1,001 Ways to Battle Apostasy

[caesaropapist]

DELIVERANCE

Legate Zaniah Almirah
Instead, through efficient and loyal service, he has risen to the position of Inquisitor of Her Anointed Hospitaler of Her Sepulcher, whose duty it will be, from here on out, to seek out the Brooker, the Necromancer, and the Heretic, alongside the Fourth Legion.

I never understood the gravity of what it is I did to those people, when I was a boy: from town to town, village to village. And by the time I reached the sea, I had one thought left to me.

That I no longer deserved to live.
That I would drown myself and find escape from guilt.
And here I am now: saved, but still guilty, still wretched.
And yet you tell me to labor in your name.

How times have changed.

If she saved me, why didn't she save you?
I saw you drowning in that water when I held you beneath it.
Felt the life kick from your arms and legs as the bubbles stopped coming.
I thought she might have acted, then, to save you from your plague, Fritz.
If not her, then who stilled the waters that night?

[caesaropapist]

INDEMNITY

-- As the lions devour the body of Marl Marlson... --

Theology of the Most Holy states that the morally upright method of execution for the Apostate is to bind stones to them and cast them into the deepest Waters, so that their soul will be spirited away by the purifying current when it exits the body. Then: it is known, that the opposite of this is to burn flesh, which the Mother has cautioned me against: for this burns the soul, and takes it from the domain of the Wheel, and gives it to Pra'Raj as if it were a gift. Then: what of the execution of those whose very flesh and blood endangers the waters of the Well, and any it touches?

In the case of Marl Marlson, we sent him to the Lions.

It appeared to work. For this one: I felt no guilt. When we cornered him down underneath, after You had told me of his nature, he tried to conjure a beast of the Court of Corpulent Flesh and Cruel Clay:
but I put him down fast enough, with Cedric, halfway caving his skull in with my Mace and putting him down to the ground. He didn't whimper or beg forgiveness. He went to his death resolute in his wickedness, and put up no effort. The Mother issues damnation, now: and I am confident to have been Her Executor.


[hide]They have been stalking me.
I saw my shadows moving the other night.
The Valkyrie caught me away from the Walls. I almost died.
If it weren't for Cedric and Averroes, they'd have taken me- or killed me.

Is this because I killed their prey? What do they want with me?[/hide]

[caesaropapist]

RECIDIVISM

-- A trial commences without much fanfare for the djinn incursion on the Plaza of Ephia's Well... --

How does one assess the abstract value of mercy?
Is every sinner irredeemable? If so, when am I not too undeserving?

The Trial of Fritz von Volkrin - the first, that is - has been a source of much mockery from the masses. I have questioned myself if I was too lenient, in permitting him to live. It was not the absence of guilt I assume; for in my heart of hearts, I knew him to be both Heretic and Apostate. I released him because I believed that there was still time to save him. Back: to the Well underneath Ephia, I baptized him, over: and forced him to pray and beg the Mother of Mothers. Till his arms thrashed and his cheeks went blue, unto the point of death, where miracle I alluded to earlier transpired.

I had thought, perhaps, that he may have changed.
That the evil I felt in him would fade, slowly.

I was incorrect. When the time came: I was there. Beside the Legate with shield raised. I escorted her back to the Palace, and then set down. In the sewers, I cornered them for but a moment: then found my feet tangled by some foul trick, fighting off Djinn.
Someone else caught him. Corrected for my failure. I thanked Cosine for this, and proceeded quick to Trial.
The verdict was written before it began. Guilty on all accounts. So ends the story of the cabal of Theodine Bone, who I was uplifted to destroy.

Except for one. I'm still hunting you.

PUNISHMENT
The Mother howled in sorrow when the fire stoked.
I understood then that I had committed a grave sin and must repent.
Flesh must never be exposed to fire. That is for tome alone, to ward the sky from Pra'Raj with smoke.

[caesaropapist]

IN ADDENDUM

In the end, the lot of it was a lie concocted by Them.
I had, in my hubris, allowed myself to become convinced; styling myself in my thoughts --
as some sort of Prophet to lead the faithful, like how Caliphs were once guided.

But when I ran to the source of the wellwater, there was only hate and wickedness.
The lives of some of my greatest allies were put into dire jeopardy, and when I discovered that I was fooled again...
I flew into a rage and tried to break that false Icon, in some attempt to redeem myself.

But I survived. The others say that it was by the grace of the Gods we did.
That Wanderer we saw, on burnt paths, silent: who vanished into the rock without word - that it was Him.
That the waters that parted for us were a gift from Her.

I do not believe that. I will not be fooled into thinking I am worthy of the Mother a second time.
There is no redemption for a sinner, I now understand: I can only aid to stop others from the same.

[caesaropapist]

PENNANCE BY SELF-FLAGELLATION

It has brought me a deal of trouble.
The deceit of the Djinn, pretending at Her.
The memories of that place. Her statue, the cool waters...

If they were right about me, then I would have lost Her favor. That the blessings that have been rendered to me would burn away and recede into sand. But for whatever cause or purpose, you have bid me to continue my work. At every moment, I struggle with terrible uncertainty of myself and of others.

Am I wrong to feel betrayed, hearing the likes of Cosine express doubt? Hearing Daoud say that I've been losing myself?
That the efforts of the Astronomers to conceal the work I have been charged with is an offense to me directly?

I am at a crossroads.
Either I am to beg the forgiveness of everyone till I run out of breath, or I am to act.

If I do nothing, I am weak. My hands have been far too idle for too long. What little influence I have left in this city, I should put to greater causes. Tighten the boot on the neck of the Brooker. This Moteism business is giving me an opportunity to pivot the more controversial of my duties to being a matter of law.

We'll see how it goes, next time.

PS: Get Domhnall and Graen something nice.
They've been doing a lot of good work.
And talk to Amelie again.