Kingdom of God: A Quest of Holy Revolution
- Thread starter Cetashwayo
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Cornuthaum
Be kind to each other.
- Location
- Austria
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Speaking out of character, a very sensible way to organize an army that is meant to draw its recruits from all Vasp rather than localized areas only.
Enough standardization that it could be hammered in as a New Model Jury system and it breaks down easily enough that you can station operational segments in division sized formations.
And it clearly marks the Mass Jury apart, as a greater cohesive whole, so that has it's own appeal to me.
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
Q: What is Vaspukaran's Calendar?
Vaspukaran uses a variation on the historical Jewish calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar with a leap month every two or three years to keep it synchronized. It is called the Mushad Calendar. The new month starts with the new moon and also broadly follows the seasons. This calendar was devised during the period of the Infallible Patriarchs a century ago. The months of the calendar, with broad seasons following both dry and wet season and the four-season calendar temperate climates in Vaspukaran are more familiar with:
Q: What is the world outside Vaspukaran like?
Vaspukaran is situated on the eastern end of a massive continent called Camad. Camad is often called the world continent, but it is not the only one: other smaller continents and archipelagos exist, but Camad is just short of a supercontinent, a kind of Laurasia or Gondwana, and so it is the focus of most attention. On Camad, there are four major great powers, called the Four Eyes of the Earth. From west to east, the Grand Mare is a constitutional state ruled by a harem which overthrew its sultan and instituted a parliamentary system. The Guarded Domains (called Asharei after their most known region) are an ancient dominion of federated princes and satrapies with a tripartite caste system based on profession, heavenly division, and a 'coil of literacy' whereby increased understanding of arcane linguistics accords greater status. The Great Western Coven, which calls itself the Collegium or Simurgshahr, is a web of different assemblies and institutions binding the center of continent into a theocratic Yuhwaist commonwealth while simultaneously hosting princes from half the continent within its college assemblies.
There are smaller or rising powers as well. Bordering Vaspukaran, one may name Osogdo, Maganya, Gontagora. Osogdo is a militaristic kingdom advised by a council of elders. Maganya is a divine and ancient empire claiming unbroken lineage to the time of Babarak and adopting a form of Amalism. Gontagora is an expanionist imamate ruled by the third shehu, a prophet of a new faith.
Further afield, one may name Tsakharia, Zunisdan, and Patranesia. Tsakharia is the eternal rival to the Guarded Domains to its south, constantly feuding over their shared border. Zunisdan is a trust-federation of villages that sprawls across the eastern edge of the Kavanar Mosaic, a region of uniquely collective village councils arranged into corporations and princedoms. Patranesia is a newly united republican confederacy of western islands and rival to the Mare.
Q: What languages do the people of Vaspukaran speak and what are their scripts?
Vaspukaran has over forty official languages and an uncountable number of 'dialects' that may as well be languages. Literacy programs and the spread of Vasparak generally has made it just barely the majority first-language, as Vasparak itself was a trade language that evolved into the liturgical language of the Vasp and linguists of the Order of the Living Mosaic intentionally integrated new vocabularies into Vasparak to make it easier to assimilate new circles and people. In much of the outlying regions of Vaspukaran, Vaspuj is spoken, which is a hybrid version of Vasparak adapted to local vocabularies, a pidgin which varies based on the region. After Vasparak, major languages include Nesri [In Nesra], Kazari [in the Kazar Rite], Gushank [in the northwest], and Monadi [in the central south].
The major script is based on the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabets, but there are other alphabets: The Kazars use characters we might recognize as Chinese with hebrew influence, and Kusri script is a combination of adopted Vasparak characters and native letters. Nesri script was originally based on script-glyphs similar to that of Easter Island. Babarak used a script that appears somewhat similar to Armenian, and which remained in use until the Patriarchate.
An over-obsession on complication and increasingly esoteric lettering and grammar rules have made Vasparak increasingly divided into low and high portions defining the differences between classes and chambers. Traditional linguistic assimilation has also done untold damage to local vocabularies in many regions: Living Moasic monks and nuns would deliberately introduce new versions of alphabets for local languages and ensure that translations and transmission of oral works into writing for those cultures would be on their terms, so that many cultures now are unsure which are of their legends are 'authentically' pre-Patriarchal, and which were edited and adapted to fit into the new mold.
Q: What currency does Vaspukaran use?
Vaspukaran has two official currencies, often referred to pejoratively as the 'bifurcated standard'. The older and more prestigious is the gold dirham, which is based on a standard measurement of gold per dirham and backed by an equivalent reserve of lucre. However, the general deflationary nature of gold combined with hoarding by High Priests of gold funneled into vaults has meant that gold dirhams have rapidly risen in value and have become hard to come by, causing a catastrophic deflationary spiral which suits Vaspukaran's creditors and is ruining its debtors wealthy and poor alike. The War with the Mare was started in part because Vasparak industrialization was causing such a draining of gold into the ever-devoring maw of the Patriarchate that the Mare needed to force import controls and massive reparations in specie to stop its own reserves from being depleted.
The younger and now universally disliked is the god-backed scrip. Introduced as a scheme to tie a currency's value to something other than gold or silver, god-backed scrip was initially tied to the value of railroad land, which was rising, with each scrip being a paper guarantee to some parcel of land. Patriarch Petrifor issued such scrip eagerly, and with reckless abandon. When railroad land prices dropped following the War with the Mare, however, scrip also dramatically dropped in value, and a lack of understanding of monetary theory led to Petrifor printing more to make up the difference.
As a result Vaspukaran is simultaneously in an inflationary and deflationary spiral. Until recent events the Patriarch was running out of gold reserves and was paying the salaries of Vaspukaran's massive priesthood from god-backed scrip, while major lending institutions did not accept scrip as payment for debt. The result is that debtors are on the hook for increasingly expensive gold dirham debts and are unable to get more, and the circulating god-backed scrip has a value that is approaching worthless.
In addition, the autocephalates of Usral, Eykal, and Kusro each have their own currencies. There is no standard exchange rate between these currencies and gold dirhams, and Kusro's silver dirham and Eykal's electrum doubloon in particular are rapidly and catastrophically fluctuating because of attempts to make more with less by shaving and cutting the content of precious metals in each.
Q: What about weights and measures?
Vaspukaran's standard weights and measures system is still based on a number of lines from scripture. In this regard Vaspukaran has a relatively centralized if not very rational system of weights and measures controlled from Nachivan, but three-quarters of a century of neglect have led to rampant local variation mostly for the basis of cheating and manipulating tithe requirements. Many circles have introduced their own measures which are theoretically the same as the talent, mina, and shekel system but are actually wildly different while using the same names, in order to either confuse taxing authorities or simply out of whatever expediency they can retrieve. The High Juries each their own system of weights and measures meant to increase competence in their authority, and each Autocephalate has its own weights and measures system based on obscure and local tradition. It has been described by some as 'confusing', and others as a 'living nightmare upon this holy earth'.
Vaspukaran uses a variation on the historical Jewish calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar with a leap month every two or three years to keep it synchronized. It is called the Mushad Calendar. The new month starts with the new moon and also broadly follows the seasons. This calendar was devised during the period of the Infallible Patriarchs a century ago. The months of the calendar, with broad seasons following both dry and wet season and the four-season calendar temperate climates in Vaspukaran are more familiar with:
- Alul (Late Summer, dry season) August-September
- Yoshrei (Autumn, wet season) September-October
- Kestvan (Late Autumn, wet season) October-November
- Tislev (Early Winter, wet season) November-December
- Tebet (winter, wet season) December-January
- Shavat (winter, wet season) January-February
- Hadar (late winter, wet season) February-March
- Nisan (spring, dry season) March-April
- Aran (late spring, dry season) April-May
- Siman (early summer, dry season) May-June
- Dumuz (summer, dry season) June-July
- Ab (summer, dry season) July-August
Q: What is the world outside Vaspukaran like?
Vaspukaran is situated on the eastern end of a massive continent called Camad. Camad is often called the world continent, but it is not the only one: other smaller continents and archipelagos exist, but Camad is just short of a supercontinent, a kind of Laurasia or Gondwana, and so it is the focus of most attention. On Camad, there are four major great powers, called the Four Eyes of the Earth. From west to east, the Grand Mare is a constitutional state ruled by a harem which overthrew its sultan and instituted a parliamentary system. The Guarded Domains (called Asharei after their most known region) are an ancient dominion of federated princes and satrapies with a tripartite caste system based on profession, heavenly division, and a 'coil of literacy' whereby increased understanding of arcane linguistics accords greater status. The Great Western Coven, which calls itself the Collegium or Simurgshahr, is a web of different assemblies and institutions binding the center of continent into a theocratic Yuhwaist commonwealth while simultaneously hosting princes from half the continent within its college assemblies.
There are smaller or rising powers as well. Bordering Vaspukaran, one may name Osogdo, Maganya, Gontagora. Osogdo is a militaristic kingdom advised by a council of elders. Maganya is a divine and ancient empire claiming unbroken lineage to the time of Babarak and adopting a form of Amalism. Gontagora is an expanionist imamate ruled by the third shehu, a prophet of a new faith.
Further afield, one may name Tsakharia, Zunisdan, and Patranesia. Tsakharia is the eternal rival to the Guarded Domains to its south, constantly feuding over their shared border. Zunisdan is a trust-federation of villages that sprawls across the eastern edge of the Kavanar Mosaic, a region of uniquely collective village councils arranged into corporations and princedoms. Patranesia is a newly united republican confederacy of western islands and rival to the Mare.
Q: What languages do the people of Vaspukaran speak and what are their scripts?
Vaspukaran has over forty official languages and an uncountable number of 'dialects' that may as well be languages. Literacy programs and the spread of Vasparak generally has made it just barely the majority first-language, as Vasparak itself was a trade language that evolved into the liturgical language of the Vasp and linguists of the Order of the Living Mosaic intentionally integrated new vocabularies into Vasparak to make it easier to assimilate new circles and people. In much of the outlying regions of Vaspukaran, Vaspuj is spoken, which is a hybrid version of Vasparak adapted to local vocabularies, a pidgin which varies based on the region. After Vasparak, major languages include Nesri [In Nesra], Kazari [in the Kazar Rite], Gushank [in the northwest], and Monadi [in the central south].
The major script is based on the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabets, but there are other alphabets: The Kazars use characters we might recognize as Chinese with hebrew influence, and Kusri script is a combination of adopted Vasparak characters and native letters. Nesri script was originally based on script-glyphs similar to that of Easter Island. Babarak used a script that appears somewhat similar to Armenian, and which remained in use until the Patriarchate.
An over-obsession on complication and increasingly esoteric lettering and grammar rules have made Vasparak increasingly divided into low and high portions defining the differences between classes and chambers. Traditional linguistic assimilation has also done untold damage to local vocabularies in many regions: Living Moasic monks and nuns would deliberately introduce new versions of alphabets for local languages and ensure that translations and transmission of oral works into writing for those cultures would be on their terms, so that many cultures now are unsure which are of their legends are 'authentically' pre-Patriarchal, and which were edited and adapted to fit into the new mold.
Q: What currency does Vaspukaran use?
Vaspukaran has two official currencies, often referred to pejoratively as the 'bifurcated standard'. The older and more prestigious is the gold dirham, which is based on a standard measurement of gold per dirham and backed by an equivalent reserve of lucre. However, the general deflationary nature of gold combined with hoarding by High Priests of gold funneled into vaults has meant that gold dirhams have rapidly risen in value and have become hard to come by, causing a catastrophic deflationary spiral which suits Vaspukaran's creditors and is ruining its debtors wealthy and poor alike. The War with the Mare was started in part because Vasparak industrialization was causing such a draining of gold into the ever-devoring maw of the Patriarchate that the Mare needed to force import controls and massive reparations in specie to stop its own reserves from being depleted.
The younger and now universally disliked is the god-backed scrip. Introduced as a scheme to tie a currency's value to something other than gold or silver, god-backed scrip was initially tied to the value of railroad land, which was rising, with each scrip being a paper guarantee to some parcel of land. Patriarch Petrifor issued such scrip eagerly, and with reckless abandon. When railroad land prices dropped following the War with the Mare, however, scrip also dramatically dropped in value, and a lack of understanding of monetary theory led to Petrifor printing more to make up the difference.
As a result Vaspukaran is simultaneously in an inflationary and deflationary spiral. Until recent events the Patriarch was running out of gold reserves and was paying the salaries of Vaspukaran's massive priesthood from god-backed scrip, while major lending institutions did not accept scrip as payment for debt. The result is that debtors are on the hook for increasingly expensive gold dirham debts and are unable to get more, and the circulating god-backed scrip has a value that is approaching worthless.
In addition, the autocephalates of Usral, Eykal, and Kusro each have their own currencies. There is no standard exchange rate between these currencies and gold dirhams, and Kusro's silver dirham and Eykal's electrum doubloon in particular are rapidly and catastrophically fluctuating because of attempts to make more with less by shaving and cutting the content of precious metals in each.
Q: What about weights and measures?
Vaspukaran's standard weights and measures system is still based on a number of lines from scripture. In this regard Vaspukaran has a relatively centralized if not very rational system of weights and measures controlled from Nachivan, but three-quarters of a century of neglect have led to rampant local variation mostly for the basis of cheating and manipulating tithe requirements. Many circles have introduced their own measures which are theoretically the same as the talent, mina, and shekel system but are actually wildly different while using the same names, in order to either confuse taxing authorities or simply out of whatever expediency they can retrieve. The High Juries each their own system of weights and measures meant to increase competence in their authority, and each Autocephalate has its own weights and measures system based on obscure and local tradition. It has been described by some as 'confusing', and others as a 'living nightmare upon this holy earth'.
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Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
An understatement really.
- Location
- USA
all i'm hearing is a desperate need to S T A N D A R D I Z E T I M E
........and some other less important stuff too, i guess
Cornuthaum
Be kind to each other.
- Location
- Austria
- Pronouns
- He/Him
At this rate the first universal measure of Vasp will be standard measure weight of the components of a New Model Jury cartridge, probably in measures of sevens all the way down. Anyone who wishes to argue can take it up with the New Model Jury o_o
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I bet in addition to being really into timekeeping the Confessors are also anal about standardized weights and measures.
IamtooSleepy
I came here to be an ant
With how confusing and unstandardized everything is, I think I start to understand why people thought high confession's centralisation and absolutism effort is a utopia when you have to deal with all of this on a regular basis.
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
You would expect the Banks and the Merchantile Factions to literally smash some kind of standardization into everyone's brains, if only because you are fucking with their profit. But here, the Grand Jury is both too corrupt to be good soldiers and too proud to be good bankers and merchants.
Cant believe I'm actively wishing for a Venetian Style Economic juggernaut to beat everyone's money into sense.
Cant believe I'm actively wishing for a Venetian Style Economic juggernaut to beat everyone's money into sense.
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
Vaspukaran is so large the Jurors can work around it by implementing standards in their own territories and thereby having competitive advantage over non-juror circles. Circles treasure their independent calendars and cheating weights and measures and priests control the courts so it's risky to try and coerce them too much.
At least until now.
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
Turns out Philip IV was right to destroy the Knights Templar.
- Location
- in the trash
holy fucking shit what a clusterfuck
at this rate we need a second flood to wipe away everything so we can start over
at this rate we need a second flood to wipe away everything so we can start over
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- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The more I learn about the country the more sympathetic I am to the original High Confessors.
I still think they were probably screwed form the get go but increasingly their position seems reasonable.
I still think they were probably screwed form the get go but increasingly their position seems reasonable.
Ghadan Nasir (ArvisParsley)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Second of the Mushad Oathtakers, leader of the True Confessionalist Ohr, editor of the newspaper Ain Soph, an apostle of the epistle, the indomitable Ghadan Nasir
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That's one nice hat.
The Marriage of Vashti & Boros (ArvisParsley)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh Vashti Bride of Boros and of Ischak, last daughter of Pugranasi, Reverent Messenger of God, and Scythe of the Apocalypse may the blood of Behemoths flow red beneath the harvest moon.
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
So, here's a fun thing that someone proposed I do: give more information about the subjects of omakes and art as a way to reward people with both valuable information and flavour. I'll also give more info on Oshana just to be fair!
It never mattered how much his father worked, for there were never enough hours in the day to pay back the debt owed, and it never mattered how much his mother toiled, for there were never enough things that she could to please the man she loved. Time's lessons came early and easily to Ghadan Nasir, and did not leave him as he aged. The wounds inflicted by lost time weighed heavy on the souls of students failing examination, destitute and shambling chronicles of their prime years, destroyed.
Why, in the face of such misery, should we not ask who it is who made the clocks that rule us?
She had another Boros in her life of flesh and blood, and she loved the way that he would run his fingers through her hair. When Pugranasi was destroyed, the two of them held each other close and vowed never to be separated, but the demands of survival broke their vow and sent him to the mills of Arhan and her to a rancher's work. He died when the fragment of a bullet fired at strikers ricoheted and hit him in the skull, but he had only been there to watch.
Sometimes she wakes up and forgets he is not sleeping by her side. Sometimes she wishes she did not wake up at all.
The old order did not glorify the survivors of the War with the Mare, but only cast them aside. They were the degenerate refuse of grand failure, and in Vaspukaran it was better to be silent than to speak ill of those above. Better to blame soldiers than their komandirs, better to heap on them every insult that could be gathered to the low. Profligates, drug-runners, addlers, and sorry rascals. Losers, above all, blamed far and away above the men who ordered them to fight.
It is never the great who choose to set themselves alight than retreat, but those who know it is simply a choice of death.
Her great-grandfather had been a migrant from the domains of the Yuhwa, with the clothes on his back and fire in his hair, and her lineage of frontier farmers, no matter how modest, were always anxious to assert themselves as among the faithful. So when a disobedient girl refused to marry, her mother, ever protective of true family, resorted to the courts, and the courts to humiliation for the spinster child so rebellious as if to spit in the eye of God.
It was not the high and mighty of Henoch who saved Oshana from a wretch's tar and feather, but the women in the crowd.
The Second of the Mushad Oathtakers, leader of the True Confessionalist Ohr, editor of the newspaper Ain Soph, an apostle of the epistle, the indomitable Ghadan Nasir
It never mattered how much his father worked, for there were never enough hours in the day to pay back the debt owed, and it never mattered how much his mother toiled, for there were never enough things that she could to please the man she loved. Time's lessons came early and easily to Ghadan Nasir, and did not leave him as he aged. The wounds inflicted by lost time weighed heavy on the souls of students failing examination, destitute and shambling chronicles of their prime years, destroyed.
Why, in the face of such misery, should we not ask who it is who made the clocks that rule us?
Oh Vashti Bride of Boros and of Ischak, last daughter of Pugranasi, Reverent Messenger of God, and Scythe of the Apocalypse may the blood of Behemoths flow red beneath the harvest moon.
She had another Boros in her life of flesh and blood, and she loved the way that he would run his fingers through her hair. When Pugranasi was destroyed, the two of them held each other close and vowed never to be separated, but the demands of survival broke their vow and sent him to the mills of Arhan and her to a rancher's work. He died when the fragment of a bullet fired at strikers ricoheted and hit him in the skull, but he had only been there to watch.
Sometimes she wakes up and forgets he is not sleeping by her side. Sometimes she wishes she did not wake up at all.
The old order did not glorify the survivors of the War with the Mare, but only cast them aside. They were the degenerate refuse of grand failure, and in Vaspukaran it was better to be silent than to speak ill of those above. Better to blame soldiers than their komandirs, better to heap on them every insult that could be gathered to the low. Profligates, drug-runners, addlers, and sorry rascals. Losers, above all, blamed far and away above the men who ordered them to fight.
It is never the great who choose to set themselves alight than retreat, but those who know it is simply a choice of death.
The First of the Mushad Oathtakers, former exile to the Mare, Arch-feminist, and radical among radicals, Makabam's fiery dame of freedom Esterkezy Oshana
Her great-grandfather had been a migrant from the domains of the Yuhwa, with the clothes on his back and fire in his hair, and her lineage of frontier farmers, no matter how modest, were always anxious to assert themselves as among the faithful. So when a disobedient girl refused to marry, her mother, ever protective of true family, resorted to the courts, and the courts to humiliation for the spinster child so rebellious as if to spit in the eye of God.
It was not the high and mighty of Henoch who saved Oshana from a wretch's tar and feather, but the women in the crowd.
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Maryam Vashti (ArvisParsley)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Here's a last one before I pass out for the night
A closer look on Maryam Vashti outside of the big pic
A closer look on Maryam Vashti outside of the big pic
A Finger in the Eye of Evil (Horologer)
Horologer
Incertae sedis
- Location
- a risen sea
Keteani Merodak sits at his desk, where he has spent the last few days committing his thoughts to paper. He is an unlikely man, and an even less likely candidate for a Pugilist: an Eykanani who ran away to sea, then away from the sea, then went to a reputable yeshiva, then went back to sea, and eventually made his way to Nachivan. And yet, here he sits, carefully writing upon doctrine. At last, he is satisfied. Well, not truly satisfied, but as satisfied as he ever will be. He copies out the finished version, reads over his work one last time, gathers his papers, and begins the walk to the temple.
A FINGER IN THE EYE OF EVIL
It was written by the great sage Myriam Opernani: there are five great evils, which are ignorance, impiety, injustice, disunion, and despair. These are the five links on the chains of the wicked. These are the five voices of the fires of hell. These are the five teeth upon the jaw of evil.
Against these evils are arrayed the five great virtues, which are wisdom, righteousness, justice, solidarity, and faith. These are the five bright swords by which the chains of the wicked are cut asunder. These are the five songs of the choir of angels. These are the five fingers upon the fist of revelation, which is the fist which shatters the jaw of evil and hurls its servants upon their faces.
IGNORANCE
The first of these evils is ignorance. Most will know that when we speak of ignorance, what we mean is that someone has no knowledge of something. But when we speak of the evil of ignorance, we mean something that is more narrow than this common meaning of the word. For all people are ignorant of something. There are many great masters upon the face of the world, but none of them is master of all things. And some things none know– can anyone number the stars, or name them all? Some things are simply mysteries to all people upon the face of the world. It is of course desirable that these things be found out, but this is not the great evil against which war is waged.
The evil of ignorance against which the righteous fight is this: when a soul does not know something, but that thing by right should be known to them. For instance there are many in the Kingdom of God who do not know, or do not know correctly, the names and deeds of Amalgast the First and his seven companions. This should not be; not here in the very Kingdom of God. In some of these cases we may blame sloth or stubbornness for this evil, but not all.
For I have encountered many of the indigent who lament to me: "We have great desire that our children should grow up in righteousness and knowledge, that our justice may be delivered in accordance with the holy laws, that our rites be sanctified before God. Yet our rector cannot do this, for he is gone! How then shall this be provided to us? We would ourselves do these things, yet we cannot for we are not priests and have not the knowledge."
And everywhere it seems the rector is gone for a different reason. Perhaps he is absent or neglectful, and cares more for the fineries and comforts of city life than the needs of the souls of some distant village. Then he is a wicked fool! Soon his fineries will be ashes and his comforts dust in his mouth.
Perhaps the rector has simply too many souls to tend, and though he tries he cannot serve them all as he should. Indeed it is widely said that outside the walls of Eykshir sometimes one rector must see to the needs of eight thousand souls alone and on foot. These rectors are among the greatest servants of God; upon such righteousness is the Kingdom of God built. Yet though their burden is holy, it is too great: the work of God ought not to be as the toil of a slave.
Or perhaps the rector is even in jail, or dead! For it was related in the prayer bulletins two years ago that one rector near Hestvan was thrown in jail on the most ludicrous charges despite having committed no crime at all. This was done because he complained to the censor of excessive taxation. In prison he perished a martyr of the faith, and yet it took over a year before a replacement was appointed.
So from this we must be careful not to call an ignorant man a fool or a sinner, for there are many unlearned and unlettered who are yet of sound mind and wise heart. A man who is ignorant labors beneath the load of evil, but is not evil because of his ignorance. Many of those who are ignorant are not ignorant by their own sin, but because of sin that has been committed against them.
For there are two great sins of ignorance. The first sin is to desire one's own ignorance, or to take pride in it. By doing this, one turns his back on God and commits great harm to themself. This is little better than boastful blasphemy and willful sacrilege. Yet still it is the lesser of the two sins, for in this the sinner mainly harms themself.
The second sin is to desire that others suffer the evil of ignorance. When one denies learning to the studious, or letters to the unlettered, or truth to the misguided, or a priest to the flock, this is the evil committed. And it is the greater sin of the two, because it debases souls for one's own material gain. It deliberately obscures the truth and spreads evil across the face of the world, as one smears muck across the clean face of the innocent.
This sin is an attack upon the Patriarchate, its work, and upon God. It is not only the height of sacrilege but treason against God and his servants. It is intolerable, and of those who will not repent of such evil must be put to severe judgment.
WISDOM
Many souls, when exhorted to be wise, despair in their hearts and say: "I am filled with the desire to do this good, but I am no Rav, nor am I a priest, nor a monk. I have not the soul for great studies. How then shall I strike a blow against evil?"
I say, take heart. For the beginning of wisdom is the admission of ignorance. Every master was begins a student, and the greatest master always remains a student. Indeed, it is as my great-uncle from Pekrovan once said: if someone tells you that they know everything, you can be certain that they know nothing. (At least, they know nothing that you cannot learn with five minutes of honest work or calm thought, which such people cannot be bothered with.)
Therefore, let us cast aside our self-doubt and set ourselves upon the path to wisdom. Upon this path, there are three barriers to be overcome, which are pride, indolence, and fear. They may be passed through by the three keys of wisdom, which are humility, diligence, and valor.
If you pride your vanity above the truth, then becoming wise will be like trying to open a door after you have locked it. Cunning words or the platitudes of scripture may certainly make one appear wise, but the righteous are concerned not with the appearance of wisdom, but with wisdom itself. If one values the first over the second, then when the two conflict (and they will: it is the nature of a good student to occasionally feel like the world's greatest fool) they will forsake wisdom.
To avoid this snare, it is necessary that a soul should admit their own ignorance. This is a sign of true mastery: that when a man is ignorant of a thing, he confesses it; that when a woman believes a thing, but does not know it for a certainty, she confesses it; that when a soul has an opinion upon a thing, but does not pass total judgement upon that thing, they confess it. This is humility: not needless self-abasement but honesty about the bounds our knowledge, both towards ourselves and towards others.
If one is indolent, one simply accepts whatever may happen to pass before their eyes and ears as truth, without reasoning on these things themselves or lifting their head up to ponder things beyond the circle of their own life. This is much like going to a meat market, then simply buying whatever pieces of meat happen to be closest to hand without checking first whether they are fit to eat. And like such people, the indolent often find that their lack of care puts them in considerable distress at a later time. In fact, it is usually worse: far better to spend a few uncomfortable hours upon the privy than to go to war and discover you have forgotten how to fight.
Diligence provides us with the opportunity to see through false appearances and into the true nature of things, and saves us from such bitter consequences. Diligence is described thus: that a soul should labor to uncover the truth as much as they can. And in this we may all take some measure of joy, for we live in a time of wonders. Indeed, this is the age in which a genius should wish to live, for all about us is the word of God made manifest. By the telegraph, railroad, and print are we informed daily of God, Creation, and each other. Yet though the truth is now more easily read, it is not always more easily understood. A telegraph can speak for you, and a railroad can walk for you, and the printed book can remember for you, but none of those can think for you.
The last barrier is fear. Perhaps we worry that humility shall cause others to see us as fools. Perhaps we quail at the rigors of study. Perhaps we fear that by speaking the truth, we shall be punished. Another might seek to calm your fears by pretending such fears are groundless, but it is my place to speak bitter truths and not sweet lies. Such fears are not all groundless. There will always be someone who thinks you a fool, enlightenment often does involve a lot of dull reading, and it is safer to be on a rowboat in a storm than to speak truth to power.
And yet we must press forward anyway. For without valor, wisdom cannot endure. If Amalgast had not dared to speak the truth of God– had not dared to defy the Rohirrate– then there would be no Kingdom of God. How much longer then should the Spiral of Truth have been delayed? Had the Ravs not made war upon the forces of evil, how long then should God's people wept as they suffered under the yoke?
This is the finger in the eye of evil, that which puts sight in the eye of blindness: to love truth, to find truth, and to defend truth.
FREEDOM
Very likely many of you are now saying: "Very well, this is all fine doctrine, but my taxes are outrageous, my money is worth less every passing day, a new trouble seems to be around every corner, and all things taken as one I would prefer to fight a moa with my bare fists rather than have this continue. What then have you to say about any of that?" And the point is well-made: eternal verities are important, but here and now there are many problems in the Kingdom of God that must have practical solutions. It is not the recitation of scripture that will deliver us but the application of scripture.
I will speak of two such evils of ignorance, and in plain language so that we may all be certain of what I speak. First, the souls of the Patriarchate often do not plainly know what is going on in their own country. Commonly this has been because there is no word from those who lead us, and therefore rumors swirl about and it becomes impossible to separate fact from fiction.
Each Sanhedrin should make it known what they are discussing at each session, and how each member votes, so that the people may know that they are governed in righteousness and that their prayers and petitions are heard. Some allowance will have to be made for the discussion of certain affairs of state that cannot be widely known, but secret or closed sessions of each Sanhedrin should be as rare as possible. For while many elders will still hold true to their duty in secret, it is inevitable some will not, and will conspire to get gain for themselves at the people's expense. There is no doubting how that will end.
The second evil I speak of is this: in many places the education of children in the Patriarchate is in a deplorable state. I do not mean to diminish the victories that have lately been achieved, nor the leaders and hold orders that have accomplished them with great effort. The Maranine Order in particular has for long been among the foremost servants of God in this matter, and there are many others known to me who have contributed in ways both great and small to this task. Great praise is due to all who have labored or are laboring in this cause, for the work they have done and are doing is holy. I do not speak against them but for them, because it is vital that they be supported and their work expanded upon.
It may seem odd to speak of this matter when the Patriarchate is right now wrestling with so many other issues. Yet consider this: the martyrs of Nachivan died not only for a better today, but for a better tomorrow. Who shall inherit this place, that they have bought so dearly? Today, it is us, but soon it shall be our children, and then their children. Our flesh shall all eventually return to the dust and our souls shall all return to God, but what we build our children shall inherit. If we build nothing they shall inherit nothing.
It is necessary therefore that the souls of the Kingdom of God should be taught these things:
It is furthermore necessary:
All this shall be paid for. I say not that it should be paid for, or that it must be paid for, although I hold both of things to be true. I say again: it shall be paid for: whether in gold or the wages of sin. For it is written: a man shall reap what he sows. And if the Kingdom of God will not sow wisdom among its people, it can expect an evil harvest indeed.
Submitted for the consideration of all members of the HaKhofshim.
A FINGER IN THE EYE OF EVIL
It was written by the great sage Myriam Opernani: there are five great evils, which are ignorance, impiety, injustice, disunion, and despair. These are the five links on the chains of the wicked. These are the five voices of the fires of hell. These are the five teeth upon the jaw of evil.
Against these evils are arrayed the five great virtues, which are wisdom, righteousness, justice, solidarity, and faith. These are the five bright swords by which the chains of the wicked are cut asunder. These are the five songs of the choir of angels. These are the five fingers upon the fist of revelation, which is the fist which shatters the jaw of evil and hurls its servants upon their faces.
IGNORANCE
The first of these evils is ignorance. Most will know that when we speak of ignorance, what we mean is that someone has no knowledge of something. But when we speak of the evil of ignorance, we mean something that is more narrow than this common meaning of the word. For all people are ignorant of something. There are many great masters upon the face of the world, but none of them is master of all things. And some things none know– can anyone number the stars, or name them all? Some things are simply mysteries to all people upon the face of the world. It is of course desirable that these things be found out, but this is not the great evil against which war is waged.
The evil of ignorance against which the righteous fight is this: when a soul does not know something, but that thing by right should be known to them. For instance there are many in the Kingdom of God who do not know, or do not know correctly, the names and deeds of Amalgast the First and his seven companions. This should not be; not here in the very Kingdom of God. In some of these cases we may blame sloth or stubbornness for this evil, but not all.
For I have encountered many of the indigent who lament to me: "We have great desire that our children should grow up in righteousness and knowledge, that our justice may be delivered in accordance with the holy laws, that our rites be sanctified before God. Yet our rector cannot do this, for he is gone! How then shall this be provided to us? We would ourselves do these things, yet we cannot for we are not priests and have not the knowledge."
And everywhere it seems the rector is gone for a different reason. Perhaps he is absent or neglectful, and cares more for the fineries and comforts of city life than the needs of the souls of some distant village. Then he is a wicked fool! Soon his fineries will be ashes and his comforts dust in his mouth.
Perhaps the rector has simply too many souls to tend, and though he tries he cannot serve them all as he should. Indeed it is widely said that outside the walls of Eykshir sometimes one rector must see to the needs of eight thousand souls alone and on foot. These rectors are among the greatest servants of God; upon such righteousness is the Kingdom of God built. Yet though their burden is holy, it is too great: the work of God ought not to be as the toil of a slave.
Or perhaps the rector is even in jail, or dead! For it was related in the prayer bulletins two years ago that one rector near Hestvan was thrown in jail on the most ludicrous charges despite having committed no crime at all. This was done because he complained to the censor of excessive taxation. In prison he perished a martyr of the faith, and yet it took over a year before a replacement was appointed.
So from this we must be careful not to call an ignorant man a fool or a sinner, for there are many unlearned and unlettered who are yet of sound mind and wise heart. A man who is ignorant labors beneath the load of evil, but is not evil because of his ignorance. Many of those who are ignorant are not ignorant by their own sin, but because of sin that has been committed against them.
For there are two great sins of ignorance. The first sin is to desire one's own ignorance, or to take pride in it. By doing this, one turns his back on God and commits great harm to themself. This is little better than boastful blasphemy and willful sacrilege. Yet still it is the lesser of the two sins, for in this the sinner mainly harms themself.
The second sin is to desire that others suffer the evil of ignorance. When one denies learning to the studious, or letters to the unlettered, or truth to the misguided, or a priest to the flock, this is the evil committed. And it is the greater sin of the two, because it debases souls for one's own material gain. It deliberately obscures the truth and spreads evil across the face of the world, as one smears muck across the clean face of the innocent.
This sin is an attack upon the Patriarchate, its work, and upon God. It is not only the height of sacrilege but treason against God and his servants. It is intolerable, and of those who will not repent of such evil must be put to severe judgment.
WISDOM
Many souls, when exhorted to be wise, despair in their hearts and say: "I am filled with the desire to do this good, but I am no Rav, nor am I a priest, nor a monk. I have not the soul for great studies. How then shall I strike a blow against evil?"
I say, take heart. For the beginning of wisdom is the admission of ignorance. Every master was begins a student, and the greatest master always remains a student. Indeed, it is as my great-uncle from Pekrovan once said: if someone tells you that they know everything, you can be certain that they know nothing. (At least, they know nothing that you cannot learn with five minutes of honest work or calm thought, which such people cannot be bothered with.)
Therefore, let us cast aside our self-doubt and set ourselves upon the path to wisdom. Upon this path, there are three barriers to be overcome, which are pride, indolence, and fear. They may be passed through by the three keys of wisdom, which are humility, diligence, and valor.
If you pride your vanity above the truth, then becoming wise will be like trying to open a door after you have locked it. Cunning words or the platitudes of scripture may certainly make one appear wise, but the righteous are concerned not with the appearance of wisdom, but with wisdom itself. If one values the first over the second, then when the two conflict (and they will: it is the nature of a good student to occasionally feel like the world's greatest fool) they will forsake wisdom.
To avoid this snare, it is necessary that a soul should admit their own ignorance. This is a sign of true mastery: that when a man is ignorant of a thing, he confesses it; that when a woman believes a thing, but does not know it for a certainty, she confesses it; that when a soul has an opinion upon a thing, but does not pass total judgement upon that thing, they confess it. This is humility: not needless self-abasement but honesty about the bounds our knowledge, both towards ourselves and towards others.
If one is indolent, one simply accepts whatever may happen to pass before their eyes and ears as truth, without reasoning on these things themselves or lifting their head up to ponder things beyond the circle of their own life. This is much like going to a meat market, then simply buying whatever pieces of meat happen to be closest to hand without checking first whether they are fit to eat. And like such people, the indolent often find that their lack of care puts them in considerable distress at a later time. In fact, it is usually worse: far better to spend a few uncomfortable hours upon the privy than to go to war and discover you have forgotten how to fight.
Diligence provides us with the opportunity to see through false appearances and into the true nature of things, and saves us from such bitter consequences. Diligence is described thus: that a soul should labor to uncover the truth as much as they can. And in this we may all take some measure of joy, for we live in a time of wonders. Indeed, this is the age in which a genius should wish to live, for all about us is the word of God made manifest. By the telegraph, railroad, and print are we informed daily of God, Creation, and each other. Yet though the truth is now more easily read, it is not always more easily understood. A telegraph can speak for you, and a railroad can walk for you, and the printed book can remember for you, but none of those can think for you.
The last barrier is fear. Perhaps we worry that humility shall cause others to see us as fools. Perhaps we quail at the rigors of study. Perhaps we fear that by speaking the truth, we shall be punished. Another might seek to calm your fears by pretending such fears are groundless, but it is my place to speak bitter truths and not sweet lies. Such fears are not all groundless. There will always be someone who thinks you a fool, enlightenment often does involve a lot of dull reading, and it is safer to be on a rowboat in a storm than to speak truth to power.
And yet we must press forward anyway. For without valor, wisdom cannot endure. If Amalgast had not dared to speak the truth of God– had not dared to defy the Rohirrate– then there would be no Kingdom of God. How much longer then should the Spiral of Truth have been delayed? Had the Ravs not made war upon the forces of evil, how long then should God's people wept as they suffered under the yoke?
This is the finger in the eye of evil, that which puts sight in the eye of blindness: to love truth, to find truth, and to defend truth.
FREEDOM
Very likely many of you are now saying: "Very well, this is all fine doctrine, but my taxes are outrageous, my money is worth less every passing day, a new trouble seems to be around every corner, and all things taken as one I would prefer to fight a moa with my bare fists rather than have this continue. What then have you to say about any of that?" And the point is well-made: eternal verities are important, but here and now there are many problems in the Kingdom of God that must have practical solutions. It is not the recitation of scripture that will deliver us but the application of scripture.
I will speak of two such evils of ignorance, and in plain language so that we may all be certain of what I speak. First, the souls of the Patriarchate often do not plainly know what is going on in their own country. Commonly this has been because there is no word from those who lead us, and therefore rumors swirl about and it becomes impossible to separate fact from fiction.
Each Sanhedrin should make it known what they are discussing at each session, and how each member votes, so that the people may know that they are governed in righteousness and that their prayers and petitions are heard. Some allowance will have to be made for the discussion of certain affairs of state that cannot be widely known, but secret or closed sessions of each Sanhedrin should be as rare as possible. For while many elders will still hold true to their duty in secret, it is inevitable some will not, and will conspire to get gain for themselves at the people's expense. There is no doubting how that will end.
The second evil I speak of is this: in many places the education of children in the Patriarchate is in a deplorable state. I do not mean to diminish the victories that have lately been achieved, nor the leaders and hold orders that have accomplished them with great effort. The Maranine Order in particular has for long been among the foremost servants of God in this matter, and there are many others known to me who have contributed in ways both great and small to this task. Great praise is due to all who have labored or are laboring in this cause, for the work they have done and are doing is holy. I do not speak against them but for them, because it is vital that they be supported and their work expanded upon.
It may seem odd to speak of this matter when the Patriarchate is right now wrestling with so many other issues. Yet consider this: the martyrs of Nachivan died not only for a better today, but for a better tomorrow. Who shall inherit this place, that they have bought so dearly? Today, it is us, but soon it shall be our children, and then their children. Our flesh shall all eventually return to the dust and our souls shall all return to God, but what we build our children shall inherit. If we build nothing they shall inherit nothing.
It is necessary therefore that the souls of the Kingdom of God should be taught these things:
- reading, that they be able to study by themselves, and not be reliant upon those who might deceive them for their own gain
- arithmetic, that they also be able to work out for themselves necessary figures, both for their labors and for their own benefit
- scripture, both of matters past and present, that they may know what is righteous and therefore not be lead by the servants of evil into sinful acts
- natural theology, that they be uplifted with the wonder of God's Creation, and not be subject to false cures and other such scams peddled by the wicked and greedy
It is furthermore necessary:
- that this teaching must extend to all corners of the Kingdom of God, however remote and isolated, for the total abolition of evil
- that no student be charged for their education: those who struggle to put food on the family table can hardly afford school fees
- that the time allotted is sufficient for useful instruction
- that the barbaric practice of young children being compelled into hard labor be uprooted in its entirety
All this shall be paid for. I say not that it should be paid for, or that it must be paid for, although I hold both of things to be true. I say again: it shall be paid for: whether in gold or the wages of sin. For it is written: a man shall reap what he sows. And if the Kingdom of God will not sow wisdom among its people, it can expect an evil harvest indeed.
Submitted for the consideration of all members of the HaKhofshim.
- Location
- USA
This is amazing. It's so clever to frame the need to be literate and numerate in terms of liberation - the need to know how to read and do basic math to ensure that someone cannot be taken advantage of intellectually, in the same way that being armed and physically fit is necessary to ensure you are not exploited materially. It's very modern Pugilist, in a way that I think the other schisms can't really capture.
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
One of the most notable exchanges in Vasparak military theology in the days after 30 Tislev was the letter conversation held between Starshy Minoji and Komandir Sarbadgar in relation to the composition and nature of the Mass Jury. Sarbadgar, responding to Minoji's outline for a 'new model of army', reflected that he was both pleased and intrigued by the suggestions and invited Minoji to take part in the development of the Mass Jury.
However, he also outlined the essentiality that the mass jury must at all costs preserve the 'deliberative and popular character' that once so-defined the Grand Jury which it exists so uneasily beside. He expresses in his response that 'the well-armed and well-trained militia, drawn from the faithful and for the faithful, is the most faithful guard of the flock of god'. He is eager to 'balance the fundamental requirements and realities of holy war', with the 'brotherhood of man which the mass jury so creates'.
Here's a last one before I pass out for the night
A closer look on Maryam Vashti outside of the big pic
One might expect the reaper and would-be prophet of the Ischak to be of severe, austere, and reserved manner. And in every respect this is true of Vashti, save in the matter of her hair. It is a fact universally recognized among her followers that the holy reaper Vashti is something of a dandy in respect to her hair and keeping it in the best condition possible.
There have been circumstances in which Qanam has sent letters to HaKhofshim iterating the need for weaponry, and also asking if there happens to be a pomade of fine make that the sect might fundraise for the prophet. It is the sole indulgence of the bride of the Ischak, and one that is met gladly, even with some perplexity among her companions, who are not sure when the rancher and village girl procured such a propensity for pompadours.
DVORAH: Merodak, this is by far your best work. This will be discussed at the next general prayer service of HaKhofshim alongside other directions of doctrine, you may be sure of it. It is time for us, as a sect, to develop the tools necessary to transform ourselves into the leaders of Illumination in God's Kingdom, and this is one of the most cogent and most excellent expressions of the thought that we will need to arrive there.
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Ravs Debate on Angels (nothingtoseehere)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Two members of the Ravs of Labour, after Merodak's speech on his work
"So, that got me thinking, do you think there's angelforms of the mind, like the angelforms of the body we practice?"
"What, like scowl in the right way and become more wise? That sounds silly"
"No, wait a moment. So, Pasan Ghadi was taught the angelforms by, well, Angels, and by performing them, became closer to God and more able to bring about God's Kingdom on Earth by the power of violence, right?"
"Yea, I think that's right? I don't get how you get from that to scowling for godliness, though"
"I'm getting there. The angelforms bring you closer to God, but being closer to God isn't solely physical, surely? Just because Belman can probably beat up the rest of the sect at once, doesn't make him the wisest member or the closest to God. And there's been Pugilist champions even greater than Belman in the past, but none with the wisdom of Pasen Ghadi since. So there must be more to the angelforms we're missing, that Ghadi didn't teach to Myriam before his betrayal."
"Oh yea, he created those war wagons to defeat the evil Patriarchs, So you think he learnt from the angels how to think real hard to defeat evil as well as punch real good to defeat evil? If angelforms are supposed to be replicating the movements of angels, then are we supposed to think like angels? How the hell do you do that?"
"Blast if I know, it was just a question. I guess that's what meditation is? But often we're meditating on scripture and sermons and worldly things, which isn't how angels think I'd guess? If I have hundred legs and two hundred arms, I'm surely not trying to decipher what the the hell Bukuk was on about last sermon. I'm probably thinking about more estoric things, or at the very least how I walk around with hundred legs"
"Remember those railway monks we met in the pub, who we thought had some kind of esoteric scripture but it turned out to be a diagram of some train bits? Is that how angels think, all lines and angles and numbers and stuff? Railways are holy after all."
"I dunno, I thought I had something and now I'm just confused. I'm gonna go and ask Dvorah and see if she knows how angels think."
"So, that got me thinking, do you think there's angelforms of the mind, like the angelforms of the body we practice?"
"What, like scowl in the right way and become more wise? That sounds silly"
"No, wait a moment. So, Pasan Ghadi was taught the angelforms by, well, Angels, and by performing them, became closer to God and more able to bring about God's Kingdom on Earth by the power of violence, right?"
"Yea, I think that's right? I don't get how you get from that to scowling for godliness, though"
"I'm getting there. The angelforms bring you closer to God, but being closer to God isn't solely physical, surely? Just because Belman can probably beat up the rest of the sect at once, doesn't make him the wisest member or the closest to God. And there's been Pugilist champions even greater than Belman in the past, but none with the wisdom of Pasen Ghadi since. So there must be more to the angelforms we're missing, that Ghadi didn't teach to Myriam before his betrayal."
"Oh yea, he created those war wagons to defeat the evil Patriarchs, So you think he learnt from the angels how to think real hard to defeat evil as well as punch real good to defeat evil? If angelforms are supposed to be replicating the movements of angels, then are we supposed to think like angels? How the hell do you do that?"
"Blast if I know, it was just a question. I guess that's what meditation is? But often we're meditating on scripture and sermons and worldly things, which isn't how angels think I'd guess? If I have hundred legs and two hundred arms, I'm surely not trying to decipher what the the hell Bukuk was on about last sermon. I'm probably thinking about more estoric things, or at the very least how I walk around with hundred legs"
"Remember those railway monks we met in the pub, who we thought had some kind of esoteric scripture but it turned out to be a diagram of some train bits? Is that how angels think, all lines and angles and numbers and stuff? Railways are holy after all."
"I dunno, I thought I had something and now I'm just confused. I'm gonna go and ask Dvorah and see if she knows how angels think."
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Horologer
Incertae sedis
- Location
- a risen sea
Thanks! I actually drew on my knowledge of mostly-but-not-exclusively-American history for this: it was pretty common for uneducated or illiterate people (especially immigrants) to be bilked by a bewildering variety of scams, often losing an appalling amount of money in the process. The saying "I have a bridge to sell you" comes from a rather famous example of one of those scams. Most of these scams seem incredibly transparent and ridiculous to a contemporary audience, but of course we have the benefit of a full modern education and they didn't.
Also, while I didn't get into this as much: Even when modern democracies were a fairly new concept, people understood that democratic assemblies need an informed and educated electorate to make them work properly. To take another example from U.S. history, it's not an accident that the U.S. set aside a substantial portion of its land specifically to fund education well before the Constitution had been written. So while I fully expect the details of education funding are going to be tricky, I find it likely that most people who genuinely support the Sanhedron will also be supportive of increased education funding, at least in abstract.
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