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| Action Id: 1051 | Crisis: | Participants: Aleksei, Aureth, Dafne and Saedrus | |
| Status: Resolved | Submitted: Aug. 6, 2017, 8:17 p.m. | Public: True | GM: Apostate |
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Action by Aleksei
Hold onto your butts: Aleksei and Aureth are going to Sanctum.
It's officially a visit to the Seraph of Sanctum to make contact in matters regarding the Lost Gods, most specifically Skald and Death in their roles as Archlectors. They each bring a disciple with them: Saedrus for Aleksei and Dafne for Aureth. Aleksei, having grown up in Sanctum, has a fair amount of experience with Oathlander Orthodoxy, even if he's never been close to that himself. Hopefully he'll be able to use his experience to just provide a certain level of context and expectation for the rest of the party. "This is what Oathlanders in Sanctum are like, try to avoid doing this particular thing that totally annoys them. I know it annoys them because I got in trouble doing it when I was fifteen." That sort of thing.
The purpose of the visit is really to gain support from the Seraph of Sanctum and the ranking Godsworn there at whatever level they can manage. They'll go in with the public face of recognizing Sanctum's importance within the Faith -- as the Birthplace of the Faith -- which is hopefully indicated by their visiting Sanctum in particular before anywhere else outside of Arx. Aleksei is prepared to be charming and empathetic, with a firm understanding of the theology in question, and he will grudgingly lean on the fact that he's from a well-respected Sanctum family with a long history of service. (Sure, he went off as a black sheep for a while, but then he found his way back to respectability through the Faith!!) Aureth will do his best not to alarm the natives and will be as charming a propagandist as he possibly can on behalf of the Queen. He definitely chose Dafne as his accompaniment on this adventure for a REASON since his own background is about as non-falutin as it is possible to be. Saedrus and Dafne come armed with respectability to support the Archlectors -- he as a Softest Whisper of the Whisper House, she as a Duchess of the Lyceum. They will know the correct title and the correct flatware /every time/.
Action by Aureth
Action by Dafne
Action by Saedrus
Result
The Seraph of Sanctum and the Pure Faith of the Oathlands (as they sometimes call themselves) appear to be in a heated contest to see who can be the most pompous and arrogant. There is no doubt, none, that if Saedrus hadn't managed to help everyone follow the precisely proper protocol with such flair that they would not even have agreed to meet, and they do require all of them to go through a Ceremony of Clensing at the White Cathedral of Sanctum before even being willing to meet, with thirteen hours spent in penitent prayer and singing of canticles. So much damned singing.
It is entirely likely they were looking for an excuse to not meet the heathens of the east, but Aleksei's mastery over theology is enough to follow all the proper worship to the letter, and grudgingly they meet. Because of that mastery and the proper respect and deference being paid to them, they do listen as Saedrus lays out a heartfelt, compassionate case for the good of the Faith of Arvum if they are willing to to listen to the new teachings with an open heart. Aureth being able to delve into extremely esoteric doctrines of the Faith helps tremendously, because there's nothing that excruciatingly painful pedants like the Western Faith love more than being able to hear fine points that they can inflict on other people. It wins him many points, and the gods will have mercy on his soul.
Things go less well when Duchess Dafne tries to present a compelling political case that it will ease tension between the Oathlands and the Lyceum and most of the Faith if they are willing to listen, but it's not her fault. Truth is, Francesca just couldn't help herself after hearing the Seraph of Sanctum drone on and on and on and on about the Pure Faith and how sinful the Lycene were and how they were not to be trusted, and Francesca muttered, "Gods save us from these dullards." And the Seraph and other pure of faith couldn't tell who had said anything but demanded, "Who said that?" Leaving to a, "I didn't say anything, did you say something?" awkward moment of exchange. But it fortunately does not derail everything.
The Pure Faith heard them out, and they offer what they feel is an extremely magnanimous offer overflowing with Gild's generosity and Limerance's fidelity and Lagoma's compassion. They claim they will not actively undermine the maybe-not-entirely-heretical new fangled notions. They will not formally accept them yet, saying that a period of Thirteen Years of study would be appropriate, but with two Archlectors of the Faith telling them that this is a thing, they are willing to say that at least Aleksei and Aureth are not the spawns of the Abyss trying to corrupt and destroy the faith. Openly. To their faces. But they will not undermine the new members of the Faith to their flocks. And that, at least, is something.