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Between Scylla and Charybdis


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A letter on paper, often soiled and wrinkled from being kept long outside, is tacked to posts and gates in and around the cities of Providence and Karosgrad.

 

Lo now do I, the Voice in the Wilderness, do come upon you once again to lament the position of the High Pontiff and to give you counsel in this dark time. The voices from the people of Providence do sound louder and louder. They proclaim a holy war against Norland, proclaim they are defend the faith from heathens, and proclaim that they are leading a righteous cause against northern invaders intent on destroying the church as a whole. They raise their voices to the High Pontiff. 'Wherefore doth thee remain silent while the barbarians assault thy gates?'

 

But lo do I tell thee that you must only look at the conduct of this war so far to see why the Vicar of GOD acts the way he does.

 

Look now upon the conduct of the Northern clans who have declared war upon Oren. For when their Canonist ally did fear for the Church in this war, Norland did limit itself, signing an accord guaranteeing the safety of the Church and its clergy. In one stroke of the pen, the heathens swore that this was a battle between the temporal and not the spiritual. Yet, see now Sons of Horen what was missing in that accord, protections of their own. For the man of the North cared so much for the Church that they will refuse to attack it, and their trust so great in our Canonist righteousness that they did not feel the need to protect their own clergy. Sons of Horen, their trust in our righteousness was misplaced, for these past months have seen the capture of a member of the Red Faith clergy, who did kill himself in captivity rather than face the fate awaiting him in the dungeons of what should be a righteous people.

 

Look now upon the conduct of unrighteous Oren in this war. For what is righteous in the torture of prisoners, which was done upon those captured in the attack on Elysium? For what is righteous in the attack on those who have not achieved the age of majority and innocents hiding behind locked doors? It should be the hope of every baptized Son of Horen that the northern lords and their people turn from their faith and embrace the Canon. In the past, this was impossible for the priests of the Canon were barred from the northern lands upon forfeit of their purse. But the northerner has been changed by this war, for upon collection of evidence and witnesses against the murderers of Elysium, I did spy another priest openly moving in their lands unmolested. Also did I hear of the warm reception received by Father Basil in the northern lands. Lastly did I speak to the Duke of Elysium in his lands and in the presence of the King of Norland, telling him that I wished to convert all northerners to the Canon. Free passage was I subsequently given in the lands of the north. If the heathen is willing to listen to the words of GOD, but the men of Oren do close their ears, what can we say of the righteous?

 

Lastly, look now upon the conduct of Oren in procuring soldiers for their war, for they have made unrighteous bargains with the Metinan Company and Luciensburg. And why, Sons of Horen, do I say unrighteous? For the Metinan Company was driven from the borders of an Orenian ally, and yet Oren reaches out to them despite their known conduct. And what of the men of Luciensburg, who proclaim themselves righteous defenders of the faith? Their sin and their evil actions are known to you, brethren. For the men of Luciensburg did proclaim that they would slaughter the women and children in the north, and we know from their actions that this is so. For some of the men of Luciensburg are the Sedanites, who the Imperial State Army did find committed horrid sins by slaughtering their own women and children upon fleeing the lands of Oren. But the Imperial State Army turns now a blind eye to that slaughter, for they have been shown to wish to participate in it themselves.

 

Now do I turn my words to the Vicar of GOD. It has been almost a year since the call for ecclesiastical trial has reached you. You have remained silent in this war now, and it seems no wonder. For any word you speak is either for the benefit of heathens or for the benefit of baptized men who do the will of Iblees. But I do beg of you not to break this silence against states, but rather to let the process of Canon Law to take place. For as petitioner, it is my right to speak accusations against these men, not your burden. If you must remain silent, still let process be done and allow me to speak.

 

The time has come.

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Caedric nods in approval at the reasonable Clergy man. "One of great respect and dignity; it is shameful 'is kinsmen wish te' see 'is 'ead on a pike fer' 'is speakin' out against t'ose worldly cowards an' t'eir Kingdom."

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A number of letters were distributed to the places where the original missive had been posted, tacked up alongside them.

 

I speak unto you now, you caitiff reprobate, who doth cower behind the protection of thine faceless wailing. Who are you, ‘O Voice in the Wilderness, to reprimand those virtuous souls who struggle in defense of their people, and of our holy mother church. Let us not kid ourselves, for the pagan Nordlings would take nothing but glee in the demise of our faith. Perhaps, they might argue their lies of tolerance and well-meaning intent for the men and women of the Empire, but what is the truth? They would ravage our holy places, our tabernacles and our houses of refuge. They would unearth the bones of the saints and the blessed and the venerable all and defile our relics for the wroth of their fiery Idol whom they call Allfather. 

 

If we are to bow our heads. If we are to treat these men, who in their idolatry make of themselves worse than even the lowest beasts of the field, how then can we make a righteous defense? If we are to placate ourselves before the Nordlings, to treat them as we would our Canonist brothers in faith, then we shall be made a second Edel! To suffer beneath the conquest of heathen barbarians in our goodly and righteous conduct towards them, for as Harren slew his own brother, so too are the pagans made of that same devilish temperament. The Righteous are called to a singular course, our hand forced by the malice of the very same Nordlings who now beg mercy and revile the evil and wicked deeds brought down upon them by their own hatred and spite. Let us be true to our Lord GOD, we are called to uproot their devilish trees of fire and ash, we are called to snuff the flames from their hearths and we are called to consecrate their pagan shrines in the name of the prophets. Baptism or death, and let there be no mercy for the unrepentant, whom reject the Lord's mercy.

 

"In his grief, Owyn went into the greatest city of Edel, and reproofed the wicked for seven days, until every servant of Iblees lay dead at his feet, and he collapsed. The Lord saw the penance of Owyn, which was the death of the unrepentant." (Gospel 5:18-19)

 

In the Kind and Loving Mercies of God,

DARIUS

 

 

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"I am currently in the process of gathering witness testimony regarding the events in Elysium, sadly however I have not been able to locate any Orenian present willing to provide a statement nor can I locate anybody in Elysium who were witness." said Father Basil Moroul.

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Dear voice,

  How does one proclaim a temporal war against the seat of the Pontiff, and it's bulwark  - the Holy Orenian Empire. 

 

There is no war on Orenia that is not also a condemnation of the Church - in some way. The two are inseperable in so many ways. 

 

We would do better to have our spiritual leaders in the field with our Soldiers, guiding them to make just actions and keeping them in spiritual communion with Canonist teaching. Instead you demoralize them from afar and grant pardons for our Canonist brothers to watch an Army from the Red Faith march against Mother Church's shield. 

 

You wail anonymously and ask the Canonist Soldiers of the Empire to be gracious that the King of Haense and Nordland agreed only to allow the murder of the Temple Guard, to destroy the locks of the Temple doors, and allow the sacrifice of a few worshippers and in return - they shall let the Priests live.

 

They have cowed you, voice in the wilderness - and you have become but a whimper in the dark.  We need a voice, more thunderous than any, to rise as a bastion of faith to all Canonist. 

 

For what reason do our bishops carry a crosius? They are to be our Shepherds, yet you willingly allow the wolf to feast on the flock to satiate it's hunger before it feasts on you. 

 

Away! Voice! Return to the wilderness.  You wail and you gnash teeth, and your sermons are celebrated in the great Temples of the Red Faith. 

 

 

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