Cracker

"The Cultists have been reported to work in the elven lands, particularly about Anni'sul, with an incident of them buggering the fledgling flock which has begun there. If you wish for more precise information, speak with Deacon Arthur of Anni'sul (MC Name: Boknice275) who has reported the threat to the Holy See. However, the Pontiff wishes to express caution to act with clemency and justice when stumbling into territories abroad the Canonist sphere; to detain or butcher senselessly elves or humans found in these territories without ample proof and a clerical trial is a sin in itself." replies the Herald.

+1, solid roleplayer. I have experience with his capabilities through Church RP and he does a fine job. He could help out as an actor without a doubt and would make a fine addition to the team.

"Hear ye' faithful!" cries out a clerical herald in the streets of Petrus and Anni'Sul. "The High Pontiff has issued a condemnation against the wicked Cult of Acerbus; all holy soldiery have free writ under the grace of the Church to detain, arrest, and smite these idolaters. A wicked lot of apostates and barbarians, they lie with dogs and consort with a fallen daemon known as Aerkiath along with the most foul Iblees himself! They are guilty of assaulting and stalking many faithful of the Anni'sul parish, including the good Deacon Arthur Weinfield and plot the demise of the rock of our faith, the Holy Church. Hang them high for their wickedry, lest the blight spread beyond the elven lands to the heartland of humanity's faith! Every confirmed Acerbite granted divine justice shall be justly rewarded by His Holiness himself, along with any intelligence brought forth on this nefarious cult." "May the Allfather protect!"

Another young man at the tavern with a petticoat and monocole, a top hat of rich black leather and , he smirks loudly at the young man and Thersist words he goes "Yes that gosh darned Carrion blood I do not like it one bit, I hear they bleed black like the petty bird on their sigil, yes of course a motley lot and by what right does this man Athelstan rule I believe it is a guffaw, a true jest, yes we should crucify these carrions," He burps loudly, grabbing for his tea. "But you know what they say" The man sips his tea in between sentences. "Opinions are like arse everyone has one and most of em stink."

The High Pontiff sighs wearily as he examines the Imperial Crown in his quarters. "Pitiful. His enemies will fight him till his head is on a pike and his entrails sink to the bottom of the Petrusian moats. What does he gain out of this?" He runs his fingers across the crown as he marvels its design and features. A work of art, a priceless artifact, a treasure worth millions. The king had humility to surrender his father's crown, the one true crown. Daniel then turned back to his work and scripture; these affairs were worldly ones that made him sick to his stomach. Dwelling on them would deviate him from his missions.

THE IMPERIAL CORONATION Whilst the last coronation had been an affair of extravagance and splendor, the electors proudly declaring their bids for the now comatose Emperor Tobias, this time the meager two electors, Olivier and Aleksandr had met together in the capital and agreed privately to the consensus of Aleksandr's succession to his father's title. Whilst the Empire had lost a swarth of provinces since its last coronation, it still held two crowns in its peerage; the Kingdom of Oren and Alras. This coronation was one solemn, a quiet affair which was only attended by the Carrion family and the nobles of the realm. The High Pontiff in his regale had taken upon the Imperial Crown of the Exalted and recited the duties of the Emperor, a warden of state and defender of the faith as Aleksandr swore to them all, taking upon his brow the Imperial Crown. The High Pontiff named him Emperor Alexander I of House Karovic, his Raevir name made common for clerical and Imperial record and ended the procession with the dirge of the Oreni anthem. Despite the sobriety of the affair, among none of the fellows presiding the ceremony looked on with grief, but rather grit; a testament to the untamed Oreni spirit, and one which would march along in one nation or another, forevermore. It was not long after that town-criers announced the ascension of Alexander to his father's post, letting the Orenian public know of their new liege, and the foreign nations abroad a new head of state.

Daniel taps the scruff upon his chin in thought as he listens to Paul's speech. "I hold no vote, and I wish none, the affairs of my household a worldly one not befit a priest of my standing. Yet I may advise and say that brother Paul presents a strong argument. If good Uncle Tuv does pass, God help us all, I believe that my brother Paul could be a wise patriarch, one well-versed in the culture of Karovic and his ways and can insure our kindred do not stray from their path. Coz Aleks, you are righteous, but you are already burdened with a grand estate, and if your father passes, a vestigial Empire to maintain. Leave this title of heir to the patriarchy for your cousin, your senior by a full score."

"To the Canonist communion, our cherished adherents and disciples of GOD, It is known that in the Snow's Maiden of 1480, the High Pontiff Daniel I had opened a mission in regards to certain rumors beheld by the Orenian populace. Some Orenian soldiery had claimed to see the work of shamans not beheld by the tradition of the War Nation; a "whitewash" in the tongue of the Uruk. The Canonist Church had investigated this matter through the pontifical legate, Father Tarcell of Valles. His doubts and the High Pontiff's doubts had begun a festering of deceit and rumors throughout the Oreni community, that Maric Varodyr and his fellowship had supported the occult. The Canonist Church and the High Pontiff wish to dispel and disparage these rumors; after both investigation and communication of and with Maric, we have found no trace of these issues at play, rather a war-time sedition and slander leaking into the affairs of the House of GOD. The Church can verify that any allegation that Maric and the greater Renatian populace conduct or are conduits of dark magics and apostasies is false, and to remind its adherents that the propagation of wartime slander is a sin of deceit. It is in the Church's sincerest apologies for not taking action against the defamation against the Renatian populace. Under the ministries of the priest of the Angren parish, Father Lars of Auvergne, we have also found the community a goodly lot of faithful adherents to our GOD, and wish to exhort the peoples of Orenia to remember these fellows as Canonists and obedient to the Creator, and likewise for the Renatians upon the Imperial Orenians, and to treat another in good conduct as befits a fellow Canonist in their conflict. May the Allfather Protect, High Pontiff Daniel I"

The third Ostrovic slides into the room out of papal garb but rather in blanche smallclothes. He takes to his seat, before remarking; "Given the stain of bastardy which I am subject to, I also should have no vote in this affair."

The High Pontiff breathes deeply. He remembered the death of Roy's father; an affair of great fanfare and mourning, a country bloodied by war and despondent with grief at the lost of their beloved monarch. The death of Roy was not as sharp and poignant, as expected given the solitude the son chose to take in his latter years. But that had arguably made the pain sharper for Daniel, who had to bear the burden of grief without a country to weep alongside him. The boy, nay, man had capabilities far beyond his own in certain respects, and he felt rotten that he nor his closer kindred had made peace with the distant lord before his fateful demise. In fact, he had felt for a moment, wroth with the flaxen-haired whelp, whose pride led him to abandon his kindred in self-imposed exile. Yet, as the adage goes, blood runs thicker than water, and Daniel could not help but be overwhelmed with a nostalgic wave of remorse, remembering the boylord of Vekaro and his peculiar ways. Taking his inkwell and quill, he writes slowly in the old Carrion legend, a single teardrop staining the page in grief due to the nature of Roy's death; "On the 18th of Snow's Maiden, 1481, Lord Roy Rikovic Karovic of Pravets, born of King Roy "the Bold" Karovic and Queen Katherine Winter has passed unto the Skies. A stalwart soldier in his youth and stubborn lord in his later years, Roy had taken after his father deeply, though trading the King's graces for a bitter tongue and violent temperament. I know from legend old that the King Heinrik had signs of Roy's belligerence in his youth, but this err in character was swiftly corrected by my predecessor Diedrik, who had instilled the boy a fierce sense of civility, diligence, and patience. Knowing this, I feel amiss, for mayhaps it was my duty to do the same, a duty I neglected. Roy had many a talent, from for his fierce display of martial skill in various pitched battles, Mount Augustus, Vekaro, Fenn, to his renown in the governance over the towns of Vekaro and Pravets. Despite Roy's strained relationship with his kindred, he held to the creeds of Karos and Barbov, a Carrion proper. He passed in the rubble of his Pravetsian fortress, with wounds indicating combat prior his death. He leaves no legal issue." (Considering I'll catch up with you at some point, there's no need for a sentimental goodbye. Hope to see you come back sooner rather than later. It was interesting to leave CivRP four-five years ago with a strong dislike of another and manage to connect over LotC to the point of becoming brothers in arms and peer schemers. Funny how games work like that. Thanks for taking up the mantle of Oren and bearing the burden that nation-leading causes, and I should apologize for leaving you high and dry your first few months as King instead of cautioning you in. You've inspired a lot of people on this server, even myself at times, and accomplished more than most, so I don't blame you for taking off. It was good working with you and I hope you feel the same way!)

Oren Church and Law subforums are really important for finding rp legislation quickly both clerical and secular, and having all the necessary documentation pinned to try and accomplish the same goal would bloat the main Human RP subforum a lot by having a good half of the first page be pinned threads. At the least, the Church should have its own subforum given that it is its own independent group from Oren and needs to document its own proceedings without wasting the general human RP sub-forum space. Would be nice to get those back, even those aren't updated often! Imperial peerage was also good because it allowed a sub-forum just for people to learn about noble houses without having one thread for it, which would be unfair to people who posted in the middle of the thread as their house wouldn't have as much exposure. I think the old set up, at least for humans, was fine to keep out clutter, considering the sheer volume of human RP posts that are generally spread across three or four categories that matched well with its three or four subforums. I think having anymore than 4 subforums is too much, but most nations need to distinguish areas to relegate topics of importance, such as prominent families and holdings, cultural groups or religious groups. Mashing them all together in one subforum is a lot harder to keep track of and makes the job of finding specific threads and documents more difficult, and is a lot less newb friendly. Before, if a player wanted to see what the sum of Church RP was about, he could just scroll through the subforum, which solely had to do with the Church. Now he has to rely on a sticky or scour through many pages tediously, being exposed to far less information and not having an easy subforum to glance through. It's also a lot more work on the player's end for us to make one thread which has a link to every single Church related post, versus us just getting a subforum for it. The issue with having one thread to encompass what normally would be an entire subforum is that if the OP of the thread is inactive, busy, or overlooks a certain post, he may not post the link to the thread unto the hub-thread and slowly this accumulates to entire RP posts being left out. With a subforum there is a definitive location for certain types of posts that don't need to constantly updated on a hub-thread. I'd be willing to work with an FM move the posts back to Church sub-forum along with the other human sub-forums if need be anyway so please consider adding them back!

Daniel sighs, shaking his head as the missive makes its way throughout the settlements. He speaks with a fellow priest regarding the document, whom delivers Daniel's tirade on the matter throughout the clergy and thus to many settlements. "Horribly false information...this reeks of typical Winter falsehoods and fabrications. I highly doubt there are any objective facts in this document, for Edward Winter is known for his anti-Carrion sentiments and positions in Aesterwald among its ministries. To begin the long list of fraudulent claims in this missive... The Imperial Prince had wished to open a dialogue with the Heartlander League in hopes of figuring out their primary objectives and to see if they would support his potential rule after his father; however, he did not need to appease them, only seeking to due so out of virtue and stability, because none of the Heartlander League, Varodyr included, had any votes in the Diet. To believe that Maric Varodyr, a fellow who was not even of noble birth proper, let alone someone who held a ducal title and an electorate title making him eligible to vote, had any vote in the naming of an Emperor reveals the author's great lack of understanding regarding the politics of the realm. Furthermore, the issue was not that the Varodyr had no support for the Prince Alexander, but rather that Varodyr and his deputy Martial Briarwood had spoke to Alexander and told him they had desired to see the Empire destroyed and dismantled, along with modifying the electorate to put upon the Varodyr. I would imagine a plot to dismantle the Empire would be considered seditious and treasonous, especially if supported by the Grand Knight, a man vowed to his liege and the law. The Imperial Prince, aghast with this plot, spoke with his father. The Emperor detained the Noble Ser and dismissed him from his privy position as Grand Knight, his only title in the Empire. Even if Varodyr had not been actively plotting sedition, the Emperor has full right to appoint and dismiss his privy councilors at whim, and the dismissal of his post was by far a mild punishment for such a heinous plot. This further shows a lapse in logic in the writer's argument; if Varodyr's men and himself were to be killed on sight, why did Tuvya not do the deed when he had them all detained in his capital? He let them go on his own whim, extending the font of mercy to his soldiery. Yet the first thing Maric did with the mercy bestowed upon was claim the fort of Angren. Angren, as the author should know if he was literate regarding the peerage, is not a Varodyr holding, but an Imperial holding held by the Emperor. It is a military complex that has traditionally been lent to the Grand Knight for his orders and that was Maric's sole function in the keep. Being that he was stripped for Grand Knight, his act of garrisoning himself in the fort and barring the Emperor from entering his own fortification was an act of grievous trespassing. The Emperor arrived at Angren and warned Maric to leave the Imperial holding at once, with a retinue of his soldiers; Maric refused, in fear of his life, despite the fact that Tuvya had just spared the former grand knight. For the theft and trespassing of Imperial property after swearing a solemn oath of knighthood and fealty, Tuvya named him a traitor, typical for someone who was just spared for his treason in a plot to dismantle the Empire and allow Oren to splinter and divide into countless realms. Furthermore, this Edward Winter has the audacity to claim that a shaman's lightening spell was equivocal to the Creator's power; it is well-documented that a certain Lucas Black had cast the incantation in hopes slaying the Imperial host.The Emperor decided that attacking the citadel then would not be in good taste and bid his retreat, hoping that Maric would reconsider. Instead he was met with Maric's declaration of war. Considering the vast swath of "Renatus's" population is knighthoods and petty nobility with a minuscule civilian populace, I believe the decision was in hopes of delivering annexed territories to those who contributed to Maric's illegitimate war-effort. The basis that Maric has a claim is highly fraudulent; he descends from no royalty who held the title "King of Renatus" and his wife's claim is hardly considerable when it is to be noted that Renatus and the Empire have always held to an Agnatic succession. Furthermore even populism is not particularly a valid sign of legitimacy in the Empire; if you cite the Carrion's rise to power as a sign of populism I do believe you are mistaken, considering the Carrion's did not war for their titles, all willingly forfeited peacefully in recognition of the household's right to rule. Considering the most dominant Heartlander household in the Empire, the de Savoies, stand with the Empire, I do not believe this is an actual attempt in establishing a proper Heartlander state, but rather a revolt of petty nobility who do not wish to be diligent and attain titles in an honorable and just way, instead throwing their lot with seditious anarchy. I'll not waste Church resources in these matters for what their worth but let it be known that it is certainly in my power to denounce this pointless revolt which spills the blood of Canonists needlessly. Let us hope the Creator guides the soldiery to a quick, if not peaceful, solution."

If there's one thing we know about Sgt_Kipples, it's that he's always gonna report for duty.

"Hadley and the Carrions...they did this."

Gilbert Zitoun frowns as he pays his respects to the fallen Baelish. "Maly and the Carrions...they did this."

"Waldenian brothers? Edward Winter has been apart of Aesterwald for a week, after he realized no one wanted his brand of cut-throat politic in Oren ...I do not think his attempts to demonize the Carrions are for the good of Aesterwald, but the good of his own agenda. Let's see what Lord Rovin says, not this Herendulian slug."

Certified Fresh @ 63%

Joyous news to all faithful! The High Pontiff, in honor of the upcoming feast day of St. Tobias, has called for a day of celebration throughout the Canonist world! After the traditional mass in St. Thomas Cathedral, a great fair shall be held in the Petrus square. Planned events include... A River of Wine! A Great Merchant Square, for traders to show off their finest wares! Wild boar rides! A scavenger hunt in the city! An excavation challenge; The Church shall bring in a great mound of earth, laden with silver and gems, in honor of the miracles of St. Tobias. Miners get three swings to excavate precious jewels! And more! Come one, come all to celebrate his good life! [Date: September 27th, which is this coming Saturday, at 6:00 pm EST @ Petrus] -A church fresco of Tobias, known more commonly as Toveah Goldman, is hung in St. Thomas Cathedral in honor of his coming feast day.- [credit to ledzep98 for picture]

The thing is I do not believe the Orcish race has had this phenomenon for ages, and it makes it very annoying to RP with them as they are inhumanely big, and even worse to RP fight with them, because they constantly demand victory for their size! When the humans were getting too big, pressure was put on them to stop RPing 8 foot tall behemoths, and they did, when goblins were getting freakishly small, pressure was put on them to stop RPing 2 foot troll characters, and they did. Can't see why the Orcs can do something similar, it has little to no relevance to the contemporary Orc RP if everyone agrees to drop a foot of height for a more authentic race. Nothing is changed outside of a number change in one's biography as, unlike say the humans (going from 5 to 6 foot is a significant jump because it is the range of human height), going from 8'9'' to 7 foot still gets the roleplay across that the Orc is big and strong, but doesn't make them seem like some alien event race which is freakishly, unreliably, huge.

When did Orcs get so big! When I was Rex, the range was 7 foot to 8 foot. By making yourselves pointlessly bigger, you alienate the race further by making it appear more bestial and less of an actual civilization. I understand people feel the urge to compensate by making their characters taller and taller, but there has to exist a hard limit before things get out of hand, and it is coming to that line by what I've been reading here. The humans had this same issue about a year ago when people kept making humans that would go to seven, eight, and nine feet tall, which is incredibly immersion breaking. Orcs should have a height and strength advantage, but it shouldn't be so gargantuan that they come off more as beasts then actual sentient beings. Remember that the four brothers weren't of great disparity in strength or size until the curses and Krug wasn't blessed with extreme height, but strength. Selective breeding is what made the Orcs peak over to 7-8 foot, but anymore just doesn't make sense. Another point to make about Orcs is that when it comes to combat with weapons, I've seen Orcs complain about losing 1v1's in combat before, and truth be told we should just let the mechanical standard sort that out. When it comes to combat with weapons, physical strength is a noticeable factor, but not as much as skill and scenario, thus, other races can defeat orcs, its just up to the PvP. A lot of times I feel like people nowadays only play Orcs just so they can play some freak-giant who, whenever losing a fight, can use their race as a card to re-do a fight, and I can say with confidence that that's not what the Orcish race is about!

"Divinity was a term used in the past to describe the distinct communion which the prophets Godfrey I and Siegmund I held with the Creator, that is that they were divinely influenced and fulfilled his covenant. They were not -divine-, as in a figure of diety, as they were only flesh and blood, committing sin and of mortal nature as us all, however, and the term "Divine" used to describe them is rather archaic and confusing as it implied they were deities. It was under Regulus I under clarification by Blessed Wilfriche Buron where this was clarified and they were confirmed as divinely influenced and exalted; their (Godfrey and Siegmund's) usage of the term divine was not necessarily incorrect, but it can mislead and thus the Church decided to amend this by giving a name which describes their nature with god better as Exalted. Only God is truly divine; his creations can be divinely inspired as Godfrey and Siegmund were, but they cannot be wholly divine as this heretic claims his babe is."

"Excellent!" remarks Daniel. "It'd do good with some illustrations, but there is no greater joy than to see the peoples foster intellectual traditions."

"Heresy." mutters the High Pontiff, residing in the palace during the meeting of the privy council. "God is the Allfather, not father of one, as He is father to all creation for it is His Breath which sustains us. To proclaim some whoreson as divine besmirches His Name, for none of His Creation can compare to the true divinity of our Creator! Begone with this nonsense, and tend to the brat born out of wedlock, for even a bastard is His Creation, and it is not his fault his mother conjured blasphemy to fool the local fishmongers."

The young High Pontiff graces the council. Garbed in finery, he lounges in his seat.

Not long after the Imperial coronation, heralds cry out in the streets regarding the Pontifical Address, taking place in St. Thomas’ Cathedral. As many congregate inside, the newly appointed High Pontiff Daniel I takes centerfold. “To my dear brothers and sisters beholden in the Creator’s light, It is with highest honor that I have been appointed by my clerical peers to the office of High Pontiff; but more so, a duty. For it is with grave conviction that I say our Church has not yet left its time of troubles. With exception to the good Bishop Cordal, my predecessors have left our church to wane in moral authority. The deviancy between the plethora of sects and the incessant civil violence across cultures have fractured our faith to where many cry out that “The Church of the True Faith” should be divided along political boundaries, scattered and separated. But to those who befoul our church by these secular lines, I implore you to look to the Canon, to read the story of Blessed Wilfriche Buron, and to recognize the futility in sect. We are not Lucienist, Orthodox, Traditionalist, Imperialist, or Darfeyists; we are Canonists, bound by His Sacred Word, the all-aware canon, the Holy Scrolls. All righteous believers in Horen’s covenants should not define themselves by the works of mortal men when the Allfather has granted us His Word. I was a man of Orthodox Rite in my youth, but upon ascension to the Pontifical See, it is clear that all who follow our communion are, at heart, Canonist. Harkening to my childhood, I was born Siguine Barrow, meaning “blood of Sig”, natural son of the King Otto Sarkozic Karovium, yet I would not see him until he was upon death. Rather, it was his younger brother, my uncle, Francis Sarkozic Karovium, who reared me as a child. Raised upon the theological texts which my uncle came to possess as Radomir I had fostered the clerical spirit which brought me to my position of piety. The lifestyle of a sailor had further instilled humility and diligence, and I was quick to learn that there was nothing more serene than a holy text and the song of the sea. For even the worst of natural storms paled in comparison to the tempest of chaos I would soon experience on land. My ward-father and uncle was crowned king, and in months, his battle with the Darfeyist Church had slain him in his own hearth; his throat slit wide, and his court stormed by church soldiers. The moment of being dragged away by a rogue Decterum officer by the name of Drake Lancefield, as an entire court was butchered for supporting their king against wild paganry and the corruption of the church, is one that reared itself in the night incessantly. I could find no solace in sleep nor wake. It was only through God which I found peace; despite my growing cynicism for the Darfeyist Church, Father Ioann of Sabris guided me through my time of crisis, and later ordained me, naming me Jan of Barrows. I had found peace with God, yet not with His Church, and thus I took to what I was trained on the sleepy deck of Arjen’s Hand; I wrote. Taking the name of Simon of Khavaz, I met in secret with a fellow known as Basil of Sabris, and we wrote against the corruptions and ineptitude of the Darfeyist Church. Compiling our truths into the 21 Theses, we had taken the religious communities in Oren by storm. However, whilst I solely wished for a purge in clerical hierarchy, Basil wished to see the Church in the hands of the Emperor; an act I found wholly disturbing. I grew disillusioned too with Basil’s reformed movement, yet it was his strain which won the hearts of the people, who feared any form of Church power after the Darfeyist Pontiffs. I maintained a member of the clergy, if only to passively resist these changes, working my way up to be noted as Bishop of Raev under High Patriarch Thomas, born Cordal Winter; a good friend, despite our households animosity. I had spent much of my time as Bishop standardizing doctrine, along with taking upon the role of clerical minstrelry, singing folk songs of the faith and proselytizing through travel. With the Vibian coup, the Church found the means to liberate itself from the yolk of caesaropapism. After a brief period of codifying the Golden Bull of Aanen, the pontifical conclave had begun and by the will of our Creator, I was named the High Pontiff. I had chosen to take the name Daniel, in honor of the Saint Daniel of Al'Khazar; a wandering missionary who valued the stability of peace and the joys of travel, much akin to myself. With the horrors of both ultimate pontifical power and negligible pontifical power fresh on our minds, I have chosen to assume a middling stance, which recognizes the role of the Imperator as sovereign over man, yet acknowledges the pontifical role in the faith. By no means shall our church be subject to an Emperor, and by no means shall an Emperor have direct hand in the appointment of our most sacred positions. The Church shall remain supreme in all matters theological, yet shall submit to the secular laws of the Empire. The High Pontiff shall not swear fealty to any man but only to His Creator, yet his domain shall be recognized as a protectorate of the Imperator and his Empire. Thus, faith and state respectively hold power in their own domain, whilst not crippling either; a perfect synergy. Let us pray that our good Imperator Tobias Karovium honors our ultimatum. With our newfound role as an autonomous protectorate, the Church has found the means to establish itself a Pontifical See. Under construction by the diligent Jeramo of Flotsam and Godferik Carrion among countless faithful, the papal lands have been dubbed “St. Sigismund’s”, after the exalted prophet whom envisioned the faith to act as the epicenter of Orenian culture, sciences, and theology. It is this where the University of the Ex. St. Sigismund shall be constructed, and the Ecclesiastical Curriculum enforced; an educational mandate for which all acolytes and deacons are subject. Currently under deliberation and construction, this grand seminary will foster a standardized clergy all educated in both theology and secular science. What has pained my deeply in my time in clerical vocation has been the misuse of our faith as justification for slaughter of paganry and our mortal brethren. For whilst Horen was the only of his brothers to form a covenant with God, God still held love for Krug, Malin, and Urguan, a love which the faithful seem to ignore. I ask, who could submit to the Creator's will earnestly at the point of a blade? It is not my intention to restore the countless failed faith militant, nor to see our clergy or soldiery lash out against our mortal kindred. Rather, we should only strike out against those whom oppress or harm us whilst recognizing the peaceful heathenry as only lost brothers, as Owyn struck out against the wicked Harrenites, yet spoke with grace among the dwarven heretics. Conversion happens with conversation and inter-faith dialogue, as when we speak to the heathenry, those with tact and wisdom can convert them by the simple proofs of His Existence, while those wroth and wicked will only find themselves a mortal enemies and His Disappointment. A man who dies for the True Faith shall earn himself a place in paradise, but a man who butchers or assaults with wanton bloodlust shall only find himself in the bleak void, for we must respect all of His Creation. It is also of my concern of the lack of conviction and diligence of our clergy, whom believe their duties are confined to solely performing the rites of matrimony and confession, slothful and content despite the grave circumstance of our church. We must look to the model of St. Godwein, a man for whose diligence we hold in the highest of esteem. A man of the clergy must gather in his hand the wheat of the harvest, he must mine the rock of the earth and cut its timber and foliage, for how else will we truly grasp the proverbs of St. Hunwald and St. Tobias, if we cannot subject ourselves to the labours they did in glory of God! My final note is to which is of the secular realm, and how our clergy should react; the acts of secession and violence between man and man. For it is known that the Empire which protects us is but in a fledgling stage, still coated in the ash of war and chaos, and it is not certain whether the realm may remain at peace. The prophets all guide us to an ideal model of ruling and living and each had acted to unify man, and thus the Church must also promote the unity of mankind under one Imperator. Yet, it is also of critical essence to not isolate those whom believe their tribe, their culture, truest, that we should still grant them communion in our House of God lest they break its tenets. The church must hold flexibility, its goal to be the adhesive which along with Imperial authority, binds the scattered tribes into one. The road to the peace which St. Daniel championed is long and difficult to traverse, but if we adhere to the gospels of our Exalted and His Providence, then in a realm beyond awaits true nirvana. I wish the congregation a bountiful Sun’s Smile." "May the Allfather protect!"