. They explain that they used Flesh Alchemy to cheat death and chose the body of an elf to live for eternity without suspicion. Hirano Tsune believes that the HAG is Juniper Wick.

A Blood Circle is discovered within the walls of Takajiro by Hirano Tsune; it presumably keeps the castle afloat. The circle radiated mana at an extraordinary level and began to rapidly heat Thanhic weaponry. She claims that it was a timed explosive set by Juniper, in order to destroy Tsutenkaku.

Hirano Tsune passes a second Vampiric test. No adverse effects were visible or detected. Hirano Tsune vanishes into the wind.

Tsutenkaku is destroyed per the failings of the Blood Powered Circle. Brother Isaac sacrifices himself in order to thwart the tear in reality.

JUNIPER WICK TIMELINE

Juniper Wick, born of Hanseni blood, moves to Vasoyev after being banished. She is the adopted grandmother of Moliana, former Baroness of Worldzmir. 

Juniper Wick acquires employment in Ando Alur as the head librarian. Lector Oijin is directed to continue his alchemy studies with Juniper Wick from Solana, an alchemy professor residing within Haelun’or.

Following the destruction of Ando Alur, a similarly floating fortress known as Takajiro appeared to the South-East of Yong Ping. Its owner is identified as Juniper Wick. Juniper Wick instructs Lector Oijin in the art of Automaton crafting at the fortress of Takajiro.

Moliana confesses to Lector Danzen that she knew individuals who sought to use the material alphabet for magical purposes, using blood as a conductor. These rituals are used to harness powers from beyond and possess the ability to do unnatural things. She asserts that she never participated. This description aligns with the HAG’s explanation of “Cosmic Alchemy”.

Juniper Wick disappears for unknown reasons. Hirano Tsune claims that they departed for “sabbatical” and gifted them the fortress of Takajiro.

A Lector informant reveals that Moliana made a deal with Kijo to teleport Dobrov to Haense. The informant fears that Moliana had become enthralled and that Juniper and her companion, Nanako, had always sought to corrupt them into using blood magic.

A Blood Circle is discovered within the walls of Takajiro by Hirano Tsune; it presumably keeps the castle afloat. It radiated mana at an extraordinary level and began to rapidly heat Thanhic weaponry.

A Ghost is dispelled within the Savoyard Palace in proximity to a second blood circle. It damns the name of Juniper Wick’s brother repeatedly. Juniper Wick’s brother is discovered by Lectors in the city of Providence. The suspect fails a Salt Test and attempts to murder Lector Stor. The suspect is dealt with great prejudice.

Moliana, per her penance, confesses her sins to the Lectors. Moliana elaborates how she believed herself to be the victim of an Azdrazi kidnapping, only to be rescued by her foster Grandfather. It is explained how her Grandfather and Grandmother were in fact vampires, and had stolen her away from Worldzmir. The Grandfather is identified as Lothar, and the Grandmother as Juniper Wick.

Moliana details how Juniper Wick participated in Blood Magicks, which used the Material Alphabet to send coded messages via rituals; bloodied runes would amplify the power of equivalent exchange and the “message” was supposedly sent out beyond the veil. Moliana claims to have been marked with the carving of a Spider, which prevented her from speaking to others what she had seen in addition to forcing her to comply with the requests of Juniper Wick. 

Upon begging for the mark to be removed, Juniper Wick supposedly conceded to Moliana. She explained to her that she would undertake a prolonged vampiric slumber, and that Hirano Tsune would watch over both she and her holdings. Moliana explains how the HAG possessed ties to Tsutenkaku, and how she possessed no doubt in her mind that the HAG was, in fact, Tsune Hirano.

LOTHAR TIMELINE

Moliana describes Lothar as her adoptive Grand-Father and ruler of Vasiyev. It is said that he was a Vampire and that he was the husband to Juniper Wick.

Lothar signs an advertisement for an auction pertaining to the Vampiric cure. It is assumed that Lothar sought to profiteer on the very disease his kind manufactured.

Lothar is reported as having floated about in the Providence Palace before Empress Anastasia, offering immortality. The Empress refused and, according to her own testimony, had the man “slain” either during the encounter or at a different point in time. 

Following the testimony regarding Juniper Wick, Moliana continued to be pestered by the Vampiric entities who kidnapped her in youth. It is explained that the one who continued to loom over Moliana was not Ostromir Carrion, but instead her Grandfather “Lothar”.

Years later, Lothar’s coven cornered Elimar, the husband to Moliana, with the intent of having Moliana slay him in order to prove her loyalty to the “family”. Moliana refused and she and Elimar fended off the five vampiric assailants. Elimar managed to escape whereas Moliana’s fate is unknown; it is assumed that she perished. The household of Worldzmir announces their deaths publically and holds a funeral.

Just prior to the attempted murder of Elimar, it was said that Lothar engaged in a boastful monologue whereby he described numerous details regarding Greater Vampiric culture. Lothar described a code referred to as the “Hexalogue” whereby Vampires are sworn into secrecy - those who violated its tenets being considered “exilat”. 

Lothar also described a process known as “boxing” which saw the immortal beings being stored away in a container of some kind if they betrayed their kind. Lothar also described how members of the Greater Vampiric class can eat one another, and become ostracized and tainted as a result of such. Lothar explains that the LAUGHING HAG was devoured for revealing Juniper.

Though there is no way to verify Elimar’s claims, his paranoia, terror and thirst for vengeance was genuine. Elimar passed a salt and aurum test and was checked for the mark of the spider - nothing was found. In addition, it is unlikely that Elimar is enthralled or lying due to his connection to the Aengul Xan. Ultimately, his testimony aligns with what was already explained to the Lectors by Moliana.

CONCLUSION

Lesser and Greater Vampires

Throughout the years, the Lectorate has sought to further its knowledge with regards to the dark creatures of the world. Hexer Grifter aided the Lectorate in pursuing the Striga menace, only for the trail to go cold. Hirano Tsune informed the Lectors of the “Kijo” yokai, making it the up-to-date source despite its shaky origin. However, the “Kijo Concept” is inconsistent with the findings of this investigation and thus has been deemed as an inaccurate classification for both the HAG and Juniper Wick.

First, the Kijo Concept is inconsistent with the outbreak of salt-vulnerable vampires, primarily due to the fact that these new creatures could both be male and were unable to float upon clouds. These salt-vulnerable vampires were found to be curable through alchemical, shamanistic and Xannic means. The Lectors thus dub these creatures “Lesser Vampires''.

Second, the entities investigated are inconsistent with Lesser Vampires. These creatures were monstrous in appearance, possessed the ability to teleport, were able to float upon clouds and could enthrall others through markings. Every trail left by these vampires led to blood magic rituals. Although these vampires were primarily female, the biting of Lector Oijin and the sighting within the Imperial Palace prove the existence of male variants; these entities cannot be “Kijo”. It is noted that there is no known test for these vampires. The Lectors thus dub these creatures “Greater Vampires”. 

Lastly, due to the testimony of Elimar, it is presumed that these Greater Vampires - and perhaps all vampires - abide by a code of silence known as the Hexalogue. They can potentially be imprisoned via “boxing”, but the process is unknown. In addition, it seems that these Greater Vampires possess the ability to devour one another; it is unknown as to whether this is a slight or a method of execution. Attempting to question any of the aforementioned individuals will likely result in silence or misdirects.

Juniper Wick

Juniper Wick is a Blood Magician and likely a Greater Vampire. The Lectorate has confirmed that Takajiro, Juniper Wick’s personal property, was suspended through the use of Blood Magic while she still resided within it. Moliana and the Informant both identified Juniper Wick as Vampire who participated in blood rituals. Further, there is sufficient testimony from both virtuous and evil sources to believe that Worldzmir was teleported via Blood Magic. Though it remains possible that Juniper Wick is the HAG, it is more likely that she is one of the unidentified Greater Vampires. The appearance and disappearance of Juniper Wick is not consistent with HAG activities; likewise, only after Takajiro appeared did the majority of other Greater Vampires manifest themselves.

Hirano Tsune

Hirano Tsune is a Blood Magician and possibly the HAG. Throughout every twist and turn of the investigation, everything pointed towards Hirano Tsune being a Vampire of some kind. An alibi was provided for every single piece of evidence, to the point where Tsune could explain away their immortality through alchemy. Further, they passed every salt and aurum test. The Lectors of Owyn witnessed Tsune being run down by the HAG and slain; it is noted, however, that the cadaver could have been an altered being, a homunculus, or some kind of illusion. 

This said, Hirano Tsune indeed possessed a deep bond to Juniper Wick; it is more than likely that they participated in blood rituals and held links to Greater Vampires, both of which were corroborated by the testimonies of Moliana and the Informant. The sudden discovery of a “Blood Circle” within Takajiro was all too convenient after the HAG was questioned. The Lectors would even go so far as to accuse Tsune of being the HAG outright if it were not for the lack of an incriminating vampiric test and the numerous plausible alibis. Thus, though the Lectors cannot prove the certain vampiric nature of Hirano Tsune, we do assert that they participated in Dark Arts and have even confessed to collaborating with Xionist Mystics in order to protect Yong Ping from their attacks.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Readers of this document may accuse the Lectors of being lax in their investigation and not being as assertive and/or as ruthless as the inquisitions of prior eras. Though the Lectorate does not disagree, we do wish to elaborate as to why the tactics were such for the investigation.

To begin with, the Lectorate is bound by the Divine Contract and is sworn to not interfere in the politics of other nations. When operating within foreign lands, the Lectors of Owyn adhere strictly to the laws and regulations of the territory. Tsutenkaku was both protected and sanctioned by the Yong Ping government through an official treaty. Further, Hirano Tsune served as the Chancellor of Yong Ping for many years, making her a notable governmental official. Had the Lectors sought to terminate Hirano outright without a solid case, it would have clearly violated Yong Ping law and the Red Treaty from which our Brotherhood was permitted to operate. Similarly, the Flaming Covenant believed that to acquire a true victory, the operation of Tsutenkaku had to be uncovered over time rather than abruptly uprooted due to the failure of the Setsuna led YPA investigation.

Further, the Lectors deemed it illogical to attempt and slay a creature they deemed “immortal”. Such an impermanent defeat would only encourage the creature to adopt a new disguise, persona or territory to roam. Instead, the Lectors sought to dialogue with the encountered Greater Vampires to determine their morals, beliefs and powers. When innocents or brother Lectors were threatened, the Flaming Covenant did engage in combat.

Lastly, we Lectors expect some form of backlash for this document's release. Though our names may be dragged through the mud as schemers plot their vengeance, we Lectors assert that we can sleep soundly knowing we worked in the service of GOD and his blessed endeavors. Should we be destroyed as a result, may the world know that we did our best.

OOC

This investigation has spanned over a real life year. We are publishing the findings to cap off this year's long journey. Anything that has been reported in this document can be corroborated through logs and screenshots. Please do not harass anyone OOCly due to these findings, it is extraordinarily tacky.

EDIT: Removed the term "clone" from the document to prevent any accidental PK clauses from noobs who spout it about... It squeaked by our filters.
 

MANY HAVE HEARD THE TALE OF SAINT KING CAIUS, THE LORD OF LAUGHTER

THEY MADE TO TAKE HIS JOY AND LOCK IT UP  ;  TO THROW AWAY THE KEY

CAST BY DREAD-KNIGHT LOCK-LORD DOWN THE PIT

BROKEN-BODIED, HOLLOW,

WITH EYES THAT BEHELD A FIRE OF INNER-VISION . . .

BEHIND COMATOSE, HE HAS MUCH TIME FOR VISIONS,

HE STUDIES THEM, FROM MORNING TO NIGHT,

AND ALL HE SEES OPPRESSES HIM.

FILLS HIM WITH AN INDIGNATION AT MAN'S MIRTHLESS WAYS,

HE BROODS,

AND BROODS,

AND FINALLY FROM SO MUCH BROODING, HIS SPIRIT TRIUMPHS.

HE LAYS DOWN THE MELANCHOLIC BURDEN . . .

In the wake of the GREAT VICTORY, there was a BITTER MURMURING souring Lemonhill, dispensing throughout the land by their lament a quiet restlessness.

Towers from nothing had sprouted forth, proclaiming the victory of Man over the Dark Demense, but still the simple peoples of the Lemon were downcast.

Had they forsaken, in their conflict, the virtue of their devotion? Were they, for all their efforts, and all that radiant dream, only now the slaves of the Second Scar?

But though they could not bear to utter such thoughts, they slouched in the shadow of a grim Citadel.

Maddening, this taste! Sour was the sweet beloved Truth, not this, the bitterness of dirt, of worldly, not Heavenly, victory. A victory of the world. A spirit agonized.

It were not so, not for this wall, not for all that they had toiled-- Santa Lorina, Holy Helvetz, Blessed Lectors-- Holy Fire, Loving Flame, forbid it, no!

Upon Mount Lemon dimly burned a smokeless flame, hopeful seated on a golden throne, a Holy King not quite yet reigning.

Mercifully distant, that they be not judged, but brooked until their time.

Mercifully close, for love and keeping, SOLACE of the Exiles.

And rising high above that land, a white smoke bellowed.

And from the smoke had come a SPEAR,

And from the SPEAR had come a MAN,

And neath that MAN were now a HORSE,

And before that HORSE were close, A WALL!

CLOSER, CLOSER STILL, UNDAUNTED,

Sallying forth unto the world, the One True King saluting,

Crying out, "Hear me now, thou bleak and unbearable world,"

"Thou art base and debauched as can be!"

"And the Pyre's Knight, his Banner all bravely unfurled,"

"Shall hurl down his gauntlet to thee!"

Then, he exploded, flying thence from out those Temple gates, that whole form with wall colliding.

Naught remained but smoke and cloud,

Gone were the pompous screamer,

As though he were but only SPIRIT!

And from that cloud was a RUMBLING,

And from that rumbling was a CRUMBLING,

And from that CRUMBLING went skyward rising,

WHITE SMOKE from LEMONHILL, RICH now with potent asbestos.

So exposed before the King again were, unscarred, a vast demesne.

That is to say, it was a nice view.

⋅──────⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰──────⋅

To the Fighters

To the Victorious

⋅──────⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰──────⋅

From the desk of 

ENRIQUE CARDINAL DU LOC-ALTAMIRANO

Vice-Premier of the Pontifical States

⋅──────⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰──────⋅

Rejoice! We have prevailed, in unprecedentedly convincing capacity. Our assessment of the final disposition of forces put our casualty ratio at THIRTEEN to ONE in our favor: That is, every one of us felled thirteen of the enemy on average. If we keep this up, there may not be an army to defend New Valdev by the time we get there! However, we still have work to do. I know you all enjoyed getting to stretch the legs of your horses, but next up will be a SIEGE! We will render their castles to dust, blasting them to tiny bits again! Await patiently further orders as to precisely which castle we will be blowing up. I am proud of all of your effort. The constituents of the Pontifical States more than pull their weight- by my estimates, we are the LARGEST, MOST NUMEROUS BELLIGERENT in the entire war! We more than pull our weight, we blaze the trail to victory. With your strength, we can hope to continue doing so until we get TIRED OF WINNING!

I expect the enemy to begin to grow more desperate. We may be attacked, we may be raided. Just the other day, the enemy perpetrated an unprecedented, heinous, and despicable attack against the Holy See (which, need I remind the reader, is the basis of our casus belli). I expect that these attacks will continue. Remain vigilant, travel in groups, and keep your walls manned and your gates closed. It is my hope that readiness for battle within the Pontifical States can be kept high. TO THIS END, I am going to mandate the creation of a BIRD BOARD, to promulgate a list of individuals that can receive letters to readily form for and respond to conflict within our borders and the borders of our allies.

Lastly, I am still interested in the establishment of a PASSPORT SYSTEM. War, crisis, and politics have long delayed this dream of mine, however I want to take opinions from my constituents about what requirements a passport system would most ideally have for them. The goal of this system would be to document citizenship among the States and KEEP HUMANITY PURE OF EVIL!

I leave you with this: Wholeheartedly, thank you for your belief in my leadership, and your faithfulness in His High Holiness and his Curia. I do this all for you. 

⋅──────⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰──────⋅

THE MOST RIGHTEOUS, His Eminence Lector-Cardinal Enrique Cardinal Du Loc-Altamirano Piñieda, Bishop Altamirano, Vice-Premier of the Pontifical States, Commandant of the Pontifical Guard, Justice of the High Court, Border Czar of Numendil and the Pontifical States, Knight of Barrowton, Lector of Owyn, and Last of the Santegians.

THE MOST RIGHTEOUS, His Excellency, Anorhil Antonius Harren, Seneschal of the Temple of the True Faith

13th of Godfrey’s Triumph

Opening Prayers

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. 

To Thee alone have I sinned, and have done evil before Thee: that Thou mayst be justified in Thy lessons and may overcome when Thou art judged. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceived me. Behold, Thou hast treasured truth: the uncertain and hidden things of Thy wisdom, Thou hast made manifest to me.  

Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing Thou shalt give joy and happiness: and the bones which have been humbled shall rejoice.

Turn away Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God: renew a right spirit in my bowels. Cast me not away from Thy face, and take not Thy holy ghost away from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. I will teach the unjust Thy ways, and the wicked shall be converted to Thee.

Deliver me from blood, O God, Thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol Thy justice! O Lord, Thou wilt open my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth Thy praise! For if Thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings Thou wilt not be delighted. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. Deal favourably, O Lord, in Thy good will with Oren; that the walls of Helena might be built up. 

Then shalt Thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and incense: then they shall lay the bells at the altar.

AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! 

A written depiction of Chancellor Ledicort’s wroth as he first saw the bloodied floors of Lemon Hill.

TRAGEDY! The False Covenant has shown its true colors; DARK and CRUEL it denies itself the last shred of plausible dignity. 

After a meeting of priests and prayers upon the Lemon Hill, a war host of the False Covenant set upon the four corners of the tabernacle, assailing the few gathered parishioners, pilgrims, and priests. MONSTERS who desecrate the holiest shrine of all Aevos with the blood of the innocent, needlessly spilled upon the altar floors. They celebrate the slaughter of men such as Prince Thorin Rostova, who had been in the Lemon Hill protecting it, having just successfully slaughtered a DEMON which dared enter the grounds. A man who attended to the dwelling place of the LORD with devotion, as was his duty, because he unlike you reprobate, rootless urbanites, was no nominalist but a TRVE SERVANT of the TRVE FAITH. He, and others, shall enter the chronicles as martyrs as their murderers become villains. May they intercede from their appointed place in the Skies for their unrighteous slaughterers, and all who fall short at their terrible judgement seat of the LORD Most High!

No man whom GOD has given the sense he bestowed upon a billy goat cannot see that their false covenant is anything less than an assault on the spiritual authority of the temple, it is a schism and an excuse for those lacking in virtue to perpetuate violence unto the Priesthood of Evaristus and Clement. For they have set their war host against the four corners which uphold the tabernacle, the place of the SPIRIT, of the MERCYFLAME. They have spilled blood and drawn steel in a place set aside as Holy and meant for peace, and in the manner of their Father Iblees, defile and cast down that which is sacred. THE FACADE IS GONE, THE MASK HAS SLIPPED, AND THE CHARADE IS ENDED. What defense is this? The defense of TERRORISM against the HOLY TEMPLE? The defense of a prince’s status ABOVE the moral law that his office ought to be pure? 

These events, egregious as they are, should be little surprise to those who can read; it is the same story as Vinovia, for it has been the same power which possesses the princes. This power promises them the world, that they are above rebuke and Spirit; it is a world of worldly men and intentions; heed not the grumbling clerics who challenge your authority. Your authority is subject to nothing but GOD; and GOD shall not rebuke your armies!

HE REBUKES YOU! He sets the circle of the world against you, for your dishonor is so plain and egregious! HE REBEUKES YOU! Your armies are routed in every true battle they face. HE REBUKES YOU! Your hearts are struck with cowardice at the awe of a MIGHTY GOD (DEUS MAGNUS) who you had foolishly thought yourself greater than. HE REBUKES YOU! Your utter lack of dignity is displayed for the world to see, and to be sung throughout the history books.

THEREFORE in the judgement of the Curia, with the counsel of Saint Aengul Raguel it is declared that ALL PRINCES of the FALSE COVENANT are observed to be in a state of EXCOMMUNICATION; for they have lost any dignified excuse for their prosecution of war against the Temple, and plainly now are at war against the Priesthood for the sake of enthroned secular power.

The royal dignity afforded to these crowns, especially those which remain unconsecrated and without coronation, is REVOKED; entered into abeyance or demotion until further notice. The princes are to REPENT POST HASTE for the sake of their salvation, and for the sake of their tribes which they continue to put at risk just to defend their EGO. All oaths of loyalty to princes and powers are DISSOLVED, for the fealty to the KING of FLAME, the LORD GOD is greater. Seek out by letter or audience the Seneschal if you seek to exit from the war.

We admonish any who stubbornly insist they fight for the sake of their safety; nobody moves to remove you from Aevos, or destroy any place that may shelter you. The Temple has never before threatened the autonomy of principalities, even those it had rebuked; yet as this war progresses, so too shall the necessary guilt of those who choose to perpetuate it.

OUTNUMBERED, OUTMATCHED, OUTMANEUVERED.

IT IS BETTER TO SURRENDER.

IT IS BEST TO DO IT QUICK.

GOD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL.

With penance declared, the Archaengul Raguel made flight, going from kingdom to kingdom, announcing in near repetition the wrong-doings suffered, and the punishment to befit this crime. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Haense was not ventured to, for their king had already been excommunicated.

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Announcement of Peace Conference

Attempt at Resolution for the Hyspia-Orc Conflict

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From the desk of 

ENRIQUE CARDINAL DU LOC-ALTAMIRANO

Marshall-General of the Pontifical States

at the pleasure of His Holiness,

HARRENTZEDEK RO'EH TZON I

Papa Fleeperus Primus

Pontiff of the True Faith.

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To all Descendentkind, let it be known that I am attempting to facilitate a constructive conversation between Hordespeaker Grommash and the Sovereigns Xiomara I and Julian of the Orcs and Hyspia respectively, in order to bring peace to the ongoing dispute between the two aforementioned parties. Upon the ruins of Veletz at ((Saturday, March 1 7:30 PM EST)) both parties will meet, under the eyes of GOD and the nations of the world, and will discuss the steps necessary to resolving this conflict. Until the date of these talks (exactly one year), both parties will commit to a period of non-aggression except on matters regarding conflict with servants of Iblees and those who consort with them, regardless of other affiliation.

Direct invites will be issued to the following:

The belligerents: Hordespeaker Grommash and Sovereigns Xiomara I and Julian I

HRH, Tar-Anorhil Carandir Arthalionath of Numendil

Lord-Regent Tomasz Karoswald of Haense

HRH Therin I of the Petra

HRH Erwin I of Reinmar

HRH John II of Balian

Galahad Ilumrin of Caurost

High Keeper Ellenore av Eiriksdóttir of Norland

Matriarch  Sonna Vulnrith of the Vale

Grand King Ulfar Starbreaker of Urguan

Sohaer Ante’ahern Wynasul of Haelun’or

Furthermore, we urge that international observers come to watch, even if not explicitly mentioned. Security will be guaranteed by the eyes and swords of the world.

⋅──────⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰──────⋅

THE MOST RIGHTEOUS, His Eminence, Enrique Cardinal Du Loc-Altamirano Piñieda

HER SERENE HIGHNESS, Xiomara I, Sovereign of Hyspia, Duchess of Pacazu, Viscountess of Banderas, Baroness of Arenisca, Del’mar, Monterro, Campagnon, Sevilla and Ramonadora, Lady of Neuva Vida, La Dorada, Lady of Niseep, Gereon’s Hold and Ciudad de Plata, Knight of the Order of the Prophetic Hill of Lorina, etcetera.

HIS SERENE HIGHNESS, Ser Julian I, Sovereign of Hyspia, Duke of Pacazu, Viscount of Banderas, Baron of Arenisca, Del’mar, Monterro, Campagnon Sevilla and Ramonadora, Lord of Neuva Vida, La Dorada, Lord of Niseep, Gereon’s Hold and Ciudad de Plata, Protector of the Hyspian People, Protector of the Farfolk, Knight Comendador, etcetera.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF SICKNESS

His Most Sacred Eminence; the High Pontiff Harrentzedek, The Head-Shepherd of the Holy Flock, is awesome.

Attached is an icon of Harrentzedek.
 

High Priest of the True Faith, Successor of Clement and Evaristus, High Pontiff of the Church of the Canon, High Pontiff of the Church of True Faith, Keeper of the Canon, Missionary to Aeldin, High Servant to the Exalted’s Testaments, Humble Servant of the Faithful and Vicar of GOD.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF WAR
Remember to pray and keep GOD in your heart.

Be Joyful and Laugh in Saint Caius' name.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANNOUNCEMENTS
See Above.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF JOKE
Why did the bookshelf feel proud?
Because it was full of itself.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF JOKE II;
Why did the clock get promoted?
Because it was always on time.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF JOKE III;
Why did the farmer bring a ladder to the orchard?
Because he wanted to pick up his work.

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Rev. Theodore K. Brae
Clown Priest of Saint Caius

Coming soon, for real this time.



-Reverend Fatha Theodore K. Brae, Pontifical seat-warmer and Clown Priest of St. Caius

@Lectorate

[!]

Hundreds of Grub-Bucket napkins were blown by the wind.






Freedom.
 

Of Horen and Krug, prelude to MT. TYLOS - The Owynist Rite - The Lord Of The Craft

He came once more into the Holy City. From the House of Krug a young man had risen, and he bore into that place an axe, as once had his father before him, this boy now a man, seeking Horen, Prophet, now the elder of his young and newforged soul, Father of the Covenant of Man. Now the Enemy had once come into Krug's camp, which had, with his people, succumbed to the wishes of the Father of Lies. And the unclean spirits came once upon him, and upon his people crying, 'slay them, slay them, how weak they are!', and yet this youth Krug trespassed not upon the Tabernacle, hateful of his sin, and afeared of the Lord his God, the God of Horen, Creator-Pantokrator. 

So also had, in a time before, an Enemy come into the camp of Krug, saying, 'Behold, that I am a prophet, and see my power, be afeared.' And set, they, as Man for Saul had done their kinsmen, upon the people of the Lord, so that they may wage war upon the Lord, Brandt-Caius they accosted, struck by them. As for Clement, so also Evaristus, and today he came in seeking him, the Vicar of God, the twin bearer of Horen's laurel.

Now the days of Brandt-Caius had come to pass, and his mantle was the mantle of the Baker, and his inheritance was the Kingdom of Owyn, and he was Vander, Horen's Son; see that he bore the word of the Lord. Now sat his brother, as in his time, and for his mantle was the Butcher, and his inheritance the Kingdom of Harren, and their woe was exile, behold already what by this pen was written, the Lord redeems and in him are all things satisfied! And behold that they were High Priest, Clement and Evaristus. See now the satisfaction of Mount Tylos, and the fruit of the labor of Brandt-Caius. As it was written of him, so has it come to be!

'LO! Was it not written that another has succeeded Krug, through the waters of Gamesh? 

'LO! And is not the redemption of Krug at hand, as it was written? 

Another has come, weaker, meeker, a youth, now a man! Before Horen says he, "I was born a Flepir!" and he stands now before his elder Horen, High Priest, the sponsor of his life in the sheepfold of the Lord. Recall, then, the weakness written of him for his innocence and by his innocence, who was spared for that he was meek! He has come again before Horen, High Priest in humility.

It was Brandt-Caius, High Priest, who bore it witness; "Whatever you ask of me, I shall do it, fore I have done wrong by you and set upon you, I have spilled your blood by the will of the evil one." And it was Brandt-Caius who held the blade of Holy War above the head of Krug, but for love of this youth had spared him. Is it not he, who succeeded the baptized? Is it not he who has made full supplication? See him now, that he a Man, and as it were prophesied, comes as reborn Krug, a servant of the Lord his King!

If it is so, says I, High Priest, that you are he, and that indeed the time of Krug is coming, then stand, and rise, and enjoy the full-share of the dignity that is becoming you. If it is so, if you are he, swearing as you have to service to the Lord, then do so now, before all of creation swear to this covenant the knighthood of Krug in the Kingdom of God, and to the High Priesthood, to the Vicar of God, and enter into holy service, the vocation the Lord has ordained of him, your father Krug, who's mantle now you carry, and who's sin, by the grace of God, you bear into the Mercyflame annihilated.

Now some have trespassed upon you in evil, and you gaze upon New Edel; you grind your teeth for hatred of their sin, and in righteous-burning seek to set upon them, that blood for blood there be Justice before the Lord and for satisfaction of Krug and his tribe. And your people cry out to you, Holy War! Holy War! It is right and just, and a new day is dawning! As you have declared to them, I shall denounce the false-worship that has afflicted us, and sing GLORY GLORY GLORY to the LORD of HOSTS! And woe to them, such scandal, who should etch their crude depictions, licentious and depraved, their blood for certain is upon them, and your cause just!

But heed! But heed! Krug, young Khan! Fore was it not so unto Brandt-Caius, as it was written? And the Princes of the Holy War cried out, cheering, and calling, death to this fiend Krug, death to this fiend Krug, let there be justice, and by blood satisfaction! But for love of you, and in suffering the scorn of all the world had this man a prophet raise up his hand, and call for mercy unto you, saying, 'beloved are the meek, and for mercy I shall not slay him.' See the stripes that were borne for you, for your soul and for your future, by the Lord's anointed, Caius-Brandt, High Priest of H'oren! It is by this loving-kindness afforded you that life through Horen is afforded you, security in the World to Come, merciful reconciliation! 

So swear this oath to the Kingdom of God, Krug, and seal this oath in sacrifice; you are called, as he was called, to bear with him the burdens of your life, that you also shall know restraint. You shall offer unto the Lord your Triumph; you shall not march upon them, but permit them the day. 

And by this sacrifice shall all the world behold: Krug, a Knight of the Lord, triumphant over wrath, see that Justice is the Lord's, and Krug does not unduly seize it! See that he, for love and fear of the Lord his God, mongers not for war, and seeks not the spilling of blood, but suffers patience at the command of the Lord; virtue is with him! Who shall deny, among all fools, that there is no greater satisfaction to Krug than justice by war? But they shall say, he thirsts only for war, and to spill blood wantonly. Therefore offer up this blood, and be triumphant over bloodlust, sacrifice your victory, and set your pride upon the altar! That before those who profess love of the Lord it shall be said, he is Krug, who thirsts for Justice; See that he suffers in service to the Lord! See the trueness of his soul, the wounding of his heart, the fullness of his dedication! And upon these lips it will be said, ‘the Mandate of Heaven is with him, no power may avail him but Spirit alone’.

Raise up your heart in these sorry hours, and suffer, woe! Our penance before the Lord, we a people seeking bloodshed, denied our satisfaction. For our faith, we offer up to the Lord our victory, a sacrifice. Join to Harren, who around him mourns the Holy City that was lost by you, and gaze upon the Towers of the Holy Place, infested by sin. Growl in upset at the revelries of New-Edel, at the abundance of their sin, and submit, fore Justice is the Lord's, and He shall deliver His people unto the Holy City; by His blessing Harren and Krug shall clear together the towers-infested, that the scripture may be satisfied. And unto a Holy people, the slaves of the Kingdom of God, shall all the world be afforded those seeking, thirsting, and wholly obedient to the Lord's justice, at the hour He anoints, enjoying victory not by strength, nor by any power, but by His spirit alone. 

And so it shall be, a Covenant with Krug, for his renewal and for his life, afforded by the Mercy of the Flame in loving-kindness, and sealed by the fires that he, at Horen's side shall bear into the Edel, all the wretched of the world lamenting.

IN NOMINE DEI

Issued the 15th of Sun’s Smile, Year 193 of the Second Age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV9DJwJKWMw

   With the declaration of the regency of our Holy Mother Church over the Apostolic Kingdom of Aaun, there exists a blessed chance that we might avoid a repeat of the bloodshed we faced all too recently. To this end, the goodly priests of our Canon Church, along with the Master Tiberias van Aert, have met within the halls of Minas Aranath to discuss terms of compromise, so that bloodshed might yet be avoided. All interested parties (that being the Princes of Canondom) are invited to attend these-here negotiations, so that a lasting peace might yet be fostered.

   The meeting is to occur within Minas Aranath’s halls, as they are avowed and stated as neutral ground. The retinues of the Princes will be bid to keep the Queen’s Peace while their monarchs negotiate within Minas Aranath’s great hall.

  Furthermore, it is agreed that a ceasefire shall stand until such a time as this meeting is held.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the day and year first written.

Signed,

HER ROYAL MAJESTY, Tar-Caraneth Aryantë of the House Arthalionath, by the Grace of GOD, Queen of the Númenedain, Princess of Númenost and Minas Amath, Protector of the Adunians, Master of the Sharadûn, Templar Justiciar of the Archangel Michael, Knight of the Realm

HIS EMINENCE, Arch-Bishop Callahan Cardinal Idunia, Auditor of the Supreme Pontifical Tribunal

✠

HIS LORDSHIP, Tiberias van Aert of the Middenland, Duke of Blackvale, Baron of Pestilles, Captain of the Vrijkorps, Sworn warrior of the Archangel Michael, Patriarch-Dynast of the Pertinaxi

Witnessed,

HIS LORDSHIP, Ser Alwyn II of the House Glennmaer, Lord-Emeritus of Formindon, Templar Justiciar of the Archangel Michael, and Knight of the Realm
 

HIS LORDSHIP, Lord Glyndwr of the House Glennmaer, Lord of Garenbrig, Grand-Master of the Pyre, and Knight of the Realm

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, Aranuir Caranethion, Dagnir Delgorthada of the House Arthalionath, Prince of the Númenaranyë, Lord-Commander of the Gray Company, Templar Justiciar of the Archangel Michael, and Knight of the Realm ‘The Gray Prince’

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, Anorhil Antonius Caranethion of the House Arthalionath, Crown Prince of the Númenaranyë, Captain of the Radiant Guard, Templar of the Archangel Michael, Knight of the Realm

Lector ☺ flapper I

קלח

He set upon the Holy City, and the Tabernacle he invaded. He stood, then, over the aged Horen, Prophet, Father of the Covenant of Man. Now the Enemy had come into Krug's camp, which had, with his people, succumbed to the wishes of the Father of Lies. So they cheered at Krug, shouting, 'slay him, slay him, how weak he is!' And unclean spirits also came upon him, and upon his people, whispering, 'Slay him, slay him, how weak he is!'

So Krug pitied his brother, and for his weakness despised him. He brought the axe down upon his neck, and spilled his brother's blood. This was the sin of Krug, which was the joy of the unclean-spirits, and the fruit of Deceiver's plot. By blood of his kin-slain brother, had Krug sealed in his own blood the sin of him, which also was upon him, and all of his sons, who should, for that they had done such a thing before the Tabernacle of the Lord where the Lord his God's eyes were upon him, in his most grievous sin, bear the burden of this sin not only in their blood, but upon their flesh, in their face and on their brow, in the growth of their teeth, in the leprosy of their skin in horrid disfigurement-- they had been as demons, ravenous, taking after demons, so that they were kin to demons; so as demons, they appeared, this was the curse of Krug for what he had done.

Now an agent had come again unto Krug's camp, to a Rex who had known the LORD his God, as the Enemy had come unto the camp of the four brothers in the beginning of days. He had whispered unto him, and spoken promises to him, and said to him "I am a prophet, so see my power in the world." and the Rex brooked him, heeding him, and going with him where he went. The beast a Dragon led them to the city of Heinz-Edel, and they flaunted themselves, and were brooked by those who walked the streets, in their sloth or else in their confusion.

But for that CAIVS PRIMVS HIGH PRIEST had been in that place, who, as his Father Horen, would not brook it, could not brook it, they would have perhaps gone on in sin; but he came upon them that they might not defile anymore the camp of Horen, not bring into Edel the destruction wrought it in Joren's time. Elder Horen set upon this intruder-in-the-camp, and the Rex went forth also, not to drive him away, but to defend him, so there came a struggle and a clashing of blades.

So Horen, who was a priest after Owyn, was beaten and was bloodied, and the fiends had gone away. But Horen who they called a weak man, the meek man, had lived, returning then to his camp, saying, "They have come again, the Enemy, to do to us what they had done in Horen's camp, but by God I shall not let them, by God I shall not brook them." 

He called to arms the Princes of the Faith, and spoke to them of Holy War. And they called the Black Dragon Banners, each and all, and all were prepared to do what their fathers had once before them failed themselves to do, but that their prophets had achieved-- to cast the evil one from the midst of them. And Man, blessed Man, departed from the assembly from whence Caius Primus High Priest had called Holy War, and mustered their banners and the whole of the legions of Man, in the name of the God of Man Pantokrator.

But Krug the Rex had heard of this, and was afeared. And in his heart was stirred a worry, fore this Rex was not as his father Krug, but had gone, once, unto the lands of his brother Horen, and said, 'cleanse me in the waters that the Lord has given to you, that I may be abluted. Mark me by the waters of baptism, so that I may be like you, and in the glory of God our Father-Creator." So the Spirit of the Lord was upon his heart, and bid of him, in fear or in shame, abdicate to another, and it was so.

The House of Krug was succeeded him by another, weaker, meeker, a youth, a flepir, who while not frail as elder Horen had been in the days of the slaying, was weak in his youth and in his innocence. He went out from the lands of Krug to the place of the High Priest of H'oren. They presented themselves in humility before Caius Primus High Priest.

Horen held high the blade of Holy War over the head of Krug, who before him knelt in supplication and humility. So Krug who was cursed, for that he had slain his brother Horen in his strength, came forth to Horen in his weakness, and kissed the ring of him, saying, "Whatever you ask of us, we will do, fore we have done wrong by you and set upon you, we have spilled your blood by the will of the evil one."

The Blade loomed high, in the hands of Caius Primus, priest, High Priest, Horen, bearer of the laurel. He looked down upon the weakness of Krug, and beheld it, as Krug before him had done unto Horen. And Krug had pitied Horen, and despised his weakness-- Horen, now, looked down upon Krug, a child, and loved him for his weakness. He looked upon him, and saw that he was meek: and Horen loved him for that he was meek. The camp of Horen called out to their High Priest, saying, 'slay him, slay him, we shall spill his blood, as he has done unto us, and we will be satisfied by his blood.' 

"I may not slay the meek, fore that the meek are beloved to me. They are beloved to me, fore that they are beloved to the Lord my God. I may not slay the weak-man, fore he is beloved to me. He is beloved to me, fore that he is loved greatly by the Lord. I may not kill the Flepir, who has never before known the helm of a nation, the innocent ones are beloved by the Lord, so they are beloved also by me, and I shall not slay them."

Caius Primus stayed the blade, and up came his brother Krug from weakness, who was at his mercy, spared. And the High Priest spoke, "For mercy, I shall not slay you. In the name of the Lord, you are spared." Rejoice, rejoice, so beautiful a thing to offer to the Lord, merciful restraint to the meek, compassion even unto the guilty! 

But the Hosts of the Camp of Horen were wroth, seething; “My blood, my blood, my satisfaction! I am very displeased that Krug has not been slain for what he has done unto us.” But I say to them, sons of Horen, awake! Awake, sleeper, awake! Do you see shame in this victory? And should Krug be ashamed for that he had gone upon his knees and kissed the ring of the High Priest of God's Church, that he has gone and supplicated before Horen, whom he had wronged? If they should be ashamed, then they shall come again in wroth another time, to pay, blood for blood. And if you should be ashamed that you have not found blood when mercy could be afforded, then to you shall come also the reckoning of justice for the blood spilled at Horen's hand, in his own sin.

But if you should rejoice at this, saying, “O'Lord, Most Merciful, if you can forgive Krug his crimes for my sake, how beloved I am in your eyes, that even for my own fault you have not sent a blade to chop my neck! I weep for the mercy I am afforded, that is afforded Krug through the staying of my hand. And if for my sake may Krug be forgiven, if by Your love the crimes of my own blood may be washed away, what hope there is for Krug, great hope, that he should be raised in dignity to his great place long denied him!”

All ye sons of H'oren see, the Lord our God has set us aside a Chosen People, he has put a sword in the hand of the meek, and he has set a laurel crown upon the head of the youngest, so that he may be an elder to his peers, and through Him sovereign over all the earth. The Lord calls you, by the Blade, as he had called Owyn, to raise up and purify Harren's Court! And if Harren's court could be purified, what, by the blade set in our hand, may become of Krug who pleads before us, crying out; aid me, aid me, anoint me in the waters shown to you!? This is the mission of Mankind, revealed to Godfrey, through Empire Eretz H'oren, The Kingdom of God on Earth. Go forth, ye sons of Horen, to the ports ye dare not enter, to the lands ye dare not tread, this is the burden of your blood, the hope of the world.

Now Krug, half-devil and half-child, rises spared, returning to the lands of his people.

He has given to Horen all Horen has asked of him, he has gone back to his country, young, and alive with hope, invigorated. Should he mope, and weep, and veil himself, for shame? Has he hidden his face from his fellows, as though he were a leper, for that he had gone and kissed the ring of Horen, and felt the grace of Horen's God? No, nay, but he should return to his land, and marvel for his life-- and see, what little he may see through the fire of Horen's heart, the ills that Horen hates, that are plentiful in the world. He sees in his own flesh the curse his own doing, and sees in his neighbors the sins of them. And he is wroth-- not at Horen, but at sin, and he takes up the Axe the Lord his God has given unto him by his father, when his father was a dignified Man, saying, "Krug, guard my country, let not evil set upon it" and he brings it forth against the worst of the world.

See, now, the fruit of your ministry? That Krug should go and wage war upon New Edel, and follow Owyn's path-- though he himself be a sinful thing, warped and twisted, appearing as a demon? In this way, he was no different than Owyn, who, by the Blade and Mercyflame, was guided to purity from iniquity, cleansing himself of his own sin, kin-slaying. This, you have showed to him through mercy, and he marches upon even your enemies.

Now should you expect from Krug that he should be as you are, civilized, and wage no war? Certainly not! War is in the nature of Krug, he is a creature made for war-- but made for Holy War he is, and in sin, wages war upon his own dignity. But may you expect from Krug that he should keep Holy the Lord his God? Yes, absolutely! This is the mission of Godfrey and the duty of your blood through Horen, to be the guiding hand, and example to all nations and to all creeds. 

Who should long for Empire H'oren, then, that knows not, and lives not, the mission of H'oren his Father, and Godfrey who, seeing what had been done by the deeds of Krug kin-slayer, the scattering of Man through one thousand years a struggle, pulled Man again together, to do as he was born to do? Should you wish to know this glory, to honor thy father and the dragon his banner, must you, then, take up the banner, and do as your father Horen would himself, to go the path of Godfrey, to tame the untame, and bring light to the dark places, to clothe the naked and right the wrong, sparing no expense, by the price of the blood of your sons and the sweat of the toils of your daughters, by the prayers of all God's people, to bring forth all the world to the Light of Owyn's Flame, Holy Spirit. Not by any other means, ever, shall you know unity, lest you be felled again, and again, and suffer Johannesburg a hundred times, a thousand times!

TO KLOG REX-IN-GOLUS

Young Rex, I write to you, who has since abdicated, as the witness of your entrance into the faith of the Lord your Sovereign God. You had come upon me in my home of Lemon Hill, and you had put a blade to me, and also to my brother Rebbe Elim, extracting from us what little we could afford you, a robber. And we fed you, and gave you more, and spoke to you, we laid our hands upon your hand, and said, 'I forgive you.' 

I recall, still, the stoking of the flames of faith in you, and in your fellows, who, by the guide of the very same priests you had vandalized, led you into the waters of baptism, through the gates of Man's cities where you had been denied. And you spoke, in that place, an oath before God, He is One God, your God, the Lord of Hosts, Maker of the heavens and the earth, Sovereign King, Pantokator. You were marked in the waters of Gamesh in the land of Minitz, alive in True Faith.

And I recall how you came to me, in my need, in the lands of Veletz, when the degenerates had set upon us, and were to slay us dead, screeching, seething, foaming at the mouth, crying 'home invader! Home invader!' 

You saw them come forth our way, marching, slow, malicious, and you saw the evil of their eye. I saw you take up your axe in righteousness, I saw you take upon your arm the shield, and came betwixt us. Their blade you had caught, and their seething baby-rage strikes you parried, and you set the blade into their neck. Son of Krug, defender of the world, you were a shield to men-helpless! You were a Holy Warrior of God, who could not brook that Men marked Holy be slaughtered. And for this crime, you were cast down, and they chained your spirit! For you, we prayed, for hours and hours, casting what was unclean from the land, while you battled the spirit of the demon who had gone out from the fiend, and into you. And we saw you rise, triumphant, alive, by the grace of God, returned. 

What has become you now, poor Krug, my son? You have let the dark-werido into the camp of Horen, you have not stopped him. You have heard his tempestuous call, you have gone forth to be a shield to him, and an enemy to Man. How deceived you have been, how fooled! But you must not go unto your death by the lead of the false shepherds of Xion. You must not go where the false-dragon had led you to go, see now the fruit of his labor, your exile and woe, golus, golus! The False-Dragon has herded you into golus, led you by his croizer into the middle of nowhere, a wasteland, with no hope, no tribe, no home, no crown, no Kingdom, but torment, and terror, and weeping, persecution! 

Return! Return! Return! Return to us, Klog, Krug, King, Rex! Trust in the Mercy of God, and return to Him! Bring forth the crown you have surrendered, and cast it upon the Flame of His Spirit-- God is King! Affirm again, there is but One God, the God of Krug, the God of Horen, the God of Owyn, Godwin, Joren, Harren, and Godfrey, I am HIS and HE IS MY GOD! I write to you, your priest, to call you again into the fold, to brave persecution, and seek full pardon. I call unto you, to restore your full-dignity, to do as your tribe has done, and before Caius Primus High Priest say; Horen, brother, I have sinned, forgive me. Before the LORD confess by him, and renounce evil, rejoin your people in elevated dignity, such that only God may restore. 

SLAM!

In an instant, Callahan were struck silly, physically reverberating mid-air as the shockwaves of the impact of what had felt like a tidal-wave nearly sent him off his feet, dumbstruck! He came to in a panic, grabbing hold of his desk, clamping down his hands upon the sides of it so as to anchor himself to the ground, and weathered through the storm of the blast which knocked him silly! Coming to his wits, he made at once to diagnose the source of his spontaneous torment, only to gaze down at a black parchment strewn out upon his desk, which took his breath. His bodily eyes took to gaze upon it, but his mind could only read one sentence or two at the very beginning and end before his soul, in a fit of contemptuous wrath made the entirety of the thing illegible and mute to him. 

OH NO!

He staggered back away from the desk, and froze where he stood. Something was missing, something was wrong. Very, very wrong. His eyes scanned about the room for a moment, in a vain attempt to visually diagnose what had, in an instant, been robbed of him. The first thing he noticed was the dead silence. The man's mind was a grim, vast emptiness, totally dull and spiritually vacant. If he listened close, he could have sworn he heard his own conscious echo, sent out into an alien darkness un-heard by the resident commentary of the sanhedrin of the thoughts. 

Seldom was he ever afforded a moment alone, a moment in silent, that ever-present song and dance of the pursuit and clinging to GOD his sole driving joy, and all-encompassing devotion. He had built his life around it, in his every deed, to pull from the well of God's grace and dip just a little bit of everything available to him in the oils of the Spirit, in as much as they were afforded to him. It worked spectacularly well, and afforded the man peace, an odd peace that was most certainly not contentedness, himself a very vexed man, but an anxious, un-ending pursuit of a goal he knew soon to be at hand. He had not cared even if it were 'at hand' to be done tomorrow, or in a thousand years time. He danced precariously just beyond the blazing truth of the Fires of God, as close as a man can cling without entering into the fires themselves.

Except, in this moment, he felt incredibly mundane. He felt only the human being that he was, only Callahan, who apart from this greater component of his person was severely and incredibly munted. Munted, dented, HE WAS COOKED, and probably mad. He could have sworn this room was brighter. It's near pitch-black in here, but it had been all alight with flame, just moments ago, on every side! It was BRIGHT, this little sanctum in the depths of the Cathedral of Saint Caius, BRIGHT! Darkness was an unfathomable thing in the midst of the incredible luminosity of that room. But it was near pitch black now. Maybe it was his eyes.

He looked to his desk, and saw the place where once was the Holy Grail; now, there was just a cup. He perked a brow. Oh dear...

Study gave way to grim comprehension of the emptiness of his thinking. What was once dominated by an ineffable tapestry of incomprehensible orders, commands, prophecies, liturgies, where once was the nigh-ever-present Aengul Raguel, Justice of the Lord, who had been the first nudge in the direction of spiritual reconciliation of the Church, was nothing at all. In that place that he had seen glimpses into a Kingdom Come was a plain dull nothingness occasionally invaded by clowns. Why clowns? And where he had seen the great Spirit of Innocence by which the world would be made clean, that winged-angel-fleepir of hope, which joined with all these other indescribable things made to complete a glorious endless loop of thought, was... and he forgot what to write. How was he writing at all? 

Then came the anger, as what remained of his unaugmented, purely natural and mundane mental faculties now robbed of preternatural assistance understood fully what had happened. He felt the kick of Malin's poison. The consequences of a shared burden were finally making manifest in him. He had loaned something away, something of vital importance to him, his most cherished gift, and permitted another to hold it, and to hold a knife in their hand, full-knowing that it was wholly within their power to destroy it. But it was a gift. A freely given gift. It was Tzedakah, and the greatest of sacrifices. It was the hope for another, a ransom, an exchange, for which he asked no gain and expected only to go into the flames of torment, if but to give a little hope to another soul much more doomed than he. Perhaps it was Tzedakah that had afforded him such a masterful grace. Past-tense, because SOMEONE did SOMETHING, got CURSED and now HE was bearing it. That was the pact he made. 

Somewhere a brother of his, who's full right it was to do, stripped another of their Heavenly mandate. Took the golden ticket out of their hands and snipped it FOUL, DENIED, REJECTED, DO-NOT-REDEEM! His own salvation, two-ways split and shared with another that might not even be able to redeem it had been pinned immobile right down into the world by a righteous curse issued by some priest, somewhere, for some reason. He was now spiritually incapacitated.

But it couldn't just be curse, no.. many had cursed him before. That SIX-SIX ARNAUD fiend cursed him to the grave once before, and he didn't so much as flinch, not a dent in his armor! Sure, he was a fiend, but he WAS acting High Priest, that's nothing to be scoffed at, he certainly could levy a curse. So it must be more. More than the curse alone. They must've done something horrid, must've denied HIM, must've slighted the SPIRIT, must've committed SOME CRIME that saw them not only cursed by a priest, by estranged, too, by the Ruach HaKodesh, either for the impurity of the deed bidding it to flee him, or through.. goodness, I do certainly hope it was not a blasphemy! 

But this was what he signed up for. He knew he would suffer. He took on their curses, what did he expect? He didn't hope any less, though despair weighed on him increasingly by the second. He staggered his way out of the temple, that great bastion of the Flame, Saint Caius' Cathedral of Joy, which too was bathed in darkness despite the incredible overabundance of light. Not even the Clown's light was shining through to where he was! He was accosted on his way.

"DID YOU HEAR ABOUT YOUR GENTIL--" and he threw up a palm "NO! I won't hear it. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! Don't tell it to me."

They went on, "You know they're fooling you! You can never trust them."

He turned to face them and said, "I BELIEVE." and left before he broke down into tears, fore he bore also the shame of his patron.

He took up the bindlestiff and set himself upon the path, not of Owyn, fore Owyn's Flame seemed, for the first time in decades, NOT to be the guiding light of his path, but to Rabbi Efrayim. Perhaps it was a miracle that he reached the estranged Gaon so quickly, in his daze, he hardly gave any thought to the incredible distance he had to travel, and the pace which he had to keep to intercept him, who was on the move. But he arrived in the presence of the young Kohen, and put his plight to him, saying, "Rabbi, I fear one of my genti-- I fear one of my people have done something grave. I fear they have taken a pantheist stance on something, or that they have blasphemed, or worse! Put to me the penance." The last words he spoke voiced his own desperation, but alas, this plight of another upon him he could not so easily shake, however eager he was to atone for another's crime, he was not certain he could do so alone. The Rabbi replied: "They must become a ba'alat teshuva!"

Callahan's eyes seemed to draw sullen, and his complexion soured, he DROOPED. The certainty which he had put to him the most simple, holy, and potent of legal procedures, not even knowing the extent of the crime! How was he to make amends for this? If it were his own crime, it would be easy, he would need only to confess and rectify, he knew the power of such things! And if it were for any other manner of crime, but that one, he would be certain he could find a means to satisfy it by the Law himself, in such a way as to pay for the crime for the both of them. But how does one rectify a crime of intellect committed by another, without their own express self-refutation! 

He never lost hope, but he sure didn't know what to do now. The Rabbi was right. And Celah knew the great potential in the ba'alei teshuva, he knew that if they could do it, and certainly it was his hope for them even when he had taken on the poison, even before he had actually come face to face with the crimes. He knew if they did it, he would be right, and they could take that golden ticket he gave them and soar well above even their standing, having given it to them in the first place! The potent grace of such a thing would be proof enough that his sacrifice was not only meaningful, but salvific, efficacious in ways he could not fathom! 

Except he had no idea how to make that happen, now. He could try and find them, hunt them down, find what happened and rebuke them, teach them. But as the moments passed, his intellect dulled, he wasn't sure if he could accomplish even that without the Light. And besides that, he had already taught them a great deal, lectured them plenty! The comparatively now-animal intellect of the priest-previously-probably-Tzadik simply wasn't up to par.  He did not think it would be of any use to him now. He shuddered to think that this may be how the Mali'im feel all the time. Nasty...

But perhaps, just maybe, while HE was suffering the consequences both of their crime, and of their curse, MAYBE, just perhaps, potentially, the Ruah he coveted, had NOT fled them! Perhaps, for that HE suffered for the crimes and curses of whoever-it-was, THEY still were not denied the Ruah! Perhaps, then, the INSPIRATION, the HOLY CHARISM OF INTELLECT will still be within their grasp, even apart from his devekut, which he had thought impossible to break, and which he was certain was the source of their remarkable spiritual acceleration to now, for which the Mali'im were not predisposed. Now, if only they knew to listen! But there's hope, just a little bit of hope, that we might not be so over, that it wasn't over at all, that we were, in actuality, more back than we ever had been before. 

If they can manage the chozer b'teshuvah. So long as they don't kill him in the mean time, by compounding the issue. With a little bit of grace, a miracle here or there, they might just make it yet. If the Deity can slap some sense into them, or if one of His servants, Man or Angel or otherwise could do it for them, they might just make it!

But until then, the Flepir was slipping. The Flepir body, blood and soul seemed to kick into action its hitherto dormant system of immunity and personal-self-preservation, whittling away at the mind, all things growing nonsensical once more, in a vain reaching for innocence and whimsy, known super-cures for spiritual and bodily doom alike. "The death of divination," said Elim-- or was it that Enlad fellow? WTf did he mean by that? ill show him the death of idvivination when i SMASH HIS HEAD with SAINT CAIUS' HOLY NOOBSMASHE-- and so it went on... 

A thousand years I spoke to you, that you and yours have not known it, seen it, heard it, felt it, lived it, been with it, danced with it, with Him. Him, I had ought to say, He, as it always was. He who bathed you, and made you, and freed you, and saved you, who kept you pure in the worst of times. I said to you one thousand years, to now, that any from Malin's folk had known Him, but this is a generous estimate. In truth, I do not know the last time, only that it would not be any sooner than that. It could be more, it could be one thousand five hundred, one thousand six hundred, or even more still. That would be a more appropriate estimate. I do not know when the exodus from 'Malinor' began, nor, come the security of the children of Malin from the the Satanail, when the Malinites had left Him again. In my last letter, I had spoken briefly on that daughter of Malin who had known, and had, by His will, led her people, your kin, to the place of their refuge, and it is this that I refer to, which I shall some day reveal to you, in the fullness of the truth.

For us, for Horen, it was much shorter a time ago. I would say that it had been five hundred years-- certainly, five hundred years ago, come Siegmund, it had gone. But I know that He was with us, who could bear us, when we had called unto Him. When we had been pure, even seldom pure, and when we had been faithful, even if but with the few. So perhaps it had been sooner, much sooner than Siegmund that we had truly scorned Him. Johannesburg. The Great City. The Holy City. That was the end of it, the great horrible tragedy of it, the manifest, incredible magnificent damage of it, when the Church was so violently accosted by Empire, once again, as it were by Siegmund's kith and kin.

Only the torch, only the little flame, waiting, watching, on the outskirts. Passed from one, to the next, to the next, and to the next, down from Horen, through Owyn, through Clement and Evaristus, and unto the body of the True Faith, Horen's Hope, Owyn's Flame, Godfrey's Empire. But I see that I ramble, I digress.

It is this Power that is in our charge, this Hope, this Flame. It is this that has seen you, heard you, spoken of and to you, guided you, touched your flesh and healed it. Do you see, now, why I have bid you to rise, as Lector? If I had not asked this of you, I should have, on that day, payed far greater a price for the crimes we had done in His Presence. It is good that you have gone and taken leave for this, good that you have embarked upon your pilgrimage. Only the pure-- of faith, of heart, of body, of all impurities, who may come upon that power and live, that by all accounts should render unto us the swift justice we are due. Except, if this were so, how at all could it be? Would this Flame not wash over all the world, so poor, so rotten, so abominable? I say to you, it is so, but that it has not done so is not at all to us disheartening; you see by this the mercy we are afforded, the hope, that for the love of us, He could permit us our failures. We may NEVER forget the gravity of the charge put to us, if we are to succeed in that which we have set out to do. That which we have been called to do. That which Horen and Harren and Owyn and Godfrey were called forth to do. 

I write these things to you, and know, these insights that I give you are not put plainly, nor described adequately. They are but glimpses, little glances at a whole truth known well to the both of us, written upon our hearts. But they should suffice you, by way of a serving of hope, by the wonder and the awe our Lord affords us in even knowing a sliver of that which He has planned, and set to be. 

Write, write write! Write, you call to me. Proclaim it, announce it, explain it! Show to them, to all of them, what I have done, what He has done, what we have seen, you call to me! But so daunting a task; and where to begin at it? With you, perhaps, with Serwa, Daughter of Malin, a hope that, for Malin's, there is a way, a future. That they are not forever condemned. Or, perhaps, with Raguel, who has been a herald; it is known, the Lord sends forth Angels, always, to herald the coming of prophets, and of the coming of His glory. Perhaps, there would be the start-- fore it was he who gave to us the cup, by which we shall one day pour fourth the Spirit upon the heads of you, and yours, and mine. The cup, then, I should write of, perhaps? The cup, so ancient, so old a charge, so steeped in mystery. Of Harren, who had wielded it, of Horen, who had by it done his worship, as it were in the tabernacle of the first days. Of Harren, who rejected it, who neglected it, who did as I had done, and done nothing at all, and said nothing, led nothing, guided nothing, inherited nothing, and permitted rot to be, where a Preserver was promised. There, I should write-- and I have done atleast, with you, what Harren had failed to do with all of us. I have drank. 

Then, if not Serwa, or Raguel, or the cup, something older still? What aulder could be than a thing from so near to the dawn time, the first days of our days, of the world? I should write, then, of the Flame, Him, the Tabernacle, the Holy Holy Holy, the Ruach HaKodesh, 'O King, the King of Kings, Shekhinah HaOlam. Him-- where it had begun, who had set it to be, who was behind each and every miracle, each and every word. He who was present, again, in the Tabernacle of the temple which had brought forth to us Raguel, and the cup, and this hope-again, his sanctum, and our charge. It need not be about the Kos, then, nor Raguel, nor you, nor who shall come, or any that has yet to be, but the journey, the Fire. 

It is Brandt I must put to the pen, and that day in the temple, when He had come down to Him, set a Vicar out for Himself, fought with that man. Struggled with him, wrestled with him, battled him; I had seen the wrinkling of his face, as I preached, as I told to them that THE PRESERVER WAS COMING, that he had to be, that God had promised him, that Siegmund were like Saul, an invader, a perverter, a deceiver, atleast, the Siegmund we had known, who was not a man, but the fable of a man, an icon of heresy. It was he who listened first, Brandt, where the rest had condemned, where the Malinites did not listen, where Horen turned his head and feigned deaf. He and I, on that day, were like Clement and Evaristus. Two tools, two blades, to staves, two arms of one mission, one master, one God. Vicars, shepherds, PRIESTS, we were, and prophets, and I had not before that time known that I should ever see one in the flesh. 

It was he, who, succumbing to the Spirit of the Lord, put forth that prophesy to us, which would take us into the depths of the wilderness, by way of rocky-mountains and cedar forests. It was he, who, in the Temple, restless, seeing that something was BROKEN, that SOMETHING was WRONG, had to DO, had to ACT, as I had called a hundred times-- but even I could do nothing. He took to the problem like a man made mad, a Mad One, shouting, would He want His Children to stand around idle, fools, and do nothing, while He..?

It was he, then, who set the Flame. And upon the blade, we took it. Danzen- Arch-Lector. It was always his mission to tend to the Tabernacle. It was his heart sworn duty to tend to Him, wherever he had made his presence known, as Owyn had done. And, like Owyn, he took Him, gently, and placed him upon his blade, ethereal, smokeless, roaring, gentle, holy, ineffable, indescribable but that Man may throw a word at anything and hope it could stick, in his desperation to know anything at all. We walked the Path of Owyn, as Owynists had recited countless times before, since the day Owyn had done it himself. We lived his prophecy, direction by direction, word for word, and all was true, down to the very last. Fore but that it was spoken by a Human tongue, the Word was not of Human make, but God breathed, theopneustos. That man, who was a prophet, who spoke for the Spirit of God, who I have called Brandt Barclay, is today His Holiness Caius the First, and he is the Vicar of God, a prophet alive.

He did not himself see what we had seen, where we had gone, where we were drawn. But, then, of course, he had prophesy to us that we would not, but that only I would know the resting, where He had bid us go. It was a stubborn Spirit. Uncanny, in that, it was native, it had felt native, it had felt that it was, but all the world seemed shout that it wasn't, seemed to reach out and fight it, smother it, evict it from where it had made itself incarnate, but had not the power to do it. Wherever the Light of the blade had touched, was set to order, and those little bits of land, of trees, of grass, of dirt beyond us seemed to brace itself to be judged, changed, set right, or burnt away. We had met no resistance on our pilgrimage. You and I have walked that path, some, together, Serwa, in our footsteps. You marked on that route a site that was holy-- that was about the half-way mark, when we had come to see the first of the cedar trees.

Brandt had left us, when we neared exhaustion. He had duties at home, and I later found that his son, by the time that I had returned, had passed, and that his leaving had permitted him the time to rejoin his Kingdom in the wake of this. It was spoken by his own lips that he should not see the end, but he had set us on the path. We had reached the end of it. Jurkha, the Arch-Lector and I. The details of the journey, nor the prophecy, have I ever put greatly to the pen. But it was here that we had begun our work in earnest. I could claim that, for myself, it had begun long ago. But to tell a tale from who had begun it, I should have to begin at the time of Godfrey, and chronicle to now. I do not know that I could.

What we had found upon that mountain, I could not begin to put to words. The things that I had seen-- the horror I had felt, no, the tragedy. It was pure clarity. So daunting a task, so great an ask it is, Serwa, to command a man to put to pen those things he knows that were not made for pens, nor words. Things that are felt, learnt, seen and heard, spoken of but never really truly verbalized. Ineffable things-- ineffable names. I had learnt a Name, then. I had it burnt into my mind. I had seen patterns, indescribable, but so perfect, so clean, and so right, so true, that the heart could not deny them. To see in every way how every thing had come to be, intertwined, dare I say interlinked, in every conceivable way, held together by a Will, insi--

To detail all that I had seen that day, felt, heard, learnt, and am still learning, I could not so easily do. And in that way, I am like the little Sorvian, stuck in his loop, in the processing of his thoughts, battling to comprehend a thing put to him by a thing orders of magnitude above him. The sort of dilemma begotten by the interaction between Creator and Created thing, bridging the gap of that irreconcilable difference between the two, in wisdom, in being, in understanding. When I do, I shan't write so silly as this, but I know that I shall, and that I must, in as much as I am the son of Horen, and called to do it. Because He had called me to do it, then, when He had showed me. I still will kvetch for the weight of it. A thing like this you do not so easily articulate. Better to sing, better to show, better to feel.

It could not bear a moment longer to be with them, in that Temple, among those people. We had to bring it to the shelter of the wilderness, where none had gone before, and where all things were pure, and as they were supposed to be. And for a moment, I think, we had been in perfect, total grace. I remained there for many months. For over a year, I suspect, though the others had left on the day we had arrived, ill-equipped to remain in the middle of nowhere for so long. When I had returned, with me I brought Him, and set Him into the tabernacle of the Cathedral of Saint Arpad. When no longer I could battle for Him in this place, keep holy that nation which battled and wrestled with Him in every way one could conceive-- but honored Him and longed for Him-- I had moved Him again, to the Monastery of Santa Juli'el, where you had this past year encountered the Flames.

Never shall I permit it to come to pass that, for the error of Man, He be ever disgraced. I know well that this task is by all accounts an impossible one, but I must, for Him I must, we must, for no other reason than that we are called to do it. And we shall. What Canonius had done, to defile a Holy Place-- to drag a thing dead into the House of Life, this was a crisis. One, for which, we had both dearly paid the price. Not while this Flame burns may we, who are the bearers of the Torch of Hope, ever permit, by our laziness, by the frailty of our bodies, this Presence ever to be defiled. To fail to act is to fail Him, we may not do it. And that it had been nearly done was crime enough, so, we paid the price, to keep it holy. 

Canonius knows the Law very well, he has himself made sacrifices for the Law, for love of his people. He took upon his own back the scorch of the whip, that was to be afforded Sister Grace. We took upon our bodies the Flame, made living torches of ourselves, to pay, the burn for it, to burn away the iniquity of it. He did not understand, could not understand. Nor could any of them. But we had made a great sacrifice, in that moment, in our duty to the Lord. We kept His House Holy, and we honored His Presence, and we paid the price. This, you must always be prepared to do. This, for this, I have made you Lector, thanks be to God, that you could in this endeavor aid me, split with me the burden of the burns of the sin and folly of Man.

The Temple was rendered impure, and so, I had removed the Flame, for love of Him, and doused the tabernacle. Again I say, it is good that you should pilgrimage. May this journey be offered up to Him, that you be rendered pure, able, ready, in spirit and in body, to serve Him, to keep the Flame. These responsibilities, in so dark a world, we shall only come to see grow. What we take upon ourselves very willingly, in the spirit of love, for love of Him, for sacrifice to Him, is in the nature of our duty to carry out without prompt, without a question asked of us, without a command to do it. That is what keeps it at all burning. That is what keeps Him with us, and affords us the Grace to fuel that Flame, make it grow, make it roar. Seize, for the Master, for the King, His Kingdom which has for so long felt better off without Him. These responsibilities, I mean to say, shall only grow, grow more grave the more we hope to do. Love in Sacrifice.

I pray this insight satisfies you, and I hope your journey is well. As for your task to me, I shall try. I shall try as always I have ever tried to declare such things. But I know, that, when you return, what I must bid you to do. I shall train you, and raise you up a proper Lector, a proper Priest, and put you in the robes of purity, and keep kosher you who my brothers know is not. Not, I say, for that they are wicked, but, simply, for that they are a flepir, and know not. But you listen, hear, and teach more clearly than the best among my brothers. For you, I have great hope. That you are, I have no doubt. We shall see to your ordination, soon enough. 

I shall detail to you this last great news. I have found another. Another of our Heavenly kindred, the servants of the Lord. Two for our age, and God willing, many more. More, and more, and more as the Crown is wreathed in Glory, all Glory that we may afford by our purity, by our faith, by our own love. And we grow nearer by the day to the Kingdom in our Presence. To the Preservation, and to the Reconciliation. To the Triumph of the Children of God, and the Pantokrator, their King, in a world-rebellious, over a Heaven at War. 

All for the Glory and Love of the King,

O' King of Kings, 'O Melech, Abba, sweet Father!

Pantokrator, King of the Universe, 'O God, of all things Great and Glorious!

Preserve us, Your children of Spirit, deliver us, your promised people!

You write to me that you have dreamed a chalom, and that by the wisdom of the chalom I discern, by the trouble you express, that it has caused also for you vexation of spirit. But in as much as you have come to me, and do not know the meaning of what you have learned, I shall offer to you my pesher, I shall offer what insight that I may into what you have seen, and say also that you have seen the truth of it.

Forasmuch as you had known that which they had done upon the mountain in impurity in Heinz, in the land of the sons of Joren, among the peoples of the Flay who are the Rutherns, and that you had seen also that this land was without purity and defiled, I say to you, that your chalomot are legitimate is certain to me. Much that you have seen, have I known also, and that you should see a glimpse of what wisdoms I have wrestled with tells to me that the path we have been called upon is likewise certain.

It is for this reason that I have named you after me a Lector, as the Lector is, in his essence, the smoke of the Flame of Spirit; a servant of the tabernacle, a preserver of the Holiest. Recall that it was you firstly who had said to me that you shall trouble Man, and that he should not accept you. When I had conferred unto you this burden, that you should be Lector, in accordance with what I have discerned from your chalomot, and from your prophecies, I said to you that they shall not know for why I have done this. And I have said to you that they shall scorn you for this, because they do not know the truth of it. Verily, it is asked of me, Rabbi, why do you consort with the likes of them? They shall say, they are impurities, or they shall say, they are outsiders and do not know. They shall say to me that they are defilers, and that they care not for what is holy, but for that they are aggrandized. 

The Ruach HaKodesh has called forth to us, to you, and to me, and to Man, but for that Man did not wish to hear Him, that he should know a dwelling place among them, physical, tangible, a House, a Holy Place. If but you could see that this was the battle of our age, the wrestle of a thousand years. It is perhaps that you are among the few who live in this day that possess insight into the means and the ends of this, by what you have seen and heard and dreamt, whether you know how, or why, or in what way it should come to be. But though you have not fathomed the intricacies of the path, you have seen one and another great milestones, you have been offered a glimpse of the mission in whole, by the clarity of the Spirit.

When I had received this letter, I set it before my learned brothers, and bid that they should interpret it also. But they had been alarmed, and grown worried at once, that you should think perhaps that you are the korban. And they have said also, "I fear they should be tamei", and for their fears I sympathize with them, but know also the Truth bid of me, that is not burdened for this. And so I address this missive also to them, that I may show them how the Daughter of Malin has not been deluded, nor poisoned, nor fooled, nor should think themselves the korban.

BUT THEY HAVE SEEN THAT THERE MUST BE.

Now that I have engaged myself to make my reply to you, and rambled what I must ramble, I shall address this which has been prophesy by you.

Man must plumb the depths of the world before he can ascend to the greatest heights. You will make pilgrimage to the base of the world, and then walk through the Stone Chapel to Heaven.

Here is the Truth, and the second prophecy you have given to us. Now I shall give you the exegesis of this prophecy spoken to you, my pesher. 

MAN must plumb THE DEPTHS of the world before he can (and may not otherwise) ascend the greatest heights.

Firstly, see that what was heard by you is, while spoken to you, is not speaking of you, in that it is an address to Man. 

YOU will make pilgrimage to the base of the earth, and then walk through the Stone Chapel to Heaven.

And here, we see, that you come also to be addressed, who is 'you'. See by this that MAN has gone down unto this place, where YOU are already present, you have been there since before it had begun.  YOU, then, by the joining, ascend again upwards.

With Man have you set out on your pilgrimage from this place (THE DEPTHS) upward to the base of THE ERETZ; further from this place through the Temple, and from the Temple upwards still, Shamayim, by the lead of the guide. Is this not as I have told you? 

Shall you see from this, what I have known? Even this insight will sustain your spirit, here in what was prophesy by the chalom of the Daughter of Malin. 

In this, I have touched only on that which you had heard, and not at all the rest that you had seen in your own chalom, and in this way I see that I have not done total justice in interpreting for you. Serwa, you have come so close, and nearer are we to the fruit of His mission! But I warn you, must warn you, that your own blood spilled was NOT the korban. Daughter of Malin, blessed are you, who is greatly innocent, and who has preserved the grace of your creed. You write that you had not gone up, and remained in that place, but have woken by the spilling of your own blood, and the slitting of your throat. And you say that upon your throat now is the mark of the cut.

Have you not struck a covenant with me? Have you not given up and shared with me your curses? Have you not already made the cut? But you had not known the gravity of it, fore it was not for me, but for you that the cut was made. See that, but by the cut, you could not go, and would remain forever in that place! In the coming years, you shall see the why of it, and already you have begun to see for why; you write to me:

"More and more, I see that man - the blessed children of GOD - commit terrible, sinful deeds." and doubt further; "I had thought men better, and think now on who must be redeemed."

Daughter of Malin! This is the plight of our struggle. This is the battle which has been renewed for us by the Kos, this is the war which Man has been called to wage, and the danger which Malin has been called to evade. Who has slit your throat? Not God, Daughter of Malin, your throat has been slit by another! See that you have been shown yourself the death sentence we have incurred. Not by the spilling of blood may the blood of iniquity be set right, that all things may be set right, that according to the LAW, which is set now over us by the disposition of the Angels, all evils are justified- see the weight of the debt, and the burden of sin. Measure for measure, that all things evil done are made to meet an equal measure of justice upon them, and that every thing done righteous should see its just desert- the fruit of Virtue that doth not rot, which you have learnt from your Father Horen. 

WE MUST BE JUSTIFIED BEFORE THE LORD ADONAI, MELECH HA'OLAM, PANTOKRATOR!

HOREN is judged, and MALIN is judged, and MANKIND is judged. Who are you, Daughter of Malin? Shall you remain apart from the Lord? I know that you shall not, fore you have thirsted for the living waters, and you have gone down into the depths for which you are bound, and there they were proffered to you, and you drank.

“There lay a pool of water there; I drank, and returned to the surface, where I saw the stairs to the Heavens.”

Where shall you go, Daughter of Malin? I shall not see that you are left behind, fore who has been promised but Horen? And who shall deny that salvation is of the Promised People. Who has loved, shall be loved. And who has been given, ought always to give. Who has been given a great gift, the blood, the means by which his brothers may be saved? And who should he be, Man, that he does not take it and share it with them? Shall he say, that by his Promise, he is entitled, that by the covenant with Horen, he shall go up to the gates and say; you may not deny me! But he is denied, shall be denied. 

Do you hear H'Oren kvetch, that by the disposition of the Aenguls, he may not go to the place his Father had seen, his Father of Virtue, who was the Son of the Son of Man? Not but by the mixing of the living water, and the blood of his covenant, may he do this. Once was it poured out upon his head, and once was he the Vessel of Grace, beloved by God. Now, how far she must go, to get but a drop! She is thirsty, starving, and she is dying, and she has come to the well of Horen and spoken, 'sir, a drink, I beg you'. What have you done, Horen? Have you not preserved the teachings? Have you forgotten the way of Virtue? Have you fallen so far away from the Lord, that you may not share a even a drink? 

This is the burden of your blood, Horen, that no food nor water is afforded you but that it is fed you by the doing of the will of Him who has commanded you to do his work. And in this way, Horen, you may drink, and you may eat, and you may not starve, but do not think that you should be drowning in great abundance, when you have done no work, and, by the law, bear no fruit, and see no reward!

So I say to you, Daughter of Malin, have you not seen that I possess the cup that satisfies the heart of Man? I say to you, Daughter of Malin, you may not drink of it, and none of Malin could find a drop from it but Father Nerium, who by את Lari'hei Tohareinu, who was purified of the blood, by the blood, by the law, by the grace! And not in any other way shall you come to drink, but that you are washed in the blood, and strong with the grace. Having now the grace, even in your dreams do you see that, not by the blood may anything be made pure, when once it had been dirtied.

Daughter of Malin, did I not proffer you the Kos, and say to you, I shall drink a poison that you may live? Daughter of Malin, who shall preserve you, but את HaBen Ruach? Daughter of Malin, have I not already set the way for you, that we may begin the work? If by your curses you had been condemned, then by the poison shall את HaBen Ruach go with you also with your curses, as his Lord has done, and as את Horen was commanded, and shall do unto the day. Such was the burden of the Prince of H'Oren, firstborn son of את Horen, and this is the nature of the cup that I have shown to you. But for that for two nigh two thousand years he could not do it, could not all Man be saved, fore salvation is of H'Oren. 

Who has done evil has condemned himself to die,

And who has been condemned to die, he shall die,

And not but by the spilling of blood shall the law in this way be satisfied,

And by the curses upon him, is the blood of Man depreciated,

Not by the purity of the blood shall the cursed at all be saved.

And none shall be saved who have not ate and drank of the Spirit,

And the cursed shall not know the Spirit, and they shall know thirst and hunger.

But who is chosen, and who is promised, and who is without curse, but את Horen, the beloved?

He who saw that our Lord's day was coming, and for that he was a great tzadik was beloved by the Spirit permitted this,

He was raised up to see the Throne of God unknown even to the Angels, he has seen the Promise,

And he has been spared of the curse of Iblis to be upon the blood of Man, who for this reason is his adversary,

Forever in his blood is the Promise, and quickly is he called again close to Him, that he may again behold it.

But for this covenant shall his sons not know the food or the drink but by the doing of the will of the Lord,

They shall not themselves sup but that they have pleased him, and in this way they are fed and sustained.

Who has said, let them come before the shrine of the spirit of grace, that burns with Man?

A Prophet of the Lord has said it, and he reigns as High Priest to restore His Kingdom, 

Who has asked, but Malin? And who should Horen be if he does not give? He shall surely die. 

In this way, and by this law, and in this formula shall Mankind find that he may sup. 

Whoever shall not feed, shall not be fed; he shall starve to death.

Whoever shall not proffer will not be proffered; the thirst will claim him.

Whoever will not live by the law, shall die by the law. 

(The Soldiers of GOD)

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-Commissar Metaldrinks rallies the troopers before the assault upon The Kinslayers. Agents of the BETRAYER.

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YOU are a child of Creation. YOU are HIS child, oh descendant. By HIS works our hearts are filled with fire, by HIS words, we have obtained our virtues. By HIS most worthy deeds are we brought to the light, that FIRE that fills the world. O' Lord most high, are we wreathed in your fire.

The SACRED GUARD. YOU are a warrior, touched by the light, for you follow the Flaming Way. A lightbarer who carries the torch of FAITH through all the darkness that has befallen. Just as the OWYNSSIAH, EXALTED OF FIRE, HE WHO WAGED THE FIRST CRUSADE, had shown to all the example, in his sacrifice, did mankind preserve the Most Pure covenant for over two thousand years. It is through his battlefield doctrine that YOU, a sacred Guardsman swears. By HIS deeds do you emulate, and within this most sacred creation are YOU, BRAVE AND TRUE, given a chance at the IMMORTALITY which is a Glorious death, so you too may rise up to be at the foot of that THRONE of LIGHT, where the LORD MOST HIGH sits and the world is filled with fire.

It is YOUR duty as a descendant to protect and uphold HOLY SACRED CREATION. It is YOUR duty to safeguard the lands of the children of our most BRIGHT Creator. For if not you, then who?

We are HIS Sacred Guard, and our LORD fills us with faith, with the power of creation, with the very FIRE of existence, and since the age of the betrayal, we have been cursed. The agents of the TYRANT seek to douse that fire, and O' LORD, do they try.

BUT YOU! YOU ARE PURE. For through the fire of HYPERWAR, are you made more than man the animal. Made Man. The SONS of Creation. With HOLY BOLTER in hand, YOU will go forth to smite Our foes anywhere they are encountered, with the FURY of heros passed, you will be made worthy, and you will be greeted by the Exhalted, by the Saints and Martyrs. Embraced by the LORD most high. The Tyrant falls, and the COSMOS is made again in light. THIS is the example of the OWYNSSIAH.

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-Sanctified Mechs of War, blessed by the priests of GOD perform in tournament-

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You will be ARMED and ARMORED with the BEST TOOLS and WEAPONS, gifts granted by God's most sacred Diligence and PROGRESS. YOU will be tested, YOU will bare witness to horrors few are asked, but bare them you must to ensure the FIRE is never extinguished, that HOLY PURITY is maintained. Though, Fret Not, oh GUARDSMAN. For you will be girded with fire, and accompanied by GODS most sacred Warmachines. His battletanks, His Artillery batteries, His blessed Alchemies. You will be given the best training, the most able will be granted HIGH ESTEEM, promoted through the ranks, and you will reach status not seen since the time of the Hero Saints of yore.

The Mechanicum of the OWYNSSIAH will ensure the spirits of your machines are in good health, your comrades will give you company, the Krugsmarines and the HYPERWARRIORS will raise you up, and you will never retreat, for the Commissar will be besides you always to ensure FAITH remains CONSTANT.

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-Priestesses, Ordermen, and Holy SACRED GUARDS watch the Battletanks work their sacred duties.

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YOU are HIS, and He is a merciful Father. For He has granted us the tools and instruction to diligently complete our duties. To overcome ALL burdens, ALL curses. To shed the Sin of Mercy for the unrepentant. To Obliterate the impure. To scourge the COSMOS of the threats to our continued ennobled Existence.

In the Face of HYPERWAR one must never bare the SIN of SLOTH. For it was HE who commanded us, in his honor.

'Thou Shalt Kill'

And YOU, oh NOBLE son of creation. Do your duty, as the FATHER commands.

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-Under heavy artillery barrage, under the threat of annihilation by the agents of the Tyrant, NEVER forget your BENEDICTIONS

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RISE YE, O' NOBLE SONS OF CREATION. FOR ONLY WE, UPHOLDERS, KEEPERS OF THE FLAME, THE PURE, PERFORM GOD'S WORK ON THIS WORLD

DO NOT SHIRK YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. AS TIME PASSES WE FALL FURTHER AND FURTHER FROM THAT PURE TIME.

Only YOU have the power to bring us back to that age, that pure, pure age. Gaze and pray upon the fires of war, and do not fear. For we ALL must give ourselves upon that, the Altar of War.

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-Our Battle-Sisters. ICONS of Faith. CASTIGATORS of the IMPURE.

Nether have no fury like the woman scorned.

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Infantry’ Lobgesang

Love GOD,

For He is the salvation of Mankind.

Obey His words,

For He will lead you into the light of the future.

Heed his wisdom,

For he will protect you from Evil.

Whisper His prayers with devotion,

For they will save your soul.

Honour His servants,

For they speak in His voice.

Tremble before His majesty,

For we all walk in His Immortal shadow.

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Prayer in time of Tumults

Master of Man, Overseer of all things right,

Whos powers none can resist,

Save and deliver us, we beseech,

From the hands of our enemies,

By granting us dominion over them,

Show us the path to victory,

That we may produce it in your UNDYING name.

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Litany of War

To be shouted before entering combat:

OWYNSSIAH, bestow on me Your righteous fury, and Your furious strength! 

Let me become the storm that blasts the enemy from HIS sight!

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ENLIST NOW, CHILD OF CREATION, JOIN THE HYPERWAR. ENTER HIS SERVICE. YOU WILL BREAK NO OATHS TO YOUR HOME, OR YOUR PEOPLE

ENLIST NOW, AND RECEIVE YOUR ENLISTMENT BONUS.

IF YOU ARE ALREADY A KNIGHT, OR NOBLEMAN, YOU CAN BE PLACED AS A COMMISSIONED OFFICER!

(Contact an officer, commissar, or Mechpriest, or drop your sign up form off in the enlistment desk in the HIVE CITY OF VALDEV, Located in Haense)

[On discord: Tyto#0435, aldsworth]

-Noble GUARDS, and their MECHPRIEST ready to build further trenches

-ALWAYS REMEMBER THE COMMISSAR. HE WILL ENSURE YOUR FAITH IS CONSTANT

-A trooper on latrine duty after poor performance in training

Three men set out from the Great Temple of the Prophets in Aaun, conducting with them to safety the Flame of the Godhead, which was known to them to be the seal by which the Covenant of the Third Son of Spirit, the Preserver, would be struck and kept. They knew not how, or why, for who- but that it had to be, and that it was, and that the prophecy made known to them was clear. 

Wreathed around the blade, as Owyn had once wielded it, the Flame was carried forth by those odd men into the wilderness, leading them by the light and warmth, weak though it may have been in that fickle place that had by all means the will to forsake it.

An Arch-Lector, now estranged and engulfed in eastern goobledygoop, guided to the place where he had met the party, knew well the weight of the duty that he alone could bear, having the blade, and having once in his youth dedicated himself to the Spirit. A Priest, he was, a Lector, once. But those times were long ago. He had thought different things now, he had explored, and he had by his own admission strayed so far from what he had once believed so as not to carry with him anymore the name of the rite that once had known him as great champion, keeper, samaritan. 

But who, for any doubt could, in the presence of the Spirit, deny the charge put forth to him? To turn-head ignore the ordained vocation of a man? And so it was that the odd man, once Arch-Lector, hesitated, and contemplated, and prodded at that dormant core of his faith that was the flame within his heart. And so it was that the man was again Arch-Lector, the flame alight, the call of vocation heard by him.

A Cardinal, a Lord, a father and now priest, but man of the world, that few men would dare to call a Saint, who, belonging to a wealthy and influential family that thrived and prospered off of politik, pragmatism and loyalty to cause in such a way that moved them not to any radical action for good or ill, could never have been expected to be subsumed totally by the will of God. Verily, no man could have predicted a prophet could come of him, no less the man himself. It was not until the man had come to don the mitre, perhaps, that he had become a man so worthy of the vocation thrust upon him. And so knowing that the man was not given to radical thought nor faithful trance, seeing that he had spoken to them theuopneustos, all had known at once the import of the mission set out to them by the voice of Man, but by the word of another who now operated that voice as an instrument of divine will. 

A mad priest, a crypto-lucienist of the Priesthood of Owyn, a rabbi, and to some, though he would himself prefer the scourge than to so much as entertain the idea, a heresiarch; joined also those gathered men, so eager in his spirit to see the will, 'Emmanuel, Emmanuel,'  as to be, to most men, most certainly mad. A slave of the slaves of the servants of God, he had driven them forth with an uncanny desperation. 'Follow, follow!' was the cry. And so the call was heard, and had been heard many times before. Some had followed him, and in following him did they do as he wished of them, so pleasing, and typical, as many a man skeptical had thought. What they would not understand was that he, for himself, would not step one foot beyond where that Flame had first gone forth, not gazed where that Light had not shined, not spoke but by the stoke of that Spirit, not woke but by the drive of the One. For that, his ever-echoed commands, 'Follow, follow!'  were not for the satisfaction of him, but for the will of his Master. 'Follow him, follow him!'  they ought to have heard.

A swordsman, a soldier, a once-brigand, now Knight, a son of Virtue, a righteous man joined and testified. It was written, he knew, that the fruit of Virtue did not rot. Whether the man had intended for it or not, those words had come to be the law by which all of his life had been defined. Nothing did he do that he did not divine to be right and good, no place did he go that he had not felt called to go- though he was a wanderer, and of a lost tribe. The measure of man who spoke no lie, fore he could not bring himself to do it, the pain of it having become known to him, in some distant past, as the most heinous of pains inflicted upon a soul. Perhaps it was in his youth- perhaps he had divined it in a dream, none but he could say, but that he told no lies was the pure and honest truth. All he saw he had transcribed, dedicating to mind the truth of events, and in that way became unto his tribe a testifier, a witness. Now, it seemed, he was to glory God with this fruit of Virtue his person had wrought, and with every divination seen, every challenge surpassed, did glorify the Almighty in his saying, 'This is the truth, here is the truth.' whether the words left him by his voice, or remained known only to him. It was true, he had seen it, it was the truth. And by every truth he glorified as it was, God, too, was glorified with him and by him.

Where they had gone, no man could rightly say. It was known they were to leave, its was well recorded, and testified by good men who bore the Cross in knightly service in those lands. They must surely have wandered long- and eventually, the man, the Cardinal, had returned from their wandering in the wilderness and rejoined society, saying, 'I was never to see where they should be lead.'  which was in keeping with his prophecy.

It was atop some distant peak, in a land with no name, in a place forsaken by Man but known well to God, that the Flame had again made touch with the Earth. A a miracle of infinite appreciation in its own right, a man may long ponder, that God should by any sign make known his presence in so rotten a world. In an instant, as that flame, so high above the land, finding itself in the place it had wished to be, took violently and erupted. Here was secured, they had said, the Flame by which the sins of the Sons of Horen were in-held, weighed upon that spirit in pardon. Here burned the seal of the Covenant of the Third Son of Spirit, the Fourth Prophet of the True Faith as God had revealed it. Here burned the purifying flame of Owyn, to whom the presence of The Presence was made known to dwell, and who, wielded by Man, purified the world. Perhaps this, too, was a purification, of sort. Perhaps what it held would be burnt away. Perhaps it would ever remain. They knew but one thing, this Flame was the enemy of the world, and that its loss would spill upon the Earth all the sins of that fallen creed, Horen, who for so long a time had forsaken his Father. A danger it was, too, to them. A representation of the law, of the purification of spirit that they could not endure. If it were that they were clean things, they could pass through it without issue- but it had singed the flesh of Horen when Horen had dared to go forth to touch what by Horen's heart was beloved, so estranged they had become. A filth, a dirt, a stain, an unclean presence within them forbade it. Perhaps it was forbidden by their own souls, and that the fire itsself never did burn them, but the guilt. They knew well the guilt, today. They knew well that one must keep the flame by which they shall, God willing, be burned, some day. They knew the world would never have it, that it would be taken away from them. Perhaps one among them knew the truth of it- there was no taking away, only a sending away. Horen would out God from his camp as Julia had cast out that man they called Saul, who should more accurately have been known as Sigismund, they thought. 

What they could not have known, save for the one who had both sent them upon this quest and left them to complete it and returned, was what had befallen the world in the wake of their absence. As a consequence of their absence? Certainly not, they could not think so- fore none of them were men who, removed from society, would cause so quickly its utter and abject collapse. All of those men had been forsaken men, Horenites of a creed that had for five hundred years been known only to distant enclaves and to dark caves, caverns, and sanctuaries wherein they would not be know the persecution that had befallen them in the wake of that greater collapse, what was remembered now as 'the founding of our Church', that had for some reason required re-forging after the Prophets themselves had done the job, but was more accurately known to them as 'the Schism'. It was in that time, Horen had called, 'God, begone now from us, you have set upon us a burden we do not wish to bear! Begone, begone!'          And through the spilling of blood, sealed the wound upon that covenant, which now in Horen's blood was written the cry of his avoidant will. Man did not wish to see redemption. It was for this reason they rejected The Redeemer, Emperor, when they could, Prophet Godfrey, in this schism war. They would speak his name, utter it, yes, but what of his Covenant? They knew it not. The enjoyed the liberty of weightlessness, and fashioned for themselves a crown of ignorance, that was to them a great comfort. "I need only rule the Earth." said Man, Horen, "And Paradise shall come to me!" said Saul, the Sigismund. A far cry from what God had asked of them, and promised of them, when he had raised from them Redeemer.

The will of Iblis had come then and glanced the Earth

In an instant, it was lost. The soul, the thinking mind, some had surmised. In an instant it was fire, bloodshed, it was brother against brother. It had begun first in the House of Horen, as Horen had plunged the dirk into his own belly. That chosen people descended upon one another with maddened fervor, a total craze. Before the Archenemy had required deception to illicit, from Man, this manner of bloodshed. It had taken greed, avarice, promises of a glory unattainable, promises of revenge for crimes only imagined, promises for justice that were not justice but fiction, and promise for pleasure where pleasure was not due. It was not so in those hours, on that day, in what Man had once hoped to call the Year of their Lord, nineteen-fifty-five, but was more, in truth, the five hundred and eighth year of the long heresy, the age they now-in dwelled, Ehr Sigmunda.

None at first could speak, their senses dulled. Then had come the voice, 'As you please,' in confident assurance. How willing Man had gone into the embrace of their father-adoptive, the enemy. They knew not how much he despised them, how much their sin repulsed him, how much he so simply wished them gone. They did not think to dwell on those things, anymore; they did not much think at all. Horen, who was at one moment 'Man', was now 'man', animal. Eradication was the word. It was always the word of their father, though he had well hidden it, inveigled it in nicer, finer clothing. Never before had he been able to present it naked to them, before now. The rivers ran red with blood, and in those hours all the Earth was in warfare, for no end and no master but for war and war and yet more war, and war with no resource or reprieve, waged with what was on hand, and what was from other hands pried as Julia had cast stone over the head of Horen, and Horen dirked still Julia, and no peace to be found in any place. It was a parody, perhaps, of the divine plan, in that by God's Chosen, Horen-Man, Horen's brothers would be one day saved. This was the aim of Empire, as Man had long elected to forget. And so as Man descended into madness, the fate of Malin, Krug and Urguan was too sealed, and the curse spread, before long, also to them. This was the fate of the Earth that Man had once said, in his folly, 'shall be my Paradise!' 

Then, darkness, his 'Paradise'.

All had gone black unto that dark world. What began first as Man's inability to speak, and evolved then into Man's thirst for blood, had ended finally in Man's blindness. It was tranquil, there. It was tranquil, then, throughout all the land- though they had not deserved it. From atop that mountain ablaze, where the Presence rested, all was bright. They could see, yonder still, the darkness that had engulfed the world, that contrasted poorly with the greater-than-day light cast upon them otherworldly. Could it be that the flame had taken it all? Could it be that the weight of all of Horen's sin rested nullified within that Flame, now? Justice should have seen all the world in that moment away, eclipsed, smothered, the animating fire of it all swept out by the parental hand. And yet, it had not. For all the guilt known to those men, three, upon the hill, and for all the tears that they had spilled, they still knew only of the burden of the past before them. They could not know of this new weight, this added weight of all the world's sin somehow withheld from the court, for now, that would testify against them. The trouble for that time was over, light again poured into the world. The raging flame retreated from that great inferno it had borne into when first it touched the brush, quieting in peace before the men. A simple presence it then again appeared to them, a flame. It seemed almost exhausted, perhaps it was- perhaps the pain of it all had weighed upon it. But on this mount it was in peace, and that quest had seemed fulfilled.

'The Hyperwar'  was over, Man again awoke, and Malin, and Krug and Dorf with him. In accordance with the prophecy revealed unto them, the seal of the Covenant of the Third Son of Spirit, the Preserver, was made and safekept. 

א

“Hey There Callahan!” Father Tonito cried out towards the Breakwater Keep, raising a Lector Red bandana above his head and into the air. He looked around for his hermano but he was not in sight making the old man disheartened. Perhaps it was for the best he chose to avoid the violence of the eve.

A bottle of tequila was found on the old Padre who bore no weapons into battle; only his favorite drink and a copy of the Scrolls (The Pre-Saint James Edition)  kept on his person. Throughout the eve of the battle he was yelled at and held down to put on his PeeVeePee gear to which he screamed back “stfu I’m using mi hamon, ***** ass-,” pale gold fire erupted around his wrists as he illuminated the way for the Light Brigade of the Numendains until he lost them amidst the fog of war, having wandered beyond the siege camp alone where he would meet and befriend a wandering olog.

When no familiar faces were in sight, the priest committed to his clerical work, dragging his new companion around and ducking low onto the ground and igniting the deceased in glorious fire in the Owynist Last Rites fashion so that no death wizards would raise them again - regardless of the fallen’s affiliations. It was fortunate for the old priest that a white haired Adunian princess had dug holes prior to dump the bodies in for cremation. Fires burned across the battlefield casting all within it in a smoky haze but still the priest continued his work amidst the roaring, ceaseless cannon fire.

It’s unclear who did the padre in for he wandered off alone in a daze but an arrow had burrowed itself straight into the solar plexus of the priest, ceasing his breath and dowsing his inner flame. He could only hope there would be someone there to burn his body in turn now.

((The following has been released publicly IRP))

The Will of Father Tonito

Written on 22nd of Tobias Bounty, Year 1951

Antonius Cardinal Artorus
Paco Antonius Temesch de las Palmas
Priest of the Canon and the Owynist Rite
1862 - 1953

In the event of my untimely demise, this document in my desk will serve as the will for me, Paco Antonius Temesch de las Palmas. While such an assignment is reserved to His Holiness, I would petition whoever is Pontiff at the time of this release that either Pious Bishop Aquila who has served as a proctor and developer of the new seminary exam serve as Prelate of the Clergy for a smooth transition of the office. Should the Bishop Aquila be sleepy however, I would also recommend Mother Rhosyn of the Diocese of Citrea for the position who often shadowed my work during her acolyteship and assisted me as I oversaw exams. She is young and has great drive in our clerical work. I would also recommend that whoever is the next Prelate to change the deacon exam because it is shit and priests don’t need to know about the Book of Availer. Although I have not been able to complete all of my plans while in office for the duties of a priest are many and there is never respite, it is my wish to see the office developed and grow as well as the office of the Auditor of the Tribunal. My old mind is fading right now but in my late night studies and visits to other parishes it has come to my attention a second miracle attributed to the Blessed Francisco from the execution of one Alberto Murietta but the events of such are muddy in my thoughts. It would honor me greatly to see him canonized as San Francisco.

The following are a list of my belongings I desire to have distributed as listed below. Anything else in my possession I offer to my home parish, the Kingdom of Numendil, to do as it sees fit for the prosperity of the community.

• I leave a pair of my magic tomes of knowledge to my parish under the custodianship of Queen Caraneth and her family.
• I leave a copy of my studies on Bardmancy to the Church of Canon to assist priests wishing to incorporate show and spectacle into their choirs and masses. Please put this in the library for public use.
• I leave my father’s (Ioannes Temesch) monocle and his Imperial Guard to my first cousin thrice removed Queen Catherine I Temesch. I also leave some extra manuscripts with her.
• I leave my Du Locian Fur Hat and Gill’riik Action Figure to my uncle Dante. There is no shame in where we came from. Thank you for being a second papi to me. Your knowledge and wisdom has benefitted and touched many.
• I leave Uncle Evaristus’ Vihuela to my aunt Aelia. I’m sorry I had no heirs. I like you more than Jenny.
• I leave my mariachi trumpet and flamenco guitar to Mother Rhosyn. You have been a bright light and joy to my elder years. I wish for all great things to come your way.
• I leave my religious texts and past student exams with Bishop Pious. I leave our Diocese of Aquila to the Numendain.

        To my beloved brother Bishop Callahan, I pray one day you can find peace.

        To my cousin Arnaud, please wrap up the magic investigation for me primo. I didn't make it. I was so old.

I would like to let my parish and all my brothers and sisters in the Church know that I loved you all very much in life and have appreciated each of your efforts in reinvigorating our body of clergy from its decrepitness of pastimes. Our duty is to spread His word and enlighten His creation to His intentions for us. Remember GOD’s virtue and spirit and remember compassion for one another for life is precious. Also please let the gays marry. I cannot stand most women and could never bear to spend all my life with one. I have hid this secret ashamed of what others thought and swore a life of celibacy to please our almighty DIOs but if I learned anything in my long studies of the scrolls, it is that GOD probably doesn’t care who you love and just wants you to be good to your fellow descendants. I pray Braevos y Canondom will heal one day.

Don’t bury me, cremate me and send my ashes to Hyspia.
 

Dios Bless and Flame Keep You,
Father Toni

By the Antonius Cardinal Artorus 
(Paco Antonius Temesch de las Palmas)
In Memoriam of and Based on the Works of the Lectorate of Owyn’s Cohort of the Flaming Covenant and for the usage of the Owynist Priests and Layman.

The collection of atlases herein is to be a general directory of Owynist rituals, litanies, and prayers to be used by priest and lay faithful alike. While Owynism has evolved and finds itself adapted in different methods, this prayer book here shall serve as the root of the practice.
 

+ Dux Contentorum +

Table of Contents
 

I. Atlas of Owynist Saints
     - St. Petrus Gacrensis
     - St. Tomas Gacrensis
     - St. Adrianus Luvardensis
     - St. Edmundus Lacsensis
     - St. Tobialis Sarcentis
     - St. Humbertus Barsis
     - St. Nafisus Theoderensis
     - St. Robertus Metensis
     - St. Caius Occidentis
     - St. Ricardus Caedrensis
     - St. Evaristus Paradensis
     - St. Clementus Paradensis
     - St. Lucianus Olmetensis
 

II. Atlas of Owynist Prayers

     - Declaratio
     - Cultus
     - Petitio
     - Intercessio
     - Gratiarum
 

III. Atlas of Owynist Rites

  A. Lay Rites
     - Ultimus 
     - Artificis
     - Emundatio

  B. Clerical Rites

     - Conversio

     - Dilectus
     - Confessio 

     - Matrimonium
     - Consecratio
 

IV. Doctrinal Practices of the Owynist
     - The Third Son of Spirit
     - The fallibility of all men, the need for Penance
     - Refuting innovation of faith
     - On the use of pyres
     - On Proactive Methods
 

+ Audoenianorum Sanctorium +
Atlas of Owynist Saints

Introduction
Despite the more comprehensive atlas of saints recognized by the greater True Faith, herein is contained those saints who have especially been venerated by those of the Owynism for their schools of thought aligning or belonging to that of Owynist Rite or the Flamenist and Epulonistic clerical disciplines. Alongside an icon of each saint is written their given names, titles, patronage, symbols, and an associated litany or prayer. This is merely a short list however as Owynism is practiced in different ways across the realm depending on the different cultures of people who have found their calling to GOD’s Divine Light.

ST. PETRUS GACRENSIS

St. Peter of Gaekrin
1360-1462
Peter I Chivay, GMWR, KRD, Holy Orenian Emperor
Patron Saint of Military Orders, Victory in Battle, and Plight against Heathens
Flaming Rose
 

Giving Thanks for Victory in Battle
Dear GOD, we give our tremendous gratitude for this victory,
Bless the wounded and may they recover to full health,
Bless our courageous fighters and may they remain stalwart,
And Bless our fallen, for their sacrifices were not in vain. Amen.
 

ST. TOMAS GACRENSIS

St. Thomas of Gaekrin
1362-1435 
Thomas Chivay, GMWR, Duke of Korath
Patron of Virtuous Leadership, Discipline, Frontiersmen, and the Kaedreni
White Rose

Prayer of the Frontiersmen
Dear LORD, we ask that you hear our prayers
Out in these far reaches away from the heart of mankind.
Please provide for our necessities and protect us from the heathens
Who are unfamiliar to Your Virtue.

In Your Undying Name, Amen.
 

ST. ADRIANUS LUVARDENSIS

St. Adrian of Leuvaarden
1380s - 1434
Hadrien de Sarkozy, Count of Norfolk
Patron of Statesman, Lawyers and Politics
Open Book

The Statesman’s Prayer
“God of power and might, wisdom and justice,
through you authority is rightly administered,
laws are enacted, and judgment is decreed.
Assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude
the King, his council and the statesmen of mankind.
May they always seek
the ways of righteousness, justice and mercy.
Grant that they may be enabled by your powerful protection
to lead our realm with honesty and integrity.
Guide us in Your view, our Lord. Amen”


ST. EDMUNDUS LACSENSIS

Saint Edmund of Lachsin
1384-1435 
St. Edmond Brunswick, SKWR, KRD, Count of Lachsin
Patron of Knights, Hospitality, Baronial Lords and the Auvergnian People
Mounted Knight
 

A Knight’s Humble Prayer

“CREATOR, by your sign that we bear on our standards we ask You to: Give us the strength to love all men on earth created by you, in particular, our enemies. Free our minds and hearts from sin from favoritism, from selfishness and from cowardice so that we may be worthy of Your gift. Let Your Spirit come down to us, Knights of GOD, so that it may make us convinced and sincere ambassadors of Peace and Love among our brothers and, in particular, among those who think they do not believe in You. Give us the Faith to bear all the sufferings of everyday life and to become worthy one day of matching Your Presence, humbly and without fear. Amen”

ST. TOBIALIS SARCENTIS
St. Tobias of Sarkoz
1390 - 1426
Toveah Goldman
Patron of Merchants, Comets, Wealth and Charity
Silver Comet, Gold Coins

Fortune’s Blessing
“May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine upon your window pane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near to you and
May the Creator fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. Amen”
 

ST. HUMBERTUS BARSIS
St. Humbert of Bar
1428 - 1524
Humbert of Bar
Patron of Regents, Perseverance, and Defiance against Evil
Colossus

Prayer for Overcoming Life’s Hardships
“O Lord, we call upon You in our time of sorrow,
That You give us the strength and will to bear our heavy
burdens, until we can again feel the warmth and love of
Your divine compassion. Be mindful of us and have mercy
on us while we struggle to comprehend life's hardships.
Keep us ever in Your watch, til we can walk again with
light hearts and renewed spirits. Amen”

ST. NAFISUS THEODERENSIS

St. Nafis of Al-Dirahk
1495 - 1569
Nafis Yar, OSL, Lord Protector and Lord Vandalore I of Vandoria, Lord of Hallowvale
Patron of Farfolk, Fishermen, Diamonds, Converts and Revolution
Uncut Diamond
 

Prayer of the Revolutionary
“Creator of man, overseer of all things right,
Whose powers none can resist,
Save and deliver us, we beseech, 
From the hands of our enemies,
By granting us dominion over them,
Show us the path to victory,
That we might produce it in Your undying name. Amen”
 

ST. ROBERTUS METENSIS

St. Robert of Metz
1595 - 1670 
Robert Rovin, GMOSL, Archbishop of Rhodesia
Patron of Poetry, Feasting and Inquisition
Chicken Leg

Prayer before Feast
“Bless this feast, Saint Robert, and send our gratitude to the Creator for this subsistence as we eat and be merry today and further GOD’s plan tomorrow. Amen.”
 

ST. CAIUS OCCIDENTIS

St. King Caius of the Westerlands
1570s-1650s
Caius Sigismund Horen, Knight of the HOE, King of the Westerlands
Patron of the Westerlands, Humor and the Fight Against Undead
The Muse of Comedy and Muse of Tragedy Masks

The Prayer of Protection
“May the Creator protect us
And in turn we protect others
Let Him be our shield,
So that we may be His hammer,
ridding this world of darkness.
He who stands with me shall be my brother, 
Amen.”
 

ST. RICARDUS CAEDRENSIS

St. Richard of Kaedrin

1370s -1460s 

Rick Felder, WR, The Super Soldier

Patron of Heroes, Bannermen and the Fight Against Setherien

Kaedreni Arbalest

A Hero’s Prayer

“O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”

ST. EVARISTUS PARADENSIS
St. Evaristus of Paradisus
Pre-Modern Era
High Priest Evaristus I of the True Faith
Patron of Twins, Chastity, Butchers and the East Winds
Right Hand Holding Laurel

The Prayer for Chastity
“Dear Lord please safeguard
My thoughts and dreams
From iniquitous misdeeds.
Amen.”

ST. CLEMENTUS PARADENSIS

St. Clement of Paradisus

Pre-Modern Era

High Priest Clement I of the True Faith

Patron of Twins, Mercy, Bakers and the West Winds

Left Hand on the Laurel

The Prayer for Mercy

“Lord CREATOR, have mercy upon your loyal servant

As I gaze into the maws of Shai’tan, 

Engulf me in Your brilliant light

So that I may know respite for my hardships.

Amen.”

ST. LUCIANUS OLMETENSIS
High Pontiff St. Lucien, Velwyn Ashford of Ulmsbottom
1351-1430s 
Patron of Crusaders, Change and the Family
Kaedreni Cross

Litany of Crusade/War
“Saint Lucien, bestow on me Your righteous fury and Your furious strength. Let me become the storm that strikes the enemy from Your sight. We crusaders call upon thee! Amen!”

+ Audoenianorum Orationorium +

Atlas of Owynist Prayers

Introduction

Within this atlas is contained instances in which an Owynist is encouraged or required to pray, alongside examples of the contents of such a prayer. The faithful are encouraged to use these examples not as their prayers, but as a general guide to their recommended contents.

DECLARATIO

Prayers of Declaration

Owynists are called to recite prayers of declaration before and during battle with a foe. These prayers traditionally involve acknowledging one’s role as the weapon of GOD, parallels to scripture, and exclamation of the soldier’s intention to do HIS work.

Declaration of Intent
I will find my spirit steadfast,
My blade as the tool wielded dually,
By both myself and GOD above.
So that HIS enemies shalt find,
That which is reserved for the sinner,
And the fate for the iniquitous.

Declaration of Embodiment
I am the hammer,
I am the sword in HIS hand,
I am the point of HIS spear,
I am the gauntlet about HIS fist,
I am the bane of HIS foes and the woes of the treacherous,
I am the end!
This is oblivion!

CULTUS
Prayers of Worship

Prayers of worship are the most formal and essential prayers to Owynism, being those prayers devoid of requests, merely in awe of the divine glory of GOD and the perfection of his works. The Owynist is called to recite a prayer of worship upon awakening each morning.

Acknowledgement of Divinity
As was before and as is now,
YOU are the Lord of All,
With power unmatched.

Acknowledgement of Perfection
YOUR flame is perfect,
O Lord my GOD,
YOUR workings are indelible,
YOUR foresight is unhindered.

PETITIO
Prayers of Petition

Prayers of petition are recited as requests to GOD to provide the faithful with that which satisfies their needs both spiritual and physical, or to guide the hand of the faithful in their completion of a task for HIS glory. Prayers of petition are required to be recited before battle, with explicit requests for foresight, clarity of the mind, and adroit combative performance.

Petition to Guidance
I call upon the Lord my GOD,
To hear my petition.
May you guide our blades and bolts,
To crush the foes of YOUR kingdom.
Grant us YOUR wisdom,
O Lord of All,
So that we might find victory through fire and steel, Amen.

Petition to Fulfillment
I call upon the Lord my GOD,
To hear my petition.
I grow weary, O Lord,
My flame weakens.
Fulfill my needs,
So that I might bring glory to YOUR kingdom, Amen.

INTERCESSIO
Prayers of Intercession

Prayers of intercession are distinguished from prayers of petition in that the faithful calls for GOD to intervene in those dealings that are out of one’s own control. The faithful must acknowledge GOD’s divine power to intervene in all things, and the mortal inability to do the same.

Intercession for the Wayward Sinner
Lord Creator, I am powerless against these vile spiritual forces,
I recognize my utter dependence on You and Your power,
I intercede on behalf of this wayward sinner
And plead with you O Lord, 
To protect us both from evil
And shine your light to guide this sinner on the path you intended, Amen.

Intercession of Divine Extrication
I am but mortal man,
YOUR divine creation.
I call upon YOU, O Lord,
Save me from this cruel fate, Amen.

GRATIARUM
Prayers of Gratitude
 

Prayers of gratitude are required to be recited before meals, after victories, and before laying to rest each night, and encouraged to be recited any time an Owynist feels grateful. Prayers of gratitude must contain exclamations of praise and thanks for what GOD has provided to one’s self.

Thanksgiving for a Meal
Dear Creator we praise You and give gratitude for the nourishment you provide us. Thank you for meeting our physical needs of hunger and thirst. Bless this food to fuel our bodies forward into Your will for our lives. Amen.

Thanksgiving for a Victory
Dear GOD, we give our tremendous gratitude for this victory,
Bless the wounded and may they recover to full health,
Bless our courageous fighters and may they remain stalwart,
And Bless our fallen, for their sacrifices were not in vain. Amen.

Thanksgiving for this Day
O Lord, I thank you for another day of life
In this tremendous and wondrous world you have created,
Forgive me if I ever take this blessing for granted
And guide me in the will You have intended for me, Amen.

+ Audoenianorum Ritorium +

Atlas of Owynist Rites
 

Introduction
Within this atlas is contained guides to and examples of all Owynist rituals, both lay and clerical.

Lay Rites
These rites can be performed by anyone baptized within the Owynist Rite that has been taught how to perform them.

Ultimus - Last Rites

Last rites are especially important to the typical Owynist who is willing to lay down their lives for the almighty Creator knowing there is salvation in their service and duty to GOD’s word. Because of the spontaneous nature of death, last rites may be performed by anyone baptized in the Owynist Rite. Last rites are to be given to all of the deceased regardless of walk of life with the belief that, even the fallen once held the divine spark of the soul the Creator gave them.

Why do we cremate instead of bury like other Canonists?
 

It is our belief that in the end times, Iblees will raise a second undead army and it is our mission now to impede on Iblees’ plans but cremating our deceased to thwart the size of his undead army.

Firstly, the body should be properly prepared if there is a proper ceremonial funeral. The body is washed with scented oils and the body is cleaned up to the best of the ability of its handlers. If in the aftermath of a battlefield, this step is often understandably forgone and the layman or priest may move on to the next step.
 

Once the body has been prepared, it is usually set somewhere that can be set ablaze for cremation. In proper facilities such as a clinic, this may be done in a furnace. If for a funeral or on the field of battle, a pyre may be constructed and the body set atop it.
 

Salt is to be poured in a circle around the body now after its placement, to ward away lingering evil spirits that may have indirectly caused the person’s demise and so that the recipient’s soul may move on to the Seven Skies unhindered.
 

Holy water is now sprinkled upon the deceased and a blessing is given. These generally vary and are free form for the layman or priest, but generally give a blessing to the recipient in their hereafter and are generally short.

Examples of Blessings:
[For the Faithful]
“Thy death was not in vain, for GOD has greater purpose for you in the Seven Skies. May GOD bring you rest. Amen”
“Thou didst fight true... but the foe was too great. May GOD reward you for thy bravery in the Seven Skies. Amen.”

Examples of Blessings:

[For heathens and heretics]
“Thy cause was false, thy skills did lack; See you in Cloud Temple when you get back.”
“Thy faith faltered, no power could save thee. May the white flame purify this soul.”

After this is completed, depending on circumstances, the ceremony may now begin officially. Generally an opening prayer and introduction is given for the deceased in a proper funeral ceremony in free form. Generally try to focus on the positivity of them having lived a virtuous life and being in the embrace of the Creator.
 

Lastly, the pyre is to set a blaze or the deceased set into the furnace to burn thoroughly until all that remains are ashes. Collect these in an urn or spread them somewhere nice as needed.

Artificis - Craftsmanship

The Rite of Artificis is to be performed upon the finished product of a craftsman at their whim and is fairly simple and easy to amend for different circumstances. A blacksmith may anoint their finished blade with oil before reciting a prayer to the Creator, a chef might splash holy water modestly upon a prepared plate or an alchemist may say a prayer over a lit lab burner. Examples of prayers are as follows:

[Alcohol Brewing]
Lord, bless this creature, beer, which by your kindness and power has been produced from kernels of grain, and let it be a healthful drink for mankind. Grant that whoever drinks it with thanksgiving to your holy name may find it a help in body and in soul, Amen.

[Cooking]
Dear Lord, I thank thee for the ingredients you have provided for this meal I am about to prepare. Be present in the preparation and eating of this meal and be present for those with no food today. Please provide subsistence to those who will consume this meal so that they may live in Your glory, Amen

[Alchemy]
Bless these brews O’Lord, that use from the boons of Your creation to protect us, to aid us and to preserve us. Bless these bountiful regents that have flourished in your green world. And bless our path forward so that we advance in Your name alone, Amen.

[Blacksmithing]
Bless these diligent hands O’Lord, that bear the burden of steel shaped and forged to combat the forces of iniquity. May these weapons hold steadfast in the grip of my brothers and sisters and serve each one of them until You call upon them to return to the Seven Skies, Amen.

Emundatio - Purification

The Rite of Emundatio, or Purification, can be done by any Lay Owynist to purify what has been made unholy. The unholy item at hand should be held before an open pit of flame and a prayer recited over it,

“Dear Lord, please wash this thoroughly of any iniquity and cleanse it of sin. I aim to follow your virtue but baggage and sin have kept me afar. Through this act, please sever a negative cycle and remake this anew, Amen.”

The celebrant will then drop the unholy item into the pit of fire and allow it to be destroyed in righteous flame.

Clerical Rites
These rites generally must be performed by a priest or by a deacon of the Church.

Conversio - Baptism by Water/ Baptism for Lay Owynists

Known as the first baptism for Owynists and is the general practice of baptism within the greater True Faith, the Baptism by Water is a mostly orthodox practice in the Owynist Rite with the addition of the use of ash in the ritual. This baptism is meant for the general conversion of the faithful.

Beginning…
(For an adult baptism)

Some preparations must be made for an adult convert to be baptized. The baptism will take place in a clean bodied lake/slow moving river and the rite of consecration (holy water) is to be performed on it. If there is no nearby body of water, a tank or barrel of water may be prepared. A bowl of ash should also be prepared at the shore.

Priest: “Dearly beloved, it was Ex. Horen who was first baptized by the angel Tesion in the Grotto of Gamesh. We continue this tradition in binding our faithful by vow to the LORD GOD’s family and the Covenants of Instruction, Purity and Sovereignty.

Priest: “Do you come as a seeker of God, faithful, penitent, and reverent, obeying the path of Virtue?”

Penitent: “I do”

Priest: “Do you put your faith in His truth, the Holy Scrolls, the Exalted?”

Penitent: “I do”

The priest now takes some ash from the bowl he has prepared and marks the Lorraine Cross on to the penitent’s forehead.

Priest: “Then as the Book of Horen says ‘I cleanse you and mark you as one of God’s servants.”

The priest will walk with the penitent into the body of water and will ease them with their consent into the water in total submergence very briefly before raising them back out of the water. The ash on their forehead should be mostly removed by this.

Priest: “I baptize you in the name of God. Be cleansed by the waters of Gamesh and be free from all sin and vice.”

(For a child baptism)
 

The priest should prepare a bowl of ash and a basin of holy water in the temple the baptism takes place in.

Priest: “Dearly beloved, it was Ex. Horen who was first baptized by the angel Tesion in the Grotto of Gamesh. We continue this tradition in binding our faithful by vow to the LORD GOD’s family and the Covenants of Instruction, Purity and Sovereignty. 

The priest will trace the Lorraine cross with ash upon the child’s forehead.

Priest: “Dear GOD, may this child be a seeker of God, faithful, penitent, and reverent, obeying the path of Virtue. May they put their faith in His truth, the Holy Scrolls and the Exalted.”

The priest, if they do not know the child’s name, may ask the parents for the child’s name now. After this is done, they may dip the child's head momentarily into the water allowing for the ash to be washed off as well before lifting the child out.

“(Name), I baptize you in the name of GOD. Be cleansed by the waters of Gamesh, and be free from all sin and vice, Amen.”

Dilectus - Baptism by Fire/Reaffirmation - The Path of Owyn

Baptism, for an Owynist, occurs twice in one’s lifetime. At birth, men and women are expected to receive the holy blessing of GOD and be made a part of the flock so that they may be anointed with the wisdom of GOD’s word and become one of HIS faithful. An Owynist, however, will undertake a second baptism, or the “reaffirmation” when they are of age, or when first adopting the tenets of Owynism, so that they might reaffirm their zeal to the world. Owynists do not think any less of those who do not undertake the reaffirmation as it is a personal endeavour rather than a dogmatic one.

The process of the reaffirmation takes the metaphor of a baptism by fire to a literal degree. It is expected that those who wish to partake in the ritual fast for seven saint’s days and partake in the “Path of Owyn”.

Upon the First Day, an aspirant shall undertake pilgrimage to all known public temples of the world and offer prayer within each and every single one, symbolizing Owyn’s escape from Edel to the Grotto of Gamesh.

Upon the Second Day, an aspirant shall stoke the flames of Owynist pyres for a period of several hours so that they might understand the discomfort Owyn felt when commanded to serve the man who betrayed his uncle.

Upon the Third Day, an aspirant shall recite the admonishments set forth in the Scroll of Spirit to a priest so that they might understand the wisdom transcribed by Owyn.

Upon the Fourth Day, an aspirant shall confess their sins wholeheartedly to an ordained cleric as an act of humbling, for an Owynist knows they are not perfect and will always, in some capacity, require reconciliation with the faith. This mimic’s Owyn’s realization that he had committed the sin of slaying his kin, and how he sought GOD’s forgiveness.

Upon the Fifth Day, an aspirant shall embark on a quest of penance prescribed by the aforementioned ordained cleric. Though the actual task of penance differs for all aspirants, it is expected that regardless of the expectations that the aspirant should meet them with fervor and diligence. This symbolizes Owyn’s crusade.

Upon the Sixth Day, an aspirant shall reconcile with the ordained cleric and confess once more to any sins that they may have committed in their quest of penance. When completed, the aspirant shall seek total and complete isolation until the time of the final ritual.

Upon the Seventh Day, an aspirant shall crawl hands and knees through the aisle of an Owynist temple, surrounded on either side by flame, until they kneel before an altar of GOD. There, they shall be baptized by a priest, and entrusted with the responsibilities and values of an Owynist. They will even be offered a chance to adopt a new Flexio name befitting the faithful. It is at this time the aspirant and their comrades celebrate, for they have suffered and emerged a new man.

Confessio - Confession

An important aspect of Owynism, the rite of confession allows for the truly repentant an opportunity to redeem themselves. Unlike other Rites, Owynism promotes public confessions when possible, although when a congregation is unavailable it is acceptable to confess before just the priest and the Lord GOD. Often the confessor will declare their sins before the fire altar in a temple or in the town square for an audience.

Beginning…
 

The penitent should sit with or before the priest depending on circumstance. A vessel of holy water should also be kept on hand.

Celebrant: “The Lord is merciful, and even as the Prophets have fallen short of Him, He will forgive the truly repentant. Have you failed and fallen short of Him?”

Penitent: “I have.”

Celebrant: “The Lord’s eye is cast over all sin but He is merciful, and He and I await to hear your confession of your sins.”

The penitent will confess all of the sins they wish to confess. The priest should distribute penance befitting and related to their sin, but for more complex sins that can not be remedied directly, general service to one’s community is acceptable in order to spread positive energy.

After penance quest is given…

The celebrant traces the cross with holy water on to the penitent’s brow.

Celebrant: “I cleanse you, and you are His servant again.”

Matrimonium - Marriage    

Weddings are a conservative affair in the Owynist Rite that puts emphasis on the symbolism of the union between man and woman. Public displays of affection are generally frowned upon and seen as lewd and obscene.

Before the wedding begins, King’s Ivy is burned as an incense to waft through the temple to instill a subtle euphoric feeling in the room. To begin the wedding, a bell is rang seven times for Heartlanders. In other cultures within Owynism, a gong may be used for say Oyashimans or the beating of a drum seven times for Qalasheen. The bridegroom must already be standing before the altar, and after the ringing of the bell/gong, the bride is to be escorted down the aisle by her father, brother, or whoever is chosen to release her to her husband to be.

Much like standard Canonist weddings, the bride and groom stand before the priest at an altar to GOD and face one another as the priest introduces them and begins the union. Rings, wedding bands, cloaks, shawls or whatever the bride and groom will be exchanging are held off to the side by the colloquial “ring bearer” or an assistant to the priest overseeing the wedding. The use of items in the exchange is to take into account possible poverty amongst unions who cannot afford a wedding band.

Beginning...

After the bell is rang seven times.

Priest: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God to join together man and woman in the holy union of Matrimony; instituted by God himself, commended in the Holy Scrolls to be honorable among all men; and therefore not by any to be taken in hand unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly; but reverently; discreetly, soberly, and in the fear of God, duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained,”

The priest will now join the hands of the bride and bridegroom and their hands are bound with cloth loosely. The priest will also take some ash from the flame altar and trace the cross onto the foreheads of the bride and the bridegroom.

Priest: "Sic enim Horen et Juli’el, ita nobis quoque. Hanc unionem nos in omni loco oculi Domini solidatur, quia et nos ipsi propius adducere, ut ad sancta sanctorum collegiorum. 

As for Horen and Juli’el, so for us too. We solidify this union in the eyes of God, that we may bring ourselves closer to His holiest of unions"

Wedding bands, cloaks, shawls or whatever will be exchanged is prepared by either a “ring bearer” or the priest himself.

Priest: "[Bridesgroom], will you have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together according to God’s law in the holy union of Matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health? and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"

Bridesgroom: "I do."

The priest will now direct the bridesgroom to adorn the bride with either the ring, shawl or cloak being exchanged.

Priest: "[Bride], will you have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together according to God’s law in the holy union of Matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health? and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"

Bride: "I do."

The priest will now direct the bride to adorn the bridesgroom with either the ring, shawl, or cloak being exchanged.

Priest: "Forasmuch as [Bridegroom’s Name] and [Bride’s Name] have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, having thereto pledged their troth to one another, I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of our almighty Lord and God. Amen."

The priest will undo the binding of their hands. The bell/gong is rang seven times once more, concluding the wedding.

Consacratio - Consecration 

The Rite of Consecration takes two forms, that of consecrating holy water and that of consecrating sacred places such as temples and officially making them holy places.

Rite of Consecration (Ablution) - Holy Water/oil
With the loss of the Grotto of Gamesh, this rite makes any vessel of water/oil into holy water/oil in place of the Grotto. This can be done over a bowl of water, a large basin or pool of water or even a lake or river.

Beginning…
 

The celebrant stands before a vessel of clean water. A silver horn or sacred symbol should be at hand.

Celebrant: “O Lord, You poured the sweet water into the rivers, and You blessed the waters of Gamesh that cleanse the faithful. You name the pure and the impure. We pray that You name these waters pure as well, that we may be renewed in Your Holiness.”

The celebrant makes the sign of the cross over the waters, dipping into them a silver horn or a sacred symbol.

Celebrant: “And lo! the waters of prophecy are purifying, and they spill forth to purify.”

Rite of Consecration - Sacred Places

Before beginning, one should plan accordingly. Four stakes and a mallet will be needed along with enough oil soaked rope to span around the sacred grounds in need of consecration. A flint and steel fire starter. A vessel of holy water such as a bowl should also be kept.

If the celebrant is married, it is preferred that his wife serve as aide. Otherwise, any member of the faithful is suitable. If no one can serve as aide, the celebrant may fulfill both roles.

Beginning…
 

The celebrant and the parishioners gather at the threshold of the sacred place. The aide should hold a mallet and four stakes of wood. A vessel of holy water should wait inside at the altar.

Celebrant: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in sight of God to dedicate this place to Him, and to make it a tabernacle of Ex. Horen and St. Juli’el, such that we, their children, may find solace from the iniquitous.”

Celebrant: “As He says in the Book of Horen: ‘So Horen was inspired with the Word of God, and he returned to his people. He went into his camp and found that two thirds had fallen into iniquity, and they embattled Horen’s tabernacle but could not enter it.’”

Celebrant: “Pray for us, Ex. Horen.”

All: “Pray for us.”

The celebrant leads the gathered into the sacred place. If it consists of multiple rooms, they should enter the room which will be used for worship.

Celebrant: “So Horen resolved that his children should be protected lest they be led into sin, and all but the most virtuous ceased their ministrations. He took them south of the Isthmus of Kramoroe, between the ruins of high towers, Aemon and Daemon.”

The aide holds the stakes and the mallet aloft for the gathered to see.

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

The aide and the celebrant should work towards putting a total of four stakes roughly around the place to be consecrated with oil soaked rope tied around the border made by these stakes. The parishioners will follow after the celebrant. 

With each stake striked with the mallet, the celebrant will say “Pray for us, Exalted Horen/Owyn/Godfrey/GOD” after each time, the parishioners will reply with “Pray for Us”

The aide or the celebrant now starts the rope alight at the final stake and allow for a controlled fire to alight around the sacred place. Once the flame has burnt out and smoldered, then the embers of the remains may be doused with the sprinkling of holy water around the border of the stakes.

Celebrant: “As for Ex. Horen and St. Juli’el, so for us too. We consecrate this place to God, that we may share in the holiness of the tabernacle.”

+ Audoenianorum Doctrina +

Atlas of Owynist Doctrine

While Owynism has been practiced in many forms, the Owynism stemming from the Church of Gaekrin’s disciplines and brought over by the Lectors of Owyn promoted a strong traditional and conservative views of the Scrolls and being skeptical or flat out rejective to additions, false interpretations 

The Third Son of Spirit

Contrary to Mainstream Canonism, the Owynist believes that Saint Sigismund is not the Fourth Exalted and that GOD’s word has not been finished in its deliverance to us. Many Owynists believe in a Third Son of Spirit to come that was promised to Horen with many hypotheses depending on the Owynist asked ranging from an Owynssiah or Owyncarante to come to an unknown Third Son who will unite divided faithful and end their discord but one thing acknowledged for certain is the uncertainty in the Unknowable’s divine plan. And so the Owynist waits patiently for that revelation to come.

The fallibility of all men, the need for Penance

All descendant-kind has been tainted with the sin of the Deceiver and thus the Owynist finds no one is above sin or incapable of sin be they the common man to the Kings of the land. Each one of us must be held accountable for our actions either by repentance and proactive action or by GOD’s will one way or the other. Owynists are encouraged to confess their sins regularly to their local priest and seek penance that will better the Lord’s world. Penance can range from either making amends with someone should their sin have wronged someone, free service to their communities or punishment via self flagellation.

Refuting innovation of faith

The Owynist’s teachings are rooted in long tradition and abhor innovation or changes to the faith most often done out of secular gain. It is important for us to derive pure faith from GOD’s word. In the Scroll of Spirit, it was spoke to the Jorenites “And to ye Sons of Joren I admonish: There is no innovation in faith. For GOD is as he was and shall be, and the holiness of Horen is as the holiness of all men, forever.” One group of men cannot be made above the rest of Horen’s children.

On the use of pyres

The pyres within Owynist temples are visual symbols of the GODhead, GOD made manifest into the world and how He is depicted. He is the blinding light at the center of the void at the beginning of creation, He is the light in Owyn’s sword unsheathed in the Harrenite court. Often a fire altar is displayed safely below a Lorraine Cross where the upper bar is the Seven Skies, the second bar the world, everything below the void and the fire of the altar representing the GODhead at the beginning of creation. The GODhead is also called “GOD’s/The Divine Light” or the “White Flame”. Pyres are used in different ways of incorporation into a temple dedicated to the Creator.

On Proactive Methods

A common analogy used for the relationship of the priest and the parishioner is the shepherd and the flock. And what good is a shepherd who cannot defend his or her flock from the wolves? The Owynist believes in the proactive and militant approach to combating threats to the faith and flock by any means necessary and with as much destruction to the enemy as possible, counter to the pacifist approach of some slothful clergy.

1864 – 1933

“I WILL FIND MY SPIRIT STEADFAST” – OWYNIST PRAYER OF INTENT

Father Wert, Pastor of Whitespire lay in his secluded barrel, dwelling in self-chosen poverty outside that capital city while a sweat covered his cavemannish brow. He was ill, having caught a dreadful plague in his time with the poor, explaining his recent absence - his living conditions did not help, but he refused to abandon his ascetic lifestyle. That night, Wert scribbled down his last-will, soon falling asleep in the isolated discomfort of his cramped home. Father Wert of Tuhrosweyk, Owynist Cleric and Pastor of the Aaunic capital died of his sickness before the morning sun rose. . .

LAST WILL OF FATHER WERT

To my apprentice and former-acolyte Father Rhodri, I leave my staff, made by the Lectorate of Owyn, hold onto it, it has many memories attached.

To my friend and teacher Kato Oijin, I leave my icepick, keep it well, I suspect its origin has much importance.

I leave the rest of my meager possessions to the Mother Church of Canondom, to be used in the common good.

[!]

The contents of this letter are visible only to the eyes of the Arch-Lector of the Flaming Covenant Cohort: delivered under the midst of the night in a filthy parcel filled with various vials of whale oil.

The Dodaitose Whaling Guild

Parts Unknown

From: Romulus Graham 

To: Danzen of Dodaitose

Subj: WHALE FAT SHIPMENT

My brother,

A large shipment of whale fat is being partitioned to head your way. The harvests this year have been ripe: Whale bones for traditional charms, and the fat to be used for fuel, butter… All the sorts. Father and mother have fallen ill: Among them, our brothers and sisters get sicker by the day. The wood of our house rots, but our business must endure, even if we have an off season. 

I wish you well in the coming storms brother. Though it is turbulent, we will prevail. Light always shines even through the darkest nights.

[!]

It becomes increasingly obvious that the parchment is peeling, a message inside of a message: the second layer makes itself known to the reader as the thin exterior sheds like skin from a lizard. 

Grace be unto you from our Lord GOD, I am Lector Trevor Turnfield of The Flaming Covenant Cohort. I write not as a representative of the Lectorate but as a concerned man of the faith to you who would join in the crusade against iniquity we faithful children of GOD perpetuate. The leader of our opposition is the deceiver, the greatest and first of the liars who would peddle falsehoods even to his own forces in order to oppose the purity of GOD's kingdom and domain; there is no lengths he will not go to act as a snake in the grass and undermine our efforts. I have spoken with Azdromoth myself and despite what his servants may try to sell you I can say with absolute certainty the lizard is remorseless for his deceptions, though he claims to possess love that did not stop him from instructing his servants to infiltrate our governments, it did not stop him from slaying dozens of innocents in Elvenesse, it did not stop him from allowing his servants to seek unity with agents of the dark. 

Indeed I attended the curia where the first inquisition began and watched on as in response to their crimes the servants of Azdromoth burned churches, assassinated priests, and began waging unhinged war across all Almaris. In all these decades they have not improved, they have not sought redemption, they have continued to infiltrate- From Oren, to Krugmar, to Urguan, to Balian, to Savoy and countless others they have been in the shadows playing their games and as the adage says 'fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' I for one refused to be fooled by crocodile tears and feigned regret another second.

I have watched on for fifty years as these beasts have grown more profane and desperate, how they attempt to deceive and curry favor with us after their transgressions as even when we offered Azdromoth penance and instruction on how to truly come into the creator's light we were rejected. The Lizardmen have been given every fair chance to do as GOD would will, they have been given every fair chance to act with integrity and honor, and they have been given every fair chance to distance themselves from their deceitful and wicked master but they have refused in favor of pointing blame when they themselves aim to tangle descendants in their infighting. They speak to us now of trying to honor the Horenic pact which they have broken by siding with GOD's own enemy and claiming it as 'trickery' - if your master knows it to be a trick and continues to serve then it is no trick, it is knowing blasphemy. Trust not these lizards in lambs clothing, they are wicked. Asioth is little more than a draconic aberration of Xionism, and Xionism is heresy. 

Check every armed man for tattoos of dragonkind, take potions of ice and steel to the lizards you see. And if you yourself reading this are a servant of Azdromoth and your will to fulfill the Horenic pact is true: Save we faithful sons of Horen the trouble and mount yourself upon the crucifix in our stead. 

SEREMVS * DELENDA * EST

Lector Turnfield’s First Confessional
 

Preamble

I am Lector Trevor Turnfield, as of beginning this recollection I have just passed my 70th year and as I continue on in service of our Lord GOD I have borne witness to the woes and wonders of shepherding my fellow descendants and beyond; the bounties of loyal servitude to GOD and the trials that accompany this loyalty. I have without a doubt witnessed the scrolls’ messages thousands of years old ring true even to this day and it is with humility I profess that without the guidance of my Lord GOD I would be among the iniquitous for it is faith alone which has sustained my hope in goodness at many points in my life. I will recount for you dear reader and my brothers and sisters in GOD’s service the things I have witnessed in my fifty years as a man of the cloth. I shall have to do so in several parts however as the good Lord has seen fit to ensure that I continue to live in interesting times.

“And I am the Lord GOD without peer, and My trials are the holy trials, and My cure is the virtuous cure, and all the reliefs of the Virtue are open to the righteous forbearer.” (Virtue 3:10) 

I was born to Ivan and Louise Turnfield of Haense. I am grateful for the childhood I had and my mother’s insistence that I should be educated; She and my sister Eleanor taught me to read using the scrolls, particularly the Gospel of Godfrey. The labor expected of a farmer’s son is consistent and serious and I labored from my sixth birthday onward in the fields and animal pens but since my mother was a devout woman I enjoyed weekly mass as an opportunity to relax. Life was very simple until I was seventeen and made a journey to the Holy See to begin my study as an acolyte within the church. I spent two years in study, finishing a thesis on charity and working toward ordainment; initially it was my want to become a bishop or cardinal within the church in the interest of working down to establish charitable operations within the church but since I write this as a Lector of Owyn you may safely assume this never came to fruition.

“But GOD’s is the eternal power, the mysterious power with no part nor piece, no lowly anatomy.” (Spirit 7:6)

I was ordained at the age of nineteen, when a young man is paradoxically the most assured of his brilliance and at the height of his foolishness. Upon exiting the Old Providence Basilica newly frocked we came across a frightful specter of a young woman closing upon a playing child in the basilica yard. Coward though I was, I faced the specter with prayer, wielding a hefty lorraine; I pressed the aurum rosary against the temple of the lost soul and drove it away from the child. This was my first encounter with the forces of the deceiver in their rawest form. 

I was blessed enough to consecrate the Abbey of Saint Robert at the crossroads prior to the eruption of the war and it was what I believe to be a blessing that through my travels as a missionary I met the Cohort of the Flaming Covenant in their camp at Ramsfield; Paco de Mantequilla, Dante de Denesle, Isaac Jebediah, and at the time novitiate Dario de Mantequilla (also known as Dharas). The Lectors invited me to dinner and shared what little they had in the shadow of Luciensburg, the city they had taken from them; even as refugees and on the losing end of a war against demon-worshiping rats there was still the wealth of spirit among them to share with a guest.

“And you shall give your fellows the abundance of the spirit, which is My Word.  For the abundance of the spirit is never divided, but multiplied.” (Virtue 2:8-9)

Padre Paco had made mention of his efforts to spread the faith into the nation of Yong Ping with little success, though in a meeting with then Zhu Tianrui Ren I had made progress in the repeal of anti-missionary laws within Yong Ping and had gone on to aid a convert by the name of Oijin Kato from Yong-Ping. The first major blow to my spirit came at the hands of my own self-interest, due to savoyard persecution and crucifixion the name of the faith was soured like vinegar to the Pingers and hopes of establishing friendly relations and repealing laws was dead on arrival.

During this time I too began to sour on the rhetoric of the church as the dealings within canondom had become increasingly political in nature; I turned to physical exercise as a way to reckon with my anger and undertook the path of Owyn to reckon with my doubt in a centralized church. My first day upon the path I became separated from my pilgrimage party and spent several days wandering the woodland staving off starvation; it was not until I had wandered to the outskirts of providence that I was found by Padre Paco de Mantequilla who upon seeing me burst from the woodland in a confused stupor shot me with a crossbow. During my recovery I partook of day two in Du Loc wherein I was assigned to maintain a flaming altar to GOD for seven saints hours.

The flesh pit of Du Loc- the gibbering living flesh of the alien heart that had been planted beneath the city burst from the earth during my watch of the altar. It took the shape of the citizens of Du Loc and opened a great maw in the heart of the city leading into an acidic pit at the bottom. My first experience with combat was with these creatures, delving with the Lectors as a Proselyte into the under loc where that wicked flesh had begun to create monsters out of corpses to defend itself. To this day I shudder to think of those shambling creatures, their boiling blood, and the blades of bone that had burst from their mangled corpses and slew a city watchman. I took up a sword to defend an injured Lector and applied Tippen’s Root to the weapon and cut open a film of flesh that had blocked the escape of the party ahead.
 

“So I am the Most High, and in pursuit of My Virtue, I bid my faithful this: You shall keep fast to your word and station, and aspire not to greatness among men, but to My glory.” (Virtue 6:8)

I was not a part of the mission that saw the end of the flesh pit but during my novitatehood I was a participant in many battles against supernatural entities that had sought to target Du Loc. None serve as a better example of the typical Du Locian problem than the metallic vessel that fell from a tear in reality that contained a warrior in strange armor; following shortly after him came down a strange flying insectoid creature that shot Lector Dharas with lightning born from a oddly shaped staff, shortly following this a second portal tore itself open; slaying a flying bird and birthing a bipedal crab demanding wergild for a slight; I kicked him back into the portal and pulled Dharas’ unconscious form away from the metallic vessel the dying warrior landed in before it exploded, sealing the portals behind. In retrospect I understand this tale is farfetched and my expectation of what battles are to be expected against iniquity is deeply skewed by the many unusual battles I have partaken in.

What sealed my decision to join the Lectorate was the aid offered to me by two members to traverse into the dark swamps between Yong Ping and Vortice when a cannibal tribesman ambushed me during a personal sabbatical and stole from me a rosary gifted to me by my mother. Danzen and Dharas were with me, serving as my battle brothers in an effort to reclaim this gift. While in the swamp I encountered another poltergeist amidst the portion of the swamp infected by the tomblands, a crackadonk, and finally the Rougaroux I had written about in a report titled: “A Horror Hunting the Faithful.” Which can be found in the owynist archives.

The trials of the swamps brought me new clarity and purpose; a keen understanding of the Lectorate and my role as a shepherd of GOD. It was not enough to dispense wisdom unto the flock for wisdom offered little to men torn to pieces by werebeasts and vampires. It was the role of the shepherd to bear the crook and the sword; to fight the wolves sent by the jealous deceiver to rip them away from GOD’s pastures. 

“And you shall be without pretense or conceit, for before the mountain, the ant and the aurochs are equally small.” (Virtue 7:7)

Taking the mantle of a Lector came with certain challenges, I elected to abandon the facade of greater sophistication as it was conceit- I spoke as I would on the farm again and allowed myself to be what I am; the son of a farmer who took up GOD’s word and steel to defend my parish.

I spent my earlier years among the Lectorate in transit, I’m drawn to the outdoors fairly regularly but discovered the Hexer lodge of Savoy when Dharas joined them for a hunt; I should preface that there are few organizations I loath so much as Hexers so take my recollection with a grain of salt for I cannot be certain if my memory has not been twisted toward representing them more fouly than they truly were. After escorting Dharas I had a brief conversation with an elder hexer whom I regarded as sour and conceited for his supposed greater understanding of the world.

When during their hunt Dharas was injured they did not send for us, my brother’s legs were crushed and amputated by a crowdrake due to the Hexer’s own failing in planning and they did little else beside cauterize his legs and toss him outside the tent to work on their own; I carried my injured brother in a harness upon my back until his legs were capable of carrying him again.

Despite access to mutations themselves and greater forms of healing alchemy by their own profession the Hexers hoarded their knowledge in favor of turning a profit hunting disruptive monsters with no interest in morality or preserving secular lives; I find them to be as distasteful as the magi women they surrounded themselves with.
 

“So I find that you seek impossible knowledge not for the good of your fellows, or precious wisdom, but in the desire of power.” (Spirit 7:11)

Alchemy and Its charitable applications have always been a purview of the Lectorate, Danzen is the most talented doctor I have ever seen and were it not for his quick intervention when I suffered a chest injury I would not be here today; it was Danzen whom during a training session had a flash of inspiration amidst the vampiric outbreak for an alchemical cure to the ailment; I watched with curiosity as my fellow Lectors delved into the lab in a frenzy to formulate Saint Humbert’s Quintessence and drafted up a statement later in the saint’s week to begin a clinical trial of the supposed cure.

I was blessed to witness the first successful test of Saint Humbert’s Quintessence upon an orc from the Horde. I witnessed as among seizures upon the medical table his fangs shrunk into normal teeth and his vampiric claws gave way to short nails, all tests proved him a normal orc again. After a few more successful trials I sat with Dharas to make several copies and distributed them by hand.

It was the development of the cure that convinced me of the worth of alchemy, in truth. I came to recognize it as a technology of great benefit so long as it was wielded with the intent to do righteous acts and oppose iniquity where it reared its head; my fellow Lector’s desire to spread this knowledge and use it to perform medical care further convinced me that it was a worthy endeavor.
 

“And verily you must find satisfaction in service of your own realm, and the realm of all men.” (Spirit 7:15)

In the interest of brevity I share one final tale from the Lectorate’s days in Du Loc before the close of this first chapter - that being the invasion of a strange magician. It was an attack on Lord Brae’s tower in which a strange boar-man of tremendous stature baring salt white fur and strange tattoos that in retrospect were more than likely thanhic in nature. This strange wizard moved through walls and doors without care, not breaking them down but rather having made no indication that solid barriers held any bearing to it at all. 

My brothers and I broke through the myriad doors of Brae’s tower and down the lifts to his vault, trails of strange dust left in the wake of this beast as though it had aged the world around it, a theory I developed when as we approached the final door barring us from the beast we found ourselves slowed, the world moved at a snail's pace but try as we might to fight it we couldn’t break through this strange spell; our voices and bodies slowed but my mind knew that it was restrained. All in attendance shared in this experience and when our world sped up again the boar-man had absconded.

I know not what creature broke into Brae’s tower but if it has the means to read this, I should say I hold no anger for you strange swine wizard and would invite you to explain your theft, I believe there was some deeper meaning to your acquisition and invite you to share it and repent if necessary.

1824 - 1876

    Depiction of the demonic encounter in hell by Father Ioannes about thirty years before his death.

Father Ioannes went into a daze after the events that had transpired over the past few days. Over some transgressions and the lost of his childhood friend, his melancholy slept into him as he chose to stop getting out of bed. As he lay on his bed, he considered the life he lived. It was a peaceful one, for all intents and purposes, and one he enjoyed. He appreciated his friends, children, his brother, and most importantly, his wife. But he decided to give into relaxation after a long life of labor. As his vision began to fade, he ascended into the Seven Skies shortly after for eternal rest.

He left a will stating inheritance to Paco, Stor, and Julia. Each receiving their own items with the caption at the end of the will,

“As I ascend into paradise, let my memory be one who was a good priest.”

-Father Ioannes, servant of God.