Tyranny

[Gnomer Pyle]

What is Tyranny?

1: oppressive power ; especially : oppressive power exerted by government
2a: a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler; especially : one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state
2b: the office, authority, and administration of a tyrant
3: a rigorous condition imposed by some outside agency or force
4: an oppressive, harsh, or unjust act : a tyrannical act

What is a Tyrant?

A tyrant (Greek τύραννος, tyrannos), in its modern English usage, is a ruler of a cruel and oppressive character[1] who is an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution, or one who has usurped sovereignty. The original Greek term, however, merely meant an absolute sovereign without reference to character,[2] bearing no pejorative connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods, though it was clearly a bad word to Plato, and on account of the decisive influence of political philosophy its negative connotations only increased down into the Hellenistic period, becoming synonymous with "Authenteo" - another term which carried authoritarian connotations around the turn of the first century A.D.[citation needed]

Plato and Aristotle define a tyrant as, "one who rules without law, looks to his own advantage rather than that of his subjects, and uses extreme and cruel tacticsâ€"against his own people as well as others".[3] During the seventh and sixth centuries BC, tyranny was often looked upon as an intermediate stage between narrow oligarchy and more democratic forms of polity. However, in the late fifth and fourth centuries, a new kind of tyrant, the military dictator, arose, specifically in Sicily.

[Gnomer Pyle]

What is Bane?

Bane is the iron fist. He is the spy in the dark. He is the death of freedom and the propogator of order. He is the foremost of the Dead Three, and the only one of their number to truly cheat his death in full.

He is the terror in every paladins heart. He is the black handed, jack booted, ruthless warlord. He is the conniving politician, the secretive spy-master and assasin.

He is your friend. He is the surest and most efficient form of government and social order. He makes the trains run on time. He removes the criminals, the dissidents, the undesirables. He makes life simple, clean, efficient, and productive. In return he does not demand your love. He does not demand your devotion. Only your obedience. Your obedience and your fear. For is he not a God, is he not mighty?

Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against BANE and against his anointed, saying,

“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
BANE scoffs at them.

He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

“I have installed my king
in Zhent, my holy city.”

I will proclaim the BANE's decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.

Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

You will break them with a rod of iron ;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.

Serve BANE with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.

Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

[Nihm]

Obediance is not a request :
 
And if in spite of this you will not hearken to me, but walk contrary to me, then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and chastise you myself sevenfold for your sins.  You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and your shall eat the flesh of your daughters.  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies uon the dead bodies of your idols ; and my soul will abhor you.  And I will lay your cities waste, and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors.  And I will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be astonished at it.  
 
Leviticus 26 - 27, RSV
 
 
 
I kill and I make alive ; I wound and I heal ; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.  I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh - with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.
 
Deuteronomy 32, 39b and 42
 
 
 
Regarding an enemy country :
 
I will strew your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass.  I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood ; and the watercourses will be full of you.  When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark ; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you,
 
Ezekial 32 : 5-
 
 
There are some mentions of slavery too, which definately should not be neglected as it is a core tenet of the Banite way of life.  With obediance, fear and slavery in mind you could certainly do much worse than to use selections from the Old Testament in your Banite sermons.