Church of Echad/Establishment Speech

The Establishment of the New Church

The following speech was delivered by Tsuherer Galen Perth on March 29th, 1011 to a group of Nobles gathered in Haul. It records, in first person, how the Tsuherer was lead to rediscover the ancient texts (Parshas) of Echad and came to the duty and responsibility of founding the new Church of Echad.

Letter from Galen Perth

Good Lords and Ladies of Zonasa, I hope you all have thoroughly enjoyed yourselves this evening and I thank each of one you for coming. There is no doubt that you are busy and important individuals, with much better things to do with your time than venture into the mountains to listen to a young man such as myself speak to you. However, I think you will be glad you have done so, and I think you will find value in my words. It is late, and I have perhaps made you wait long enough on me, and so I will begin. My friends, or rather, my acquaintances—indeed it seems we not know each other all so well, so let me begin by telling you about myself, and how I came to be placed in the situation I am now in, here before you, delivering this message. I came to this continent, here in the Far East, from Atamara. My family originates there and upon my coming of age, I decided I would leave it, in search of fame and fortune elsewhere. Little did I know, that this decision had little to do with fame or fortune, and almost everything to do with my life’s mission. When I first arrived in Zonasa I rarely felt completely myself. It was always as if someone was with me, or watching me. I paid it little attention, of course. Thinking I was merely anxious or nervous being in a new and distant land. Eventually, I took my first estate in Razrpot. I fell in love with the mountains there, and a similar fascination has taken hold of me here in Haul as well. However, it was in Razrpot that I truly began to notice some strange things. I began to feel a pull, a tug, toward the deep of the mountains. I began to awake in the middle of the nights as if I had just heard my name being spoken. While fighting a group of monsters away from a peasant village tucked in the mountains, it was if the battle was laid out clear to me, stroke by stroke. One particular day, I walked among a group of slain beasts to find a small golden token hung around the neck of the monsters. Thinking it odd, I stooped to inspect it, only to find my name engraved upon one side and a picture of a donkey on the other. Finally, I gave into the urge inside of me to seek into the depths of the mountains of Razrpot. I took no men with me, just a sword a pack of food and a skin full of water. I spent three days in the mountains before I finally realized I must be searching for something. The feeling increased until on the fourth day I came upon a bundle of sheep’s wool lying underneath a small tree. The wool was wrapped around three books bundled together. They were very old, but the language was in a tongue common to most. They were not too large, but most of my food was now gone and I managed to bring them down with me out of the mountains. I kept them secret and poured over them for days and nights. When I finished them, I was convinced someone must be playing a trick on me... however my feelings of longing had now only grown stronger, when I thought they would be satiated. It was upon my arrival in Haul that things changed yet more. My second night here in the castle I awoke to a booming voice speaking my name. The voice continued this time, even after I was fully conscience. I was humbled by the voice alone and I fell to my knees with my face to the floor and wept. The voice asked me why I had ignored the books and why I had not sought out the depths of Haul yet. I could not answer, only weep, and then the presence left my chambers. The next morning I set out immediately upon a similar excursion into the mountains of Haul. It was a similar journey and after several days I came across a small brook and bent to take a sip from it. However, upon lowering my head to the water, the water reversed course and began flowing uphill. As you can well imagine I was at a loss for words and could not believe my own eyes. It finally occurred to me that I should follow it, and so I climbed rock and stone and ledge to the top of this brook where I found its bubbling source, only the water now poured into the mouth, instead of out. It was here that I found another, larger, bundle of sheep’s wool. It contained one large book and several smaller ones; similar to the ones I came across in Razrpot. Needless to say, I have poured over these texts as well and learned them well... their message is quite clear. Finally, several nights later the voice from before visited me while I watched the sun rise from the top of the keep of the Castle of Haul. This time I was not as frightened, though still sent to my knees. The voice revealed to me that He is Echad, God of all things. He has chosen me to re-found his Church, that once existed but has been lost for centuries. In the face of this almighty, I can do nothing else than what He commands. I must remake his Church and spread his message—this is my mission. And so, this is why I have invited you here this evening; to spread the message of Echad to each of you, to enlighten each of you with the truth of the one God of all things, to deliver Echad’s message to you. I hope you will stay to learn more, I hope you will join me. There is also a reason I have made you stay so late. As the sun rises, the official new Church will be reopened here in Haul. There is a small contingent of locals who have never lost Echad’s message here in the mountains, and that is why I was lead here to find it, to find them, and to lead them and Echad’s message and Echad’s people. With that, I have kept you long enough. You may leave here now if you wish, or stay for as long as you like. I hope you will stay, I hope you will allow me to teach you and to show you more of the mighty Echad and who He is, but that is up to each of you. I will now be heading down into the town square, to formally open to the new temple, a small procession will be there for it, and you are free to join me there if you wish. Also, with this formal foundation of the Church, a bureaucratic issue arises, and I will lose my formal title as Duke of Haul. I do wish to remain the Duke here, though, as I have fallen to in love with Haul, and have worked hard to restore it to its former glory, however that is up to the gracious Lord Regent to decide. I wish you all good health and the blessings of Echad.

Galen Perth