sonohead THE EXECUTION OF VALEMAN STEIN

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EXECUTION OF THE VALEMAN STEIN

 

 

 

The Veritable servant of Justice, Holy Ser (Pan) Slawomir Lis, the Leper Knight, or better known by his alias of Zecharael’s Avenger, self-proclaimed agent of the aengul Raguel (Aengul of Justice) has delivered this recounting of events to the Poor Fellows-Soldiers of Saint Jude as a respected collaborator and colleague to our order.

 

PRELUDE

Revered by the Holy Ser MacSkaul, Grandmaster of our Judite Order, the Pan Slawomir Lis has given us the following account of his investigations. His initial interest was drawn by sayings of Stein’s betrayal and apostasy among members of the Host of St. Johann, the functioning militia of mine own Reinmaren home. A former member, Stein was accepted into the community and took the name Stein from his birth name Stone - he was blooded and inducted into Reinmaren society.

 

Forsaking such generosity and hospitality, Stein conversed with the druidic laity in the Vale, riding forth from Reinmar regularly at a time of heightened tensions. Breaking his oaths to the Lord GOD, and to the Host, Stein did this for no reason other than he was seduced by the power of the Corruptor and his GODless magicks. He even came to befriend several within the city, and attended their government’s unorthodox popular council, in which all citizens confer. With this step, he had fully forsaken the grace of the Host and of the Reinmaren people. Returning to Kretzen, Stein was brandished a traitor, and hanged. His execution was public, with countless witnesses. Yet, merely a day later, he was yet again spotted.

 

Through the works of the cursed Iblees, Stein was, against the will of the Lord GOD, brought back to life again. Stein, reanimated, fled, and was tracked down by members of the Order of Saint Tylos, and the Reinmaren Inquisition led by the sagely wise, veteran Holy Ser Matthias, cousin of his Holiness, Caius Primus. Here, he was hung once more in the square of Kretzen, city of the Reinmaren peoples. Countless more bore witness to his execution. Yet, again, the stubborn heretic continued to live.  

 

In his third wicked return, Stein chose wisely and fled south. He fled to Haense, where, as allies of the Barclays in Reinmar, guards further notified the Holy Swords of the Reinmaren to strike him down. He was captured, tied, and promptly executed for a third time.

 

In his fourth and final life, Stein took a pseudonym - Njal. With this, he foolishly fled to the mage city of Hohkmat, using his daemonic allure to seduce a vulnerable Elfess, one voidal artificer and citizen of Numenost, Gloria Aestra. Through her holy actions of confession to an informant of the Pan Slawomir Lis in Hohkmat, the Leper slowly began his pursuit. 

 

Over the course of several years, the Leper Knight, under his disguise and mask, tracked the travels of Gloria Aestra, and her heretic husband, until he had them pinned. Unable to undergo a confrontation in Hohkmat due to his unaffiliated with any order, and the lack of any warrant, the Leper instead chose to confront Stein in Numenost. 

 

CLASH

Mustering allies in anticipation of a grand battle between a master Inferi with a Hohkmati-trained warmage by his side, the Leper Slawomir confided not only his true reason for being in Numenost, but his target, into the Dame Monika Aleksiya - a knight of the Petran Laureate. Together with his companion, Jon de Lewes, the trio gradually coerced, then confronted the pair in an alley. Here, respective weapons were brandished and Stein cowered behind his Elfess wife.

 

‘Surrender, and no harm will befall you. Flee, and you shall die.’ promised Pan Slawomir, under the guise of Zecharael’s Avenger. And, to break a promise is a grave Injustice. His honourable Savoyard companion took his shield and shepherded heretics back, forcing them against the wall. At this point, Stein fled with a level of cowardice only comparable to that of Darkspawn. Leaving his wife at swordpoint with three armed knights, Stein vaulted the walls of Numenost, threatening to kill himself, but instead scaled the cliffs of Numenost, endangering three servants of GOD in the process.

 

Then, he swam across the Anduin, and the honourable Slawomir Lis, overcoming his sickness, swam to pursue him. Blade in hand, determination and Justice fueling his pursuit, the Pan Slawomir caught Stein in the act of summoning his steed. 

 

Pressed against the cliffs of the Uruk, Stein in his cowardice did not even draw a sword. The Pan Slawomir, in his honour, did not choose to kill Stein. Instead, with one deft blow to the temple, Stein crumpled to the floor unconscious.

 

The venerable companions of the Pan Slawomir Lis had been tracking the chase from Numenost, tracing their steps until they too found themselves at the foothills of Krug. Together, the three dragged the apostate up the misty mountains of the Numenedain, lugging him to the Cathedral of Saint-King Caius.

 

Before the Father Aerin Marsyr, Stein repented for his sins, but the faith deemed it not enough. For his crimes, for his apostasy, and for his lies, he would die.

EXECUTION

As promised by the Pan Slawomir Lis, Stein was put to death on the 8th of Snow’s Maiden, 

TA 181. Kicking, screaming, crying, in regret of all his sins, from his first life, and all in between, he was thrown onto the wall overlooking the Anduin.

 

Begging and whimpering for his life as a scared dog, as, in all truth, all men would, Stein would see his death. The Pan Slawomir Lis confessed to me his regrets that day. He, in his heart, had believed that Stein was capable of redemption. The Avenger had felt his penance had been done, that with Stein’s professing of faith before the Father Aerin Marsyr, that he would be forgiven. 

 

Alas, as servants of the faith, we are just that - servants. It is not we who judge, but those who act for God - the clergymen. 

 

With tears streaming down his face, Stein gave a final stare up to the Avenger; tears of his own slid down the ferrum mask, leaving darkened tails behind them. The mask shrouding all other emotion, with a fell swoop, Stein’s head toppled off into the Anduin.

 

Soon after, with a nod of the head, the Ser Ruthron pushed the rest of Stein after him. And so, Stone the Valeman, Stein the Reinmaren, and Njal the False-Elf fell into the whitewaters of Numenost.

REFLECTION

I had been tracking the Pan Slawomir for a different reason, more to bring justice to him, than to interview him. However, the admiration of the grandmaster is not something easily earned. When I learned of such, and I found the man wandering the forests of Crothstadt in search of some beast, I raised no arms. Unimpressed with his findings, he returned with me to the Holy See, wherein over the course of several days, he retold these events.

 

A man crying, and a knight to cry, is a rare sight, and yet through his words I was simply brought to tears. His dilemma was one I never wish to bear, and I never wish for anyone to ever bear. The Leper’s cause to kill was just, for it must have been Just, for the Lord GOD is just, and it was His law he upheld. Yet, his own impure beliefs, for which all Sons of Horen are subject to, as we are all of Sin, had to be betrayed.

 

And so, as Stone the Valeman perished, as did Slawomir’s doubts of faith. For, through Justice, no matter what one thinks of the Lord GOD’s judgement, man will be redeemed and returned to the skies.

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Edited June 17, 2024 by framalam
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