RESPONSE ONTO LOTHAIR

[MadOne 4945]

 

I write to you, Your Holiness, in inquiry, for I am perplexed by the circumstances in which I find myself. Our recent public correspondences, though seemingly animous, were verily read with surprise; such is the necessary state, when men of the same HOLY spirit are of different minds. Not in any of my years, was there a day in which I imagined such would be the case, since my intention always is to honor GOD through my talents.

 

It seems as if a central aspect of our difference in thought, is founded upon the specific matters of the East's current state of affairs. If the substance of my works were not accurately conveyed by their form, I render my apologies. The intention of those words recently spoken is this; that diplomacy be used as a tool to achieve the greater purpose of GOD.

 

Due both to recency, and the relative human unfamiliarity with the Brabantine civilization, the following information was not widely acknowledged; nevertheless I must make it known to you for the sake of our mutual understanding founded on the love of human prosperity. In my diplomatic interactions with the surrounding polities, I have indeed seen  efforts undertaken to adopt canonist churches (and their teachings) into cooperation with the states. For sake of time I must summarize, but chief of these are the Lurinite state; which has to this day been awaiting the construction of a church within their borders. This being known, I relay that this durth of holy sites resides with the absence of communication between the holy architects and the aforementioned Lurin, not of intentional delay on the part of the latter. More relevant to our case, Your Holiness, Vikela had not only accepted our diplomatic agreement constructing a church and multiple shrines, but done so without opposition.  There seems to be a popular conception that no canonists what-so-ever reside in these states, but the realities of their populations show this to be outdated information.

 

For the sake of faith and canonist prosperity everywhere, let us put the political aspects of the recent orcish aggression aside; Is it not preferable to convert a state through dilligent and proximate prosthelyzation; even more so if we are able to do it without force? We must do what we can to increase the love of God in states which do not adopt canonism on a state level, for this is precicely how we transcend them from one to the other. Previous leaderships in previous lands may have met failure, but consider how many times we men ourselves fall into sin by our fallen nature, and how the Grace of GOD saves all who are willing.

 

Given the restrictions of our time regarding travel and communication, there must be information which you have that I dont, and vice versa. Therefore if the best potential of God's people from coast to coast is to be seen, let us be clear with one another, in the spirit of honesty. Assist me, Holy father, if I have not rightly matched the premises to the conclusions. If it is preferable for you, that we correspond by face and heart, The Kingdom of Balian has given their support to host a summit of neutrality, intent on peace for the region in which we must share with the descendants of GOD's creation.

 

Signed, 

Lothair of Brabant, Arch-Delegate

 

 

To the Esteemed Brother Lothair,

 

I bid you the grace and peace of our Lord, and may His blessings be upon your kin and kith in abundance.

 

Lo, and Seven Blessings onto you, for you have entreated me with your words, and sought the ear of your servant, and thus I reply in earnest, for you are a seeker of clarity and unity. I am thus compelled to elucidate the wisdom of the Church Fathers in my retort. Verily, for such is our duty, it is thus with earnest intent to meet and address your inquiries that I have hastily penned this letter, for it is important to us for our flock to hear the wisdom of the Elders of Horen's tribe, and with it to discern the will of the Almighty. And so I shall embody the Prophet-Father, in solemnity befitting our Holy office and our Laurel and bestow upon you the blessings of the Skies.

 

Now hearken, for it is not uncommon for there to be a discord between the reports from the field in Brabant, wherein you must deal with the Lurinite and the Vikelan upon your borders, and the prevailing outlook on such lands by men of the cloth, who lack such proximity. Such dissonance arises often when men see through different lenses, shaped by different, and perhaps conflicting expressions of knowledge. Yet, I assure you that the Mother Church be not swayed by appearances of falsity, nor the partial truths that may cloud men's vision, for our vocation demands of us, the priesthood to seek the fullness of understanding of the will of the Almighty, and we are named as instructors onto our brethren.

 

Onto your remarks, I must retort; There is no faith to be won at the tip of a sword, for true conversion springs not from fear but instead from a genuine yearning for the divine. Perhaps, this may be one of the views of which you and I must be in earnest agreement of, though we of the Church believe this in a manner different of your personal revelations; For we have seen that the willingness of these dwellers of the East to entertain our presence is not born of an earnest desire for the truth of Canonism, but rather from a fear of the growing might and influence of our Holy Church. It is no secret that these rogues of the land cower before the strength of any sword, and it is for this that the Pagan seeks to placate us. You naively make of the constructions of chapels within those distant lands a token of reverence, yet I must find fault in this; for such feats are not accomplished out of a veneration for the Divine spirit, but out of fear of worldly power. Since the reign of the Sixtus VI did the Church cast a long shadow eastwards, even in those times of war and strife among the tribe of Horen; Requests for free access onto these lands and the veneration of the Lord, which our mission to these lands, has been met with vapid resistance, rebuff, and a casting out for an age. They have long treated us as aggressors and only now, when faced with conflict and strife from a barbarian greater do they seek to appease us, hoping to stave off the Church.

 

 

Brother Lothair, you do mistake their overtures for genuine seek for God, yet the politick behind their constructions are apparent to us. While you may gawk upon the marbling and the pillars of the Church which they have raised, and admiring the spirit of the Lurinite to be open to such advances, I beg of you to consider the motive behind such acts; For it is not a quest for the divine, but a ploy to keep God at bay. These offerings, these morsels, are meant to to stave off our encroachment. It is not that the Lurinite nor the Vikelan do these things out of good faith, but instead, they look onto one another, and think, "If I should build this marble-arch, which I hold no meaning towards, it will surely appearse the Priesthood of Owyn, that they might not proffer onto us a word longer, and thus be placated." And so I find that such efforts are not preludes to conversion as you hold your belief, but instead a measure against it. They seek to placate, not to convert. Now, you, a diplomat and a borderman to these rogues of the land know this to be true, and it is unknown to us why you must claim otherwise.

 

We find even these tokens of appeasement are dubious. The Church has strived to missionize these lands since my time as an erstwhile Bishop. During this tenure, the Lurinites endeavored to kidnap and harm priests in aid of diabolists and demons. Their actions have consistently shown hostility rather than hospitality. Even when commanded to construct a church, they delayed for decades, only now seeking to fulfill this command as a desperate measure to ensure a lack of any Canonist involvement in this impending war. Their true character is thus revealed — not allies, but opportunists seeking to avoid the consequences of their defiance. It is telling that these men have delayed the construction of these chapels in times of good faith. We have sat upon this office for longer than two decades, and have worn the Bishop's mitre for a part of a decade, and yet still this mission had then still existed. Yet, in times of war and strife, after decades of good will and communication, here now are the promises to build a chapel reinvigorated. What folly!

 

These Kingdoms in truth, are not Kingdoms but anarchical tribes lacking a unifying creed and the rules of wise counsel. Their societies are composed of those who cherish their individual freedoms over any collective ethos or moral compass, based on the malevolent doctrine that one man be allowed his freedom to do evil if he allow his neighbor to do a different evil; These are places where the seekers of power — wizards consorting with liches and demons, and men devoid of a true home or culture — gather. These lands attract those who reject the wisdom of Horen and exalt their individual desires above all. They recognize no sovereignty of the Baron nor King, and it is thus they cannot understand the unifying principles of loyalty to a nation, to a king, or to a shared identity. How then can we expect them to exhibit loyalty to the Lord, our God? As I have said onto you before, I shall say once more. Look Westward; The Reinmaren tribesmen show loyalty to Reinmar and their Princes, the Haeseni venerate their Brotherhood and Saint Karl, and the Heartlanders honor Saint Godwin. But the Eastern Pagans and the Lurinites on the obverse are but a motley assembly, bound only by their defiance of any common ground beyond their immediate existence.

 

Now, as we speak of loyalty to abstract concepts, consider their loyalty made manifest, or rather, their lack thereof. When the Eastern Pagans struck a pact of alliance onto one another, thus have hitched their troth onto one another, vowing that they shall shed blood for each other's defense, the Lurinite also did pledge her sword to defend Vikelan. Yet when war came, they sought to evade their obligation, fabricating excuses to avoid conflict. The so-called offense is that, the Vikelan had expected her Lurinite compariot to hold true to her agreement, and thus to raise a sword against the Luraki Horde in earnest defense. This, of course would be assumed of any ally in civilised lands, and their obligated participation in a war of survival on the basis of such concord duly expected. Yet when the Vikelan called up the banners of her allies and placed upon the mark of the Lurinite onto that parchment for their alliance, the Lurinite took great offense onto this 'slight', that she sheathed the sword back onto her hip! Let us state truth of what all men make of this matter; Lurin never intended to fight even if such a missive had never been authored by Vikela, for they are cowards and fear the throes of war. Yet they claim land for themselves in this cowardice, that they pledge onto one another that they will scrounge, pay tribute, and sway the narrative in any way reasonable for them to emerge if not victorious, but to survive. This reveals their true nature — unfaithful to their word and self-serving. Would such a newfound convert remain steadfast in the faith when adversity arises? I say nay. Their loyalty to their supposed 'personal liberties', and above that, their survival outweighs any oath to God or the Church in the mind of the Lurinite.

 

It is evident that their sincerity in adopting Canonist doctrines as you say, is questionable. In Lurin, preaching in the streets is prohibited by their decrees, allowed only at a monument to their Aengul Worship, that I must send my Priests and Bishops before an idol, if they seek to commune with the Lord, or speak of Him. In what way would you consider this syncretic with any form of Canonist Doctrine? This restriction on the dissemination of the divine word speaks volumes about their commitment to our faith. They do not seek to embrace Canonism, but to contain it!

 

Thus, Brother Lothair, any quarter with the Easterner is not an option for the Church. They have not earnestly sought conversion, nor have they requested our protection. Their actions and history reveal a deep-seated resistance to the true faith, and it is for these reasons that the Church has and must clarify her stance.

 

 

@Lomiei

[LithiumSedai 5750]

"It is not yet too late, but the hand of the clock ever inches towards midnight," commented Sir Daris Verethi upon receiving the latest Pontifical wisdom while on patrol with his crewmates. He pinned a familiar poster upon a crumbling marble pillar somewhere in Lurinite lands once more.

 

 

[Timer 1978]

Nikolaus read the Apostolic Decree with great interest and thereafter prayed for his grandfather, the Vicar of God and then the souls of all the faithful swept up by any eastern conflict.

[Pancho 4197]

As Cerrick of Khamees looked upon the missive, his visage turned towards the sky. The parchment fluttered to the ground, his head dipping in prayer as the blood moon shone upon the lands below.

Dear Heavenly Father above,
the courts of your children weep as another one of your loyal servants falls to those beyond your omnipotent creation. The skies themselves are in chaos, none of your trusted servants looking upon each other or aiding one another in the fight against those that wish to see the destruction of your beautiful worlds. Yet,

We are no different from them.

Upon the continent of Braevos, we stand divided as ever. Those who hail to you as your faithful are not seeing what lies beyond the glance of the naked eye, without a doubt in my mind that the tricks of the Deceiver, 𝐈𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐬, clouding their judgement. For the realms that served the now-ascended Titan are warring, ready to absorb all they can in order to stand against the heavens once more. I pray to you, Creator almighty,

Let there be salvation for the deceived.

[squakhawk 14038]

Cowards will seek the protection of anything at the cost of their morals. True soldiers of this god would fight with faith, not to act the part. I've yet to face one of these so called faithful and brave in the field as they continue to cower and beg for help in exchange for their own morals. Had you truly cared, it would already be done.

 

Show me your mettle. Stop wasting my time. This is not a war about your god, but a war between your might and my own. I still wait to see it in the field.

 

Casreus spoke, gods and men placed aside as he had one thing upon his mind. 

The enemy.