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[OOC. Last night many copies of a book were distributed to players by a character dressed in pure white. Copies were also left in the Goblin, the Inn and the Town Hall. For ease of reading, the following is the text of the book.]

Disputation of Richard Wellesly on the Efficacy of Punishment

Too many good men have died not knowing the compassionate nature of our Lord the Avatar. They know all to well his just nature, but not his humble and compassionate sensibilities. The fire and brimstone of many of my esteemed ecclesiastical colleagues is not wholly wrong. There is a time and a place for punishing heretics. But without the compassion and humility that our dear Avatar so clearly espoused, then we push away our believers. They will fear us, when they should love us. They will reject us, when they should welcome us.

Many of you will recall the tale known as The Avatar and The Brigand. The Avatar was in the forest one day when set upon by a nefarious type, a brigand. The Avatar was momentarily surprised, but threw the man off him with a turn of his shield and was soon at the man’s throat with his sword. At first the brigand snarled at the Avatar, but the serene expression on our Lord’s face unnerved him, and he began to weep. Our Lord asked the man why he wept when justice demanded death for his crimes and that a man of his calibre should well expect that. The man began to recount his life to the Avatar; an impoverished childhood, a plague-stricken family, a swindled business and a livelihood lost. The Avatar drew his sword away and sheathed it. He told the man to stand and laid a hand on his shoulder. Our Lord said. “Go now child, and make peace with thyself, redeem your lost way”. The brigand cast down his weapon and headed for the town. It is said after many of toil this man opened his own Inn.

The point of this tale is that the Avatar saved this man’s soul not through justice or sacrifice, but through humility and compassion. Compassion should never be subordinated to the needs of justice. If one deserves compassion, then one should receive it. Compassion is the virtue that separates us from the servants of the Guardian. Without this we are mere brutes. Honourable, honest, just and valorous brutes, but brutes nonetheless.

I do not write this treatise to debate with my brethren of the cloth. We fight the same battles. We have the same enemies. I merely seek to remind them of the compassion and humility that led them to the faith in the first place. We must welcome all the Avatar’s children to the faith and not be endlessly searching for heretics amongst the innocent faithful. This will only drive believers into the hands of the Guardians and in extreme cases, we clergy may find ourselves unwitting servants too.

This change and reform will take time, but if we do not wish to experience a revolution against the Church of Britannia we must move ourselves into the modern age. I will no doubt encounter resistance to my teachings, but those that may seek my death in order to quiet my words will only prove that compassion and humility is gravely lacking in our clergy. Nevertheless if my death is required by our Lord the Avatar to allow for ecclesiastical progress then I shall gladly go. But I will not die a martyr nor wish to be seen as one. I am but a man, with a simple set of teachings. I have no political ambitions nor do I seek high office in the Church. I simply wish to return our faith to its former pure balance. Reform it to a balanced state, where all virtues are equally represented. Where compassion, the virtue that sets us apart from the criminals, wild animals, abominations and servants of the Guardian, is never forgotten.

R. Wellesly.
Friar