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- Jun 29, 2012
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The higher ranks of the Sanchella of Union had felt uneasy and pressured in the last few weeks since the battle in Torse. Indeed, the sudden arrival of the killing statue that many now believes to be Estel, threw some shrouds over the authenticity of Unionism. Already some converts from Old Gods and Faith of Estel considered returning to their old faith, and as such the Sanchella convened in the Diet of Calemburg, a large religious gathering of all Alorian heads of religion within the Sanchella of Union. For the first time since the first and second schism, the Supreme Patriarch of the Etosian Church and the High Pontiff of the Vultar Pontificate were also present during the three day religious debate.
The first subject to be discussed was obviously the statue and how the Sanchella of Union, and in tandem all other organizations of the Sanchella of Union were to interpret the events that had transpired. The Diet quickly summarized it's stance on this, the High Pontiff and the Supreme Reverend quickly agreed. The Supreme Patriarch was slow to follow, but eventually a message was broadcasted to the world from the Cathedral seat in Calemberg. The statue was indeed confirmed as the "goddess" of the Elves by the religious orders, but their explanation went further than just that.
The religious heads denounced the statue as a "construct of heresy". They claimed Estel was in fact an Elven construct from early during the Elven Empire where heretical mages made a pact with each other that would eventually spell their doom. They created the Goddess to worship so Elves could believe in a greater self, something greater than themselves that was their own and not some other religion. While this worked, the religious orders of Unionism claimed this was also their downfall as it forced the people to worship a false god. The blind faith in this construct made the Elves blind to the inevitable end of their Empire and the corruption that took hold from within. It was claimed that the magic creating her indeed proved that magic is a feat of evil, and a heresy to the Imperial Spirit.
Yet, the Sanchella also took a softer stance on magic usage within the Empire. In tandem with the Emperor's statements on magic usage a few weeks earlier, the religious orders proclaimed that the true evil behind magic was not truly magic itself, but the use of magical energies for selfish purposes. They opened the idea that magic could be used to benefit the Unionist Faith, and through such would be legal and not subject to prosecution. To this end, the Religious orders effectively gave their holy consent to the Emperor's attempt to create the Witch Hunter Order.
This Order was to serve the Empire by pairing mages and witch hunters into duo's, where the mage effectively is chained to the witch hunter. Witch hunter in this case was just a complex term for what was essentially a glorified warrior with certain skills, abilities or tools available to them to contain, hunt or otherwise control mages. This was including, but not limited to anti-magic, special weapons from the Regalian religious institutions or simple physical control over the mage. This would mean that mages, leashed to witch hunters, could legally practice their form of magic while their "retainer" was near to them, and as long as their actions remained legal in the Regalian Penal Code. Already, mages were more thoroughly welcomed in the army, and several divisions in the Imperial standing army were already adopting small units of mages to fill the flank and rear roles.
The news of the Diet in Calemberg had a profound effect on the Human population in Regalia, in particular with the summons to a holy Crusade against the false idols and the false goddess. The news was well received by the faithful, but resulted in severe rioting in the Elven slums. Even the more upper class Elves ceased producing their usual commerce or simply refused to pay their dues. The racial tension in Regalia caused a conflict, though surprisingly not between Humans or Elves, but rather between Elves and Dwarves. The Dwarves suffered severely economically speaking now that the Elves were squeezing down their gem export and rare substance purchases. Several clashes of Elven and Dwarven gangs circulated in the poor district, and the underground sewers became a true gang battleground.
The Empire's imports from the new lands of Muird also came through. Immediately these gangs invaded the harbors and started seizing or smuggling wares from the ships into private hands. The imports from Muird were foreign and new, and many citizens would pay heavy coin purses for the contents of these mysterious crates. The money gained from the contraband would continue to finance the gangs in the poor district, making the place even more lawless than it had already been in the past. The Guards were meanwhile in a fair amount of chaos resulting in the Barlowe versus Typhonus court case.
Coupled with the Lord Commander's moves against graft and corruption within the guard, and the court's implication that the Guard had fallen to unsavory behavior and political bias, a wave of paranoia washed over the Guards whose job was normally to guard the city. Patrol rosters were stolen, insignias were falsified and broken weaponry and armor was placed in the soldier's storage. It was entirely unclear whether those who used to be guilty of corruption were trying to pin the blame on others or whether there was an actual concerted effort to undertake something like a plot. Imperial investigators meanwhile swarmed the Grey Gate prison and various offices, scouring over paperwork for the slightest inconsistency with records.
Needless to say the city of Regalia was on edge for various reasons. Small riots and ever increasing gang activity in the poor district made life feel a little uneasy. The Lord Commander of the guard would certainly see a surge in weapon permit applications, and the state was considering opening up the debate to repeal partial sections of the law against arming of citizens.
The first subject to be discussed was obviously the statue and how the Sanchella of Union, and in tandem all other organizations of the Sanchella of Union were to interpret the events that had transpired. The Diet quickly summarized it's stance on this, the High Pontiff and the Supreme Reverend quickly agreed. The Supreme Patriarch was slow to follow, but eventually a message was broadcasted to the world from the Cathedral seat in Calemberg. The statue was indeed confirmed as the "goddess" of the Elves by the religious orders, but their explanation went further than just that.
The religious heads denounced the statue as a "construct of heresy". They claimed Estel was in fact an Elven construct from early during the Elven Empire where heretical mages made a pact with each other that would eventually spell their doom. They created the Goddess to worship so Elves could believe in a greater self, something greater than themselves that was their own and not some other religion. While this worked, the religious orders of Unionism claimed this was also their downfall as it forced the people to worship a false god. The blind faith in this construct made the Elves blind to the inevitable end of their Empire and the corruption that took hold from within. It was claimed that the magic creating her indeed proved that magic is a feat of evil, and a heresy to the Imperial Spirit.
Yet, the Sanchella also took a softer stance on magic usage within the Empire. In tandem with the Emperor's statements on magic usage a few weeks earlier, the religious orders proclaimed that the true evil behind magic was not truly magic itself, but the use of magical energies for selfish purposes. They opened the idea that magic could be used to benefit the Unionist Faith, and through such would be legal and not subject to prosecution. To this end, the Religious orders effectively gave their holy consent to the Emperor's attempt to create the Witch Hunter Order.
This Order was to serve the Empire by pairing mages and witch hunters into duo's, where the mage effectively is chained to the witch hunter. Witch hunter in this case was just a complex term for what was essentially a glorified warrior with certain skills, abilities or tools available to them to contain, hunt or otherwise control mages. This was including, but not limited to anti-magic, special weapons from the Regalian religious institutions or simple physical control over the mage. This would mean that mages, leashed to witch hunters, could legally practice their form of magic while their "retainer" was near to them, and as long as their actions remained legal in the Regalian Penal Code. Already, mages were more thoroughly welcomed in the army, and several divisions in the Imperial standing army were already adopting small units of mages to fill the flank and rear roles.
The news of the Diet in Calemberg had a profound effect on the Human population in Regalia, in particular with the summons to a holy Crusade against the false idols and the false goddess. The news was well received by the faithful, but resulted in severe rioting in the Elven slums. Even the more upper class Elves ceased producing their usual commerce or simply refused to pay their dues. The racial tension in Regalia caused a conflict, though surprisingly not between Humans or Elves, but rather between Elves and Dwarves. The Dwarves suffered severely economically speaking now that the Elves were squeezing down their gem export and rare substance purchases. Several clashes of Elven and Dwarven gangs circulated in the poor district, and the underground sewers became a true gang battleground.
The Empire's imports from the new lands of Muird also came through. Immediately these gangs invaded the harbors and started seizing or smuggling wares from the ships into private hands. The imports from Muird were foreign and new, and many citizens would pay heavy coin purses for the contents of these mysterious crates. The money gained from the contraband would continue to finance the gangs in the poor district, making the place even more lawless than it had already been in the past. The Guards were meanwhile in a fair amount of chaos resulting in the Barlowe versus Typhonus court case.
Coupled with the Lord Commander's moves against graft and corruption within the guard, and the court's implication that the Guard had fallen to unsavory behavior and political bias, a wave of paranoia washed over the Guards whose job was normally to guard the city. Patrol rosters were stolen, insignias were falsified and broken weaponry and armor was placed in the soldier's storage. It was entirely unclear whether those who used to be guilty of corruption were trying to pin the blame on others or whether there was an actual concerted effort to undertake something like a plot. Imperial investigators meanwhile swarmed the Grey Gate prison and various offices, scouring over paperwork for the slightest inconsistency with records.
Needless to say the city of Regalia was on edge for various reasons. Small riots and ever increasing gang activity in the poor district made life feel a little uneasy. The Lord Commander of the guard would certainly see a surge in weapon permit applications, and the state was considering opening up the debate to repeal partial sections of the law against arming of citizens.
