THE UNHOLY VERDICT: BLOODSHED AT THE DIET OF KAROSGRAD

[dmitris 391]

 

THE UNHOLY VERDICT: BLOODSHED AT THE DIET OF KAROSGRAD

 

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1. INTRODUCTION

 

The Diet of Karosgrad was no mere assembly; it was a pivotal and tragic event. Here, I shall recount the contentious trial of High Pontiff Owyn III during King Henrik II of Haense's reign in 1806, detailing the deep schism within the clergy and the brutal aftermath that followed a contested vote. It was a strike aimed not only against individual clergymen, but also at the very foundations and institutions that form the cornerstone of the papal and the Church’s authority. What was meant to be hosted as a jury to deliberate on the various accusations and to determine the future of the Church’s leadership, turned into a tumultuous event, with riots taking place over Karosgrad and soldiers of both Oren and Haense laying their weapons against holy men of the cloth.

 

King Henrik II and Archchancellor Franz de Sarkozy, who acted as a representative on behalf of the Holy Orenian Empire, rose to demand co-chairmanship, transforming a Church affair into a confrontation. When Patriarch Alfred refused to do so, the very soldiers meant to keep peace marched in, a brutal act that left a scar upon the Church’s history.

 

As soon as the soldiers of the Haense Royal Army and the Imperial State Army rushed into the Basilica, they were met with the resistance of the Church’s militia to defend the loyal clergymen, who refused to revoke the decision that had been voted for. The clergymen of the opposition were safely escorted out of the Basilica, whilst the loyalist clergymen were ordered to remain by the King and Archchancellor till another vote was cast in their favor. The soldiers of the Haeseni Royal Army and the Imperial State Army reacted quickly and violently, causing the deaths of several men of the cloth. All those not murdered were placed under arrest, excluding the then-Vice Chancellor of the Church, Manfried Cardinal Providentia (future High Pontiff Jude II, successor of Owyn III), who escaped with a collection of fellow clerics and holy knights.

 

2. VERSES

In Saint Henrik’s Basilica, where God’s light should gleam,

King Henrik II’s reign, a nascent, weighty dream.

A Diet called, with a purpose clear and grave,

To judge the Pontiff, Owyn III, whom some would save.

 

The Church’s sacred cloth, now draped in worldly strife,

A jury of the cloth, to weigh a Pontiff’s life.

Two factions rose, their voices sharp and keen,

Dividing those who served the Lord unseen.

 

First, Alfred Barclay, strong in faith and word,

Led those who stood with Owyn III, by his side, conferred.

From Albarosa’s plains and Oren’s fertile lands.

Their loyalty to Owyn III, steadfastly was found.

 

But then arose the voice of Cyril, sharp and cold,

Cardinal St. Publius, a story to unfold.

With Haeseni clerics, a formidable array,

They sought to bring the Pontiff’s judgement to the day.

 

The sacred halls, once echoing with prayer,

Now filled with accusations, burdens hard to bear.

A schism in the faith, for all the realm to see,

A Church divided, for eternity.

 

The ballots cast, the voices counted true,

Owyn III retained his seat, a bitter victory knew.

But in that moment, peace did not descend.

Instead, darker purposes bring life to an end.

 

For Oren’s steel and Haense’s hardened might,

Descended on the loyal, in the fading light.

The clergymen who stood for Owyn III’s grace,

Fell, martyred, in that hallowed place.

 

Their crimson robes, now stained upon the stone,

A testament to power, brutally shown.

No holy ground could shield them from the blade,

A sacred trust, so cruelly then betrayed.

 

The outcome unveiled, a tragedy laid bare,

What judgment fell, consumed by grim despair.

Yet in that Diet, seeds of ruin sown,

A Church in turmoil, on a fractured throne.

 

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SIGNED,

 

Father Helbrecht

 

[Fleeperpriest 1484]

If but that we could repay every ounce of victim's blood. I pray the justice we had dispensed upon the Novellen Kingdom be some satisfaction to the Law, as was our ever-conscious intent when we resolved the fate that should befall their successor nation at the hands of Captain-General Tiberius, for this crime, and for this savage secular people's brutality against our now Imperator's kin. 

 

Thus was written the  personal commendation of the Supreme Pontiff of the Church

[ContestedSnow 1435]

Aleksandr Galahar, that once-Haeseni and once-prince, had nearly jumped out of his seat in shock, before reading further on. He let out a breath of relief; he thought briefly that something had actually happened. It was only old history.

[Rudi 1747]

"And I'd do it again." commented Heinrik II, fiend of tyranical clergymen, from somewhere.