The Avatarian Church is Corrupt! - The Proof.

[Mischief]

I don’t know what made me go to Haven. The “new” town has always saddened me, soulless and lacking character. Not like the “old” town, that was always a hive of activity, clandestine meetings, secret trysts and much more. As it happened, I soon found myself wandering amongst the ruins of the old town, soaking in the memories of times past. Seeing the crumbled buildings did nothing for my spirits, in fact the more I wandered in and out places I knew, the sadder I got.

It was whilst I was in the ruins of the old scribes shop that something attracted my attention. Sticking out between the torn pages of a tome lying on a broken shelf was a scrap of parchment. I picked it up and the barely legible scrawl piqued my curiosity. “ See what the Church didn’t want you to see! Try the Vault of Secrets in Luna”. Hmm.

What could that mean? Probably a reference to a collection of erotic drawings that I’ve seen immature and inadequate men drool over. Either the Church perverts had the book hidden for themselves or the hypocritical paladins had a copy so they could drool over it in private moments. Then again, perhaps it was something else entirely. Lets face it there is much the Church doesn’t want us, believers or not, to know. Ah well, got nothing else to do so may as well investigate.

Finding the Vault of Secrets in Luna wasn’t too difficult since a plaque advertised the building. On the ground floor was numerous tomes and scrolls, but frustratingly impossible to get at. Some kind of force field prevented me from even touching anything. One up to the paladins then, advertise your secrets as long as your security is as tight as a drum!

I went up the steps to the first floor and was completely empty. So too was the second floor. Damn! What a waste of time! I banged the wall with the edge of my fist in frustration and suddenly the brick below popped out. Somehow by complete accident I had stumbled upon a secret compartment because in the cavity was a small tome!

On the cover in neat letters was written “Disputation of Richard Wellesly on the Efficacy of Punishment”. Talk about flowery language! I began skimming through the pages and after half way through I sat in a corner and read the whole thing carefully. This was explosive to say the least. My views on the Church were vindicated in this tome – vindicated by one of their own! Whoever scrawled that note was spot on – this is something the Church would not want us ordinary people to know about. Time to take action.

I headed back to Vesper and paid a visit to the local scribe shop. There I made faithful copies of the tome. Once done I left the copies pinned securely to public buildings in Cove and Yew as we the people should be fully aware how corrupt the Avartarian Church is!

The following is an exact copy of the tome, copies left around Cove and Yew.

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