Written By Preston
Nov. 21, 2018, 4:15 a.m.(1/13/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Fortunato
Again, I do not disagree - and on either side we must not see the Abandoned as one group, but know that some are close to us in style, some far away, some friendly, others not, and some are beyond redemption no matter how much love might be in our hearts. But, if the matter falls to the Templars, we are of the Faith Militant. We are an army of Gloria, of the Faith. We will see things as armies do, in military ways, and our solutions will match. This is why I suggest and encourage nobles to take the lead on such things, why we supported Princess Reese, why we supported Baroness Lucita.
Written By Preston
Nov. 21, 2018, 4:10 a.m.(1/13/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Shard
I think perhaps there is a difference of perspective. You say they have no choice because it is enslavement or death - I would say that is a choice. It is not a good choice, but it is one. It isn't an easy choice either. I hope should I ever have to make it I have the strength needed to die.
I have never really blamed the Abandoned, or sought to ignore the harsh nature of some of the choices the Compact made in the past, but equally I cannot change those things. We must deal with the world as it is. And I do not blame them for choosing enslavement over death, though it forces my response. What I want though is to remove the need for them to make that choice if we can, if they will allow us, but where we cannot - where there is no understanding that can be built between us and the Abandoned, for whatever reason - that we begin to push them back from our holdings and roads so that when the enemy comes, as you say they will, that we have the first skirmishes occur further from our holdings, further from the innocents. So that defeat will not mean the end of our civilisation everytime we fight. Because that choice forces our hand in how we must behave, and it is not always in the way that lets us preserve lives.
The duty is on the nobles first and foremost - the land is theirs. And the Faith Militant - if Little Sister will forgive me for speaking for her people - will always provide support where we can. Sometimes our presence is enough to make it clear that fighting us is not as easy a choice to make either, and makes it clear that we can perhaps protect them against what moves in the woods.
I have never really blamed the Abandoned, or sought to ignore the harsh nature of some of the choices the Compact made in the past, but equally I cannot change those things. We must deal with the world as it is. And I do not blame them for choosing enslavement over death, though it forces my response. What I want though is to remove the need for them to make that choice if we can, if they will allow us, but where we cannot - where there is no understanding that can be built between us and the Abandoned, for whatever reason - that we begin to push them back from our holdings and roads so that when the enemy comes, as you say they will, that we have the first skirmishes occur further from our holdings, further from the innocents. So that defeat will not mean the end of our civilisation everytime we fight. Because that choice forces our hand in how we must behave, and it is not always in the way that lets us preserve lives.
The duty is on the nobles first and foremost - the land is theirs. And the Faith Militant - if Little Sister will forgive me for speaking for her people - will always provide support where we can. Sometimes our presence is enough to make it clear that fighting us is not as easy a choice to make either, and makes it clear that we can perhaps protect them against what moves in the woods.
Written By Preston
Nov. 20, 2018, 9:03 a.m.(1/11/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Fortunato
I do not disagree that many inside the compact can fall to similar temptations - and do. Though I am not aware of whole families doing so, and if you are both ourselves and Prince Laric would, I am certain, welcome that information with a heavy heart. That is a different style of threat, and one where I hope people have every confidence in the Faith and the Inquisition to oppose.
I also do not advocate slaughter. Many of the abandoned in the Oathlands, for example, hold corrupted variances of our own Faith. Now in that corruption there is danger, but I do not think them an enemy and I would hope they could be convinced to bend the knee and thus agree to remove the threat they pose to us. What I advocate is holding our land so that those who choose not to rejoin the Compact do not encroach onto the roads that we need to move our supplies, our silver, our armies. So they stop being able to strike at will when raiding into the heart of our lands. You say, and others say, that those who choose to side with the enemy are also victims. And perhaps I would agree. But, being a victim does not make you innocent. Nor does it excuse you from the consequences of the choice that you made in which type of victim you wished to be. Nor does it relieve us of our duties to safeguard our people, our faith and true innocents.
Nothing will make us fully safe, you are correct. But that does not mean we should stop trying, striving for a place where people are as safe as we can make them. And it does not mean that we cannot push back the threat so that at least our homesteads are protected and instead the battle takes place at the edges of civilisation rather than at its heart. It does not mean we cannot do something to stem the constant flow of dead.
I also do not advocate slaughter. Many of the abandoned in the Oathlands, for example, hold corrupted variances of our own Faith. Now in that corruption there is danger, but I do not think them an enemy and I would hope they could be convinced to bend the knee and thus agree to remove the threat they pose to us. What I advocate is holding our land so that those who choose not to rejoin the Compact do not encroach onto the roads that we need to move our supplies, our silver, our armies. So they stop being able to strike at will when raiding into the heart of our lands. You say, and others say, that those who choose to side with the enemy are also victims. And perhaps I would agree. But, being a victim does not make you innocent. Nor does it excuse you from the consequences of the choice that you made in which type of victim you wished to be. Nor does it relieve us of our duties to safeguard our people, our faith and true innocents.
Nothing will make us fully safe, you are correct. But that does not mean we should stop trying, striving for a place where people are as safe as we can make them. And it does not mean that we cannot push back the threat so that at least our homesteads are protected and instead the battle takes place at the edges of civilisation rather than at its heart. It does not mean we cannot do something to stem the constant flow of dead.
Written By Preston
Nov. 20, 2018, 5:47 a.m.(1/11/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Delilah
Your words are touching Lady Delilah. Of course not all the 600 were knights - be they Godsworn Knights of the Faith or Disciples who serve as Knights of their Fealties - and many were simple folk who serve with us for hours each week, many who have no surname, little family. They serve for the love of the Gods, and of their people. And we will remember them equally, and find a place of rest for them amongst our brothers and sisters. We do not differentiate - those who die together in service, unless their family wish otherwise, will have their remains rest together. It is why, though they are not part of the Faith Militant, we have made space for the Mercies that fall in combat in the Grand Mausoleum of the Faith Militant - so they should not be separated from the Knights of Solace who so guard them in life. If ever you go to Sanctum to see it, you will find their memorial in the centre - a beautiful fountain, with small statues of the fallen mercies set around it.
Why, against such horrors as we saw at the lodge, the lines held - I could give in to hubris and say it was the presence of their Grandmaster, but in truth we had Dame Esoka with us - Gloria's chosen. When the beloved of our patron God steps forward, how can we do anything but match that step? She led the infantry with bravery and placed her own life in no greater regard than that of the most common born of her charges. And that is the kind of love we share in the Templars. None of us are better. The disciples have a voice. And the Godsworn knights will come together to discuss decisions at the Chapter House. Even if their Knights Marshall and I must make decisions ultimately, all voices are heard. And opportunity is there for all. I am, after all, a fairly simple orphan, and now I am the Grandmaster.
Why, against such horrors as we saw at the lodge, the lines held - I could give in to hubris and say it was the presence of their Grandmaster, but in truth we had Dame Esoka with us - Gloria's chosen. When the beloved of our patron God steps forward, how can we do anything but match that step? She led the infantry with bravery and placed her own life in no greater regard than that of the most common born of her charges. And that is the kind of love we share in the Templars. None of us are better. The disciples have a voice. And the Godsworn knights will come together to discuss decisions at the Chapter House. Even if their Knights Marshall and I must make decisions ultimately, all voices are heard. And opportunity is there for all. I am, after all, a fairly simple orphan, and now I am the Grandmaster.
Written By Preston
Nov. 19, 2018, 3:40 p.m.(1/10/1010 AR)
As I think of our losses at the Lodge, as I see the debate over Bliss Whisper's comments, I cannot help but think about grief. It is a hard and horrid think to lose someone, whether a loved one, someone you are responsible for, or simply a friend, a compatriot. But, those that died were killed by those who live their life outside the compact, or by their beasts or those weapons forged with their blood and sinew. And so we grieve. We grieve because of the lives ended, the stories cut short, the tomorrows that will never be. And we should - it is natural.
But we should also ask how we came to this situation, how we could have stopped it. In the times of peace and comfort between these fights, some nobles try to bring more of the Abandoned into the compact - these are noble efforts and well worth pursuing. But we never then address the question of what of those who refuse to bend the knee. What of those who will not agree? The answer so far is that we leave them. The attitude given is that they are harming no-one. That they should be allowed to live their life how they wish. And a blind eye is turned to the slow drip of bodies that arrive at Arx, or at Sanctum or at any other holding where Abandoned tribes prey on our caravans, attack pilgrims, attack patrols. I understand this. We want to be good and gentle, we must never allow the innocent to come to harm, we must always do our best to save people.
That is why we supported Princess Reese in her efforts to convince the tribes of the Gray Forest to bend the knee. That is why we supported the Barony of Saik. That is why we have always, and will always, help those who wish to convince the abandoned to return to the love of the Compact and of the Faith. They should be given that choice. But once that choice is made, if that choice is to reject the compact, we must accept they are outside. We must push them from lands that our people need, we must push them away from our roads and settlements. And those who have made that ultimate choice, and who worship our enemies, I do not need to tell you what must be done - anyone who loves the Gods knows. It doesn't need to be done because it is easy. It doesn't need to be done because it is what we want to do. Because it is neither of those things. It needs to be done because we swore to protect our people. As knights. As Faith Militant. As nobles. As the Iron Guard. However we swore, that is our duty.
Because there is a cost for allowing Abandoned tribes to exist as a resource for our enemy close to our own people when they refuse to join the compact. We just paid the latest instalment of that price. And I for one will pay no longer.
But we should also ask how we came to this situation, how we could have stopped it. In the times of peace and comfort between these fights, some nobles try to bring more of the Abandoned into the compact - these are noble efforts and well worth pursuing. But we never then address the question of what of those who refuse to bend the knee. What of those who will not agree? The answer so far is that we leave them. The attitude given is that they are harming no-one. That they should be allowed to live their life how they wish. And a blind eye is turned to the slow drip of bodies that arrive at Arx, or at Sanctum or at any other holding where Abandoned tribes prey on our caravans, attack pilgrims, attack patrols. I understand this. We want to be good and gentle, we must never allow the innocent to come to harm, we must always do our best to save people.
That is why we supported Princess Reese in her efforts to convince the tribes of the Gray Forest to bend the knee. That is why we supported the Barony of Saik. That is why we have always, and will always, help those who wish to convince the abandoned to return to the love of the Compact and of the Faith. They should be given that choice. But once that choice is made, if that choice is to reject the compact, we must accept they are outside. We must push them from lands that our people need, we must push them away from our roads and settlements. And those who have made that ultimate choice, and who worship our enemies, I do not need to tell you what must be done - anyone who loves the Gods knows. It doesn't need to be done because it is easy. It doesn't need to be done because it is what we want to do. Because it is neither of those things. It needs to be done because we swore to protect our people. As knights. As Faith Militant. As nobles. As the Iron Guard. However we swore, that is our duty.
Because there is a cost for allowing Abandoned tribes to exist as a resource for our enemy close to our own people when they refuse to join the compact. We just paid the latest instalment of that price. And I for one will pay no longer.
Written By Preston
Nov. 18, 2018, 3:19 p.m.(1/7/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Daemon
Sir Daemon was Dame Thena's shadow, the gentle voice in her ear. As Dame Esoka is to me, he was to her. An aide. A friend. Even someone respected beyond what one might expect of the disciples. Someone who gave their life to the Faith Militant.
Dame Esoka strode forth - spreading the light of Gloria to the wavering soldiers - at the lodge. I can imagine but for a bit of luck in where a tree fell she could have been lost entirely. So my heart does bleed for Dame Thena and the Silver Order, for the loss they have suffered. For the hole left behind.
Stormwall changed all of us, as Sir Jeffeth says, but each of us who survived knew how thin the line was between life and death. How easy it is to find yourself on the wrong side of that line, a step to the side one way or the other can place you in safety or the fall of the enemy's arrow. So many I thought invincible I realise now are just human and soft and vulnrable as we all are, and we should treasure those moments.
I will pray for Sir Daemon, I will wish him well on his journey to the wheel as his body joins our brothers and sisters in the Maosoleum. As we welcome all the knights who fell at the lodge if they wish, to honour their oaths to Gloria and Limerance.
Dame Esoka strode forth - spreading the light of Gloria to the wavering soldiers - at the lodge. I can imagine but for a bit of luck in where a tree fell she could have been lost entirely. So my heart does bleed for Dame Thena and the Silver Order, for the loss they have suffered. For the hole left behind.
Stormwall changed all of us, as Sir Jeffeth says, but each of us who survived knew how thin the line was between life and death. How easy it is to find yourself on the wrong side of that line, a step to the side one way or the other can place you in safety or the fall of the enemy's arrow. So many I thought invincible I realise now are just human and soft and vulnrable as we all are, and we should treasure those moments.
I will pray for Sir Daemon, I will wish him well on his journey to the wheel as his body joins our brothers and sisters in the Maosoleum. As we welcome all the knights who fell at the lodge if they wish, to honour their oaths to Gloria and Limerance.
Written By Preston
Nov. 16, 2018, 5:01 a.m.(1/2/1010 AR)
625 brothers and sisters of the Templars lost - a little under 200 of us walked from the field. We had won. But the cost? The cost is something that once again weighs on my soul. It is a price we keep paying, a price we have to pay, and it is a price I would give anything not to have to pay. To see those I know, men who seem so invincible one moment before, crumple lifeless to the ground with their bodies broken.
The bodies will be taken to the harlequins for preparation, before the remains go to the ossury at the Grand Maosoleum of the Faith. I will have to speak with Dame Thena once she is up and organise a Solace escort for that on the road.
Each time it feels we come closer to the point of defeat, each defense is one step closer to a defeat we cannot recover from. I am tired of it. It is time to restore the Faith Militant to what it was in the time of the great eras of the past, to the force that held against the darkest times in the Elven Wars and since. It is time.
The bodies will be taken to the harlequins for preparation, before the remains go to the ossury at the Grand Maosoleum of the Faith. I will have to speak with Dame Thena once she is up and organise a Solace escort for that on the road.
Each time it feels we come closer to the point of defeat, each defense is one step closer to a defeat we cannot recover from. I am tired of it. It is time to restore the Faith Militant to what it was in the time of the great eras of the past, to the force that held against the darkest times in the Elven Wars and since. It is time.
Written By Preston
Nov. 14, 2018, 5:11 p.m.(12/27/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Thena
Do take care of yourself, Dame Thena. The Faith has a great many uses for you yet - and I would be sad should things happen to you.
Written By Preston
Nov. 13, 2018, 4:40 a.m.(12/24/1009 AR)
When we marched north to Stormwall it was the first time I had ever seen the everfrost of the north. We wrapped ourselves in cloaks, we sat around fires. I went north as a Knight Marshall, as commander of the force. We knew losses would come - the scale was not one we expected. Those losses are a wound that I still bear on my heart, one that will never go away. To those men and women, those brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, I will always owe a debt - one I will repay in what small way I can by always ensuring the Templars are there to protect the innocent, to uphold the Faith and the values of the Gods.
Yet now, we march only a short distance. Only into the woods, to the lodge of Petrichor. It is a place my Templars know well. Many at times have lodged here, when we needed Templars close to the city due to threats that had emerged, the Lodge is where they would stay. Our forces are small, a fraction of even what we have available in the city. And now I march on as Grandmaster. It is all so different to Stormwall. I hope that means our losses will also be light. But for those that do fall, and perhaps me amongst them, there will be a place in the Grand Maosoleum of the Faith Militant at Sanctum, a piece of pristine marble yet untouched that will bear their name.
But, we take a small step also in this fight towards restoration of the Faith Militant, restoration of the Templars. We are great, but great is not sufficient to bear the burden we must in the challenges that are ahead. We must aspire to become more. To be greater still. Perhaps I will not be the Grandmaster to do this. Perhaps I am to fall and others rise in my place. But. The trajectory is now set.
Yet now, we march only a short distance. Only into the woods, to the lodge of Petrichor. It is a place my Templars know well. Many at times have lodged here, when we needed Templars close to the city due to threats that had emerged, the Lodge is where they would stay. Our forces are small, a fraction of even what we have available in the city. And now I march on as Grandmaster. It is all so different to Stormwall. I hope that means our losses will also be light. But for those that do fall, and perhaps me amongst them, there will be a place in the Grand Maosoleum of the Faith Militant at Sanctum, a piece of pristine marble yet untouched that will bear their name.
But, we take a small step also in this fight towards restoration of the Faith Militant, restoration of the Templars. We are great, but great is not sufficient to bear the burden we must in the challenges that are ahead. We must aspire to become more. To be greater still. Perhaps I will not be the Grandmaster to do this. Perhaps I am to fall and others rise in my place. But. The trajectory is now set.
Written By Preston
Nov. 1, 2018, 5:45 a.m.(11/28/1009 AR)
As many go to their mirrors, to contemplate what they might find there, make sure you do not get lost. Though all that is in the mirror is a reflection, so you must remember that it is distorted. Left is right, right is left. And what is good may appear evil, and what is evil may hide in an appearance of good. The mirror is a place for contemplation perhaps, but no place to dwell.
Do not revel in your doubt, do not question the fundamental truths, and most importantly should the mirror look back? Run.
Do not revel in your doubt, do not question the fundamental truths, and most importantly should the mirror look back? Run.
Written By Preston
Oct. 18, 2018, 10:11 a.m.(10/19/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Darrow
It is hard when the topic of inducting people into the Hall of Heroes comes up. Various nominations will always come - each fealty will have their heroes, and if one fealty gets to nominate someone, then all wish to nominate their greatest. Not wishing to risk losing others support for their nominations, you will then find nominations often proceed. The long campaign for support, and eventual call of a convocation is where the difference is made. That is where we can truly assess if someone's contribution was not just as a hero of their fealty, not just a hero in the ordinary sense, but if they are a hero of the compact, and a hero of such magnitude that they should be memorialised for all time on sacred ground. It is a serious duty - and it is also important to note that rejection at that stage is not to deny the person was a good person, or a great person, or a nice person, or a hero, but to say that they are not at the extreme level of heroism that must apply for inclusion.
I am not a Seraph, I have no say in these convocation as I understand it. Though it would be disingenuous for me to pretend my voice does not matter - there is a difference between humility and dishonesty through self deception. There is talk though that one campaign of the recent nominations will submit to the Faith - that for Lord Darrow Darkwater. He swore his oaths before Gloria and Limerance as a knight. And he fell against the Pirate King, the Gyre, in the recent war. He and his people fought with a resolve that spoke of deep faith in the necessity of what they did, but also of love for the Compact. I have gone and seen the site of his falling - and from the beauty of the spot, you would think the Gods themselves weeped and marked his passing. It is not my place to judge whether that is sufficient, whether his life was sufficient, for him to join the Hall of Heroes. But I think no-one can deny his right to be considered.
His fall also has a lesson - because we failed to act swift enough, so that sacrifice became essential, inevitable. And I include myself in those who should have pressed for swifter action. In truth I am not sure if swifter action were possible however - we are not where we were in the days of the Reckoning. We still allow doubt and political concerns to restrain and bind us. Once, my order could respond swiftly across Arvum. Once, great fortresses of the Faith stood as bastions, anchoring our people and our culture in the dark, allowing the Faith Militant to muster close to action, to equip ourselves, to fight and respond before threats became too large, to allow us flexibility. Perhaps the debt I owe to Lord Darrow, as the living to the dead, is to ensure that a sacrifice like his will not be forced upon us again through a lack of preparedness.
I am not a Seraph, I have no say in these convocation as I understand it. Though it would be disingenuous for me to pretend my voice does not matter - there is a difference between humility and dishonesty through self deception. There is talk though that one campaign of the recent nominations will submit to the Faith - that for Lord Darrow Darkwater. He swore his oaths before Gloria and Limerance as a knight. And he fell against the Pirate King, the Gyre, in the recent war. He and his people fought with a resolve that spoke of deep faith in the necessity of what they did, but also of love for the Compact. I have gone and seen the site of his falling - and from the beauty of the spot, you would think the Gods themselves weeped and marked his passing. It is not my place to judge whether that is sufficient, whether his life was sufficient, for him to join the Hall of Heroes. But I think no-one can deny his right to be considered.
His fall also has a lesson - because we failed to act swift enough, so that sacrifice became essential, inevitable. And I include myself in those who should have pressed for swifter action. In truth I am not sure if swifter action were possible however - we are not where we were in the days of the Reckoning. We still allow doubt and political concerns to restrain and bind us. Once, my order could respond swiftly across Arvum. Once, great fortresses of the Faith stood as bastions, anchoring our people and our culture in the dark, allowing the Faith Militant to muster close to action, to equip ourselves, to fight and respond before threats became too large, to allow us flexibility. Perhaps the debt I owe to Lord Darrow, as the living to the dead, is to ensure that a sacrifice like his will not be forced upon us again through a lack of preparedness.
Written By Preston
Oct. 13, 2018, 7:32 p.m.(10/10/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Rosalie
Indeed - I don't disagree. It seems that some accommodation is there to provide Bliss with a sword - for the history and meaning of the sword are not important to Bliss I do not think - in place of that. Just as if someone were to pay a 10000 silver bill with a prized ring they had no place to offer, you might ask for the ring back, but offer the 10,000 silver to ensure the person is whole.
It is regrettable that we need to even hear about it - I cannot believe it is beyond Telmar and Bliss to solve this. Both are honourable, after all.
It is regrettable that we need to even hear about it - I cannot believe it is beyond Telmar and Bliss to solve this. Both are honourable, after all.
Written By Preston
Oct. 13, 2018, 6:56 p.m.(10/10/1009 AR)
The idea that a House weapon would be treated so poorly is very sad, but given the man involved not surprising. But, the failings of Lord Everard seem tangential to the issue. It is true. A House weapon belongs to the family, not to any individual person named Sword who might wield it. That said, if you leave your purse with a servant in your house colours at the market, and he uses some portion of that silver to buy himself a pie - he had no right to spend your money, and yet it is spent and it would be wrong to deprive the baker of his money for your servants failings. With discussion I am sure those involved can find a suitable solution that sees both sides made whole, and the Faith can mediate if needs be.
Written By Preston
Oct. 2, 2018, 6:23 a.m.(9/15/1009 AR)
If we did not write whites about other things because people were dying, we would never write whites. It does not trouble me to know people are still trading silks and other fabrics, or drinking or cooking delightful pies, or doing whatever else they might be doing in their regular lives while we fight. That is exactly /why/ we fight. To preserve our way of life, our lives themselves.
If people wish to write about fornicating ducks, I still would rather praise them for doing their duty to Vellichor than castigate them for daring to write things down while I stab something and sweat in armour.
If people wish to write about fornicating ducks, I still would rather praise them for doing their duty to Vellichor than castigate them for daring to write things down while I stab something and sweat in armour.
Written By Preston
Sept. 26, 2018, 3:44 p.m.(9/4/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Victus
You are kind, High Lord. And I am sure my Little Sister will not mind that I am someone's favourite - she often takes that crown with her Solace.
Thrax's love of tradition, and our own, it helps bring understanding - even if those traditions differ in places. To see Thrax come from distant from the Faith to so very close, it says great things of the leadership of yourself and your wife.
Soon perhaps we shall have the chance to stand beside each other in battle - it seems each time we are in different places.
Thrax's love of tradition, and our own, it helps bring understanding - even if those traditions differ in places. To see Thrax come from distant from the Faith to so very close, it says great things of the leadership of yourself and your wife.
Soon perhaps we shall have the chance to stand beside each other in battle - it seems each time we are in different places.
Written By Preston
Sept. 26, 2018, 2:55 p.m.(9/4/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Reigna
I would agree but, if I may also be so bold, I might disagree, Marquessa.
No, not all will be able to quash. But. Removing temptation is part of the Godsworn duties. So many of those darker desires have no purpose with us. Why would I chase wealth when all I have is provided, when there is no children to take it on? Why would I seek lands when I can hold none? It is not fully an answer. And some Brothers and Sisters have fallen to temptation. But. There are precautions in our nature, but also in our contemplation.
I do have sympathy with the followers of the Lycene traditions - they are a minority voice in the Godsworn, and in the wider Faith. I do not think that anything I say will solve anything, even if I were to accept that by virtue of my position I am at least a middle ranking figure in the Orthodoxy. But. I also want them to know that we can discuss matters. I may disagree, and they may disagree, and we may not always see the world in the same way. And we may have different priorities. But, we are one Faith. And as I explained to Prince Talen - hmph, it must be over 2 years ago now. The ways most mirrormasks worship here in Arx may not be the style of worship that I myself am drawn to with Tehom, but, I will fight and defend and if necessary die to protect them as I would any other.
No, not all will be able to quash. But. Removing temptation is part of the Godsworn duties. So many of those darker desires have no purpose with us. Why would I chase wealth when all I have is provided, when there is no children to take it on? Why would I seek lands when I can hold none? It is not fully an answer. And some Brothers and Sisters have fallen to temptation. But. There are precautions in our nature, but also in our contemplation.
I do have sympathy with the followers of the Lycene traditions - they are a minority voice in the Godsworn, and in the wider Faith. I do not think that anything I say will solve anything, even if I were to accept that by virtue of my position I am at least a middle ranking figure in the Orthodoxy. But. I also want them to know that we can discuss matters. I may disagree, and they may disagree, and we may not always see the world in the same way. And we may have different priorities. But, we are one Faith. And as I explained to Prince Talen - hmph, it must be over 2 years ago now. The ways most mirrormasks worship here in Arx may not be the style of worship that I myself am drawn to with Tehom, but, I will fight and defend and if necessary die to protect them as I would any other.
Written By Preston
Sept. 26, 2018, 2:47 p.m.(9/4/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Vanora
It is why I was unhappy with the analogy - the fire is the feelings, the parts of us that Tehom forces us to confront, to engage with. And yes. Maybe we quash it, maybe we redirect it, but the danger is that we stoke it. Or so it is in my mind.
The rest, I assume you refer to Marach and I would caution, though I am sure you do not mean to, any whose approach is to view Marach as anything other than a lesson that there are limits to all things. No faithful should seek to 'own' him and his mistakes. Though I think it is fair to view events around it as a tragedy. Sometimes a vow forces us to kill another who is simply holding up their own vow. Sometimes a vow forces us towards death or dishonour. It is not an easy choice, and I am thankful I have yet to have to choose between competing vows.
The rest, I assume you refer to Marach and I would caution, though I am sure you do not mean to, any whose approach is to view Marach as anything other than a lesson that there are limits to all things. No faithful should seek to 'own' him and his mistakes. Though I think it is fair to view events around it as a tragedy. Sometimes a vow forces us to kill another who is simply holding up their own vow. Sometimes a vow forces us towards death or dishonour. It is not an easy choice, and I am thankful I have yet to have to choose between competing vows.
Written By Preston
Sept. 26, 2018, 12:12 p.m.(9/4/1009 AR)
I have been pondering on how best to phrase the Thirteenth, and the concerns of the Orthodoxy. The journals of some make the risks clear - to revel in the bestial nature of killing is not something Gloria would ever allow. Sometimes to see such nature in ourselves should not cause us to try and direct it, but instead to quash and purge it. Not all power is good, nor are all risks worth it.
Consider perhaps the fire of a small wooden family home. The fire provides warmth, it allows cooking to provide sustenance. Yet, it carries with it the risk that the fire might grow too large, it might consume your home and all you have. And rather than provide essential things, it deprives you of them. It is not the fire's fault - the fire was always fire - but the result of our interaction with it.
So, you do not light a fire when you do not need one, you do not let it run out of control. You are careful with it. Some will shy away from using fire without great precautions, others have mastered how to build a fire so it collapses inwards and minimise the risks in that way. These approaches are like those paths of the faith. Some in the past stepped too far - they said to control the fire was impossible. We should let it consume us, be done with it, and find a way to instead live in the scorched ruins. None of the three followings within the Faith should seek to claim such people, they are beyond the Faith and met their fate.
Hrm. I do not think this analogy works, scholar. But. Leave it. Perhaps another might improve on it or at least know where not to tread.
It is more difficult to seek understanding with those you disagree with it seems, but it does also seem more rewarding. Providing each knows the limits.
Consider perhaps the fire of a small wooden family home. The fire provides warmth, it allows cooking to provide sustenance. Yet, it carries with it the risk that the fire might grow too large, it might consume your home and all you have. And rather than provide essential things, it deprives you of them. It is not the fire's fault - the fire was always fire - but the result of our interaction with it.
So, you do not light a fire when you do not need one, you do not let it run out of control. You are careful with it. Some will shy away from using fire without great precautions, others have mastered how to build a fire so it collapses inwards and minimise the risks in that way. These approaches are like those paths of the faith. Some in the past stepped too far - they said to control the fire was impossible. We should let it consume us, be done with it, and find a way to instead live in the scorched ruins. None of the three followings within the Faith should seek to claim such people, they are beyond the Faith and met their fate.
Hrm. I do not think this analogy works, scholar. But. Leave it. Perhaps another might improve on it or at least know where not to tread.
It is more difficult to seek understanding with those you disagree with it seems, but it does also seem more rewarding. Providing each knows the limits.
Written By Preston
Sept. 25, 2018, 5:12 p.m.(9/2/1009 AR)
I have just spoken to the Order's carpenters and engineers. It seems that our second siege trebuchet is finished and loaded onto carts ready for assembly where we need it. The smiths and carpenters have been working a great many hours to get this ready, and I am grateful for their diligence and humbled by their skill. People often only see the fighting knights of the Templars, but we have a whole community behind us. Farriers, Smiths, Carpenters. All we need to sustain a crusading army.
But, I digress. A new siege engine, and one I fear will soon see use. After some discussion I think we will name this one Skald. The Liberator seems like a fitting namesake for a device designed to free people quite literally of the walls they place between themselves and the Faith.
But, I digress. A new siege engine, and one I fear will soon see use. After some discussion I think we will name this one Skald. The Liberator seems like a fitting namesake for a device designed to free people quite literally of the walls they place between themselves and the Faith.
Written By Preston
Sept. 25, 2018, 5:07 p.m.(9/2/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Reigna
If I might be bold enough, I would say that the experience will differ depending often on the context in which one lives. The knightly codes, the obedience to Gloria and Limerance, it exists for me within the structures of an order. We have our chapter house, and each full brother and sister of the Templars of any Parish may gather at theirs to discuss matters and make decisions. That said, there will always be a point where the senior brother or sister - be they simply the appointed commander, a Knight Marshal, or even myself - must make a decision. All voices are heard and have input, but the decision rests with the person who will ultimately have to answer for it.
I think of discussion as different to questioning however- perhaps it is distinction without difference though. But to me, questioning has that implication of doubt, of uncertainty. Even when I disagree with my brothers, I do not doubt their motives nor their sincerity. What I seek is simple understanding of their view. As I have said before, I think this is where it is clear that the differences between the paths of the Faith are ones of nuance. They seem major in their discussion, but are nothing in reality. Each sits alongside the other, and the Faith endures.
I think of discussion as different to questioning however- perhaps it is distinction without difference though. But to me, questioning has that implication of doubt, of uncertainty. Even when I disagree with my brothers, I do not doubt their motives nor their sincerity. What I seek is simple understanding of their view. As I have said before, I think this is where it is clear that the differences between the paths of the Faith are ones of nuance. They seem major in their discussion, but are nothing in reality. Each sits alongside the other, and the Faith endures.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.