D'Arricarrère Family/Torpius/Priest Pierre of Sanguis Astroism

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Letter from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
Earl Torpius,

I see you have done good for yourself. Congratulations on your new lands!

Have you been able to join the Dwilight University? It would be interesting to build a campus in the South someday. I would help fund this, if you are interested.

Also, I see a temple of the Manifest Path in the Purlieus; if you will allow me, I would like to ask if you share that faith, and if not, which?
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Letter from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Marquis Pierre,

Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to join the Dwilight University. Duties to the realm have not allowed me to, but I expect to be able to do it in the future.

Regarding the temple of the Manifest Path, it was built by Priest Balint, who now rules over Shinnen. I do not follow the misotheistic path, quite on the contrary, I follow the way of the gods.

To be fairly honest, I am not the only one, and only gold is refraining me from formalizing the church to the gods. In the near future you will be able to see us formally established.

Theology discussions greatly interest me, should you be interested in having them. It is a shame that I am not yet part of the Dwilight University to have them in the proper environment, but as soon as I take the robes I will have more time to seek one of its campi.

Bene orasse est bene studuisse,
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Letter from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
Earl Torpius,

Misotheistic? These are strong words. I have not yet heard of the specifics of this faith, other than that they hate demons, which seems natural to me.

Do I understand correctly that you intend to found a new church in the near future? This interests me also. I would like to hear what you have to say; in part by academic curiosity, but also because it is well known for people of Dwilight to feel the message of the Stars but, in their ignorance of the established church, tend to establish a new faith that is identical except for the names they give to things.
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Letter from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Marquis Pierre,

Perhaps misotheistic is a strong word, but I fail to see a more fitting one, since they do not hide their contempt for beings of higher power than humans, as the gods inherently are. I have shared correspondence with their prophet, who has shared the actually public notes on their religion. You will find their facts and assertions specially enlightening regarding this question.

Regarding the truth of the gods, and according to my admittedly yet frail understanding of the path of the stars, would I be wrong to assert that you have prayed and commuted with the stars uncountable nights in your honorably long life? Have you never felt that perhaps your contact with the stars was not one from the physical entities that are the sky candles, but from something superior, immaterial and transcendental? Have you not sensed the voice of the stars to be an intermediary, like the ink and paper are to the writer and reader? Do you believe that there are no superior beings than those that inhabits the stars?

Bene orasse est bene studuisse,
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)



Letter from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
Earl Torpius,

Of course! The Stars, for all their reality as lights in the Sky, are mere representations of the underlying principle.

What we call the organizing principles of the world are the Maddening, the Auspicious and the Austere. These aspects, in their pure form, are found in the Stars. They are also found in our bodies, especially through our blood, and they affect our daily life. They are also found in our mind, in our souls.

I would like to give you an extract from a discourse by our Holy Prophet, which treats the same subject:

Sanguis_Astroism/Writings#By_what_means_do_the_stars_of_blood_direct_the_course_of_we_mere_mortals.3F

You are wrong in your interpretation of our faith, however. We do not believe there are beings inside the Stars. In fact, to describe the Stars as beings is besides the point. They are a manifestation of a force, pure, unadulterated Wills.
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Letter from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Marquis Pierre,

The text you sent me was very interesting. Let me try to sum up the presented beliefs. Could I rightly say that there are essences, namely three, present diluted (or as essential fractional parts of it) in our blood, which affect our emotional estates depending on their concentrations, and that the three bloodstars are made of these very same essences, but in a more pure and concentrated amount? So far it is a very interesting theory that the healing artists could employ in the treatment of some 'soul diseases', should we think the soul possesses a physical synchronism with the blood. I suppose it is in the effect of the pure-essence stars on the blood flow, and consequently on the emotions, that the divinity shows up. So periodically the stars turn brighter and influence their domains in humanity, through a process named as 'resonance', which I infer means a synchronism between the blood flow and the star glow, or some other process inherent to it. This alone, though, would be an extremely materialistic explanation, so I would dare venture that you consider the 'resonance' process to be one to include a transcendental will, which ties the blood flow and the star manifestation into a causal relation, and to such entity would the praying be directed.

Personally, I believe that will is a sine qua non in any of the material 'normality-disturbing', for lack of a better term, phenomena. I also believe that it is through prayer and correct communion with such wills at the right times that we can influence our reality and prepare ourselves to meet a more elevated one.

On another note, I just now realized you were visiting my region. It was extremely rude of me not inviting you to my humble manor. Please, do feel free to join me at a meal or for a drink. Your presence and conversation would be an incommensurable pleasure to me.

Bene orasse est bene studuisse,
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
I present myself at the manor. After the inevitable formalities, we continue our previously epistolary conversation.

"I a now more than convinced that you are a true scholar. With only a quick reading of our corpus, you have reached a better grasp of our faith than many who proclaim themselves faithful have after years of membership in our church.

You call our faith materialistic, while in fact it is more pantheistic. It is not that we explain the world through natural phenomena; rather our position derives from the impossibility to imagine a natural world at all if it were not for the presence of the initial divine spark.

After all, what is the moral foundation of a faith that places the Gods outside of the world? It can submitt to the Gods by fearing their strenght, or it can decide to ignore or fight against the Gods if they think them weak enough. I feel this may be the fundamental error of the Manifest Path. Would you agree?"
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Arriving at the manor you are greeted by a middle aged servant. He guides you to a large room filled with disorganized boxes and shelves in the corners, filled with books and manuscripts. After a quick glance you can see they are separated by origin or subject, noticing different marks for each: a wolf, a rising sun, a full sun, a cross in a circle, arrows pointing in a different direction per section, and others. Next to a wall you see an unlit fireplace, two large chairs and a low empty table. In the opposite wall, facing with its back to you, you see the local lord discussing with three scribes. As you approach you can hear:

"...we would have nitpick the reported differences between these Northerners and the traditional Saritans, and compare it with the ones of the Islanders in Sallowtown and their own locals..."

Before the scribe can finish the sentence, he is interrupted by the servant that welcomed you. The Earl Torpius turns facing you and with a wave of the hand dismisses the scribes and the servant.

"Welcome to my residence, Marquis Caiyun, I hope you do not mind the state you currently find it in. I have not been appointed long ago, and the region rebuilding did not allow me to give it the proper attention. Nor I would allow my ignorant servants to mess or damage my collection, of course." Torpius says as he rises from his chair, opens his arms showing the palm of his hands and makes a small nod greeting. Then he proceeds to the two chairs and offers you a seat in one of them.

After hearing the Priest, he answers:

"Thank you for your compliments, but I am still largely ignorant of the intricacies of your faith.

The fact that you say I call your faith a materialistic one shows me I was wrong in the interpretation given to the 'resonance' phenomena. I must stress, though, that I considered such explanation to merit the 'materialistic' label, not your entire faith.

Considering impossible a natural world not sustained by the divine is naught but a signal of your wisdom, sir. It was the form of the divine manifestation I was trying to inquire through my logic exercise, I ask forgiveness if it sounded like I was accusing you of radical materialism or other similar heresy. I assure you it was nothing of the likes.

Regarding your theological question on the Gods, I feel that restricting their influence to outside the boundaries of the mortal realm is to deny the very concept of Godhood. Any being that is powerless to intervene in the affairs of men clearly cannot enforce his worship, or retribute it, making his worship a meaningless behavior.

While acknowledging, on the other hand, the power of the Gods, one would be a madman by trying to confront them. Can the gravel willfully confront a man? No, because it lacks the potential, the sole concept would be a logical impossibility. A man successfully fighting the Gods would be a similar non sequitur.

The fundamental error of the Manifest Path, as you have clearly put it, is precisely the wrong judgment of the Gods. They try to analyze them from a position of impartiality and superiority, like we observe a painting to determine the materials composing it, and the meanings given by the artist. We, unfortunately, cannot deal with the Gods in such a way, the same as a pig cannot hope to understand and control a King as it does its piglets or its ration.

Ah, but all this talk must have made you thirsty. Could I offer you something to drink? An infusion, or a liquor perhaps?"
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
A liquor would be fine, as long as it's not Madinan liquor. I have developed a strong distaste for it. I think they make it with seawater.....

I may be wrong about the chronology, but here is how I imagine the Manifest Path got founded. One day, a noble must have been travelling the world, or cataloguing known species, or some similar activity that led him to think about Daimons. Studying their physical appearance and abilities, he must have come to the conclusions "These must be Gods". By inference, they figured all Gods must be like such creatures. Since they did not recognize themselves, they think themselves outside of Godhood, and get back on their "Fight or submit" false dichotomy.

Of course the daimons seem to have otherworldly powers. There may be others such creatures, such as poltergeists and forest fairies and the scourge that is the Undeads. That these creatures draw power form a world to which we do not have access does make them superior to us in the same way as the stronger muscles makes a bear superior to us.

The right way to think about things is the inverse. The first step is to accept godliness, the divine spark, the encompassing Will which is the source of things.

The second step is to feel the connection between your own self and this divinity. Once that connection is established, you have reached an understanding of the world, and a yearning to extraversically explore this faith. This is the moment where you should be looking for signs of Gods that you can grasp with your senses.

Grandmaster Deverka Crydwr, Founder of Morek, was the first to recognize the Stars as such signs. He led a group of colonists to the shores of Donghaiwei and established a realm. Soon, a church was established in Caiyun, the region I am currently the steward of, and Sanguis Astroism was born.
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
Behind closed doors, servants hear the priests' discourse. Some are immediately swayed and convert, along with their families.

You preach to the masses for 12 hours, reaching a total audience of 736 listeners. 3 pagans and believers in local folklore appear to be convinced and you formally convert them to Sanguis Astroism in a small ceremony. There are 207 followers of other faiths that swayed and converted to Sanguis Astroism.

There are now about 210 believers in your faith Sanguis Astroism in this region. That is about 8% of the population.
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Torpius ponders, and after a short pause smiles and answers:

"Indeed, even if I did not agree, I would be forced to acknowledge the wisdom and truth of your words. But the fact is that I agree with every single one so far.

Recent correspondence with the King and Prophet of the Manifest Path, Koli Bedwyr, has cast further light in the difference of our ideas. You see, when I asked about the supposedly evil Gods he distrusts, he made quite a curious list: undead, daimons, mosters, the light. Exactly as you diagnosed, he fails to see the divinity beyond the immediate manifestations of strength, and falsely attributes Godhood to those abominations.

Your eminence, I believe that divinity is all around us, in subtle ways a man can learn to detect, and attune himself with. The rivers, the forest, even the quill we use to write has a spark of divinity. If we are in communion with it, our travels will be safer, our health stronger, and even our calligraphy can be improved. These sparks I call 'lower spirits', as a general category of the souls in the mortal realm. They range from the one present in a lump of coal, to a mighty beast, but they share the same soul essence. That essence I call flamma.

The 'flame' is something of divine origin that makes the world move, life blossom, and objects act and react. I like to draw the separation of two 'flames', the inner and outer. The outer flames is what we see in outwordly beings some confuse for Gods: entities of almost pure divine energy, less attached to the mortal realm than to the divine one. That, though, is not the only existing 'flame', for there is a spark of divinity in all of us. This hidden potentiality, this secure connection with the highest, is what I call the imus flamma.

It is through the meditation, praying in the right times, and seeking a life according to our own flamma that we progress, evolve, and ultimately transcend. So I believe."

When the servant arrives with a bottle and two glasses, Torpius adds: "I hope you will find our wine suitable. We have yet to produce a good local one, so this had to be imported from Outer Giask."
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
"I am no expert in wine - you should be judging the winemakers on my taste", I say taking a glass and tasting it.

"This one suits my palate, yes.

I feel the same thing as you do. I hear you speak, and my feeling is that you have understood the nature of the Stars, without the benefit of a temple and an orthodox education. These things are not necessary to higher minds, of course.

What you call the flamma, we identify with the blood. It is an observation that the blood is the first thing to react when our soul is in turmoil; and that when one is deprived of blood, one dies. Of course this is but a link; the Stars themselves are the colour of blood, or of flame; this is to point us in the right direction, and not because they are actually made of blood or flame.

It seems to me that, in searching for your own religion, you have re-discovered Sanguis Astroism.

Would you be interested in actually joining that church? I think that you would find within its halls many kindred spirits; that exchange with other people who have consecrated their lives to theology would help you advance in your journey, and that communion with the larger community would allow you to advance towards the transcendance you seek."
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
"I am glad you enjoy it. Wine-making is an ancient Lurian tradition.

I am even more glad to notice our beliefs have quite similar substrates. It has been my experience so far that while concepts differ between religions and cultures, some universal truths tend to be universally acknowledged. It is a sign we are on the right track.

Regarding the parallelism between the flamma and the blood, I cannot deny there are strong connections, though I would daresay that it is the blood which contains the flame essence. Why, you may ask? Because while blood, unless you are not using the traditional concept, is present only in a certain number of living beings, I acknowledge the presence of the ethereal flames in almost everything: from men to dust, from a cup of water to a burning coal.

You say I have rediscovered Sanguis Astroism. Please indulge me putting that to test, for we have only spoke of the fundamental principles of theology. We might not agree so much on more concrete matters.

See, I believe in the Gods, who live in the Solar Realm. We give them names, representations and personalities, because that is our way to attempt to understand and explain them. I believe in Higher Spirits, messengers of the Gods, who travel with the candles that lighten the Celestial Sea, enlightening us. I believe in the Lower Spirits, who inhabit the Mortal Realm in the most varied forms, with the most varied desires and aspirations. I believe in the effect of the deceased upon our world, by visiting and interfering in it, and in the consequent need to honor and praise our Ancestors, who can grant us abnormal courage and strength. I also believe there are corrupting and highly evil entities whose physical bodies dwells underground, but whose influence spread everywhere. They cause decay of mind and body, and their names should not be lightly cast.

Though I am highly sympathetic to your religion I have certain doubt my beliefs would fit in your church. That is why I was thinking about establishing an independent cult, at least until this differences are solved and we agree in the same beliefs. I am quite sure this would take more theological debate, specially with the other members of our church. Would you not agree?"
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
"That is quite a pantheon you have developed there. Let me see if I can understand that is in it in my own terms.

First, you speak of the Solar Realm. I assume you mean by this a plane superior to our own, where primitive divine forces reside, and of which our world is but a shadow. This is more precise than our own cosmology, but a plausible demarcation. It is quite clear that the Stars are not only candlelights hung up high; their essence is otherworldly.

You speak of Higher Spirits carrying candles. These, in our theology, are the Stars themselves. The divine is unique, at some fundamental level, but we only see aspects of it at a time, for we are imperfect. This is why we mjust strive for balance in all things.

You speak of Lower Spirits, who are mortals; the Holy Prophet is certainly one such spirits, and there will be others.

You speak of the effects of the deceased in the world. It is a clear tenet of our theology that when the body dies, the divine spark, that you call the flamma, remains, and kindles with even greater brightness now that it is unrestrained by the body and its trappings, but in a form different enough that it is hard to recognize. We honour our dead; one daqy maybe I can show you the shrine in Nifel. I refer you to the Prophet's writings:

Sanguis_Astroism/Writings#On_the_Afterlife

Finally, you speak in thinly veiled metaphors of the Undead; I know them; I have fought them, and I despise them.

As you see, if anything, you add to Sanguis Astroism; your input would be welcome in the circles of theological research."
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Torpius smiles and answers:

"I am a mere vehicle of the Gods, my merit in scribing down their teachings, translating them to concepts we simple men can grasp, pales in comparison to the titanic work they have put in making the things I study and teach about.

The Solar Realm is the home of the Gods, indeed a plane superior to ours, in where the Gods themselves dwell, and to which we only can hope to reach in the afterlife, if we were of merit to deserve such a reward. We do not speak with the Gods, and we certainly do not effectively understand them. What we know about them is like a drop of water in our sea of ignorance. That is why we recur to other entities to which we have access: the Higher Spirits.

The Celestial Sea is the home of the Higher Spirits. They travel through it, guiding us in our travels both through the nights and journeys of the mind. Here is where I place the Blood Stars: as Higher Spirits that have guided you and many other good men into the gracious faith you now profess. While our understanding of the Higher Spirits is far greater than that of the Gods, since we have a, albeit imperfect, channel of communication with them, which are the meditation, prayer and visions they grant us for example, we are still very limited in our full understanding of these beings superior to us. Claiming to know them as we would a mechanism, such as the one of a siege engine, would be grossly underestimating their divine complexity, and intrinsic superiority, as well as overestimating our understanding capacity.

The Lower Spirits are the divine creatures that inhabit the Mortal Realm. They are usually strong forces that can cause great damage, in form of tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, thunders and other extraordinary events. They can also bring more subtle alterations, like madness, sickness and pain. For such power they hold, we must pay them our respect, in order to ensure good crops, safe travels and long healthy lives.

To those that bring divinity upon the world, securing an intimate connection with the Gods, through their messengers, the Higher Spirits, we call Champions. Those are the ones that will probably be granted an afterlife with the Gods themselves. No greater honor can be conceived.

It pleases me to no end to learn you too honor the deceased ones, I hope you also venerate your ancestors. I will read the text from your prophet, so let me offer you my many writings, not to idly wait for me to read this document: Aetheris_Pyrism."

After reading the letter, Torpius continues:

"A wise and holy man, your prophet, undoubtedly. He visualizes a similar scenario to mine, though less detailed, I daresay, for lack of further investigation on the issue."

Suddenly, Torpius acquires a grim face, and, troubled, goes on:

"While it mind sound like I was speaking of the Undead, I was, unfortunately, referring to an Evil the Undead are just a small consequence of. I refer to the Lords of the Undead and Unholy Lords of many other even greater... What word can I use? I feel none is enough to describe the horror and evilness they imply."

Changing to a more easy posture, he changes the subject:

"In any case, there is no need to talk about this grim things, and it is certainly not healthy. Lets not chance catching their attention...

Seeing such wise, educated and... persuasive men..." he adds grinning, "I am not at all surprised Sanguis Astroism is the largest, by far, religion of our continent, eclipsing every religion in the north. Though being part of such monumental church would be nothing short of a great honor, you will probably understand if there are some beliefs I cannot negotiate. My path is the one of the Gods, and though I respect your religion, and you seem to approve my beliefs, I wonder... Would your brothers in faith also approve them?

I fear the answer is no, and that prevents me from joining your honorable cult. While I will be spreading the truth of the Gods, though, nothing prevents us from starting ecumenical talks between your great church, and my now small community of followers, soon to be a formal church too. Perhaps my judgment on the Astroist followers can be proved wrong.

What do you think about it?"
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
"I think you are making a mistake, and that the Divine wills for men to be united in their worship and not divided. This is part of the message of the Bloodstars themselves; while they may be seen to be apart, they always stand together, and it is only in their unity and balance that the divine can be understood.

I hope that mistake will not be too costly to you; I foresee that if the Stars do not shine on this faith as I think they won't, they simply will not allow it to be successful.

When that happens, our door will still be open."
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
Torpius smiles and answers:

"I will certainly take your opinion into account, and I am grateful to you for it.

Should the Stars not shine upon my path, and we will have known it was not the will of the Gods. Should otherwise happen, would you reconsider your opinion?

I have a request to make you, which you can, of course, deny. Now that you know my teachings, and have access to my manuscripts, could you bring this forward to the theological circles of Sanguis Astroism so they can cast judgment to it? If your Church does approve them, as you seemed to do, then we would know to be following the same path. If not, then not joining it would have been proved right.

And thank you for your kind offer. The doors in our small Church are always open for enlightened men like you."
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)


Roleplay from Pierre von Genf
Message sent to (Personal message to Torpius d'Arricarrère)
"I will certainly bring your words to the halls of Sanguias Astroism and of the Dwilight University, who will be delighted to study it. I have no fear that Sanguis Astroism will tolerate you, as it is quite tolerant of variant faiths. I must depart and continue my journey now. If you want to find me again in the future, I make a point of honour of being easy to find. Just ask around."
Pierre von Genf (Marquis of Caiyun, Ambassador of Morek Empire)


Roleplay from Torpius d'Arricarrère
Message sent to (Personal message to Pierre von Genf)
"Farewell" Says Torpius before professing the ceremonial words of goodbye: "Dis te incolumem custodiant."
Torpius d'Arricarrère (Earl of Shinnen Purlieus)