The Last Age of Man

[Narthok 9213]

 

The Last Age of Man

---

 

A one time friend now turned vassal of Oren sent me a copy of a popular Orenian letter today, perhaps he intended to irritate me. Perhaps he intended to display his complete and utter submission to his masters in Providence. Whatever his motivations I found the contents of the letter most amusing.

 

Let us speak of Horen and of Ruric, those two ancient houses that have spanned the centuries of human history. There is a rather trite idiom amongst human scholars that proceeds as follows “History is written by the victors”; anyone with a basic knowledge of human history will know how deeply false this idiom is. Despite the complete and crushing victory of the Renatians, the effete bureaucrats who comprised their enemies have largely erased their contributions to humanity and supplanted the old ways of humanity. The way of the hero, of the sword, has been supplanted by the way of the effete urbanite, the way of the pen. 

 

The now-deceased Emperor Joseph III wrote so fondly of my Grandfather upon his death bed, he recalled the Godric’s lament of the passing of an age. As both Godric and Joseph recognized, the age of heroes is extinguished, but in its place comes not the age of ‘men’ for the greatest virtue of humanity is its noble struggle against the ails of this life. The triumph over despair, the grand struggle against the squalor and suffering of this world. It is only through heroic struggle that we are truly human.

 

What has followed is an age of cattle. The tyranny of the lowest man wielding the iron chains of bureaucratic tedium. Where amongst the endless ranks of humanity are the men of note, men capable of truly grasping history by the throat, of bending history to their will. There are no such men. There are only pen wielders. Effeminate bureaucrats, repulsive urbanites robbed of all those nobles that constitute the truly noble, the truly aristocratic. 

 

If we are to live in an age of all equaling all, of ‘popular sovereignty’ why then have crowns, why then have nobles. Humanity has long reigned supreme on this principle, that the lower shall obey the higher, that the higher is innately superior, and by that innate superiority a gift from the divine, they are thereby obliged to rule their lessers in a benevolent fashion. To improve the lives of those born to serve. But this principle is long dead, it remnants the fast fading shadows of better men long dead. 

 

Before the outbreak of this utterly foolish war between the Caedricssons who claim the throne of my forefathers, and the Horens who claim the highest seat at the pig’s trough of mediocrity I often spoke to Olivier Renault of Luciensberg. He spoke with great passion about the age of heroes, about the necessity of nobility, of the pathetic tyranny of the Horen, depriving the nobility of their ancient privilege. Yet now I see him bent like so many before him, his knees bruised and scraped as he begs for any crumb of power that might come to him. An archetype for all the supposed ‘nobles’ of note in the Heartland realms. Perhaps he will prove himself a worry successor to the noble and proud Savoyard tradition. But I have yet to see it.

 

Thus beats the foul heart of the last men. Devoid of virtue, of heroism, of honour or glory they while away the hours squabbling over ‘tax’ policy over pathetic quibbles of law. The law is the will of the sovereign, ink laden paper cannot enforce its own will, judges are not authorities unto themselves, they are merely agents passing down the will of the monarch. Yet these fundamental principles of feudalism seem to have been all but abandoned for the tyranny of black chains wrought in so much ink.

 

 

---

 

But let us not speak merely of the slop troughs of Oren, let us speak also of Norland, that evermore decrepit state. There is an ancient principle in Norland, the principle that the Throne of the holy kingdom must always be held by a descendant of the first Prophet, a descendant of Thoromir. In this modern Norland, we see the reason for this principle. The divine mandate does not lie with the Red Throne. 

 

Those on the Nordish throne, the varied descendants of Caedric the ‘son of Godric’ are not Rurics. There are many legitimate Rurics, the marshal of Norland, Donovan Freysson is without a doubt of legitimate Ruric blood; but the descendants of Caedric, impostors. They are not descendants of Godric, how they came to claim that lineage I do not know. But the current kings lack the divine right to rule, hence the abysmal state of the war. It is difficult to conceive of a more bungled war than this one. The Northguard and the Rangers have performed rather well, the commanders of the armies doing what they can, but the fault of his war lies with the King. 

 

Sven. The very name reveals the Caedricssons as impostors. Any Edvardsson of legitimate lineage would be intimately familiar with the lengthy rivalry between the Eirikssons and the Edvardssons. Yet the Caedricssons reveal their ignorance, naming their firstborn after an Eiriksson paragon. This war is a disgrace to the Red Throne and to the Ruric lineage writ large. The justification for the war is entirely nonsensical, you do not propel kingdoms to war over minor offences, particularly not those that have not first been addressed via diplomacy. Then you do not alienate your coalition allies with perhaps the most poorly conducted foreign and diplomatic policy I have ever seen. Sven Caedricsson is clearly out of his depth in this matter, owing no doubt to his ignoble blood attempting to masquerade as ancient royalty. 

 

The war aside what then of Norland? Elysium, the largest of Norland’s vassals is protected by a tiny wooden palisade, this from a nation that is famed throughout history for her massive feats of war engineering. Forget a Morsgrad or a Krag when you cannot even build a wall. 

 

What of the divine obligation of all Rurics, namely the demand that Rurics defend the children of the faith and spread it. Elysium and almost every Nordish vassal lacks not only a Hearth Temple, but even a dedicated Hearth fire or a dedicated Keeper. Many an Elysian will respond with confusion when their are asked about the faith of their forefathers. The day before last I ventured into Varhelm escorted by a number of my personal retainers, upon entering the city I encountered a woman, a mother of five children. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that not only did she have no knowledge of the Varhelm Hearth Temple, but had also inducted none of her children into the faith. I can think of no greater failure from the supposed King and High Keeper of Norland the Red Faith respectively.

 

I Theoderic Edvardsson Ruric, by way of Hadar Edvardsson Ruric, by way of Godric Edvardsson Ruric, Duke of Morsgrad descended himself Arthas do declare the following.

 

All descendants of the Caedric of Norland are illegitimately claiming Ruric. They should be properly referred to as Caedricsson

 

I name Sven Caedricsson of Varhelm an incompetent who has failed in their duties

 

I name High Keeper Alisa Camian an incompetent who has failed in their duties

 

 

---

 

Finally, let us address the narrative forwarded by d’Azor in regards to Thomas Ruric. 

 

The Rurics on Avar had, prior to speaking to the emperor spent several years being raided by vassals of the Empire, particularly the Haensmen and defending the Empire from Dreadlandic raids. Sven and Thomas went to the Emperor to request additional land to house their vassals. The Emperor demanded that the Rurics dismissed their gathered bannermen and for Thomas to speak to him without any guards. The Rurics obeyed, dismissing their force, Thomas Ruric entered the Emperor’s palace alone with no guards. 

 

The Emperor demanded that Thomas kneel and beg for forgiveness for his crimes. Thomas refused, believing he had committed no crimes and provided loyal service in defence of the Empire. The Emperor had Thomas tortured, having his legs smashed with hammers before throwing him in the dungeons to be interrogated by his Chancellor. A number of Dreadlanders, having warned Thomas beforehand of the deceitful nature of Imperials burst into the Imperial palace, killing or routing all of the Imperial courts and forcing the Emperor to cower in the woods before rescuing Thomas. 

 

Outraged at this attack against his son Sven renounced the Empire, Sven then aligned himself with the Dreadlanders who had rescued his son despite Thomas ignoring their warnings and maintaining loyalty to the Empire. 

 

The first major Norland-Oren war began with Dreadlandic forces repeatedly chasing the Emperor from his feasts and palaces and slaying all of his guards and nobles. Thomas then ventured to Duke of Courland, warning him that the Empire would turn on Courland the same way the Empire had turned on the Rurics. The Duke agreed to a secret alliance and prepared his men to fight with the Rurics against the Imperial army. The Imperials mysteriously learned of this alliance and promised the Duke a Horen wife to betray the Ruric alliance.

 

Lacking crucially needed allies the Rurics were defeated at the battle of the whale, where the Ruric and Horen forces clashed on the back of a giant rotting whale before the Rurics were routed and their ship was consumed by the various Kraken who had come to feast on the carcass. Their forces shattered Seahelm was taken, with the surviving Ruric forces fighting a desperate rearguard action to allow as many women and children to escape onto ships as possible. Very few survived the blockade. The remaining Rurics took refuge in the Dreadlands and the war ended.

 

The Haense and Imperial forces immediately invaded and destroyed Courland.

 

The Seahelm war was not a question of Ruric aggression, it was not ‘slavering barbarians seeking blood’ it was a desperate people who had just finished a brutal grinding war against the dwarves, before suffering almost a decade of ceaseless raids by bandits and their supposed ‘allies’. No doubt the pen wielders of the Empire will harumph in indignation, Rurics are bad and evil they will cry as they grind all that is virtuous and good in man into dust under the dark demonic mills of their bureaucratic machine.

 

The Imperials are free to smirk to themselves in their wigs, their makeup, their urban degeneracy, their ever-increasing secularism but despite their excuses, it cannot be denied that Norland has a proud history amongst the human states. Whether it is the Nordish people’s crucial involvement in the siege of Helena, holding up the dying light of heroism even for one day more. Or their dominance in the Rubern war, where the forces of the Empire were smashed thrice in one day upon the steps of Rubern before the Emperor was sent home with a splitting headache.

 

We may live in the last age of men. All instincts of heroism and glory may have been drained from our once proud race. But let us not impugn the past for such a ridiculous and meaningless war.

 

---

In The Father’s Name

Theoderic

[rukio 8911]

2 minutes ago, Lionbileti said:

Reserved 

Spoiler

Dunk ur head underwater for this betrayal

 

[Narthok 9213]

7 minutes ago, Lionbileti said:

 Olivier Renault would examine Theoderic’s missive. “Ah Theoderic, if only you could see this world through my eyes. In time you’ll know..” Muttered the Savoyard, before redirecting his gaze outside his window. He would quietly watch as Adeline sat with his four children by the fountain. 

They were who he fought for.  

Theoderic would shake his head "Only four kids, are you infertile?"

[JoanOfArc 4586]

Keeper Volaren remarked in a furious passion as she spoke to Theoderic, "The Empire of Oren is nothing more than soft men willingly plunging their empire into darkness in an effort to appease a feminine 'god'. Their men now even wear wigs to mimic the hair of a woman so they look closer to that crossed god. Foul, I say, Theoderic. The All-Father will not stand for their ruinous behavior in allowing the power of the Darkness to creep into the plane of existence. If only these, Caedricsson pretenders were not in power and your grandfather lived to that age of an elf. Perhaps then we would never have to suffer the severe extent of these false Rurics and may at last have the kingdom your forefather sought from the beginning. And purge the darkness from those Imperial rodents."

[Crevel 4727]

Spoiler

 

 

Arthas II Edvardsson-Ruric would read over the lengthy missive. He nods at the first section until the mention of Caedricsson, which he would then begin to read on with frustration at the ignorance and lies sputtered by Theoderic. In Arthas' anger and confusion, he would throw a ceramic plate against the wall. Waking up his now three-year old son who got up to see what was going on, he would calm down as he dismissively waved Einar to bed. "To think that I had respect for this man for his teachings on the Faith.." he would state simply before sweeping up the shattered fragments from the floor.

 

Arthas would enter his office, reclining back into his chair as he exhales a long breath with his eyes set on the documents on his desk. Hesitantly, he would bring out some Camian Spiced Mead, taking a swig before placing it firmly on the table. "Not only have they taken Imperial propaganda, believing that no diplomacy was attempted before this war... we're accused of isolating our allies..." he would take another swig, the spice of the mead tingling his tongue, "That is why we contact them frequently, outside of Iron Accord meetings and inside, even helping them with matters regarding their nation or faith.. but yes, we alienate them. There is absolutely no fault on our part in this war. So far, we have been victorious. But whatever you say..." he pauses for a moment with an idea, "Theoderic... Hadar..." he pauses for a little longer.

 

Arthas, curious, pulls out a copy of the 1794 Rurikid Registry. After scanning it for moment, he would come to a conclusion. "It seems that Theoderic, claiming to be descending from Godric, is the real impostor. There is no mention of a Hadar in the Rurikid Registry, yet we are the impostors? Come to think of it, I don't recall anyone by their name on our boat to Nyrheim. We, on the other hand, grew up in the palaces of both Morsgrad and Varhelm. Our blood as Edvardssons are legitimate or else we would have been displaced decades ago. It seems that this individual is purposefully trying to spread lies, or they were very heavily misinformed and lied to as a child." Despite being sure that Theoderic was a fake Ruric, there was one answer to a question that seemed to be escape him, "How does Theoderic know so much about our past whilst not having access to the Kingdom's documents?"

 

Letting the question sit for a moment with mead resting in his stomach, he would then address a different topic as he talks to himself, "The only truth I see in this regarding us is that Elysium has not yet been fully taught about the All-Father. However, I would not put this down to incompetence. Moreso it is that other duties have gotten in the way of this. Our Purifiers, whose members come from both Varhelm and Elysium, are a prime example of how the Faith is known heavily among the realm, just not as much as we'd like." He finishes his self-rant with a final swig of the mead, electing to go to sleep before more plates are smashed.

 

 

2 hours ago, Narthok said:

impostors

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Orlanth 3553]

Donovan Freysson II pinches his forehead and sighs in disbelief, with not much other to say than. "Well, ****."

[Narthok 9213]

2 hours ago, Crevel said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

"It is very strange how a man raised by Godric, the preeminent Ruric of his age would have knowledge of the Rurikid and of Nordish history." The religious scholar would quip "You may deny it all you wish, and fabricate whatever you wish to fabricate, but the facts are clear. As for the state of the realm, one merely needs to take a brief stroll through Elysium, where homosexuals, mages and half breeds can be seen frollicking about with no knowledge of the faith." The priest would rub his eyes with fatigue, the state of his once proud nation drawing him ever closer to despair.

 

"The divine right is absent from the nation, hence its current degeneracy, its current weak leadership, its current ails. It is absent because no son of Thoromir sits upon the Red Throne. With the exception of Elysium every vassal is entirely vacant, most having no Hearth Keepers of their own, the most foundational element of our culture. In Elysium secularism is rampant. Varhelm lies empty and its temples are flung far from the centers of the city. I can only imagine the frustration of your marshals and military leaders when forced to account for such incompetent administration. But again the answer is clear, the ignoble and the lowborn are masquerading as the noble and the highborn. You claim descent from Godric's wife but he had no issue by her prior to her death."

 

With this declaration given unto the telepathic void through which the men squabbled Theoderic would return to his papers. "How can any success be expected when the divine has not been given its due. The temples are not built, the sacrifices not given, the prayers not performed. Yet they wonder why straits have become so dire" In rage he would hurl the contents of his paper laden desk onto the floor, the ink well and candles fouling much of the documents he had written. He'd then proceed from his chambers, summoning his various acolytes and retainers to prayer. If they would not pray, then someone must.

[Minuvas 2900]

[!] The High Elf reads the missive, sips his tea from his tiny corner office space, another stack of documents slapped against his table as he pens the day's work away. 

 

"Oh look, they're fighting amongst themselves now" he says as reaches half-way through, running out of time to skim it any further as he takes his Ministries Stamp and begins placing the seal on a host of thousands of mundane and ordinary documents. 

 

He lets out a long exasperated breath, "Ah... efficiency, this is clearly the pinnacle of society" stamping a few hundred more documents. 

[Sham404 464]

"What the **** does Nordish mean?" Edric wonders aloud, knowing only Orenians call Norlanders by the slur Nords. "Better yet, why does this person keep talking about divine right? We of the North have no such concept...it can only be he is some kind of actor from Oren, entirely confused over where he has ended up." As he walks through Elysium, he pokes his head in to the tavern to check on it's inhabitants. "Our Kings rule by right of virtue. They are held responsible by myself and the other clan leaders, by the High Keeper, and by the Rurics that elect them - not by the All Father." He rants to a Ranger sat near the door, who looks at him confused. Then Edric continues toward the unbreached palisade of Elysium.

 

He shakes his head, and rereads the notice. "Wasn't he supposed to be a scholar? Surely he understands that as adherents of the Red Faith, it is our duty to destroy those that aid the Long Dark - the actions of Oren speak for themselves on that matter. No enemy of the Dark would send soldiers to slaughter women and children."

 

"And to top it all off, the lunatic fabricates his own lineage and claims the King's is false! Yet we have records to prove his claims as daydreams." Edric, angry now, turns to the Northguard men on the walls of Elysium with him. "Hopefully the King issues a warrant for this fool's arrest soon."

[Narthok 9213]

3 minutes ago, Sham404 said:

"What the **** does Nordish mean?" Edric wonders aloud, knowing only Orenians call Norlanders by the slur Nords. "Better yet, why does this person keep talking about divine right? We of the North have no such concept...it can only be he is some kind of actor from Oren, entirely confused over where he has ended up." As he walks through Elysium, he pokes his head in to the tavern to check on it's inhabitants. "Our Kings rule by right of virtue. They are held responsible by myself and the other clan leaders, by the High Keeper, and by the Rurics that elect them - not by the All Father." He rants to a Ranger sat near the door, who looks at him confused. Then Edric continues toward the unbreached palisade of Elysium.

 

He shakes his head, and rereads the notice. "Wasn't he supposed to be a scholar? Surely he understands that as adherents of the Red Faith, it is our duty to destroy those that aid the Long Dark - the actions of Oren speak for themselves on that matter. No enemy of the Dark would send soldiers to slaughter women and children."

 

"And to top it all off, the lunatic fabricates his own lineage and claims the King's is false! Yet we have records to prove his claims as daydreams." Edric, angry now, turns to the Northguard men on the walls of Elysium with him. "Hopefully the King issues a warrant for this fool's arrest soon."

Holy **** you are so new it hurts.

 

The entire reason the Kingdom of Norland exists is for the descendants of the first Prophet of the Red Faith Thoromir to spread the faith and protect the faithful. The descendants of the first prophet by the male line are 'Rurics', that is why every King of Norland in history has been a Ruric. Yes the Kings of Norland are obliged to rule virtuously, 'right of virtue' is a nonsense term, it doesn't mean anything. For the entire history of Norland the succession has been rooted in the understanding of the Ruric's divine right to rule the faithful handed to them by the All-Father when he bestowed the holy scripture on Thoromir. That's the entire point of the nation. It begins, it ends with the faith.

 

The nobility may have a hand in choosing the most desirable of the Rurics at the Ruricsmoot, but it is only Rurics that may rule. That is the ancient custom of the Nordish. It is an ancient custom BECAUSE OF not DESPITE the divine right. The royal lineage of Ruric and the Throne of Norland are inseperable, you cannot have a Norland without Faith, you cannot have a Faith without Norland. The two are the same. Wherever the body of the faith dwells, that is Norland. 

 

Attempts have been made before to declare Norland a 'secular' state or a 'state without a religion' or even an 'atheist state'. Those familiar with Norlandic history will recall the age of apostasy lasting from 1557 to 1613 wherein Eirikssons (Rurics descended from Thoromir by way of Eiriksson, you see the pattern, the consistent descent from Thoromir?) by the name of Javier and after  his death Jevan attempted to remove the Red Faith from Norland. This attempt was widely rejected by the citizenry and they were ultimately removed by Jory Eiriksson who restored the Faith to its rightful position. It is also worth noting that this is where the tradition of 'ashing' originates, wherein a Ruric who is found by Hearth Council to  have failed in their holy duties is stripped of their 'Ruricness' and rendered into an apostate. Your absolute ignorance of the history and the laws of the nation is embarrassing for anyone who calls themselves a Norlander. You are an idiot.

 

Let us address your next idiot point. In regards to 'destroying those that aid the long dark', again. You are an idiot. You are such a dumb retard it boggles understanding. Please read literally anything before you open your mouth.

 

CONCERNING POPULAR HERESIES - BY ARTHAS RURIC, PUBLISHED OVER 200 YEARS AGO

 

This is the foundational document outlining what constitutes heresy in the Red Faith. It is accepted by both Tyrian and Arthurian religious scholars. Now, I am painfully aware of the fact that you are in fact too dumb to read scholarly documents, so I will take the pains to explain to you what in this 200 year old Norlandic religious document denies your argument. 'Convertian Heresy' is the belief that violence or physical force must be used to compel those not of the faith to convert. That is what you are advocating for here. You break fundamentally with the teachings of the Red Faith in this position. Even High Keeper Astrias in her attempted refutation of my theological summary conceded that violence is anathema to the Faith in matters of conversion.

 

What then of this war in which the Caedricssons have engaged the Nordish people? It has been established, ad nauseum, to the point of sickness. That this is a purely secular war that does not involve the faiths of either side. The particularly minutiae over why the war started does not interest me, if I recall correctly it is over some perceived insults and weregild, I really do not care either way. The fact of the matter remains the your own Caedricsson leader has signed multiple documents ensuring neutrality to priests of the canon. If those who in your view spread 'the long dark' are guaranteed by your own lord.

 

Furthermore, it is essential that we note the condemnation that issued from various lords and members of the canonist church regarding the Elysian massacre. Yes it was reprehensible. Yes behaviours of that kind should be widely condemned. But again it must be noted that was the result of a foolish war triggered by the Caedricssons. I have no doubt that those who murdered women and children are suffering in the Abyss even now. But ultimately it is a divine responsibility of all Rurics (none of whom currently sit on the throne of Norland) to protect the faithful and spread the faith. To that end the ails suffered by his subjects are his responsibility.

 

You are free to deny my lineage all you want, I do not particularly care. You are a peasant. But for the sake of argument let us briefly entertain your ranting. The Caedricssons claim descent from Godric with his wife Eleanor as their mother. Yet Godric never had any children by way of Eleanor. How then can the Caedricssons claim descent from Godric? As for me I was raised by Godric in his exile. Hence I bear his flamebrand and  the boots he wore at the battle of Rubern.

 

Finally, if you wish to quibble over the term 'Nordish' I welcome you to go and review the writings of individuals such as Godric, Thoromir II or Arthas. It is a long established term.

---

Never Touch a Pen Again, Yours in Faith

Theoderic

[LithiumSedai 4845]

"He thinks there's a Horen on the throne!" A Waldenian elder snorted, utterly ignoring the majority of the missive pertaining to Norland, though he pledged to himself to read it in full sometime - for the author had been so kind to deliver it in large print.

 

A prayer to the most Omnipotent and Merciful God soon left his lips, directed in favor of the Heroes of Renatus.

 

 

[rukio 8911]

1 hour ago, LithiumSedai said:

"He thinks there's a Horen on the throne!" A Waldenian elder snorted, utterly ignoring the majority of the missive pertaining to Norland, though he pledged to himself to read it in full sometime - for the author had been so kind to deliver it in large print.

 

A prayer to the most Omnipotent and Merciful God soon left his lips, directed in favor of the Heroes of Renatus.

 

 

"Well, yes, actually, a Horen does sit on the throne. The woman Godric married, who had multiple affairs and gave birth to bastards, was a Horen. She was pushed out a window and killed when caught." Would pen Ratcliffe in response, sending it to the elderly man. 

[LithiumSedai 4845]

19 minutes ago, rukio said:

"Well, yes, actually, a Horen does sit on the throne. The woman Godric married, who had multiple affairs and gave birth to bastards, was a Horen. She was pushed out a window and killed when caught." Would pen Ratcliffe in response, sending it to the elderly man. 

For a man of famously impaired sight, Corwin's handwriting were excruciatingly neat and small. He wrote a quick note in reply to his newest pen pal, once more thanking the Lord that the letter he'd received wasn't from the degenerate South for once!

 

"I remember Eleanor! Do you remember the children of Kaiser Antonius? I do."

 

[Sham404 464]

3 hours ago, Narthok said:

Holy **** you are so new it hurts.

 

The entire reason the Kingdom of Norland exists is for the descendants of the first Prophet of the Red Faith Thoromir to spread the faith and protect the faithful. The descendants of the first prophet by the male line are 'Rurics', that is why every King of Norland in history has been a Ruric. Yes the Kings of Norland are obliged to rule virtuously, 'right of virtue' is a nonsense term, it doesn't mean anything. For the entire history of Norland the succession has been rooted in the understanding of the Ruric's divine right to rule the faithful handed to them by the All-Father when he bestowed the holy scripture on Thoromir. That's the entire point of the nation. It begins, it ends with the faith.

 

The nobility may have a hand in choosing the most desirable of the Rurics at the Ruricsmoot, but it is only Rurics that may rule. That is the ancient custom of the Nordish. It is an ancient custom BECAUSE OF not DESPITE the divine right. The royal lineage of Ruric and the Throne of Norland are inseperable, you cannot have a Norland without Faith, you cannot have a Faith without Norland. The two are the same. Wherever the body of the faith dwells, that is Norland. 

 

Attempts have been made before to declare Norland a 'secular' state or a 'state without a religion' or even an 'atheist state'. Those familiar with Norlandic history will recall the age of apostasy lasting from 1557 to 1613 wherein Eirikssons (Rurics descended from Thoromir by way of Eiriksson, you see the pattern, the consistent descent from Thoromir?) by the name of Javier and after  his death Jevan attempted to remove the Red Faith from Norland. This attempt was widely rejected by the citizenry and they were ultimately removed by Jory Eiriksson who restored the Faith to its rightful position. It is also worth noting that this is where the tradition of 'ashing' originates, wherein a Ruric who is found by Hearth Council to  have failed in their holy duties is stripped of their 'Ruricness' and rendered into an apostate. Your absolute ignorance of the history and the laws of the nation is embarrassing for anyone who calls themselves a Norlander. You are an idiot.

 

Let us address your next idiot point. In regards to 'destroying those that aid the long dark', again. You are an idiot. You are such a dumb retard it boggles understanding. Please read literally anything before you open your mouth.

 

CONCERNING POPULAR HERESIES - BY ARTHAS RURIC, PUBLISHED OVER 200 YEARS AGO

 

This is the foundational document outlining what constitutes heresy in the Red Faith. It is accepted by both Tyrian and Arthurian religious scholars. Now, I am painfully aware of the fact that you are in fact too dumb to read scholarly documents, so I will take the pains to explain to you what in this 200 year old Norlandic religious document denies your argument. 'Convertian Heresy' is the belief that violence or physical force must be used to compel those not of the faith to convert. That is what you are advocating for here. You break fundamentally with the teachings of the Red Faith in this position. Even High Keeper Astrias in her attempted refutation of my theological summary conceded that violence is anathema to the Faith in matters of conversion.

 

What then of this war in which the Caedricssons have engaged the Nordish people? It has been established, ad nauseum, to the point of sickness. That this is a purely secular war that does not involve the faiths of either side. The particularly minutiae over why the war started does not interest me, if I recall correctly it is over some perceived insults and weregild, I really do not care either way. The fact of the matter remains the your own Caedricsson leader has signed multiple documents ensuring neutrality to priests of the canon. If those who in your view spread 'the long dark' are guaranteed by your own lord.

 

Furthermore, it is essential that we note the condemnation that issued from various lords and members of the canonist church regarding the Elysian massacre. Yes it was reprehensible. Yes behaviours of that kind should be widely condemned. But again it must be noted that was the result of a foolish war triggered by the Caedricssons. I have no doubt that those who murdered women and children are suffering in the Abyss even now. But ultimately it is a divine responsibility of all Rurics (none of whom currently sit on the throne of Norland) to protect the faithful and spread the faith. To that end the ails suffered by his subjects are his responsibility.

 

You are free to deny my lineage all you want, I do not particularly care. You are a peasant. But for the sake of argument let us briefly entertain your ranting. The Caedricssons claim descent from Godric with his wife Eleanor as their mother. Yet Godric never had any children by way of Eleanor. How then can the Caedricssons claim descent from Godric? As for me I was raised by Godric in his exile. Hence I bear his flamebrand and  the boots he wore at the battle of Rubern.

 

Finally, if you wish to quibble over the term 'Nordish' I welcome you to go and review the writings of individuals such as Godric, Thoromir II or Arthas. It is a long established term.

---

Never Touch a Pen Again, Yours in Faith

Theoderic

 

Edric jumps in surprise as he hears the disembodied voice, cringing as he hears it spout insults and nonsense. "Shut up ghost." He growls, reaching for his aurum knife and looking about for the source.

 

Finding nothing, he decides to correct the misunderstandings of the voice regardless.

 

"Divine right means that a King is ordained by a god to have a 'god given' right to the throne. It means that the King does not answer to any mortal authority, including their people or family, and is ultimately beyond reproach. Obviously, because the Kings of Norland are elected by their family - yes, the Rurics - and rule because they were chosen by vote based on character, not because of divinity, they do not match the definition of Divine Right. Of course, thats an aside to the fact that the King does in fact answer to the rest of his clan - who can call for abdication, for example - he also answers to his people and to the chieftains of the Norlandic Clans, and the High Keeper - as you say yourself." He clears his throat, looks about again to see if the magical voice has taken form yet.

 

"Right of virtue is a term that means they rule because they are virtuous. The King is chosen by the moot based on their virtues - if they match the virtues demanded by the All Father, then they are voted for. Im sorry you dont understand what words mean, voice."

 

When a courier runs up and hands him a packet of documents, Edric raises an eyebrow in surprise. How did they know what he had said, to send him a letter such as this? He opens and reads, and then continues speaking to the disembodied voice.

 

"Of course, the war was not started to convert Oren, and is not continued to convert them either - though I am glad you prove that honour is meaningless to you, by saying our war is meaningless. As you say, the three tenets are inherent to our Kingdom, so while the war was not started for religious reasons, the actions of Oren during the war prove that the war must be continued and must be won, in order to prevent them from further aiding the Long Dark. I actually didn't suggest anywhere that we force the Imps to convert, only that it is our duty to deal with those that aid the Long Dark by butchering innocents - nothing to do with the Church. But that aside, can you explain what 'Convertian' means? Oh, you mean conversion. So much for you being a scholar, I guess."

 

He shrugs, and discards the documents onto a lit brazier.

 

"I find it amusing that a pretender accuses me of being a peasant. I am, in fact, a soldier and the chieftain of a clan. My dear scholar, do you even know what the word peasant means? Your claims that the King is not a Ruric are meaningless, for we have records to prove otherwise."

 

Edric chuckles, watching the paper burn.

 

"And to top it all of, you use made up words like 'pen'. I never have touched, or will touch, whatever a 'pen' is. If you mean a writing instrument, I can only assume you meant to say quill - in any case, my thoughts and statements are just that, thoughts and statements. Not currently written down, so I yet remain ignorant of how you came to know of them, being absent as you are."

Edric shakes his head, and turns away from the disembodied voice, casting his eyes out to the countryside to watch for Orenians.

 

After a moment, he turns back to the voice, mockingly proclaiming;

 

"Oh yes. Signed, Edric Vildr. Uh, don't touch a quill ever again."

[ReveredOwl 5352]

5 hours ago, Sham404 said:

No enemy of the Dark would send soldiers to slaughter women and children."

"Except they did, your mercenaries barged into oren and shot crossbows at children." remarked Father Basil Moroul.