Abington First/Newsletter/Issue10

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Price: 5 coppers	"...above all else, we hold Abington First!"	Issue 10

Religious Strife Highlights Openness and Tolerance

Abington, unlike many other realms, does not have an official (or unofficial) state religion. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the realm has more religious legislature than any other. Darkanism and Evgenism, both being state religions of hostile (or recently hostile) realms, have been outlawed, while other religions are regulated through the judicious use of Religious Domains declared by each regional lord. Recently, using Darkanism (which is non-extant in the realm) as a pretext, at least two noble priests of Abington, from two different religions, have wittingly and/or unwittingly instigated religious riots in two or three regions, prompting the Religious Domain Edict as well as heated debates. However, these unique problems are a sign of Abington's general policy of tolerance to religion, rather than overregulation. The Arch Priest has been very specific about what actions are tolerable and which are not, and what the consequences are, and what the rights of lords and priests alike are with regards to religious faith. And while another realm might shrug and declare that only one religion is to be allowed, Abington still maintains it's policy of general, but conditional, openness. One hopes that crimes committed in the name of religion will continue to be punished, and that the beliefs of Abington's nobles and commoners alike will not be constrained unnecessarily by each other or by law. Although blood has been spilled over conflicts of interest, it has been and continues to be dealt with without changing Abington's tolerant policy towards spirituality.

Darkan Infiltrator at Large

An infiltrator from Darka has been seen prowling the regions of Abington, and is believed to have successfully given a serious wound to Count Salvatore. Coming at the same time as Salvatore outlawed Pantheism in his county, strong suspicions were rised that the two events were connected, although the Arch Priest denied this. But there might be other connections revealed by this coincidental timing. Is Darka getting information about Abington's internal affairs? Are they planning their attacks to cause as much internal strife as possible? One thing is for certain - if this infiltrator is caught, he will not be given a happy treatment.

Darkan Necromancy, Part 2?

Although the rising of Undead is not as severe as it was just a few months ago, it is still a problem for Abington, and many nobles still suspect Darkan necromancy. Known to harbor worshippers of death and chaos - namely Vatticus - Darka is amongst the few realms where accusations of necromancy and demon-worship holds plausibility. Darka has no love for Abington, of course, and with Darkan infiltrators at work in the realm, it's easy to surmise that perhaps Darkan cultists are intentionally causing problems by putting fiendish life into the risen bodies of the recently dead. The most recent event has been an attack on Wayburg, when both the Queen and the Arch Priest were there for the birth of their twin children. That the undead can and have the inclination to assault such a prominent and well-guarded city is an ominous sign, but this reporter still believes that the cause is either random luck, or Darkan evildoing.