In the charnel pit
"I have stood in the charnel pit where the enemy spilled the blood of the Virtuous. I have looked into the eyes of those whose souls have been ground to dust. I have experienced the fear that floods the mind of those who suffer the rule of the Druj. I too felt the blood in my veins turn to ice. I too felt my Courage melt like wax before a hot flame. I too, felt Virtue drain from my body and my soul.
I promise you that no good can come of the path this Assembly has set itself upon. Turn aside. Turn aside now - before it is too late. The Silent Bell exists to warn the Empire of the dangers that lurk in the shadows. This! This is the danger. And the shadows it lurks in are our own souls.
This Assembly preaches that the Virtuous face unwelcome truths as boldly as any barbarian charge. Surely you say, we must face this truth, no matter how unwelcome. Surely we must embrace it, no matter how painful. Surely we must learn from it, no matter the suffering it brings?
This is a lie! I will tell you the real "unwelcome truth". The truth is we do not need the skills of the Buruk Tepel. We want them. We do not need the hidden lore of the Buruk Tepel. We want it. We do not need their almanacs and recipes. We want them.
Why do we want these things? To become better healers? More lies. The Buruk Tepel know how to kill, they know nothing about healing. They know how to poison the spirit, they don't know how to heal it. They know how to destroy the souls of those they enslave, they know nothing of Virtue and rebirth. We will not learn these things from the Buruk Tepel.
The unwelcome truth is that we want this lore for the same reason people have always wanted lore. Curiosity. Hunger. Desire. The unwelcome truth is that we want this lore because we want to use it. The unwelcome truth is that we want the ability to emulate the Buruk Tepel.
Virtue is not knowledge. There is no Virtue in simply knowing things. Virtue is action. I implore this assembly to take action. Turn aside. Turn aside now, before it is too late. Place this knowledge beyond the reach of mortal hands. There are some things that mortals were not meant to know. The lore of the Buruk Tepel is one of these things. Turn aside now! Let us wipe the Druj from this world and let the lore of the Buruk Tepel die with them.
Esther, of the Watchers of Belial
Overview
Eight assemblies found their highest calling at the Spring Equinox, but it is the assemblies of Courage and Prosperity who have chosen the pastoral path - seeking to aid those peoples in the greatest need.
The Prosperous see that there were places in the Empire that are not benefiting from the same wealth and opportunity as they should be. At any given time there is always part of the Empire wracked by war or ravaged by magic, but some places are strong enough, lucky enough, or simply have rich enough friends and allies to recover. Not everyone has been so fortunate and Heilyn Bronwen's Rest has called upon all who might hear to see those who need help, and help them.
The Courageous see the damage to those whose lives have been lived under the smothering cruelty of fear. Ada of House Meliora has proposed that the Empire see what can be done to alleviate the woes of those who spent their lives suffocating under the pressure of Druj miasma.
Prosperity
The Empire has grown, but not without great costs. Many of the lands and people within it bear scars from the conflicts which have been brought to them, or from the actions of those who held power before. We call upon the Prosperous to look for opportunities that will help to bring Prosperity to the damaged territories of the Empire and the people within them. Strive, toil and claim your just rewards - and give those who deserve it the chance to strive, toil and claim in their own turn. This is the Highest Calling of the Prosperity Assembly.
Heilyn Bronwen's Rest, Prosperity Assembly, Spring 388YE, Vote: Upheld with a Greater Majority 241-0- The Prosperity Assembly can use a mandate each summit for the next year to identify a single territory they wish to aid
- The mandate will lead to an opportunity for the Prosperous to meet the costs of helping the territory to rebuild
- Any opportunity will be a chance to help others become more Prosperous, rather than to benefit themselves
There are many places alluded to by Heilyn that may benefit from help. There are lands that still feel the aftershocks of the invasion by Cold Sun. There are places all across the East of the Empire that the wicked Druj have left in ruins. The territory of Feroz still languishes in poverty following the corrupt rule of Governor Rahab. For the coming year, the Prosperity Assembly may choose a place in the Empire for the generous to focus their attention.
Let none in our Empire be left without! We send (named individual) with 25 doses of liao to (territory) to ensure that all that is worthwhile is shared with those who need it.
Synod Mandate, Prosperity Assembly
Led by the named priest, pilgrims will travel to the named territory to see what can be done. Of course every territory in the Empire has suffered from the impact of war and misfortune at some point in the Empire's history, but the more lasting the damage, the more recent the damage, the easier it will be for the Assembly of Prosperity to find effective ways to help.
Each season, the civil service will assess the efforts of those who make the pilgrimage and present a single opportunity to restore the dignity, freedom and prosperity that the Imperial Constitution guarantees them. There will be at least one chance for the Assembly of Prosperity to help lift people up, to help restore their Prosperity, but it will not be cheap. If the Assembly want to help others, people less fortunate than themselves, they will need to dig deep to do it.
Courage
The Druj threat is not ended until every soul affected is freed of the fear they have wielded. It is our duty as priests of Courage to not only shed light upon the courageous but to also walk the fearful out of darkness. Let us learn everything we can about the auras of fear, how they have been created and how we can best combat them, that we may work spiritually to liberate the sept of the Sarangrave from their cruel captors once and for all. This is our highest calling.
Ada of House Meliora, Courage Assembly, Spring 388YE, Vote: Upheld with a Greater Majority 202-10The Heart
- The Silent Bell report on how the Druj create auras of fear will be published in time for the Autumn Equinox
- Earl Adel de Òrdraig and Gaelen Embercast each possess a copy of the report
- The Assembly can use the time before the Autumn Equinox to gather the information that will not be in the cardinals' report
- Once the Assembly has gathered all the information they can, they can decide what step to take next in pursuit of their highest calling
Two copies of the Silent Bell report on the use of fear as a weapon by the Druj are in circulation at Anvil. One copy was given to the former cardinal, Gaelen Embercast, and one to the new cardinal, Earl Adel de Òrdraig. That report contains the most up-to-date information the Empire has about auras of fear, and how they are created. Everything the Empire can learn from the Druj about fear is in that report.
The report has not been published yet; Gaelen or Adel are within their rights to share the report with any they wish, but the civil service is still preparing the work to be circulated more generally. That will only happen in time for the Autumn Equinox - once that happens the Empire will be in a better position to take practical steps. Given that that report will not be public knowledge until Autumn, it is not yet possible to take concrete steps to build on the knowledge it contains.
However, what the report does not include is anything about how the Empire might combat the auras of fear. The Silent Bell were never going to learn that from the Druj. Likewise, the Druj have nothing to say about how the Empire might liberate those who have suffered under the imposition of fear. While the Assembly waits to discover what can be learned from the report on fear, produced by the Silent Bell, it makes sense to focus on those things that would otherwise be conspicuous by their absence.
Those looking to help heal the ones who have suffered the crippling effects of fear might be interested in supporting the Silver Chalice's work with Ylenwe to expand the list of maladies they have the ability to treat.
When it comes to recovering from living under the malice of miasma pillars, it is the people like the Sandfishers, the Yerende, or the Ketsov who would be best able to testify on what it is like to learn how to live without the crushing weight of the Druj yoke on their shoulders. A lecture will be available to the Synod following the Summer Solstice. Courage in Convalescence which will see priests go and speak to these groups to hear their accounts of what it has been like to make the transition.
Priests who partake will compile a summary of various accounts in time for the Autumn Equinox, and become members of the Courage Assembly. This report will not contain any particular action points, commissions or actions that the machinery of state might employ to dispel fear, but will instead help priests understand the dark scars in the hearts of those who suffered the cruelty of the Buruk Tepel. The hope is that it will help make them more able to provide pastoral support to those they hope to liberate.
Bringing the two reports together for the Autumn Equinox will put the Assembly in the strongest possible position to take action. Once they have learned everything that can be discovered, then they can assess the options available to them and consider what steps they want to take next in pursuit of their highest calling.
The Hand
| First Light Refuge |
| Commission Type: Edifice |
| Location: Hope's Rest, The Barrens |
| Cost: 12 white granite, 36 crowns and one season |
| Upkeep: 6 thrones |
| Availability: Until the start of Summer Solstice 389YE |
Effects:
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| The Lantern Keeper of First Light Refuge |
| Type: Imperial Position |
| Appointment: Courage Assembly |
Responsibilities:
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- Supporters of the Proffered Hand call on the Empire to create a new edifice purely to serve the interests of those who have suffered the most
The most prominent group in the Empire that consistently works to offer succour to those who have suffered the imposition of slavery or the rule of the Druj is the Proffered Hand Network. Through various offices, the Lady of the Proffered Hand, the Abbess of Reconciliation, the Curator of Memories, the Guide to the Lost, the Hearthtender of the Unbroken, and the Hand to the Dance, the Proffered Hand reaches out to offer shelter and support to those who need it most.
But one criticism of the network is that it focuses too much on integrating former slaves into Imperial life, too much on finding them employment and work within the network - and not enough on the physical wellbeing of those it aims to help. The Abbess of Reconciliation receives an income of herbs each season from the Abbey that could be provided to those who need it most. Sinecures and ministries may provide an effective return on investment, but that is categorically not the best way to help people who desperately need support and assistance.
To counter these arguments, proposals are put together for a central hub in Hope's Rest in the Barrens to connect and support the various offices and estates of the Proffered Hand. Close enough to the Mallum to act as a first port of call for those who escape or are rescued from the clutches of the Druj, it would ensure that they had the means to outfit themselves for their new lives in the Empire.
As a purely charitable organisation, the First Light Refuge would be expensive to run - the commission would be modest, but it would provide no benefits to the Empire, and would have an upkeep of six thrones a season. The benefits would be to those the Proffered Hand wanted to help - ensuring they had what they needed to make a fresh start.
Hope's Rest would be the perfect location for the Refuge to help the people of the Mallum. Of course, if the Empire were ever in a position to try and help liberate the people of the Broken Shore, or the Iron Confederacy, Otkodov, Narkyst, or Kalsea then they would likely build new refuges on those borders. Saving people is not cheap, but can you really put a price on Virtue.
Indeed, the first people who would be most served by the refuge arrive in the Empire only a few days before the Summer Solstice. Roughly a thousand people who had never been to the Empire were rescued from Leen. The Freeborn, and the other nations on the Bay of Catazar, are helping these people come to terms with what they have been through, but that can only take them so far. The question of how to best help these people will come up again in the coming seasons, and the Refuge would be an excellent way of preparing for the worst. But more on that in the TBC wind.
The Soul
- The Empire cannot learn how the Druj create auras of fear without learning how to create auras of fear
- Esther urges the Assembly of Courage to turn aside from this path they are on
- The General Assembly could enact a mandate to make it impossible for Imperial citizens to gain access to the secret lore of the Druj
For a long time, many have believed that the best way for the Empire to learn more about the use of fear and how to counter it might be to capture or convince one or more of the Buruk Tepel to share their secrets. Not only how they employ fear, but how they protect themselves from it with their mysterious mastery of the arts of the apothecary. Indeed, some years ago Wise Rangara posited that conquering the Druj could be the most practical way for the Empire to gain access to these secrets.
Not everyone is still convinced this is the best path, no matter what Pale Raven says. Esther of the Watchers of Belial was one of the few members of the Silent Bell to return from Druj lands. Their experiences form part of the report the cardinals received, but that document is academic and dry. Stripped of emotion, by necessity, Esther feels it fails to convey the horror of what the Druj have accomplished. Recovering slowly from the experience of months spent in Druj lands, she urges the Assembly of Courage to turn aside from further pursuit of the Druj secrets.
According to Esther, what the Empire knows now is more than enough to counter the Druj weapon. There is nothing Virtuous to be gained from further knowledge, which is not to say there is nothing more to learn. Her point is that the Empire cannot learn how the Druj create auras of fear without possessing the same knowledge that the Druj. They can't discover how the Druj can torture and immiserate the people they conquer - without discovering how to do that themselves.
Esther believes, passionately, that this would be a mistake. That this knowledge will doom the Empire - that it would be better by far to let the knowledge die with the Druj. She implores the General Assembly to pass the following mandate.
Wisdom is not always knowing the answer. We send (named priest) with 150 liao to urge every Imperial citizen to forego the secret knowledge of the Druj. Wisdom is finding the right question. Let the art of creating fear die with them.
Synod Mandate, General Assembly
The report that the cardinals provides an overview of how the Druj create fear auras, but it does not contain enough knowledge to reproduce the techniques. If this mandate is enacted, then it will close the door on opportunities to learn the skills, the techniques, and the actual potion recipes that the Druj use to do that.
When the last Druj is slain, the skills they spent centuries acquiring will die with them. This mandate will not affect Wintermark, Varushka or Urizen unless it passes with a greater majority. Those nations will still gain chances to acquire the skills of the Buruk Tepel, if the mandate does not get a greater majority.