littyfam

THE HIGH PRIESTS A REVISION OF PRE-INTERREGNUM PONTIFICAL SUCCESSION Written by Daniel Pontius de Senna Published on the 5th of Sun’s Smile, 653 A.A. FOREWORD I had first written this essay as that final task of my acolyteship, under the late H.P. Bernard II. Whereas it was accepted by that present Pontiff, it has since lacked publication. I thus publish it in this rough and unedited form, for I lack both time and will to see it reviewed to any extent greater than I had done some two decades ago. I ask, therefore, that the reader forgives any errors of grammar or phrasing; where argument or evidence is in question, I shall readily answer to any queries or counters. I maintain a rough reference of texts both primary and secondary which, due to its length, I have not hereunder attached. The greatest of my conjectures surround the Sack of Pontia, hence its relative lack of analysis, alongside my suppositions on the intentions of Anti-Pontiff Hogarth and Dawn of Perea. To these I eagerly invite the opinions of others, in support or otherwise. For the sake of convenience, I have used the traditional calendar of Man in my dating. I do hope that this proves elucidating to some, and puts aptly to words the assumptions of others. PREFACE Forasmuch as the Mother Church maintains an able archive of its materials and histories, a considerable portion of its contents have gone unreviewed after their initial promulgation. I thus write this cursory examination of the progress of the High Priesthood through its establishment under Ex. Owyn, until its effective dissolution upon the first division of the Kingdom of Oren. I shall establish first the limitations of this work: it is principally concerned with correcting the chronology of the early Church, with only limited analysis reserved for the tenures of the High Priests. I shall leave this latter element to another paper. Indeed, this is a necessary conceit of the study: without first correcting the broader Pontifical narrative, any close analysis shall walk on unsteady ground. Herein I thus deal in an uncontextualized world largely enclosed to the High Priesthood. The reader must be aware that this early Church was very unlike ours. Its structures were far more fluid and intertwined with the incipient Orenian state, with a dogma fundamentally unlike any which emerged in the wake of the 1455 Council of the One Faith. I begin first with an outline of the historiography of the early Church, and continue thereafter with my amendments. I shall offer thereafter a suggestion as to the origins of the various inaccuracies present in past histories, insofar as I am able. HISTORIOGRAPHY There is not a great deal to be said as regards those prior iterations of early Pontifical chronologies. As mentioned prior, there has hitherto been witheringly little historiographical revision of most any historical documentation of the Church. This earliest period has seen itself especially susceptible to such a deficiency, given both the scarce primary documentation and general insignificance in later narratives, both secular and religious, of this era. The earliest extant history of the Church is dated to the tenure of High Ecclesiarch Radomir I, written sometime between 1444 and 1448.¹ The reign of the final pre-Interregnum High Priest can be decisively placed in 1315.² There thus stands some 129 years at minimum between Radomir’s chronology and the events it describes; that it is laden with inaccuracies should be surprising to none. Its contents are thus: I – HP EVARISTUS I & CLEMENT I The first heads of the Holy Faith appointed by the successor of Horen, Owyn I. II – HP SIXTUS I III – HP ALEXANDER I IV – HP PONTIAN I V – HP STEPHEN I VI – PAUL I VII – PAUL II VIII – SIXTUS II IX – LIBERIUS I X – MARK I The last leader of the Faith under the divine line of Horen, he was removed forcefully after the deposition of the king. XI – BERNARD I The first recorded leader of the Faith under the usurper Perea and Sheffield dynasties, before which the Church was held in high regard by the line of Horen. XII – EVERARD I The progenitor of House Hightower, Everard I was the last High Priest of a unified Oren. He died a martyr, attempting to prevent the non-believer Sheffield king from abolishing the Church entirely. After his reign the kingdom splintered, causing the Church to be absorbed into the Phoenix Kingdom of Renatus and lose a great deal of power and influence. THE FIRST INTERREGNUM Gospel tells us that it was during the year 38 that Ex. Owyn anointed Evaristus and Clement as leaders over his priesthood.³ We must therefore understand, per Radomir’s chronology, that twelve generations of High Priests reigned in excess of twelve centuries altogether. This is a dubious implication, and one evidently identified by Radomir’s successors, for the first amendment to this narrative emerged during the pontificate of HP Daniel I, after 1471.⁴ There are three alterations which may be dealt with individually. i. ADDITIONS TO LIBERIUS I IX – LIBERIUS I It was under Liberius I when the great Priestly See of Pontian I was ravaged, the archives of the Faith lost, and the Priesthood destroyed. Whilst the majority of mankind still heralded the faith of Horen I, there was no singular Head of Faith until the High Priest Marcus; instead, the Church’s dogma was governed by various clerical circles who acted as peers. What little is known about the Church prior to the Sack of Pontia was due to texts saved in his escape. While the existence of a St. Pontian is attested so early as 1444 in the writings of Radomir’s contemporary, John of Corazon, there is no mention of a ‘Priestly See of Pontian I’, prominent or otherwise, until this very edition of Daniel I.⁵. It seems likely, therefore, that this addition was a later interpolation of a comparatively minor event, possibly intended to rectify the temporal dissonance implicit in Radomir’s edition. ii. AMENDMENTS TO MARK I X – MARCUS I The first and last leader of the Faith under the line of Horen, he was appointed in the reign of St. Daniel, who sought to restore the Priesthood after centuries of decentralized clergy. He proved able and competent in swaying the various religious circles to submit to his authority. It should first be noted that Mark’s has here been rendered in the Flexio style - particularly notable given that the same was not done for the proceeding Bernard and Everard; this shall be taken up once more in my conclusions. What is stranger, however, is the complete recontextualisation of the subcontents. What was once an oblique reference to St. Daniel of Al’Khazar has become very explicit (and even seems to reference the unique manner of St. Daniel’s founding of the Kingdom of Oren, with the addition of ‘first … leader of the Faith under the line of Horen’; we must presume this an oddly-phrased reference to the aforementioned).⁶ There is a curious turn to historicity thereafter, absent in Radomir’s version: where Radomir’s Horenic monarch had been erroneously deposed, this omits any reference to the end of St. Daniel’s reign. One might also note that further adaptations have been made (see ‘restore the Priesthood’) that the text might align with the above Liberian inventions. I shall elaborate further on both these elements in my conclusive comments. iii. AMENDMENTS TO BERNARD I XI – BERNARD I The first non-human leader of faith and the first recorded leader of the Faith under the usurper Perea and Sheffield dynasties, before which the Church was held in high regard by the line of Horen. Bernard was of halfling origin and relatively mild-mannered. There is only a minor addition here, being that of Bernard’s background. One might note that, at this time, halflings were not considered as within the lineage of Horen - a matter later amended by a 1662 decree of Jude I.⁷ Daniel’s discovery of some additional information regarding the life of Bernard must be presumed. So for Daniel’s edition. This particular iteration was copied ad unguem in both the c. 1578 Historem Pontificum and the 1760 Pontificum Historia, the latter being the most recent comprehensive chronology of the Pontificate. Thus stand the prior histories of the early Pontificate. A REVISED CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY CHURCH It is by necessity that my chronology begins in earnest at that same point as Tanith of the Westerland’s foundational A Brief Summary of Early Imperial History: with St. Daniel’s foundation of Al’Khazar.¹ Where we might certainly infer the existence of a continuous priesthood in the Thousand-Year Silence, it is wholly doubtful that any continuous High Priesthood was maintained through the period of the Seven Kingdoms.² I propose, therefore, that the High Priests Sixtus I through Mark I were priests raised to the office by individual ‘princes of piety’ [Gsp 5:26], but likely not in any sense of direct Pontifical inheritance - as was recordedly done by St. Daniel in the Kingdom of Oren, and later by Ex. Godfrey. To order them in any other manner than that presented by Radomir would be simple folly, for there remains only brief attestations of a scarce few among their number. Thus, to a new chronology of the Danielan High Priesthood. Sometime in the late 13th century, the last remaining heir of an otherwise obscure King of Aaun relocated his seat from the historic center of Horenic authority, Jrent, to a small northwestern fishing village, ostensibly nearer to Gospel’s Paradisus. This town was known as Al’Khazar, and for a time boasted no High Priest, nor any great temple, save a small squareside shrine dedicated to Ex. Horen. At a court gathering in the early period of St. Daniel’s reign at Al’Khazar, Everard Hightower was appointed as High Priest of Oren - the reasons thereof are, however, unknown. He established the first cathedral in the burgeoning capital, and would come to centralise his authority both within and without the kingdom. He was, in quick succession, appointed to the stations of High Chancellor and Archmage, thereby ensuring the prominence of his household for some few succeeding generations. Everard would hold tenure through the entirety of Pampo Perea’s reign, even conducting his funerary rites. It was during the early stage of the rule of Pampo’s seneschal and successor, Edmund, that Everard would retire from the High Priesthood, investing his authority with the Bishop of Dunwood: Oliver Sturdyfoot II. Oliver would reign as High Priest for only a few months, in the year of 1314: a period entirely contained within the rule of Edmund Sheffield. Upon his death later that year, he would invest the High Priesthood with his son, Bernard Sturdyfoot. As with his father, little can be definitively discerned of Bernard’s High Priesthood. It is certain that he reigned during the final part of Edmund’s kingship, though there stands no evidence of any partisanship on his part during the succession crisis that followed Edmund’s death. Contemporaneously, the eminent Archbishop of Kal’Urguan, Hogarth Irongut, had his position within the dwarven capital revoked. Hogarth, who had to that point supported Perea’s Queen-Consort, Dawn, to succeed to the throne, was swayed to Enor’s camp with the promise of the Orenian High Priesthood. Shortly into Enor’s kingship, Bernard came to blows with the royal: Al’Khazar’s cathedral was requisitioned by the crown, and Hogarth was spuriously invested with the High Priesthood - an Anti-Pontificate that would retain the support of the state until the ultimate collapse of the Kingdom of Oren, at which point both claimants to the High Priesthood fell into obscurity, alongside the title itself. Thus did the First Interregnum begin. ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY I. THE POLYECCLESIASTIC CHURCH While the Church has often deferred to a simplistic model of singular and direct succession through the line of Sts. Evaristus and Clement, composed of a unitary clergy in subservience to a singular High Priest, it is abundantly apparent that the consolidated post-Danielan church was very much an invention of its times. I therefore propose an alternative organisational model for the pre-Danielan clergy: a polyecclesiastic church, that being a church comprising a number of divided hierarchies, largely contained to individual temporal states, with each governed by its own High Priest. Gospel speaks at length on the progressive degradation of the ecclesiastic institute through the Silence, taking particular care to emphasise that ‘virtue was preserved only by keepers of ashen urns, paupers, and princes of piety’ [5:26], a statement that implies much for the dissolute hierarchy of the post-Owynic clergy. The nomenclature of the Danielan Church seems additionally informative. It is not for mere excess that its High Priests were known as High Priests of Oren; their role was implicitly bound to and confined by the state within which they served. This was not the universal church that was confirmed in the afterglow of Ex. Godfrey’s empire, but a limited one. The term appears to have come to such ubiquity by the time of the Danielan Church that it found use in both fictionalised tales, as in the High Priest of Nox of The Great Adventures of Tegchen, described to be the parish priest of ‘a small human town’ of the same name, and in the terminology of adjacent assemblies, as that High Priest Omni of the quasi-heretical Ascended. It is this same model which serves with ease to explain the late placement of the First Interregnum. The temporal failings of the pre-Danielan succession in both Radomir and Daniel’s editions of the Church’s chronology have already been outlined - if, rather, this succession was not linear nor singular, then there would be no individual High Priesthood able to experience an interregnum (and hence no ‘First Interregnum’), and no direct succession of priests need be necessary to fill the 12-century gap. A polyecclesiastic clergy, therefore, adequately fills the gaps present in the historiographical record. The dominance of the Kingdom of Oren in the late 13th and early 14th centuries over the Aegisian polities marks the beginning of the transition to a singular clerical hierarchy - a monecclesiastic church. Whereas the concept of heterogenous state-bound priesthoods had remained in the social conscience at least so late as the reign of St. Daniel, the High Priest of Oren was the de jure leader of the entirety of the True Faith congregation across the continent. De facto, however, prominent diocesan authorities preserved a significant part of their autonomy. By the First Interregnum, the ecclesiate was in flux. Ex. Godfrey’s installation of Gideon Silverblade as the High Pontiff Pius I would formalise this transition, placing at last the entirety of his empire’s religious institute beneath both the de jure and de facto authority of the High Pontiff. No longer would a High Priest be beholden to the woes and wiles of the state, but a High Pontiff would exist beyond them. II. THE SACK OF PONTIA In following from the above, it becomes necessary to question the veracity of the Sack of Pontia under Liberius’ reign as a singularly cataclysmic event. I do not doubt the existence of the sack itself, but rather pose that it has been abstracted and massively exaggerated in the historical record. Rather, the sack might well be indicative of a greater historical pattern of institutional dissolution of both temporal and ecclesiastical institutions as was prevalent during the latter stages of the Thousand-Year Silence. In other words, the proverbial icon of an era of collapse. III. ON EVERARD I While beyond strictly beyond the intended purview of this paper’s chronological examinations, a correction of early Pontifical histories would be incomplete without examining the historical status of High Priest Everard I. He has found much enshrinement since his lifetime: he has been held for centuries as a saint of the Lord, and is among the prominent few of them, bearing the Society of St. Everard in his name. For all the piety that tradition affords him, the historical record speaks otherwise. Certainly, during his reign as High Priest little fault can be held against him. He was among the most prominent figures of the Kingdom of Oren, and served both parish and church dutifully. It is after his 1314 retirement, during the reign of Enor, that his legacy becomes wholly more suspect. It is widely known that the plague of the Undead came readily to the fore through Enor’s kingship (and this was in no small part a cause of the ultimate trifurcation of Oren with the Phoenix Revolution), though where Enor’s corruption has been presumed (and his notes seem to attribute his failings rather to simple ineptitude than a grander scheme), an extant letter more accurately locates the sullying of the Orenian state’s chief apparatus within his Chancellor, the by-then abdicated Everard I. The contents of the letter stand as thus, Mr. Hawk Whitestorm, On behalf of the Forsaken Nation of Drauchreich, I would like to express our gratitude for your aid in the conquest of Al’Khazar. The details you provided us regarding guard postings and defensive strategy were a great help to our decisive victory. We look forward to your continued services towards our great cause. We have dispatched the agreed upon compensation of 3 diamond stacks to the indicated location. Regards, Apostle Everard, Member of The Forsaken Nation of Drauchreich. While this remains the sole evidence of his malfeasance, the contents are quite explicit. At the earliest point of Al’Khazar’s fall, and likely spanning into even his tenure as High Priest, Everard held affiliations to and a position (‘Apostle’) within that reviled Undead hotbed of Drauchreich. This was a tie maintained even after death; while a transcription of his funerary announcement places him dead at 61, a letter of application has him yet living nigh two decades later, at the age of 79. The status of his soul itself, therefore, is readily debatable. I shall not theorise as to why Everard’s life came to be rendered so completely otherwise from the historical fact - but I shall reiterate the vitality of acknowledging his life as it was, and not as we would wish it to be. Aught otherwise would be wilful ignorance. POSTWORD I hope that I have demonstrated here the need for critical review of our Church’s inherited histories. It is very well and good to tend to matters more explicitly spiritual - the Scrolls, analyses of the plethora of virtues and sins, and all that common fare - but our Church is one burdened with acknowledgement of both a continuous tradition and the Holy Word. We cannot act as dutiful clerics if either field is let to fallow, else we become mere actors at play.

A response is addressed as regards this thesis, from a priest of little renown. * Goodbrother Blackfern, It is my opinion that, whether by purposed intent or otherwise, you have misread what precisely is meant by 'wrath', ira, in the Holy Word. I shall, for the sake of brevity, limit my argument to explicit references of the aforementioned, your claims of 'cruelty' (and all that necessarily follows from this characterisation) being predicated upon that Canonical concept. Let us refer first to Virtue 5:9, 'So I am the Most High, and in pursuit of My Virtue, I bid My faithful this: You shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin.' 'Sum Ego Dominus DEVS altissimus, et in persequentes Virtutum Meum, Ego impero fideles in hoc modo: vos non crispate manus in ira, neque in invidia, neque in aliis peccatis.' I shall defer largely to the analysis of Bl. Fabian the Lesser's Jus Bellum Justum: 'He thus indicates that violence, or the raising of the hand, is not sinful under circumstances where it is not connected to the other sins, such as wrath or avarice. The astute religious scholar will then determine that it is permissible for a Canonist state to wage war where the war’s essential goal is a virtuous one.' We read, therefore, this instance of wrath as mortal sin. Indeed, it is this very same wrath, of condemnable nature, that is spoken of in Gospel 2:45, 68, 3:4, and that mentioned by you in 4:53. We cannot, however, follow the conclusion that wrath is inherently sinful, nor inherently cruel. For wrath is an aspect of the Lord: 'And verily you must find that pain comes not from the wrath of the Lord (ira DEI), but as we reject Him,' (Spirit 6:15). How, then, can it be that '[s]uch wounds [of wrath] do not fade—they fester'? The pains you speak of, these 'wounds', are not born by wrath, but by the rejection thereafter. I implore you: recall Owyn. It was his mortal wrath, his worldly wrath, that wrought sin, yet it was by his acts in the name of divine wrath that he found absolution (Gospel 5:18-22). You name these wars cruel, but they only seem cruel to you for your heart bleeds too readily. Where the priest is meant to be a guide, certainly, he is meant, also, to be an exacter of penance. The willing may be led forth by the Word, yet the unwilling, always, have courted the Blade. Forgive any sloppiness on my part in this response. I recover still from my travels, but I thought this thesis one amply deserving of response. With God as our Guide, Fr. Daniel Pontius de Senna *

Full Name of Man - Alexandre Matthias Devereux Date of Birth of Man - 2030 Name of Woman - Ipera Amelya Enswerp Date of Birth of Woman - 2036 Location of Ceremony - Cathedral of the Fifty Skulls, St. Godwinsburg, Alba Date of Ceremony (Year) - 2063 Name of Clergyman who performed ceremony - Fr. Daniel Pontius de Senna

In that undercarriage of Rittersberg's chapel, did the good Father Pontius, a Sennan by birth, comment thus, to his nearseated brother... "Why, it seems that our far-flung idiots of cousins have deigned to repent before His Imperial Majesty and the Good Lord God. Fitting, I suppose, that their titles have been stripped - it would not do well for the Empire to have halfwits as enfeoffed lords, would it?" @FireAGN

A CALL TO CONVENTION OF THE DIOCESE OF ST. THOMAS OF GAEKRIN Unto the priests, monastics, and acolytes of the diocese, Some seven years have passed since the last common gathering of our priesthood. In this interim has the Diocese of St. Thomas of Gaekrin borne witness to a great expansion of those clerics and acolytes active within its borders. Whereas the cathedra yet remains in sede vacante, following the retirement of the good Abbot Shaulbert, it is found prudent by us portion of priests operational within the diocese to call for the convocation of these pertinent parties, that we may discuss St. Thomas’ ongoings, both present and future. It is within this meeting that we encourage the oration of the imperial clergy’s suggestions and issues, that all may aid in their construction or resolution. We invite, therefore, those priests both formally and informally operational within the diocesan boundaries and the greater Crownlands to gather within the Imperial City of Rittersberg, at its parish chapel, during the month of Horen’s Calling, 2064. Additionally welcomed are those provincial monastics and acolytes. As for Godfrey, so for us. May the Lord guide our word and hand. Signed in Faith Fr. Daniel Pontius de Senna Fr. Anselm von Callahan Fr. Lothaire Paul Halcourt

Full Name of Man - Leonhardt Aldersberg Date of Birth of Man - 2034 Name of Woman - Mallory Helvets Date of Birth of Woman - 2024 Location of Ceremony - Cathedral of the Fifty Skulls, St. Godwinsburg, Alba Date of Ceremony (Year) - 2061 Name of Clergyman who performed ceremony - Fr. Daniel Pontius de Senna

✠ Full Legal Name: Daniel Pontius de Senna ✠ Age (Must be over 18): 28 ✠ Residence (Must be within Rittersberg): Hadriansmarkt 3 ✠ I cast my vote in favor of…: Gennad var Vigo

[!] A letter was delivered to the High Jeweller. Of Mirion-Angbar I write in correction of that section concerning the Harrenite Ludodain, as pertains to its particular origins. As I recall, it was during my son's youth, when he found companionship in some youthful Haeseni king or prince - when that polity was yet in existence - that he took to the gathering of a number of a number of signatures from the denizens of the White City in support of the implementation of an iteration of Haeseni Chess within the city walls, in part as a diplomatic venture. This was submitted to his grandmother, who yet reigned as Queen. Thus was a board set nearabouts the mountain-keep, where, no doubt, it took to a life of its own. If you should need any further explanation, do send word. Aeneth Ilia de Ekain Queen-Mother of Idunia

NAME: Daniel Pontius de Senna VOCATION: Priest TRIBE / CULTURE: Rhenyar BIRTH YEAR: 2033 ORDINATION DATE: 2059 ORDINATOR: Bernard II CURRENT DIOCESE: St. Thomas of Gaekrin ASSIGNMENT: Wandering Priest WRITTEN WORKS: TBA OOC: USERNAME: littyfam DISCORD: littyfam

Volume 2 13th of Horen’s Calling, 631 AA ✠ A CALL FOR STAFF ✠ Whereas the Imperial Gazette has found fair footing in its recollections of His Imperial Majesty’s Witenmot, and is readily able to recount all official proceedings of the Imperium, it is with great joy that it announces its intention to expand its purview into broader journalistic activities, inclusive of reports of ongoings from the multiplicity of imperial provinces, published interviews of individuals of note, and other writings of miscellany. It is thus that the Gazette publishes this call for those willing to act as interviewers, reporters, and writers beneath the oversight of the Chancellery. Citizens of the Empire wishing to serve as reporters or scribes may address a letter of interest to the Master of the Imperial Gazette, Daniel Pontius de Senna, and arrange an interview at his office within the Rathaus. WITENMOT, 628 AA SESSION The second session of His Imperial Majesty’s First Witenmot (The Wise Assembly) has been concluded. The following is a record of the events that occurred therein; ✠ The Matter of Idunia Seats The Witenmot deliberated whether or not Idunia should be given additional seats in the Assembly. Motsmembers voted and resolved as follows; 2 Additional Seats - No Votes. 1 Additional Seat - 6 Votes 0 Additional Seats - 2 Votes. THUS, it is resolved that the Exilic Kingdom of Idunia shall be awarded one additional seat upon the Witenmot. The next session shall debate, discuss, and resolve which community will host this seat. ✠ Lex Tiberi Penalty for Murder The Witenmot deliberated what the Imperial Penalty for those guilty of murder should be. The Assembly voted as follows; Drawing and Quartering - 1 Vote Hanging - 6 Votes Beheading - 2 Votes THUS, it is resolved that all persons found guilty of murder by a fair and impartial Imperial Trial will be sentenced to hang by the neck until dead. ✠ On Imperial Road Improvements The Witenmot deliberated whether or not any of the major arterial roads connected to the capital should be cobbled, at the expense of the Imperial Treasury. The Assembly voted as follows; Capital to St. Godwinsburg - 1 Vote Capital to Tarnavon - 0 Votes Capital to Leonstadt - 0 Votes. No Roads - 7 votes THUS, it is resolved no roads connecting major hubs to the capital shall be cobbled at imperial expense. THE IMPERIAL CORONATION In jubilant spirits does this Gazette reiterate the coming investiture of His Imperial Majesty, Hadrian, as Emperor of Man. As happened with their predecessors, the Emperor Tiberias, and the Apostolic King Tar-Anorhil of Idunia, His Imperial Majesty’s coronation shall be duly followed by that of the High King Tar-Zôrzagar of Idunia - both with the endorsement and anointment of His Holiness, High Pontiff Bernard II of the Church of the True Faith. The proceedings are to begin on the 7th of Aurelian’s Glory, in the year 631 AA, within the Imperial Palace. ON THE IMPERIAL CHANCELLERY His Imperial Excellency, the Archchancellor, has bidden that the imperial citizenry be made aware of the functionary and hierarchy of the Imperial Chancellery, as it stands in relation to the Imperial Privy and the broader bureaucracy of the Empire. In the same likeness of the Imperial Privy, the Chancellery - though distinct in its branch - derives its authority from that of the Archchancellor. It stands directly beneath the Imperial Privy in the order of precedence, holding significant administrative importance within the imperial bureaucracy. The Commissioners of the Chancellery are accountable directly to the Archchancellor, and govern a number of subsidiary offices that serve to aid in the regular operation of their relevant domain within the Chancellery. Thus stands the composition of the Imperial Chancellery. APPOINTMENTS ✠ To the Privy of Middelan His Imperial Excellency, Aetius Vanderius Thrax, is appointed to the seat of the Lord Marshal. Her Imperial Excellency, Valentina Antonia, Princess of Asturias, is appointed to the seat of the Lady Chamberlain. His Imperial Highness, Johannes Marius, Duke of Hollyhold, is appointed to the seat of the Prince-Justiciar. ✠ To the Imperial Chancellery His Excellency, Sir Heinrik Pinkhasov Ludovar, Duke of Kvasz, is appointed to the seat of the Vice Chancellor. His Excellency, Daniel Pontius de Senna, is appointed to the seat of the Imperial Master of the Gazette. Her Excellency, Andromede dey Mesford, is appointed to the seat of the Imperial Master Physician. His Excellency, Niccolò Rosevena, is appointed to the seat of the Dean of the Crownlands. Her Excellency, Anastasia von Augusten, is appointed to the seat of the Reeve of the Burgundian Crownlands. AVE IMPERIUM H V M A N I T A S I N V I C T A HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Hadrian I of the House Horen, by the Grace of GOD, Emperor of Man, Holy Imperator, King of Burgundy, Seventis, Salvus, Renatus & Oren, Duke of Middelan, Helena, Lorraine, Sunholdt and Reutov, Protector of Grense, Protector of the Heartlanders, Patriarch of House Horen & the Tiberian Dynasty, Captain-General of the Church, Defender of the Faith. HIS IMPERIAL EXCELLENCY, Ledicort de Senna, Imperial Archchancellor. HIS EXCELLENCY, Parzival von Augusten, Viscount of Azor, Heir to the House of Augusten, Lord Exchequer of Alba, Lord Speaker of the Witenmot, Folkman of Steinwal, and Sergeant of the Prince’s Army of Alba. HIS EXCELLENCY, Daniel Pontius de Senna, Master of the Imperial Gazette.

THE TRAVELS OF BROTHER NICOLOSO AN ACCOUNT OF A MONK’S JOURNEY IN THE TIME OF THE PETRAN CIVIL WAR Edited and annotated by Acolyte Daniel Pontius de Senna With advisement from Magister Avartagh of Lemon Shire Published on the 8th of Harren’s Folly, 627 AA. PREFACE With the consent of Magister Avartagh, I publish this edited and annotated edition, with additional analysis, of a diary written by one Br. Nicoloso, a monk of the Church, through 481 to 483 AA. While little textual remnants exist of this man outside of this thin tome, there can be no doubt that this man had a legible impact upon his contemporaries. Indeed, Fr. Avartagh tells me that His Holiness Leviticus saw in this monk a model of faith - one which would turn him towards the priesthood. While I have endeavoured to explain as much of the text as I am able (even to rudimentary excess), there are notable absences. I pray that you excuse them; whether by the obscurity of time, or some other obfuscations, their meaning is lost to me. THE TRAVELS OF BROTHER NICOLOSO DAY I - DRAGON’S ROAR, 481 AA A quiet day, a quiet land. A small camp of soldiers and men living in tents asked for a prayer.¹ Poor things out in the rain. In Petra,² a man named Wings³ dubbed me Brother Barrel. DAY II - HOREN’S CALLING, 482 AA A man named Callahan⁴ asked me to oversee the camp as clergy. Met the duke,⁵ and the brewer baron,⁶ and fellow Illatians.⁷ Settled a froggy dispute, rebuilt the shrine. A coup in Petra,⁸ visited the duke⁹ there. Dodged an arrow staying with the camp. DAY III - OWYN’S LIGHT, 482 AA Visited the Silver City,¹⁰ learned of magic and demonology. Need to send Callahan to Barrowwood?¹¹ Scouted the city in the sands.¹² Accepted Tater. Keep an eye out for an old grey man, name starts with A. Petra came to blows.¹³ Saved Wings, a brave knight died in my arms.¹⁴ Buried two children and a mother.¹⁵ Brother Tio¹⁶ tried to slap His Grace;¹⁷ I stopped and scolded him. He cursed me. I will not return to Petra. DAY IV - GODFREY’S TRIUMPH, 482 AA Petra's madness spreads. A good spirit walks among us - he sought to aid his friend Sandra against Valda.¹⁸ A small trial was held for their childishness. He fears for his future, though he has all the time in the world. A good man. Afanasy is with me now. DAY V - AURELIAN’S GLORY, 482 AA A slow day, spent speaking with the holy ghost. My knowledge of drink has been challenged, I must show the little ones how it is done. DAY VI - SUN’S SMILE, 482 AA The Idiot's Divorce has ended with a slaughter in Petra.¹⁹ I was not there to witness it, but the woman won. DAY VII - HARREN’S FOLLY, 482 AA Brain attacked the town. Buried Valerie O'Bryan, tossed like a doll against the walls. Callahan has gone mad with grief. Nearly killed in the orc city²⁰ for speaking Blah, Fe-Orc²¹ fought for me, as did a shaman. DAY VIII - DRAGON’S ROAR, 482 AA Finished my first batch. The Fe-Orc who aided me in their city lost a finger to a dwarf. Need a witch doctor to trade for my own. Borok, Bumba, and Al-Ok are known.²² DAY IX - HOREN’S CALLING, 483 AA Automail²³ is what they call it; there are smiths outside Minitz,²⁴ but I have not seen them. A bloody imprint of a hand stands here. Luckily, she was hesitant to have it cleaned. DAY X - OWYN’S LIGHT, 483 AA Caius of Myrine²⁵ will write if he finds the automail makers, return a letter if I find them first. A bloody imprint of a hand, absent of a middle finger, stands here. A knight is finding an automail maker for me. Hopefully I will not need to lose a finger. Blissfoil and Frostvine to reduce pain, as per Miss Holly.²⁶ DAY XIII - SUN’S SMILE, 483 AA Leave stone buttons so the blind may walk the monastery.²⁷ Buried Otto with a bottle of Monk.²⁸ I think he would have liked that. ¹ This refers to the lands held by the recently-enfeoffed Duchy of Adria, then settled only by a small camp without any major permanent structures. ² At this time, Petra had established itself as a newly-independent Archduchy, with its capital in the resettled ruins of Old Vienne, thereafter known as Valfleur. ³ A minor nobleman of Petra of the name Sir Gregory von Draco, commonly known as ‘Wings’. ⁴ He who would later be elected as High Pontiff Leviticus, yet at this time was a lawyer acting as Diplomat of Adria. His allegiance to the Duchy is attested in Dwarven records. ⁵ This referring to Heinrik Sarkozic, Duke of Adria. ⁶ Likely Stefan Euler, Baron of Eulersburg. His family would later come to be renowned in the art of foodmaking and beermaking. ⁷ Illatians are definitively attested for within the Adrian camp at the time. ⁸ The seizure of Valfleur by Constanz Novellen’s Sons of Petra. ⁹ This referring to Constanz Novellen, Archduke of the Petra. ¹⁰ The High Elven capital, commonly referred to as the ‘Silver City’ irregardless of its iteration, was at this time Asul’hileia, after the completion of its construction some 18 years prior in 463 AA. ¹¹ In all likelihood an erroneous reference to the Barrowlands, settled only two years prior in 479 AA, with the foundation of Uther Pendraic’s Barrowton, in his capacity as Lord of the Barrow Marches. ¹² A possible reference to the ruins of Kisura-Ar, excavated a century prior by Aaliyah of Brev, and situated within an area termed the Red Desert. ¹³ The first major battle of the Petran Civil War, the Battle for Castle Moere, which was stormed by forces of Archduchess Renilde during a tribunal gathered to try her for adultery. ¹⁴ A likely reference to Sir Arthur de Lyons, then the Knight-Paramount of Petra, who perished in the Battle for Castle Moere. ¹⁵ The ‘two children’ mentioned here may possibly be Casimir and Augustus Vilac, alleged to have perished during the battle. Later records of the Church contest this. ¹⁶ It is possible, though highly unlikely, that the ‘Tio’ here indicates Teodosio Cardinal Tyria. A more probable explanation is that of a fellow monk, whose name is otherwise lost to recorded history. ¹⁷ This possibly referring to Viktor Cardinal Nescia, whose presence at the battle is rumoured, though remains unmentioned in any contemporary writings. ¹⁸ Likely Dame Valda Arvidottor, whose presence within the Duchy of Adria is attested at the time. She would later join the Citrine Guard of Lemon Hill. ¹⁹ The conclusive Battle for the Commonwealth, won by the forces of Archduchess Renilde. ²⁰ This is almost certainly the effective capital of Krugmar at the time, San’Velku. ²¹ A commonplace term referring to female orcs. ²² These referring to Ar-Borok’Akaal, the recently anointed Rex of Krugmar, the witch doctor Bumba’Akaal, and perhaps the Motsham Al-Uk’Yar. ²³ ‘Automail’ being a certain variety of metalwork that enables the replacement of limbs, oft with devices of greater capacity for use than flesh. ²⁴ Particularly, Minitz’s principal city of Neu Brandthof. ²⁵ This being Caius Mareno, then the heir to the March of Myrine, a vassal of the Principality of Savoy. ²⁶ The only extant reference to a Holly at the time of the Nicoloso’s travels is of a brief mention within the judiciary proceedings of Minitz; this is congruous with Nicoloso’s presence at Minitz the previous month. Her likeness of identity must thus be presumed. ²⁷ There exists three options of varying likelihood for the monastery indicated here. The most plausible is that of the Abbey of Saint Robert of Metz, which maintained a community until the flight from Almaris, followed thereafter by the Monastery of Saint Foltest, located near Valfleur yet lacking a continued ecclesiastical presence from its foundation, followed thereafter by the Fraternal Society of Saint Wilfriche, given the lack of evidence for any structure of theirs remaining to the 20th century. ²⁸ While the ‘Otto’ mentioned here is unattested, physical evidence indicates the ‘Monk’ was an alcoholic beverage, familiarly referred to as ‘Drunken Monk Mead’. RECONSTRUCTION OF BR. NICOLOSO'S JOURNEY Whereas effectively the entirety of Nicoloso’s actual pathway is absent from the text, we can surmise, through extant maps and the contents of his diary, the most probable journey undertaken by the monk. In the month of Dragon’s Roar, 481 AA, we can place Nicoloso in Petra with certainty. The nearest camp occupied by soldiers, therefore, would be the Adrian Camp; thus, in this month, he travels from the Adrian Camp to Valfleur. By the month of Horen’s Calling, 482 AA, Nicoloso must have returned to the Adrian Camp, wherein the then-Adrian Diplomat, Callahan, asked his aid. Once more, he journeys to Petra, and then returns to the Adrian Camp. In the month of Owyn’s Light, 482 AA, he visits Asul’hileia. Given the lack of any land route, it seems likely that he travelled via the nearby port at Eastfleet to the aforementioned High Elven cityport. From there, he might have travelled through the adjacent Red Desert to the ruins of Kisura-Ar. By the latter half of this month, he must have returned to Petra, at the sub-urban Castle Moere. Here, I have presumed his travel through one of two minor unnamed ports nearer to the Petran polity, in respect of the lacking mention of any events within the Adrian Camp between these two points. At this point, I assume his return to Adria, wherein he seems to have settled. Through Godfrey’s Triumph, Aurelian’s Glory, and Sun’s Smile, there is no indication of travel beyond the Adrian Camp. In Harren’s Folly, 482 AA, he is explicit in his visitation of San’Velku. If any land route existed between the Adrian Camp and the orcish city, it was certainly an obscure and dangerous one. Therefore, I have chosen to model his travel as occurring via an Eastfleet-Talon’s Port voyage, wherefrom a short path existed to the abovementioned capital. Through Dragon’s Roar, 482 AA, I posit his return to the Adrian Camp where he would have, in all likelihood, tended to this batch of alcohol. While a chance certainly exists that he either remained in or returned to San’Velku, I think it more likely that an exchange of letters took place between the unnamed Fe-Orc and Nicoloso. This, however, is near-entirely conjecture on my part. In Horen’s Calling, 483 AA, Nicoloso seems to have travelled to Minitz’s Neu Brandthof. Given the mention of a ‘Miss Holly’, evidenced as a resident of Minitz, he seems to have remained in Neu Brandthof through Owyn’s Light, 483 AA. As footnoted before, I think it most probable that Nicoloso occupied himself in the Abbey of Saint Robert of Metz in the lands of the Kingdom of Haense, thus journeying there sometime between Owyn’s Light and Sun’s Smile 483 AA, though certainly not inclusive of the two months named. REFERENCES BY USE DAY I. HRM Eleanor of Provins, Queen-Consort of Aaun, A Study into the Cultures of the United Kingdom of Aaun, 487 AA; HL Erika Kortrevich, The Petran Civil War: A Haeseni Perspective, 589 AA; Sir Gregory von Draco, Vote ‘Wings’: Future Mayor of Valfleur, 473 AA. DAY II. HL Allessandra de Vend, Minutes of the Grand Duma of 1919, 492 AA; Goldhand Company, Goldhand Acquisition and Sales: A Trading Company, 490 AA; HG Heinrik Sarkozic, Duke of Adria, Summons to the Grand Duma of Adria: 1906, 479 AA; HG Heinrik Sarkozic, Duke of Adria, Ducal Letters for the Barony of Eulersburg, 480 AA; TH Stefan Euler, Baron of Eulersburg, The Adrian Cooking Guild, 482 AA; HL Amelia Varoche, The Diary of Amelia Varoche, 479 AA. DAY III. HE Elarhil Sullas, Okarir’mali of Haelun’or, The Opening of Asul’hileia, 463 AA; The Reformed Silver Council, 463 AA; HL Uther Pendraic, Lord of the Barrow Marches, Call to the Brave, 479 AA; HL Uther Pendraic, Lord of the Barrow Marches, The Barrowton Founding Festival: An Invitation to All, 481 AA; Aaliyah of Brev, The Necropolis of Kisura-Ar, 381 AA; HL Anthony Alexios Basrid, The Study of the Kharasi Oasis & Desert Regions, 380 AA; THR Robert Joseph de Lyons, Viscount of Enderoca, From River to Desert to Shore: The Modern History of House de Lyons, 560 AA; Father Blackwater, The Blackwater Dossier, 483 AA; HH Pontian IV, High Pontiff of the Church of the Canon, Nineteenth Golden Bull of Jorenus, 480 AA. DAY IV. The Sisters of St. Catherine, The Lessons of Saint Catherine, 485 AA; The Citrine Guard, 521 AA. DAY VI. Sir Paul Montalt, The Battle for the Commonwealth, 482 AA. DAY VII. Lakeidas’Raguk, Announcement of a Tourney, 476 AA; Grishnaakh’Raguk, The Taste of the Eternal Uzg: A Comprehensive Guide on Orcish Cuisine, 349 AA. DAY VIII. Willy of San’Velku, Rex of the Iron Horde, A Long Road Travelled, 482 AA; Kor’garr, The Kaktuz Weekli Vol. 4, 483 AA. DAY IX. Nikolai Pyotr Savelie, House Savelie, 508 AA; The Grand Opening of the Golden Boar, 481 AA. DAY X. HG Valentin van Aert, Duke of the Blackvale, and HL Caius Mareno, Pactum Fratrum in Armis, 488 AA; HL Heledd Glennmaer, Houses of Canondom: A Heraldic Study, 569 AA; The Order of Saint Tylos, Banishment of Richter Touya ‘Abysswalker’, 479 AA. DAY XIII. HH Tylos II, High Pontiff of the Church of the Canon, The Tenth Golden Bull of Jorenus, 443 AA; HH Tylos II, High Pontiff of the Church of the Canon, The Ninth Golden Bull of Jorenus, 441 AA; HL Alexander Leopold Novellen-Aldersberg, Map of the Kingdom of Oren, 455 AA; Fraternal Society of Saint Wilfriche, 433 AA. MAP & APPENDICES Adapted from Peralien, A Political Map of Almaris: 81 SA, 450 AA, and Alexander Leopold Novellen-Aldersberg, Map of the Kingdom of Oren, 455 AA. A description of a bottle of Drunken Monk Mead, found by HH High Pontiff Leviticus The bottle is a simple one, with a Lorraine inscribed upon the top of the cork. The smell - or what remains of it, two centuries having passed since its presumed creation - is flowery and woody, beneath the alcoholic remains. It is a dull, sheer gold in colour, albeit not wholly transparent. UNEDITED MANUSCRIPT

✠ Legal Name: Daniel Pontius de Senna ✠ Age: 19 ✠ Residence in Rotesberg: Grensewacht 1 ✠ I cast my vote in favor of: Ezra Helenus de Senna

Wheresoever Theodorus Manfred found himself, he came upon a copy of the missive, and thus spoke - as was his wont - to those about him: "'If men shall name the Father Drusco some scheming schismatic, then it is only for their own prior schism. What can the burning of a relic, and decree of reversion to some ancient church be, otherwise? What can the questioning of the Enlightened Truth of the Word of God as delivered by His High Exalted be, save schism? What can the refutation of the venerated, beatified, canonized, and the Aegisian High Pontificate heretofore be, save schism? If any man shall be remembered as a schismatic, 'tis not I, 'tis not Ludiger, 'tis not Drusco." And so, in what idle time he had, the priest turned to writing.

S E V E N T E E N P A S S A G E S OF SCRIPTURE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF MORTAL VIRTUE AS STANDS ABANDONED WHERE THE SO-NAMED CHURCH OF THE TRUE FAITH ABANDONS TRADITION and LAW and PRECEDENT, let my argument stand solely on the grounds of THE SACRED WORD OF THE LORD GOD AS DELIVERED UNTO HIS FOUR PROPHETS IN VIRTUE, SPIRIT, GOSPEL, and AUSPICE. PAY HEED TO THESE DIVINELY DELIVERED TEXTS, And so I shall guide you in a theater of virtue, and the virtuous shall not live except by My Word. (Virtue, 1:7) I bid My faithful this: You shall not blaspheme My Word, nor any thing that is holy. (Virtue, 1:8) And you shall discover strength of heart as you work the forge and the plow. So I am the Most High, and in pursuit of My Virtue, I bid My faithful this: You shall not be idle, nor forget your duties in favor of sloth. (Virtue, 4:7-8) You shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin. (Virtue, 5:9) And as I have ordered the estates of the earth, so have I ordered your path as well, and established the powers of My world. (Virtue, 6:5) Whatever the Lord GOD spoke, the Lord GOD spoke indeed. His word is not abrogated, never annulled. (Spirit, 2:9-10) There can be no laxity in faith for any reason, not war nor peace, not wealth nor poverty. (Spirit, 2:13) For he who rejects holiness does reject the Lord, and there is no GOD but GOD, who is the GOD of Horen and of all things. (Spirit, 3:13) He cannot be divided nor made again, and His mysteries are the holy mysteries. (Spirit, 7:17) So he descended the emanations of glory, and drew farther from GOD, until he reached the Void. And lo, he was cursed by its touch. And GOD was wroth. (Gospel, 1:17-19) He was wrathful, for he too resisted the call of Iblees, but did not receive the Lord’s Word. (Gospel, 3:5) The priesthood of Owyn, of Evaristus and Clement, carried out His command faithfully and preserved the Word of GOD, the Spirit and the Virtue. (Gospel, 5:24) For seven days and seven nights, the priests of the Lord quarreled and prayed, but could not agree. Finally, the Lord’s servant James came before them, and spoke “O elders, the Lord has sent us a prophet after one thousand years of Silence. If we cannot serve the prophet of the Lord, we serve Iblees.” And the priests were humbled, and Godfrey saw that James was good and pious. (Gospel, 6:54-57) But it came that Reynard, Godfrey’s seneschal, envied the blessings of the Lord. Long had he held the crown of Renatus in waiting for the line of Horen, and now he hated that he had not taken it. So Reynard went to Godfrey’s servant, Zacarias, and spoke “See, Godfrey has stolen your kingdom. You are the blood of our last king, who took the throne in Daniel’s departing, and who is Godfrey to steal it? Who can know his lineage and his claim?” (Gospel, 7:2-6) And the second condemns diligence, and sloth is exalted. And the last condemns faith, and doubt is exalted. So the world is a pit of suffering. (Auspice, 1:24-26) Their enemy is Iblees, who cowers in the Void. And in his army are Iblees’s slaves, the Saulicians and the apostates, consorters with Iblees, witches, and all those who serve them. (Auspice, 2:42-43) So each is given a law unto their kind, and the world is perfected. This is the promise of GOD to the World, that it shall belong to the virtuous, who love Him. (Auspice, 3:16-17) I TELL YOU THUS: the Word has been refuted; it has been blasphemied; they have claimed its annulment. Sloth and wrath have been made churchly consort; the Throne is desecrated; the clerical estate has been sent unto disorder. The Church does not preserve the Word. Holiness has been refuted, and the holy mysteries divided. The Church is made maiden of the Deceiver, and cursed by his touch, for envy has taken the hearts of once-holy men. The Church is made to quarrel, and diligence condemned. The army of the Deceiver is made mortal. THE CHURCH DOES NOT LOVE HIM. With the Lord as my guide, Father Theodorus Manfred

Appended to some copies of the document, or else scribbled on its hindside or some other free space, was this commentary: Pay heed, goodfellows of the Mother Church. There is naught but inspired truth here, derived of the Lord's Four Words. I proclaim accordance with these declarations of Fr. Lüdiger. Fr. Theodorus Manfred