@etranger01 Threadmarked. Would you like to use this to boost a doctrine roll or juror recruiting by the Scourge of God?
There will be some positive changes made also to the omake system. I intend to integrate omakes directly into the sect in a more fun way which also doesn't force me to write about all these omakes all the time. Stay tuned (but update first!)
@etranger01 Threadmarked. Would you like to use this to boost a doctrine roll or juror recruiting by the Scourge of God?
There will be some positive changes made also to the omake system. I intend to integrate omakes directly into the sect in a more fun way which also doesn't force me to write about all these omakes all the time. Stay tuned (but update first!)
Ah, finally all caught up. This has been a very interesting experience, a religious revolutionary group... Now, ahem.
Brothers, sisters! It is clear to all that the harsh cold assails us all, but the young and the old most of all. While it is true that the temple may serve as a shelter for them, are we so prideful as to believe the heat of the temple will be carried by them throughout the day? Or will we be cloistering the energies of youth and the wisdom of elders from the world on a bitter day? We must remember our roots and nourish them far into the future if we are to have a foundation to stand upon, a fact that some of us seem to have forgotten with the spread of our light. Make no mistake, we have done good here refurbishing the temple, but I fear it may have been a lesser one.
[X] A refurbished and beautified Temple, to sanctify the Mekdash and elevate the souls of its congregants [Institution added: Mekdash HaKhofshim, which greatly strengthens discipline by reinforcing the traditions of the sect].
[X] Subjugation of the Material. Understanding and changing material conditions is essential to the success of spiritual aims.
[X] Eglantine Mill, a cotton mill owned by a High Priest Exarch in Rohir's End, employing mouflon women and children.
[X] Aim at the true enemy! [The Sect will prioritize its position against the Originators. This is especially popular in the north and west].
CW: This is a difficult update. Please be aware before you read.
Night Watchmen
For seventy-five years, the Jury of Nachivan has paved the path to heaven with bone-bricks and blood-martar. Against heretics, against blasphemers, against mad dreamers and false patriarchs. They, the sacred guarders of the rite of liberty, have kept their bayonets sharp and their backs high. And God has awarded them great spoils for the execution of his will. The spoils of the Eternal City, and its temples of industry which has gilded Tzinhas Barrack and brought glory to its halls. The spoils of the Great Synod, which has lavished them with honors and assured them of their sacred mission. The spoils of Vaspukaran, whose covenant they have so carefully maintained from father and to son.
And now, in God's house, the wicked dare to walk again. In God's House, they dare to question the nature of His will. In God's House, they dare to question the nature of His glory. In God's House, they dare to question the nature of His laws. In God's House, the demons dare to dream.
The enemies of God are clever and sly, and to them seventy-five years is naught but the blink of an eye. Without proof of strength, they curdle vile boldness, and the Synod has failed in its historic duty to quell their designs by the incantation of a law that it hoped, in its geriatric folly, they would understand.
So tonight, on the 14th of Tislev, the Jury of Nachivan will activate a different incantation.
A Night to Remember
It is the night of the 14th of Tislev, the eve of the rest day, and Hyanaki Akov and Tandana Yoni are on their way home. They return from a dinner with workers of the Standard of the Frozen-Horn. Hospodari Jurors, in Nachivan for work who drink plum brandy till their pale cheeks are absolutely rosy and cultivate long-tailed mustaches, the Frozen-Horn delight in Akov's message and Yoni's youthful antics, and the two spend the night engaged in competition dances they lose to roaring laughter. It is a tremendous success, and a win of many of their number over to the Scourge of God, not to mention two coats, which they lend to Akov and Yoni to brave the midnight wind. But Akov will not be calm until they are inside the city wall. The shadow of the clouded full moon casts an eerie light on desolate and deserted winter streets.
Yoni has no such qualms, and sings one of Zeb's borrowed compositions, Barukh Haba, and recounts the night with the errant delight of a tipsy teen. It is enough to distract Akov from the flash of movement in the corner of the darkened street. It is too late that he pauses, stops, and notices the three figures in the shadows, holding in the dark not so far away. And it is too late that he sees the shine of a boot cast by the moonlight. A well-polished boot. A Juror's boot.
Yoni spots it too, and sobers up. The two start to back away, but then hear more shuffling behind. At the other end of the street, three more shadows appear from the night. They're wearing cloaks, and in the light, Yoni spots the lacquer of a black death mask.
They break into a run, down a dark alleyway. Behind and above them, there's a spyglass flash: a spotter watches from above, and shouts down to the rest about where it is they're going. They turn a corner, then another, Yoni speeding ahead, Akov throwing obstacles, trash, debris in their way. They call for help but none will come: mouflon workers know it is unsafe even to watch when the sound of boots echo on the cobblestones. The winding maze of the Exarchate's poor planning is their savior and their doom, for they lose their pursuers only to be blocked in a dead-end. Both hear closing in the shouting the hungry scramble of hunters running down their prey.
Fast-thinking Yoni catches a way out: a crevice in between tenements, hidden behind an abandoned peddler's cart. It will fit one at a time, squeezing through to the main street beyond where there is still traffic even this late out. Akov urges him in first, but Yoni tells Akov to go and he will find another route. There is no time for both of them to fit and Yoni is the faster runner. Akov hesitantly agrees, starts to squeeze himself through. Yoni then starts to rush back out towards the alleys, only to stop dead in his tracks, back up against the crevice. Akov watches through the crevice as five figures turn the corner and close off the escape route. Each wears fine black cloaks and coifed three-point hats, framing the dispassionate visage of their lacquer masks. Three carry swords, while two keep their gloved hands underneath their cloaks. They are completely silent.
Their breaths are those of ghosts, vapors in the night. Yoni swallows once, hard. Akov pleads, begs. Don't, Yoni. Please, please. Through the crevice - now, now! Please, you're just a boy, let them take me, Yoni -
The Jurors, and Akov knows that they are Jurors, know why they are here, know who they are here for, walk forward slowly. They almost seem to delight in this. In a boy's fear. Perhaps they think he'll flee.
They do not know Yoni. Instead, he stands tall, steps forward, breathes in, and takes the stance of Gadeon, the seraph unyielding. And as Akov's cries turn desperate, Yoni raises his voice and says to him: Be not afraid. His hands are trembling but still he says it proudly, and puts his fists before him.
Yoni, voice cracking, asks Akov to tell Chana that she taught him how to be brave, and Baba Tanda that she taught him how to be wise, though he admits he never was a good student.
He closes his eyes, awaiting their attack. A gentle snowfall starts, snowflakes drifting down, a moment of tranquility. Then a Juror rushes up, trying to grapple Yoni and push him aside. Yoni explodes out, and with a final roaring cry, he yells: Watch how I soar, into the world to come.
He blocks the first swordstroke, breaks the Juror's mask with an uppercut, and he falls backwards, stunned. Another charges, but he disarms him and breaks his arm with an upwards kick, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream. A third swings wildly, and he ducks and pummels his stomach with well-aimed blows, then backs up, flushed, winds up for a kick -
There's a shot. Akov shudders. Yoni falls. A masked Juror holds a smoking revolver. His own hand is shaking. The rest stop, gather themselves, then turn towards the crevice, as Akov finally pushes himself out into a main street. He breaks off into a sprint, running south to the safety of the inner city.
The Jurors disappear into the night, pulling their arm-broken brother whimpering back into the darkness. They leave behind Yoni on the ground, as blood mixes with the snow, and mouflons finally emerge, bleary-eyed, and try to tend to Yoni's wounds. But it is too late, always was too late: He is already dead.
It was three weeks from his eighteenth birthday.
Admire Me, Admire my Home
On the night of the 14th of Tislev, twenty-three disciples of the major schismatic sects in Nachivan are murdered, some in their sleep, through a series of targeted political assassinations. Sages were specifically killed to maximize damage while serving more as a demonstration than annihilation, to put the fear of God into his enemies. Using information gathered since the beginning of the Sanhedron, and their power over the entire city, they strike at once and with lethal force. The Jurors modulate their force based on their intelligence on armaments: For Ohr, in particular, they bring explosives.
Most notable among the dead are Tyavanako Verkan, the cantor [prayer-leader] of the all-male Pugilist sect Ma'on and titan of its leadership, and Ulvarani Bharya, the redoubtable gabbi [secretary] of Ohr who has held the sect together during Nasir's exile as a penitent. More are injured. Ghadan Nasir narrowly survives a bomb lobbed at his window. Hadat Sutri stabs a would-be assassin to death with a lethal hairpin. Esterkezy Oshana is shot but shoots back with better aim and manages to escape bleeding but alive. And Hyanaki Akov, surely targeted as leader of the Scourge of God whose word is spreading through the Juror manufactories, survives only because of the sacrifice of young Yoni.
The Jury of Nachivan lies through its teeth and disavows responsibility even as it extracts its agents for 'questioning': all know it barely needs to defend itself for its legal immunity from prosecution is absolute. The High Jury of Kedarkan cannot act against its insubordinate sub-jury without initiating religious war, and by the time that its units reach Nachivan, Sword-Altar would likely have already occupied the Muvad Mekdash and blown apart the gates of the Heavenly Mount as it did in the Temple Coup. At once, the city, the Sanhedron, and the whole country are reminded: they are held hostage in the hands of a cabal that slakes its thirst on the blood of the many. They may strike when they when wish, where they wish. The message is clear, as was the message seventy-five years ago when the Infallible Patriarch was brought low by his own protectors: Take heed, ye pests upon heaven, and bow before His reverent ones.
But this time, with the energy of the whole faithful focused on the Sanhedron, with the intensity of feeling, and the rage of souls alight with the hope of redemption, with the material transformations that have brought illumination of the telegraph and the printed word to every corner of the country, it does not work.
The Bloody Men
The planned cartoon for God's Own for the 15th of Tislev is a vulgar jibe at the Great Synod, showing the venerable body as a doddering old man wandering the Spiral of Truth, asking for the 'originating privy' where he might loose his bowels. That is not the final published copy. Instead, it depicts hellish landscape: bodies laying everywhere on a barren wasteland. Four corpses hang from gallows, labeled in turn 'Pugilists', 'Confessors', 'Iconoclasts', and 'Amalists'. In the foreground, a disturbing and classic scene: The Malek of Babarak choking the life from his concubine, the holy Prophet Vashti, his gaze demonic. But the Malek wears the four-cornered hat of a Juror and the cloak of Sword-Altar, and Vashti wears the hearth-fire of the whole Kingdom of God, representing all Vaspukaran. Below it, a simple caption: IT ENDS WITH YOU.
Prayer Bulletin Bloom of Ziva runs interviews with the mothers, wives, and daughters of those killed. In a special pamphlet issue, the Pugilist bulletin Light Among the Nations goes even further, utilizing the unveiled mysteries of photography for an entirely new and shocking purpose. The Album is titled simply '14th of Tislev, 822 AA'. Photos are taken one by one of the dead and wounded and their grieving families. Flip the page, and see a new horror: a woman's body up against a temple door, blood trail sliding down. A mother with clothes rent, collapsed beside the casket of her son. Three children and a widow, all under twelve, clutching each other before the body of their father. A single caption under each: SWORD-ALTAR JUSTICE.
The Jury of Nachivan is prepared for a riot: it is armed and eager to unleash a hail of bullets into a horde of vermin. Its soldiers march along the throughways without fear, bayonets up. Instead, the sects declare a collective week of mourning, endorsed by the Sanhedron, and unexpectedly, by the Patriarch, as the people of the city, not cowed but careful, refuse to take the bait, and instead engage in massive peaceful marches, some of whom run to upwards of 100,000 as crowds beg for an end to such evil and the freezing cold. The Eglantine Mill, where initial outreach proves difficult, sees girls arrive to work in mourning clothes, some of them personally commemorating Yoni himself, with woodcut portraits prepared by a friend of Kardon Hadi for handed out to those who ask, to be pinned to the breast above the heart.
It is at the climax of a protest rally that the Patriarch Santsarran appears without warning from the Mount, speaking from the north balcony down to the faithful with his death mask adorned, not Santsarran truly but Amalgast in the very flesh. He who has lived 900 years declares the end of negotiations with the Great Synod and the Originating Juries and Circles, and ceases meetings with Komandir Reganan: The Holy Mount is closed to him, and heaven will not let him in. He who is immortal issues a quiet apology to the Mare accepted by their emissary, and war fever turns its ire towards the enemy within, affirming the decision of the sect not to prioritize the Mare. Amidst the coldest part of the winter storm, a pall is cast over Nachivan, and fear grips the streets as mouflons whisper that Sword-Altar plans to kill them all. But they heed the Immortal Patriarch's plea for stalwart peace, to neither bow nor to attack, but instead to await a sign from God.
You Shall Know Their Names
On the floor of the Sanhedron, the junior Elder Massima Rachel, adjusting her spectacles, quotes from scripture the beginning of Dekaram, one of the four books of the Tessarateuch: "And you shall know their names, these martyrs for the Lord." She then lists to the Sanhedron the names of each of the twenty-four killed in the midnight massacre, describing the nature of their death as elders of the Sanhedron set in hallowed silence. At the end of the reading, elders from the Low Priest and Mouflon Chamber bang against the pews, causing such an enormous ruckus that the chandeliers of the Muvad Mekdash shudders. Cries of 'Bloody Men', and 'Murderers!' echo through the halls. Abbess Tessel Tori shouts to the rancarous applause of the whole assembly, as some suggest the Sanhedron might yield or disband, "that if in the end we should burn, better to burn together by the hands of Jurors, than burn separately in Hell!"
The Sanhedron's draft Bull Inviolate, meant to address the Originating Principle, becomes the Bull Infallible. Elder Akabar Morsi, Komandir of the White-Gold Standard declares it such, to standing ovations: All Power to the Patriarch, and his Sanhedron! Rather than asserting its authority and legitimacy, the Sanhedron now begins to claim it is the supreme authority in Vaspukaran, representing all its faithful, and able to dispense justice to all its chambers, for its elders are elected from every chamber.
With the Sanhedron's legitimacy now under potential violent attack, new informal Lesser Sanhedrons, and Jurors vowing to their defense, begin to appear across much of the central Hadit Valley and in the north and east. Neither legally sanctioned or with any authority, these Lesser Sanhedrons nevertheless call for the election of elders, serving effectively as loose sects whose purpose is to affirm the legend of their grand parent Sanhedron. Outside Nachivan, the Jury of Nachivan's actions are wildly unpopular: In the East and North particularly, the High Juries themselves issue demands to Kedarkan to 'rid themselves of this little pestilence', the fact not lost on them that the murder of Schismatics could extend to their own memberships as well. High Ataman Burs leaves an alternate to hold his spot in the Sanhedron, and returns on the 19th to Ramayan. It is rumored he will reconsecrate the mythic Banner Steedeater, the ancient army that finally destroyed the Gushan Rohirrate many hundreds of years past, to marshal against the Originating Circles.
And to the northwest of the city, in a quiet cemetery, a sect bids farewell to their angel boy.
Scream Against the Storm
The sect has seen death, seen disciples killed in the breach and by the blade. Of the 224 who were exiled to Kutan seven years ago, only 156, men, women, and children, boarded the train Gagarrak that would carry them to freedom, and not all passed of causes natural. Life is tragedy and toil, as Pasan Ghadi himself knew. He died to treachery, murdered under truce banner, stabbed to death by the accursed oathbreaker Ataman Jugarman, now surely well-roasted by the purifying fires of hell. The world weighs down upon shoulders of the righteous, and it is the Pugilist that pushes back.
None of this can restore the piece of the soul torn out by the death of a child. None of it can make whole again the place where Yoni sat in the hearts of HaKhofshim. He was an orphan, a son of the sect, adopted formally by Baba Tanda from which he took his matronymic. The sect watched him grow from a gangly shmuck of a troublemaker bored to death by the chilly highlands of Kutan to a tough and funny soldier, who had become almost a man in the penitence of Kutan and would now reap the rewards of freedom. And now they watch his casket lowered into a shallow grave, in a cemetery beyond the city limits, his time on this earth cut so short.
The Vasp do not drag out the burial. It is a time of exposed emotion, horrible and unimaginable pain, and it must be an honest time: it cannot be made right with lavish ceremony or cloaked solemnity. Wendam delivers a eulogy, sharing moments spent together, his eyes wet. Akov cannot manage even that, and must be reassured by the embrace of his fellows that it was not his fault as he chokes down tears. Baba Tanda is stonefaced and still, as if she cannot believe her eyes. Dvorah's lower jaw trembles; it was only weeks ago she had reunited with Yoni, after all these years apart, and then just like that he slips away. Bukak keeps his hat off and his hands clasped, as he has a hundred times before.
The Sect is not without allies: Kardon Hadi gives a stirring speech, jowls shaking, assuring them they do not stand alone, that he will not let the bright boy from that night in the museum be forgotten. Yirma Avelana, heir of the Yeladada Merchant Clan arrives as well, and bows her head in respect to a staunch ally in the cause of righteous smuggling.
Missing, bitterly, is Rector Qanam. A letter arrives from him not a day before that is read at the funeral, outlining adventures with the Metamoa, the trust he is earning with Vashti, that a host of Originator Juries has gathered against them 15,000 strong in Tendavara but does not yet attack. He ends the letter saying he wish he could smuggle gifts and not just letters: He has a pipe for Wendam, a fine old manuscript for Dvorah, a beating stick for Tanda, and he notes with special glee, a little surprise for Young Yoni.
He Who Died For Us
And then Chana, Chana who has known Yoni since they were children, who had just worked up the nerve to imagine a possible life together with him after he did the brave thing and finally asked her for her hand, who had always expected him there, a little silly, a little flippant, but wonderful all the same - Chana screams. It is ugly, bloodcurdling, unbroken, a piercing cry of her own grief. She collapses to the ground, and the nuns of the gunpowder Eucharist are around her holding her, and she cannot stop sobbing, as if in disbelief. Baba Tanda rushes to her, strips down her habit, tries to calm her down, as the men cover their faces, but Chana does not stop, cannot stop.
So instead, after too much of this, Baba Tanda starts to scream as well, in unison. One by one, the nuns follow, and then many of the rest of the women: the women of the sect heaving, sobbing, in a collective scream, the men standing vigil and holding back their own tears. It is not for themselves, but for her: if Chana must scream, if she must weep, then she will never be alone with her own agony. Louder, and louder, and louder, until it dissipates into a hoarse and whistling wheeze, and they fall back onto the muddy, half-frozen ground, shivering. They lay there together, for some time.
Chana stands trembling, then, as Baba Tanda helps her up and lends her her own coat. Gathering herself together, Chana addresses the sect calmly before Yoni's grave, face stained by the streaks of tears as they gaze up at her in reverent fear, her voice growing ever more confident as she speaks. What now, HaKhofshim? How will we continue now, in the name of Yoni, who gave his life for our sage? Who gave his life for our freedom? Will you dare forget what we were and where we came from, and die like dogs, or will we fight? Will we face our enemy with coldest wrath, with the cold destruction of the Angel Barabas, or will we meet them with hottest rage, with the blazing fury of the Angel Rehabam? Our Temple is warm, and its fire kindled now, but what about our own? Will we strike down our enemies with lightning, or with flame?
Choose one sect stance to take in response to this emergency.
[] With the Wrath of Barabas we wipe away our enemies [Discipline rises to Absolute, recruitment will pause, the sect will prioritize absolute order over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend itself against the Jury of Nachivan].
[] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
Chana continues, in the grips of a near-ecstatic revelation. And you, she points down to the assembled disciples, will you stand alone, as you have done so far? Is man an island, in a sea of suffering? Will you drown, or will you row the oars of liberation in union with your fellows? It is as the Abbess said: Will you burn together, or will you burn separately? To whom will we turn to now, in your darkest hour, to stand against the storm? Ohr, and its Confessor's Truth? Makabam, and its idol-smashing hammers? As Hahahyiim, and its sharpened blades of mystery? Ma'on, and its many-handed fists?
Choose one sect that you forge a special relationship with in the next few weeks of emergency, as all of Nachivan's schismatics reel, and the special advantage gained from the alliance. See here for more information on each sect.
[] Makabam, the Idol-Smashers of Old Nach [Gain a contact in the Political Iconoclast sect and its experienced streetfighters, who give your sect special advice in urban warfare].
[] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[] As Hahahyiim, the trance-knights of Little Eykshir [Gain a contact in the Mystic Amalist sect and its web of spies and scouts, granting advance warning of Juror actions and movements].
[] Ma'on, the gunpowder-fists of the Western Navel [Gain a contact in the Militant Pugilist sect and its squads of street-toughs, granting strong bodies on the ground].
And finally, Chana turns towards the Mount in the distance, and aims her invective straight towards heaven. For is it not He, Amalgast, who has left behind his reverent ones now, obscured himself in cloister? Will he, and his attendants, watch as the enemies of God swarm? Will he dare to allow you to die? Or will he send miracles, and once again lead his people in liberation from bondage? Or now, she says, as her speech turns dangerous, will he step aside and let his people liberate themselves? Who now among the Sanhedron will stand with us? Who now among the Sanhedron will prove their words, and not abandon us?
Who, indeed?
Pick one unexpected ally gained in the Sanhedron over the course of the last weeks of Tislev, who approaches the sect and offers both their condolences and their sincere support.
[] Elder Rector Massima Rachel, who brings with her the support of the rapidly growing Sanhedral Zekhedri Sect seeking to found the Moral Kingdom, bringing with them many of the most radical members of the Sanhedron.
[] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
[] Elder Abbess-Superior Tessel Tori, who brings with her echelons of the Order Marina within Nachivan and beyond, and connections across the most reformist and heterodox of the country's holy orders.
[X] With the Wrath of Barabas we wipe away our enemies [Discipline rises to Absolute, recruitment will pause, the sect will prioritize absolute order over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend itself against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
I know this update is heavy and it may take people some time. Please do so - there is no rush.
Also please note that while not taking the guns decisions would not have in and of itself prevented this. The Jurors would have simply increased force if they were aware you were armed.
@Cetashwayo I understand that writing this has probably drained you, but if possible could we get some more info on the choices for the Allied Sect?
As it stands all of them are fairly tough guys or really skilled people who can get the job done, so knowing a bit more about who they are would be nice. Beyond just their general schisms.
[X] With the Wrath of Barabas we wipe away our enemies [Discipline rises to Absolute, recruitment will pause, the sect will prioritize absolute order over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend itself against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
Completely agree with all of this. Regroup, prepare for a storm, and start gaining allies in the jurors that may start to see things our way.
[X] With the Wrath of Barabas we wipe away our enemies [Discipline rises to Absolute, recruitment will pause, the sect will prioritize absolute order over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend itself against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
Justice, like lightning, ever should appear
to few men's ruin, but to all men's fear.
Of mortal justice, if thou scorn the rod,
believe and tremble, thou art judged of God.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
SIBLINGS! NOW IS THE HOUR OF OUR PART IN THE GRAND STRUGGLE! WE MUST PREPARE OUR STRIKE, AND GATHER OUR FORCES!
[X] As Hahahyiim, the trance-knights of Little Eykshir [Gain a contact in the Mystic Amalist sect and its web of spies and scouts, granting advance warning of Juror actions and movements].
BUT OUR ENEMY IS STRONG WHERE WE ARE WEAK. WE MUST NOT MATCH STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, LEST WE BE DESTROYED! WE MUST STRIKE WHERE THE ENENMY IS NOT, AND BE GONE LIKE SO MUCH WIND OVER THE FIELDS!
hm? What? Allies? Eh, I dunno what to shout for them. My throat kinda hurts now...
Attack and escape routes and safehouses are things we desperately need in the struggle to come. The jury is going to come down like a hammer on us and we need the ability to move unseen and places to hide. We are going to bleed those cowards with a thousand cuts. Emerging from secret tunnels and bringing justice to them when they are weak and isolated.
Yoni rest well know that you will not be forgotten.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] As Hahahyiim, the trance-knights of Little Eykshir [Gain a contact in the Mystic Amalist sect and its web of spies and scouts, granting advance warning of Juror actions and movements].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
I'm very much interested in arming ourselves with more militancy here given the rising tensions along with us getting an eye on the Jurors since they are the most willing to strike out at us best to keep an eye on them at all times.
Attack and escape routes and safehouses are things we desperately need in the struggle to come. The jury is going to come down like a hammer on us and we need the ability to move unseen and places to hide. We are going to bleed those cowards with a thousand cuts. Emerging from secret tunnels and bringing justice to them when they are weak and isolated.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ma'on, the gunpowder-fists of the Western Navel [Gain a contact in the Militant Pugilist sect and its squads of street-toughs, granting strong bodies on the ground].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
@Cetashwayo I understand that writing this has probably drained you, but if possible could we get some more info on the choices for the Allied Sect?
As it stands all of them are fairly tough guys or really skilled people who can get the job done, so knowing a bit more about who they are would be nice. Beyond just their general schisms.
The Makabim are militant members of a Political Iconoclast sect concentrated in Old Nach. Esterkezy Oshana is a member but not their cantor, which is a rotating position. They operate in a more decentralized fashion, with more power to their mass sections embedded into the local artisan orders, and seek to abolish the idols of the old, which they identify as the great chambers and institutions of Vaspukaran. Their membership is very Nachivan-concentrated and they have a strong and enduring internal culture.
Ohr is an organized and disciplined cadre of True Confessors concentrated in Wisdom's Heart especially among the students and low priests. Cantor Ghadan Nasir is their leader, who you have met in an indirect way through his writings on time and its robbers. They are focused especially on expanding their intellectual and mouflon support in the southern sections of the city, and are known for having deeper roots into the press and some higher-level connections.
As Hahahyiim is a sacral and secretive society of Mystic Amalists built on a confederation of sects with chapters in several Sacral Capitals. Hadat Bhadan and Hadat Sutri are both members, but their Cantor is Yulavara Iorbagan, a mysterious agent, it is claimed, of the Hidden Rav. They are very popular among witches, sailors, and merchants in the city, keep their affairs close to the chest, focusing on smuggling operations over direct political confrontations.
Ma'on is a militant and male-only Pugilist secret society of toughs and braves that emphasizes all of the most overt and extremely masculine to the point of self-parody aspects of Pugilism. It is very popular among the Mouflons of your neighborhoods. You marched with them in the 70,000 fists, but they're much larger than you. They tend to emphasize equality within the sect, and basic ideals of justice, toughness, and street-brawling over more focused political ideals.
Both Ma'on and Ohr in particular are reeling from the death of major sages.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I reserve that power for myself.
Vengeance is thine, sings the sword - Only come and take me off the shelf.
Also Ohr gives us students and press connections. Our best weapon to hurt the jury is good public relations. Ohr seems like we might get righteous vengeance coverage in the press which would be a best case scenario.
Ohr and Hahahyiim sound like the most complimentary alliances then. Ohr gives connections in the press, hideouts and routes in the city. Hahahyiim gives information, connections and more smuggling.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
Since we just raise Discipline with the refurbished temple, we should raise Fervor to match and keep boosting our numbers.
[X] Makabam, the Idol-Smashers of Old Nach [Gain a contact in the Political Iconoclast sect and its experienced streetfighters, who give your sect special advice in urban warfare].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ma'on, the gunpowder-fists of the Western Navel [Gain a contact in the Militant Pugilist sect and its squads of street-toughs, granting strong bodies on the ground].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
Zeb is wearing a headband and gesturing wildly with one hand. The other holds a rifle. He seems delirious - some strange mix of grief, rage, and immense joy.
Friends. This is not the time to hide. This is the time to make our stand. The Jury is isolated and far removed from God. No reinforcements are coming, no cavalry will save them. The Patriarch is with us. The Sanhedron is with us. Many of the circles and Juries are with us. The city itself is with us - can't you feel its pulse? Read it in their faces. When the men of Sword-Altar march, they know what I say to be true. They can feel the incandescent rage pouring out from every window and doorway. It must eat at their souls - what little is left of them.
There is a day for tunnels and escape routes. There is a day for the small war. It is not today, friends! No, praise God, it is not today! All these months since Kutan I have waited to fight. I have longed to hold a rifle again - I wake to find my shooting hand curling in my sleep! The city shall march with us, and the Synod is but a few streets away! If they come for us - please, oh greatest of Glories, let them come! - would you abandon our holy temple? Would you shack up with your Confessor friends? The people of the Navel are ready to fight! Let us not fade into obscurity, but lead them into the most righteous of battles! For God shall and must grant us victory! I know not the scale of this victory. Perhaps we shall storm the Synod, perhaps we shall even enter the Heavenly Mount and free Amalgast Santsarran from his captors, perhaps we shall simply hold the streets of our own neighborhood - but whatever the case, the Jury of Sin shall be destroyed!
Friends, I do not mean to threaten or extort you, and I beg forgiveness for my peculiar affect, but this crisis is...exhilarating. God has not granted me true joy since our departure from Kutan. I say this so that I might conclude: I will fight, however the vote may go. But if we choose to adopt these cowardly tactics of Confessors, I may never smile again.
(OOC: i'm not actually sure when zeb would give this speech in-character, but I guess it'd be whenever we vote on whether to ally with Ohr or not. he's really getting into it. my OOC logic is 1. zeb doesn't like confessors, sorry not sorry and 2. while a more head-on fight might turn quite bloody quite quick, part of why I voted to put our temple in the Western Navel was that we could reach out to the other pugilists and the local mouflons and become a horrific thorn of unrest in the inner city. with the Synod in our backyard, and the Jury lashing out, this is a great time to pick a fight and establish ourselves as just that.)
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Makabam, the Idol-Smashers of Old Nach [Gain a contact in the Political Iconoclast sect and its experienced streetfighters, who give your sect special advice in urban warfare].
[X] As Hahahyiim, the trance-knights of Little Eykshir [Gain a contact in the Mystic Amalist sect and its web of spies and scouts, granting advance warning of Juror actions and movements].
[X] Elder Abbess-Superior Tessel Tori, who brings with her echelons of the Order Marina within Nachivan and beyond, and connections across the most reformist and heterodox of the country's holy orders.
So this is what was chosen.
Let the battle for Good and Evil commence, and may the Purifying Flood be over swiftly.
[X] With the Rage of Rehabam we destroy our foes [Fervor rises to Absolute, recruitment will continue, the sect will prioritize absolute militancy over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] As Hahahyiim, the trance-knights of Little Eykshir [Gain a contact in the Mystic Amalist sect and its web of spies and scouts, granting advance warning of Juror actions and movements].
[X] Elder Rector Massima Rachel, who brings with her the support of the rapidly growing Sanhedral Zekhedri Sect seeking to found the Moral Kingdom, bringing with them many of the most radical members of the Sanhedron.
[X] With the Wrath of Barabas we wipe away our enemies [Discipline rises to Absolute, recruitment will pause, the sect will prioritize absolute order over the next few weeks as it prepares measures to defend itself against the Jury of Nachivan].
[X] Ohr, the Militant-scholars of Wisdom's Heart [Gain a contact in the True Confessor sect and its network of city safehouses and secret tunnels, granting your sect escape and attack routes].
[X] Elder Komandir Varhan Sarbadgar, who brings with him the support of his Pale Horse Standard and some of the most extreme veterans of the War with the Mare, many of them on leave in Nachivan and spoiling for a fight.
