The Believer's Plea [PK]

[Burnsider 4542]

The Believer's Plea

 

 

The stroke, as they all do really, came without warning, striking the monk known as Penance while he was clearing cobwebs off the relics in the ossuary beneath the Priory of Bl. Ser Daffyd. For fourteen hours, he lay there, on the cold stone of the floor, surrounded by the bones and relics of old, thinking little in his addled state beyond the fact that he would most likely be joining them all soon, before a postulant found him and carried him to his bed. Over the course of the next month, the prior's health improved only inasmuch as he was able to slowly speak and eat, though he touched little more than water and broth. His strength never returned and he never took a step again.

 

When the postulants brought in a priest to give the prior his last rites, Penance accepted them willingly, only calling afterwards for a scribe. Over the course of the next two days, the scribe patiently recorded these last words of the older man, letting the man rest when he needed to or, as more and more often became the case, when he just no longer had the strength to stay conscious. Finally, on the 8th of Sun's Smile, 1898, Penance, prior of the House of Nicolites and last vowed member of the Faith Militant, left his earthly body for the Skies. Over the course of the next day, his words were copied by multiple scribes and sent on by herald to Valfleur, Minitz, Karosgrad, and Atrus.

 

As my eyes see little more than darkness and I feel the grip of Aeriel begin to bear me hence to the beyond, I must state how I feel the Lord GOD, Creator of the Skies and the Earth, must view the state of the world of Men, for I fear He sees it to be as dark as my eyes currently are. I have seen over a half century of summers and in not one were the Sons of Horen in unity. This does not require unity under a single banner; merely peace between them, so that Man ceases to slay Man's blood upon the field of battle. If we are as sheep, then we must have shepherds. But what have the shepherds among us done as the sheep of their pasture lied dead and bloodied in the mud? Woe, shepherds of Horen who have been feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not feed the flock? You play games with your lands and your fences, while the flock within are killed and scattered. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have forced them into battle amongst themselves. They scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every animal of the field.

 

You, elders and shepherds among us, were called to exercise oversight over the flock of God, but you did so not voluntarily, according to the will of GOD, but under compulsion; and not with eagerness but with greed; nor yet as proving to be examples to the flock but by domineering over those assigned to your care. When Aeriel bears you hence, God will cast out the proud from His sight, but welcome with grace the humble.

 

Woe to the shepherds who are causing the sheep of the Creator's pasture to perish and are scattering them! You have driven them to perish and have not been concerned about them. Behold, for the Lord of Creation will call you to account for the evil of your deeds. Then God himself will gather the remnant of His flock out of all the countries where he has cast you out, and He will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. He will raise up new shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be slaughtered, nor will any be missing. 

 

Penance, known by many names in his lifetime, was born Gunter Barclay in the last days of Canonist Sutica to Obrecht and Lisa Barclay. He was raised by his cousin, Jurgen Barclay, and spent time in his younger days in both the Brotherhood of Saint Karl and the Sons of Saint Tylos before his survival after the destruction of Savoy sent him to pursue a life for God. He was a soldier in the Supreme Order of Exalted Owyn before it was disbanded and the faith militant remade into the Order of Saint Nicolas the Martyr, where he served as a soldier, then a knight, and finally as Grandmaster of the Order, taking the name David Invitus. With his failure to protect the people of Oren as it self-destructed, he took vows as a monk, living in the lands of Minitz and eventually Petra at the Priory of Bl. Ser Daffyd. Before joining the church, he fathered, through his wife, Matilda, three children.

 

Spoiler

Gunter was probably one of my longest played characters. However, in recent years, I have found it harder and harder to engage in his story. And so, I have decided to give his story an end. He wasn't the most beloved character in existence, but let's be fair, losing your father and adopted father to political coups and assassinations and then having your adopted grandmother tell you to 'sod off, I'm bored with your family now' really doesn't lend one to being the most stable and likeable of men. I struggled with this character, never really feeling like I belonged to Haense as a Savoyard Barclay, but not really able to play in Savoy as it was slowly dying of inactivity throughout his early years. I tried really hard to rebuild a faith militant for the Canonist Church, but I seem unable really to be able to be in a leadership and recruitment position given my IG/RL balance. I ultimately spent a lot of time and effort creating the Order of Saint Nicolas only for it to fall flat on its face. That's my fault entirely, but I do hope someone will pick it up and go somewhere with it. It's a cool concept and the church could do with knights of valor. This character will mark the end of my time playing an Antonite Barclay, which I have enjoyed doing for 5 generations of them. Hey, there's three Antonite kids of Gunter running around if anyone ever wants to play them. But, as for now, I retire my use of the THE ANTONITE CHIN, which as we all know, is my biggest influence on this server. Looking forward to my next LOTC adventure and, until then, remember this: the chin plays.

 

[Greener 659]

Osferth Darkwood prays for Prior Penance after his passing. As the last postulant taken in by Prior Penance, Osferth hopes he can continue his legacy and serve the Order of St. Nicolas well. He then goes to finish cleaning the cobwebs from the ossuary.

[Fionn__TWG 2616]

"Du tried ihr best, David. As did we all." Tylos III greeted his former Grandmaster as he joined the rest of them in the Seven Skies, calling him by the name he knew him as. "That's all we can each do to serve Him well."

[Capt_Chief26 1205]

Ser Reinhardt Barclay lamented the loss of his big chinned Antonite cousin, he hoped he found peace in the last years of his life as a monk. “Rest easy, Gunter, say hello to mein Bruder for mich @Fionn__TWG

[argonian 12836]

"I don't think there's a single Savoyard Barclay who didn't either die bloodily or in exile as a monk. In fact, that might just be Savoyards in general. Cursed country, huh?" Jurgen remarks as he welcomes his adopted son to the Skies.

[Ramon 3877]

"You did well all these years in servitude to our Lord," Tylos II remarked as he welcomed his old friend and colleague to the Seven Skies. "Worked harder than the most of us, that much I know for certain. Diligent as all Barclays before you have been."