All Good Things

[xboxersz 222]

 

All Good Things...

 

 

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“Whmmmmp!”

 

It was to this sound that High Pontiff Emeritus Pontian II awoke in the depths of night, from within his vacation villa hidden amongst the Rezan countryside. Comfortable in solitude, the aging clergyman had dismissed his personal retinue upon his retirement from the Immaculate Throne, only requesting their company during travel or major ceremonies. This, unfortunately, meant that the disembodied sound alarmed none but Pontian himself, and as such, he was to investigate the matter personally. Slipping from his bedspread, Pontian gripped fiercely at his cane, before embarking on a difficult journey down the staircase towards his front door.

 

But alas, the nature of his twilight disturbance would forever remain unknown to him, as upon Pontian’s descent to the second step, his well-worn, poplar walking stick, stricken with a large crack down the length of its body, finally snapped in twain, casting his body down the remainder of the flight of stairs. When a sole attendant finally arrived to receive the High Pontiff Emeritus’ outgoing mail, he was appalled to find the poor wretch motionless, crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, still in his silken nightgown. For Pontian’s fellow members of the Pontifical Curia, such tragic news was processed swiftly, and his remains were embalmed and interred within the crypts of the Blessed Basilica of Saint Rudolph.

 

 

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*Amongst the towns and cities of humanity, small pieces of parchment are distributed to the public, with more officially notarized copies sent to the courts of major nobility.*

 

“It is with solemn countenance that the Holy Canonist Church announces the death of High Pontiff Emeritus Pontian II due to an unforeseen accident, and implores all Faithful to join us in prayer for his immortal soul.

 

Born Theodoric Andries Bracchus, High Pontiff Emeritus Pontian II was raised in Markev by his family, the cadet House Bracchus de Ruyter. After a brief period of managing his family estates, he received the sacred sacrament of ordination in 1683, before a variety of diocesan assignments in Adria, Haense, Curonia, and the Crownlands of the Empire of Man. During his considerable tenure as a clergyman, he was an active participant in the Arberrang investigation and the Schism of 1693, and even served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal for Emperor Augustus I Horen succeeding a post as Imperial Election Commissioner.

 

The reign of High Pontiff Pontian II, brought about by the untimely assassination of Bl. High Pontiff Daniel V, was marked by concord amongst GOD’s people, and a return to the simple, traditional values of times past. Such peace was assisted by his strong personal relationships with the realm’s secular leaders, such as King Wilhelm Devereux of Curon, Imperial Archchancellor Edward Morris, Duke Paul Varoche of Adria, and Emperor Antonius I Horen, who he coronated in 1707. For laymen during the Pontianic Era, the clergy was known to be a bastion of virtue and humility, with little unnecessary interference in the lives of its Faithful. However, as his private and studious nature would abet, Pontian quickly grew weary of the duties of the Immaculate Throne, leading to his resignation in 1714.

 

In his personal life, Pontian was an unwavering patron of local artisans and artists, even commissioning a portrait from Empress Helen Elizabeth Horen herself. He was known as one of the most prominent scholars of humanity, studying at the Academy of Holm and holding academic positions in theology at the Academic Union and Imperial Theodosian Academy. Many of his secular views were inspired by his heartlander brethren, including the redeemed Ser Septimus Bracchus, prominent statesman Bl. Prince-Bishop Claudius Bracchus, and the controversial parliamentarian and tradesman Fabius Bracchus. During his final years, Pontian’s singular lament was the desire for more familial interactions.

 

Within the Holy Canonist Church’s ecclesiastical records, High Pontiff Pontian II shall henceforth be granted the epithet ‘the Silent’, for his patient and unassuming mannerisms, and aversion to the fanfare of public ceremony. It is our hope that his diligence, willpower, and stoicism inspires such venerable traits in the contemporary Faithful.”

 

 

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REQUIESCAT IN PACE.

☩

Theodoric Andries Bracchus de Ruyter, 1656 - 1724

Pontifex Maximus Pontianus Secundus, MDCCII - MDCCXIV

High Pontiff Emeritus Pontian II (r. 1702 - 1714)

 

 

EX UMBRA IN SOLEM

[Cousin_Otis 97]

Cousin Otis prays for Pontian in hopes he has a safe ascension into the seven skies, avoiding any dwarven hot air balloons...

[Vindicant 642]

“The only good man of the cloth.” remarks an old man.

[PosidonX7 269]

 

[Icarnus 1669]

Blessed Ser Laurens embraces Theoderic in the skies, “Your Holiness, Brother.”

[TheHeftyDonut 706]

Father Armand would smile “I will miss him even though I did not know him that well”  he says signing the Lorraine Cross over his chest