jmeatball

3 minutes ago, rukio said:

Rosalia thinks of a response for a short period of time before speaking. ”To paraphrase, branding is only useful to the Faith because you yourself had to endure it and as such so should everyone else?” 

 

She frowns, retrieving a book and recalling the words of Initiate Chadmyr. ”Aeyn did not believe in brutal initiations. We find proof of this in his recorded history and book, Fatherism, An Introduction. Within this book, verbatim he states that ‘To accept the truth into one’s own heart is a simple affair. Approach a Keeper of any sort. This keeper will ask the supplicant three questions. This will be followed by a sprinkling of holy oils. The Keeper will then baste you with the presense of the All Father. Igniting your blinded soul and revealing unto you the All Father’s glory. This will be followed by the choosing of a patron paragon, to whom the individual agrees to offer a portion of their income to in exchange for blessings and intercession.” 

 

With this, Rosalia looks up from the book at Gareth, seeming puzzled before continuing. ”Our flesh is corruption, why should we brand the paragons we choose to worship upon such a tainted canvas?”

Gareth would take into account what Rosalia has said before responding “Although it is true that our flesh is corruption, it has been known in the past to tattoo our flesh a sign of our culture as well as carve into our very skin the symbols of our Patron among other runes. As well as even if Aeyn had written in his introduction a separate process of Initiation, it does not change the fact that he presided over my own Initiation and aided Tyr in the process of doing so, therefore showing his approval of such a thing”

The process of branding those who convert into the Faith is considered a recent development. It is clearly spurred on by High Keeper Aeyn and High Keeper Tyr Faretto’s beliefs of some semblance of pain within the religion. This is evident in Tyr’s process of Initiation, which I myself went through. He and Aeyn led me into the Crypts and into a room where Tyr then proceeded to cut runes into my arm and the mark of Myro, my Patron paragon. Afterwards he cut similar runes into his own arm. All the while High Keeper Aeyn watched on and eventually bandaged me up after I passed out. I had never asked Aeyn while he was alive or Tyr before his pilgrimage why he had used such a brutal method to Initiate me into the Faith. I had not known them at the time,  but would later come to find the works of Arthas which strictly prohibited violence within the Faith. Now, however, after some time in study and prayer, I may have found the answer. 

Tyr was considered to be a more radical High Keeper. He preached and proposed ideas such as the ability to convert orcs to the Faith, which is clearly stated as near impossible in the works of Aeyn. However I think both Aeyn and Tyr had chosen such a brutal Initiation process not out of spite or ignorance to the works of Arthas or the Faith, but as a Trial. Initiation is meant to separate the average follower of the Faith and the official members of the Faith (ie Purifiers, Keepers, Priests etc.) which is why it is a firmly rooted practice within the Faith. I believe that Tyr and Aeyn both used a violent method of Initiation to act as a trial of sorts, to prove ones Faith through dedication. It is for this reason that I believe branding should be considered as the way to convert or, for lack of a better term, ‘baptise’ those who are not of the Faith, so that they might join our Faith.

The process of branding is, in it of itself, a smaller form of a Trial. Ones Patron Paragon is permanently imprinted on ones body so that all may know they are of the Faith and as a reminder of whom that person truly is. Is your Patron Paragon, after all, not a reflection of your own beliefs and values? Therefore it is necessary to have a mark so that one might remind oneself, in their darkest moments, of whom one is. Branding as a form of conversion to the Faith also symbolizes the permanence of the Faith. A brand does not wash from the skin and as such a convert should not leave the All Father, less they wish to be declared an Apostate and suffer the consequences. Although it is a more painful and violent way of officially conversion someone, which as previously stated does go against the writing of Arthas, it can be considered a true trial of the convert. It represents in some miniscule sense the very pain the All Father feels everyday from his constant fighting of the Void, as well as shows ones true dedication to the Faith and its principles.

I shall conclude this essay with this: although it is a much more radical way of converting and, once again for a lack of a better word, ‘baptising’ non-believers, it is a pain that can be used to remind all of who they truly are and who protects them at all times

Signed

Keeper Gareth Faretto

*Gareth would read this and consider answers to the questions, noting that the idea of branding upon conversion derives from the old Initation process, which Rosalia has yet to go through herself, and is an important cornerstone of the Faith*

Vidar would laugh at the bravery and stupidity of his race, raising a drink in their honor and toasting to their memory

What they are

Within the Red Faith there is the all powerful All-Father which is the god in which all worship is directed. However, upon joining the faith one will often adopt a Paragon, or Demi-god, to worship and sacrifice to as well. These Paragons are humans that roamed the world after their creation and, through their devout ways, made an impact upon the land. Some were conquerors, some were great intellectuals, some were even builders but they all had one thing in common: their devotion to the All-Father. These Paragons, whose mortal soul has long passed from this world, now stand with the All-Father, advising, fighting, and assisting him where needed. Due to this they require worship similar to that of the All-Father, and each Paragon has its’ own smaller following. Because Paragons came from all walks of life, it makes it easier for anyone to join the Red Faith and worship the All-Father. Although they are divine now, they were once like us mortals and through them we can learn how to better worship and act in the All-Fathers name.  They are examples and role models for us to follow and through worshipping them we better connect ourselves to the All-Father. Their names, identities, and stories are held in the Monastery of Dunharrow and replications of this information is made wide spread to any monastery that worships the All-Father.

Signed Gareth – Keeper in Training