Parts of speech

Ourndle, unfurled the scroll, holding it before him as if to read from it. In fact it was completely empty, they had been so busy of late that there hadn't been time for the calligraphers to produce a formal edit of the court rulings. Fortunately he knew the charges by heart and was able to recite them properly so that the True Gods could hear them and administer justice accordingly.

"Rebekah of Tamar's Fold, you have been found guilty of heresy. That you did deliberately and with stated intention denigrate and deny the majesty of the True Gods. You have been found guilty of espionage and treason. That you did deliberately and with stated intention seek to cast aspersions on the just rule of the Plenum and her faithful servants in the churches whose one solemn duty is to guide Asavea. You have been found guilty of aiding the Sumaah. That you did deliberately and with stated intention seek to conspire with that most wicked of nations whose one desire is the destruction of these resplendent isles, which they wish to see sink beneath the waves. The punishment for each of these crimes is death by drowning. Do you have any final words?"

The young woman raised her head and locked her gaze with the Asavean priest. She stared at him for a moment and then said "Consequences are the price of Ambition. In time even your soul will be saved. I am content that I have done everything that life permitted to make my sojourn to the the Labyrinth a short one. Virtue demands we live our lives without fear of regret."

His face wrinkled in obvious disgust and contempt. "Regret!?" he spat back. "My only regret is we can only execute you the once for your crimes. If the true gods see fit to return your soul to this world, do not bring your lies to this land again."

A curt nod in the direction of the guards was all it took. The four executioners gripped the missionary firmly by the limbs, hoisted her into the air, and strode towards the cliff edge.

Overview

The change of doctrine that saw the old Doctrine of Human Destiny replaced by the Doctrine of Enlightenment represents a fundamental change to the Doctrines of the Faith. It accepts that "the power of virtue transcends the boundaries of soul, spirit, and species", asserting that both orcs and humans can gain strength from virtue. It also seems to imply that there is more to the pursuit of virtue than "just" speeding passage through the Labyrinth - scholars enthusiastically debate what it means for someone to "develop the strength, knowledge and enlightenment which marks their highest potential as thinking beings."

At the Winter Solstice, the Imperial Synod discussed the importance of spreading understanding not just of the words, but of the meaning, of the new doctrine to adherents of the Way who live beyond the Empire's borders. Two very different nations were prioritised. The Sarcophan Delves already has a rich community of pilgrims, with more choosing to adopt the virtues since the construction of the Cathedral of the Navigators. By contrast the Asavean Archipelago has increasingly chosen to actively suppresses the Way, and persecute it's followers. Caught between the two is the Sumaah Republic. The Empire's greatest rivals in the battle for souls have not denounced the new Doctrine, but neither have they embraced it, urging caution. Yet it's impossible for the Empire to spread news of their revelation without coming into conflict with the more conservative beliefs of the Sumaah.

Over the last three months, missionaries from every nation, but especially Highborn wayfarers, have departed Imperial shores to spread the word of the Doctrine of Enlightenment far and wide. While enthusiasm for this task spreads through eight of the ten nations, Varushka and Urizen priests are slower to respond. Only a handful have responded to the call to spread the Doctrine in Sarcophan, and while they have been keen to address pilgrims in Asavea, they did so only because the Assembly of the Nine urging represented a greater majority of Cardinals as representatives of their assemblies. Reasons for this reticence vary from priest to priest but fundamentally come down to the fact that none of the other mandates received a greater majority suggested that the Imperial Synod was not truly united on this matter.

The work of the Imperial missionaries is still ongoing, but already starting to bear fruit.

Doctrine is a living document that must change and grow as our understanding does. The Doctrine of Human Destiny has been weighed and found wanting. The Doctrine of Enlightenment provides a deeper understanding of the Way of Virtue. We send Tabris, son of Aemisael with 25 liao to urge adherents of the Way in Sarcophan to follow the lead of Bastion in embracing this change.

Tabris, Son of Armisael, Winter Solstice 385YE, Vote: Upheld (1857-135)

As Bishop of the Navigators, Tabris, Son of Armisael is charged with supporting followers of the Way in the Sarcophan Delves.

Sarcophan

• Missionaries have encouraged acceptance of the Doctrine of Enlightenment in the Sarcophan Delves
• The Sumaah have been critical of the Imperial missionaries

Tabris, Son of Armisael of the Navigators of Virtue both raised and enacted the mandate encouraging acceptance of the new Doctrine in the Sarcophan Delves. Belief in the Houses of Silence is the dominant faith in the Delves - a belief most Imperial priests would consider blasphemous and heretical which preaches that the only true measure of a soul's worth is the accumulation of wealth. Still, the Way is the next largest established faith in the Delves, with the virtues of Prosperity and Ambition being particularly appealing to the mercantile culture of the nation. The beautiful Cathedral of the Navigators stands proudly in the Buitenlandsewijk, an area of the Delves where foreign investment is welcomed and encouraged. The massive white granite structure looms over everything else in the district with the exception of the House of Seven Ways, an equally impressive seven-stepped ziggurat built by the Sumaah Republic. Both nations are welcome to spread their faith in the Delves - because the bedelaar huisbaas take a similar pragmatic approach to religion that they do to almost everything else. Free trade sees no difference between belief and the price of apples.

The part of the new Doctrine that seems to appeal most to the Sarcophan is that "through the practice of Virtue... humans develop the strength, knowledge, and enlightenment which marks their highest potential as thinking beings." It appeals to the ambitious streak that runs through Sarcophan society. It speaks of reaping rewards in this life, rather than the next, and that's an appealing proposition even in a nation like Sarcophan that has a particularly complicated relationship with death.

The parts that talk specifically about orcs have proved a little more contentious. The Sarcophan do not historically have the best relationship with their orc neighbours, any more than the Empire does. Orcs live in the swamps occasionally become a real threat to Sarcophan profits, at which point there will be a short but brutal war and then things will settle back into the status quo. The Doctrine of Enlightenment has caused some of the Sarcophan adherents of the Way to begin discussing an alternative approach, which is likewise proving contentious. What if, instead of writing the orcs off, they found a way to profit from them? The Sarcophan trade with everybody - why are they ignoring this untapped potential for profit just because of tradition? it's not clear what if anything will come with this - the divisions between the Sarcophan Delves and some of their neighbours (not just the orcs) are very deep, but once one accepts everyone has potential, it would be criminal to leave that potential untapped.

One group of people do not appreciate the Imperial missionaries speaking of the Way on the streets of the Buitenlandsewijk, nor the impassioned sermons given at the Cathedral, preaching enlightenment and the way virtue can give one the strength to achieve one's highest ambitions. The Sumaah präster take a much more conservative view, and their noses are very much out of joint that the Empire has begun enthusiastically spreading their new ideas without spending several more years examining them and discussing them with their opposite numbers in Timoj. Arguments between missionaries are no longer uncommon in the Buitenlandsewijk and the Sarcophan authorities are keeping an indulgent, but vigilant, eye on the situation. The agreement with both nations requires them to remain civil, and to avoid "brawling in the streets." For now that agreement is being honoured but the potential is there for things to become more heated, depending on how the Synods of these two nations proceed.

Bishops and Navigators

Sarcophan Gifts
28 doses of liao	12 random herbs and 8 crowns
50 doses of liao	18 random herbs and 12 crowns
78 doses of liao	24 random herbs and 16 crowns

• The Bishop of the Navigators has gained an even larger ministry

One unexpected consequence of the decision to send the Bishop of the Navigators themselves to spread this mandate in the Delves is that the demand for liao has increased significantly. As such the Bishop's ability to donate liao to the Cathedral's work has increased adding an additional ministry specifically dedicated to dealing with the poorer segment of Sarcophan Delves society. They don't have the kind of wealth their richer neighbours can contribute, but they are no less interested in receiving the "blessings" the Cathedral has to offer and if anything are even more enthusiastic about Ambition and Prosperity.

In addition, every congregation preaching Prosperity or Ambition in Tassato, Sarvos, Necropolis, Redoubt, and Karsk (thanks to the Sarcophan Mooring) will receive an additional 18 rings income in the coming season due to visitors from the Sarcophan Delves keen to see what all the excitement is about.

Participation: Sarcophan Delves

If you are a priest character, regardless of whether you have congregation or any religious skills or own a congregation, you are welcome to roleplay that you have spent time in the Sarcophan Delves preaching about the Doctrine of Enlightenment. The Cathedral of the Navigators amplifies Imperial voices, allowing them to reach many more folk in the city and its environs than they might do alone.

If you are Tabris, Son of Armisael, Bishop of the Navigators, you are encouraged to roleplay that you have given a number of stirring sermons at the Cathedral in the Buitenlandsewijk, and have been loudly denounced as "hasty", "ill-considered", and "questionably Wise" by your opposite number in the Sumaah Republic.

Sumaah Republic

• The Republic do not accept this change of doctrine... for now
• They will encourage those who look to Timoj to retain the Doctrine of Human Destiny

True to their word, the Sumaah Assemblies have enacted a mandate urging Sumaah missionaries, and those who look to Timoj for guidance, to both reject the Doctrine of Enlightenment and retain the Doctrine of Human Destiny "until such time as this tumultuous change has been weighed, considered, and judged by the virtuous." None save the most incendiary are condemning the change; indeed some priests believe the Doctrine of Enlightenment is almost certainly superior to the Doctrine it replaced because it accepts the idea that virtue can help anyone achieve their destiny. But the change has been made "too quickly" for many in the conservative Synod of Sumaah. If the Empire were trying to force this change on the Sumaah they would push back much more decisively. As it is they recognise it simply as another difference in the approaches the two Synods take to the world, and the spread of the Way. Indeed, some relish the opportunity to "compete" with the Empire directly - both presenting their view of the Way and seeing who will be most successful.

The Imperial Synod has stolen a march on the Sumaah, however. They have had a whole season to spread the Doctrine of Enlightenment before Timoj has been able to respond. While the spread of the Doctrine will be slower now, the Empire has a head start that should not be underestimated.

Trade in Liao

• The Sumaah Synod is discouraging the sale of liao to foreigners

One development here has been that the Sumaah Synod has also passed a mandate discouraging the sale of liao to outsiders. They have not gone so far as to make it a crime; not yet at any rate. But a "discouragement" from the House of Vigilance, and with only token opposition from the House of Prosperity, has almost as much sway in Sumaah as a change in the law from the House of the People. As such fleets visiting the port of Zemeh in the Sumaah Republic will find it much harder to acquire liao. In it's place, they will find ample supplies of Imperial roseweald. Only a fleet with several upgrades or that is under an enchantment will be able to acquire liao, and in much smaller quantities than before.

This move is not made out of "fear" of selling liao to the Empire, or spiteful selfishness. Rather, the House recognises that it will need its liao both to for the fight over hearts and minds, and their ongoing battle with the Asavean Archipelago.

(OOC Note: Going forwards, we have essentially "flipped" the Sumaah trade outcome so that a fleet will receive doses of roseweald in the same amount they would have liao, and vice versa)

The Doctrine of Enlightenment provides a deeper understanding of the Way of Virtue and its role in giving us the strength, knowledge, and enlightenment to achieve our highest potential. We send Athiel Westernborn of the Cenotaph with 75 liao to urge missionaries and wayfarers to bring this news to the hidden sects of Asavea, no matter the risks.

Athiel Westernborn of the Cenotaph, Highborn Assembly, Winter Solstice 385YE, Vote: Upheld (404-0)

The Doctrine of Enlightenment provides a deeper understanding of the Way of Virtue and its role in giving us the strength, knowledge, and enlightenment to achieve our highest potential. We send Sufyan i Zuhri i Erigo with 75 liao to urge missionaries and wayfarers to bring this news to the hidden sects of Asavea, no matter the risks.

Derwyn Tendfallen, Assembly of the Way, Winter Solstice 385YE, Vote: 233-10

The Doctrine of Enlightenment provides a deeper understanding of the Way of Virtue and its role in giving us the strength, knowledge, and enlightenment to achieve our highest potential. We send Cardinal Aspar with 75 liao to urge missionaries and wayfarers to bring this news to the hidden sects of Asavea, no matter the risks.

Melchior of Adina's Charge, Assembly of the Nine, Winter Solstice 385YE, Vote: Great Majority (7-1)

The Asavean Archipelago

• Asavean is opposing any attempt to spread the Way there, and executing anyone they catch

The main focus of the missionary zeal of the Imperial Synod, at least during the last three months, has been directed toward the Asavean Archipelago. Three assemblies upheld mandates, and an impressive amount of liao was contributed by Imperial priests. Missionaries set out westward to bring news of the Doctrine of Enlightenment to the pilgrims of Asavea - and in some cases to make contact for the first time with the sects of the Way that are forced to hide themselves against the jealousy of the Asavean temples. The number of missionaries has been smaller than might have been expected for such significant mandates, because anyone who journeys to Asavea to preach the Way in the current climate is risking arrest, torture, and death at the hands of the Asavean priests.

And die they do. Nearly thirty priests, from all Imperial nations, are captured and executed. The method varies, but the most common is weighting the accused with chains and throwing them into the sea. The Highborn pay the highest price; eight wayfarers are captured and killed by the priests of Asavea in the last three months. There's neither mercy nor clemency offered. Not only because the Empire and Asavea are at war, not only as vengeance for the destruction of Chalonsio, but because the Asavean priesthood has come to loathe the Way and everything it represents. It is not simply that the Asaveans believe in an entire pantheon of gods that the Way utterly denies the existence of. The deeper truth is that the Doctrine of Enlightenment is a fundamental challenge to the traditions of Asavea. It suggests that people can achieve their highest potential without need for priests or temples, and the Asavean priesthood is built on a foundation of being indispensable to the orderly running of their society.

But the Asavean priesthood is by no means omniscient. Those they execute are caught because while they may have been successful in finding sympathetic ears, or making contact with some of the hidden sects, someone sells them out. Relying on informants in this way is effective but it hardly foolproof. Most of the believers in Asavea are found among the slaves. Most have been inspired by contact with covert Sumaah Republic missionaries, but that doesn't account for all of the would-be pilgrims. There are clearly multiple strands of the faith in Asavea, tracing their roots back to inspiration and missionaries from years past.

In the north, missionaries encounter sects who honour the Divine Family, familiar to the Empire via the Free Folk. They are initially cautious, but when they learn the Speaker for the Dead is honoured by the Empire, they become much more enthusiastic to welcome and shelter Imperial missionaries. Others speak of Solkora, a gentle man from across the sea who brought news of the virtues to Nemoria and when the Asavean priests tried to sacrifice him to his gods, transformed into a flock of gulls and escaped to continue to spread the teachings of the Way to any who would listen. The wayfarers who learn of this "thread" of the Way see it as likely connected to the inspiration of Saul of the Cora, a figure the Empire has recently become aware of thanks to the Lepidean Librarian and the true liao vision of Arsenio Sanguineo Rezia di Tassato.

There's also stranger strands. In the western islands of the satrapies of Chabrette and Coradia, the seven virtues are conflated with Asavean gods and honoured almost in the open not only by slaves but by some Asavean families of minor import, their inspirations hidden behind masks the Nemorians find familiar. The message from the missionaries is that the Way is not the minor, suppressed religion that the Asaveans pretend it is. There are nascent signs of it everywhere thanks to centuries of work by Imperial and Sumaah missionaries, prepared to risk the wrath of the Plenum and the priesthood, and by merchants with faith from other nations of the Known World.

While it is much more common than initially believed, there are three things it is not. It is not accepted - the priests and the plenum families suppress the Way wherever they can. Their experiment with the Temple of the Seven Virtues in Nemoria is seen as an unmitigated disaster, even before the crazy priest pulled the structure down on the foolish people he had lured to their doom with talk of spiritual mysteries. It is not unified - the sects are underground and the same tactics that help them hide from the jealous priesthood mean they are also hidden from each other. And it is not orthodox - all save those sects directly influenced by the Summah are riddled with peculiar beliefs that border on heresy or blasphemy, likely because after the initial inspiration the believers of Asavea have been left to find their own Way.

The Marilen Rebellion

• An active sect has been operating in the open in northern Asavea
• Stories of the leader of the sect, now dead, have spread an inspirational message of active resistance across the Archipelago
• A judgement of recognition could help grant the Imperial Synod additional influence in Asavea
• A wayfarer named Enoch is returning from Asavea to share what he has discovered about this person
• They are expected to reach Anvil around 17.00 on Saturday and wish to speak to Athiel Westernborn

The Asaveans, arguably, are right to fear the Way. In a society bound by tradition, stratified with the nobility at the top and the slaves at the bottom, virtues such as Courage, Ambition, and Prosperity are anathema to the plenum, while Wisdom challenges the blind acceptance of the teachings of the priests. Loyalty and Pride in their purest senses undermine the idea that individuals must subsume themselves to their families and their government. Vigilance opposes falsehood, and demands the truth, and Asavean society is riddled with deception and lies.

The danger posed by the Way has been demonstrated to the Asaveans in the last year or so by a sect of pilgrims who refused to hide in the shadows. By choosing to act in the open, they've allowed the hidden sects to begin to realise they are not alone. They were apparently involved in the assassination of the Tarquinius family of the Plenum, they launched an effective attack against the remaining priests of the God of Slavers in Nemoria, and they were instrumental in the slave revolt in Maracoss. This last, at least, is familiar to Imperial missionaries. In Winter 385YE, Adón i Martán i Erigo helped create an opportunity for ships from the Brass Coast to help in the evacuation of slaves who took part in a rebellion against the satrapy and the Plenum.

While the Empire may only have been peripherally aware of these events, they've shaken Asavean society. The "civil war" of a few years ago, where Imperial soldiers fought on both sides, was an attempt by northern satrapies to throw off the yoke of the Plenum. A purely political move. Here, though, there is a full-blooded rebellion enlisting hundreds of slaves - and not just slaves - clearly inspired by the Way. It's no wonder the Plenum has cracked down on the faithful in Asavea. They cannot afford for these rebellious sentiments to spread.

The rebellion apparently began when Asavean priests of the Way emancipated mine slaves and led them to victory, driving away the defenders of the territory. A retaliatory force sent to crush them was shocked by their organisation and drive. None of the slaves were recaptured, and they apparently managed to kill the hated satrap in the process of escaping. The leaders of the rebellion apparently laid down their lives to secure victory - stories are not clear - but one name is mentioned several times. Alberto Acciai. If the stories are believed, this young man could apparently inspire folk to fight with a few words and the touch of his hands. He apparently brought together a group of other Wayists, and lead them in their attacks against the Nemorians. His name is spreading in Asavea, attached to the idea of taking action, of no longer hiding but of having the Courage to stand up and do something.

This represents an opportunity for the Empire. Alberto Acciai is a genuine home-grown inspiration to the pilgrims of Asavea. If he were recognised by the Imperial Synod, he might prove a valuable gateway toward building connections between the scattered sects, and Imperial missionaries. Yet the Imperial Synod are not the only priests of the Way with an interest in Asavea; the Sumaah have been working to foster sects in the south for nearly a century. If they were also to recognise of Alberto Acciai, it would likewise improve their own ability to guide and influence Asavean sects. Should both nations recognise Alberto, then the potential for bringing the strands of the faith together in Asavea would be much greater - but would bring with it the risk of disagreement between orthodox sects influenced by Sumaah and more progressive sects influenced by the Empire.

One of the Highborn wayfarers, a man named Enoch, who has been working to spread the Way in northern Asavea is returning to the Empire to specifically discuss what he has found out about Alberto Acciai, and the potential for him to serve as an inspiration to the people of Asavea. He's expected to arrive at five in the evening on Saturday, and has specifically asked to speak to Athiel Westernborn at a location that will be provided via private communication.

Ongoing Efforts

• Spreading the Doctrine of Enlightenment is only the first step
• Imperial missionaries and wayfarers will continue to travel to Asavea, inspired by the mandates passed at the Winter Solstice
• Asavea is potentially on the brink of civil war and the Imperial Synod may need to think carefully about the consequences of trying to push it over the edge
• The Aseavens are likely to fight back and the Plenum is already openly discussing sending more aid to their Grendel allies

Asavea is old, powerful, and corrupt. The Synod has spread news of the Doctrine of Enlightenment, and in the process has discovered the existence of people already eager to hear the message of the Way. There are still years of work ahead, but the possibility is there that Asavea might be transformed by the Imperial Synod, or their counterparts in Sumaah, or even the two working together. What a new Asavea, inspired by the Way, might look like is impossible to predict. Nor is the Plenum and the wicked Asavean priesthood likely to loosen its grip on its nation without a fight. The Synod could be starting along a path toward igniting a decade or more of bloody conflict without any certainty that at the end of it the Asavean archipelago would be any more likely to welcome them than they are now.

What's certain is that continued meddling in Asavea will likely crash any hopes anyone might have of peace with the western nation. A nation wounded by the destruction of Chalonsio teeters on the brink of open anarchy. The missionaries already sent have been seen as just another move in the ongoing war between the two nations, but if they continue to try and influence the Asaveans the Plenum will be forced to take even more precipitous action. They are going to try and fight back and not with missionaries.

While it can't be denied that Asavea is the power it once was, it is still powerful. The distances are simply too great for them to send a navy to attack the Empire, but they have already demonstrated that they can interfere very effectively by sending warships to Imperial waters. In light of the missionaries being sent to "undermine Asavea and the rule of the gods", the Plenum is openly discussing the possibility of sending more aid to the Grendel. At present some diplomatic spat involving a group of Asaveans who were killed in the conflict is giving them some pause for thought, but once that is resolved, there is the very real risk that they will respond to more missionaries coming to their shores by increasing the aid they are sending to the Grendel.

Of course the Empire could also use that to their advantage. An honestly brokered deal with the Asaveans to end all missionary work from the Empire might be enough to persuade them to pull back their support and withdraw their warships.

It's not clear what the next step is. Eyes are on the Imperial Synod, especially the Assembly of the Way and the General Assembly, who will need to think carefully about how to proceed. A very large number of lives hang in the balance.

Participation: Asavean Archipelago

If you are a priest character, regardless of whether you have congregation or any religious skills or own a congregation, you are welcome to roleplay that you have spent time in Asavea preaching about the Way. Stories are likely to include being hunted by members of the Asavean priesthood, discussion of gods and how they are the real virtues, and discussions of faith.

If you are Athiel Westernborn of the Cenotaph, Sufyan i Zuhri i Erigo, or Cardinal Aspar then - if you roleplay having gone to Asavea - your stories will likely also include tales of organising missionaries, being specifically targeted by informants, and being welcomed with something approaching reverent awe.

The Dawnish celebrate with Pride all of the Freefolk who after a courageous journey out of the claws of slavery decided to join our nation. Their honesty, hard work, and dedication to seek to understand us has inspired us. We call upon all the Houses to set generous challenges to any and all Freefolk filled with the Ambition to ask for a Test of Mettle. Let us share in Love and Glory with them, and let this joyous achievement be a great inspiration for Prosperity across Dawn.

Lady Laundine of House duLac,Dawn Assembly, Winter Solstice 385YE, Vote: Greater Majority 414-0

Free Folk and Proffered Hand

• The Free Folk have settled in Dawn, and become Imperial citizens
• They have offered support to the House of the Proffered Hand
• They'd like to support a Highborn position as well, and ask the National Assembly to tell them who they should aid

While the Synod considers, there is news of a success story. The Free Folk, the former slaves liberated from Maracoss at the end of the civil war there, have finally chosen to become Imperial citizens. After the Winter Solstice, almost the entire community approached the Dawnish egregores and asked to be welcomed as yeofolk. They are drawn especially to the inspiration of the paragon Richilde, the ambitious pursuit of glory, and the wisdom of Lady Eleanor Novarion, the Lady of the Proffered Hand, the many priests who discussed their belief in the Divine Family and helped the Empire to accept their approach to the Way, and to Jared of the Suns of Couros, and Friar John of the Marches, who helped see the Speaker for the Dead recognised as an exemplar. In time, the Free Folk priests are confident the other members of the family will likewise be seen as the inspirations they are, but that will be a glorious task for the future.

The grand pilgrimage of the Free Folk is over, but a new piglrimage is beginning. The community has settled naer Caer Faucon in Coombe, establishing a village there. A number of the more martially minded Free Folk have already signed up to join the Dawnish armies, intending to secure farmland for their community through their service. Others have chosen to gird themselves as knights-errant, travelling the Empire looking for opportunities to prove their glory and in time petition for entry to noble houses. They don't seek to establish a house of their own - not yet at least. Their avowed intention is to become truly Dawnish before they consider whether they should seek to declare an earl of their own. The words of Laundine duLac, and the support of the Dawnish Assembly, have proved especially welcome. A small group of knights-errant have already started following the Grand Tour, and what they lack in battlefield prowess they more than make up for in enthusiasm.

The establishment of a bustling village, and the influx of yeofolk to Caer Faucon, has seen a small but appreciable improvement to the House of the Proffered Hand. Several Free Folk priests are keen to donate their time and the liao they receive as leaders of congregations to the Lady, increasing the portion of liao the title receives by 3 more doses each season. They're committed to helping the work of the House, speaking with refugees from Asavea in particular, but prepared to share their journey to become part of the Empire and increase their understanding of the Way with any who seek to follow their path.

They also express their appreciation to the Highborn, who not only opened the doors of their seminaries to the Free Folk but established scholarships to help them learn liao ceremonies and better understand the virtues, the paragons and exemplars, and the Way. They don't have much, but they want to repay the kindness of the Highborn if they will accept it. After a great deal of thought they've asked the Highborn assembly for guidance; they're prepared to donate a potion of the liao they raise to whichever Highborn title the National assembly indicates. With a suitably worded statement of principle the assembly can pick a national position that will receive a donation of 2 liao each season from the grateful Free Folk. It's little enough in the great scheme of things, but the Free Folk feel it is the least they can do for their friends in Highguard.

OOC Note: For the moment it's not possible to play a Free Folk character in Dawn, but our plan is to provide some additional briefing to make that a possibility at a point in the future where we are in a position to do so.

Further Reading

• The Doctrines of the Faith
• Part of this together - 385YE Winter wind of fortune detailing the response to the change of doctrine

"And so Inga Tarn laughed, but not unkindly, and said to the little girl: Strength isn't about how big you are. It's true that some of it comes from your body, but more of it comes from your spirit. A strong spirit makes even the smallest hero strong enough to lift a mountain!"

There was an appreciative nod from the huddled congregation. Dinah liked the next bit, the story of how the little Navarr girl would lift Inga Tarn's hammer. A little miracle, albeit a mundane one. It was her favourite part of the story. She shared a glance with Metella who'd heard the story half a dozen times already. Before she could continue, though, there came a sudden pounding at the door.

"Open up! Open in the name of the Red Goddess!" The Nemorians had found them. A ripple of fear ran through the tiny congregation. Matella took charge immediately, her face grim. She spoke fast, a little faster than Dinah could easily follow.

"Quickly, get down into the cellar. The tunnel there will get you to the sewer and from there to the sea. We all knew this day would go. Be calm, be brave, and go."

The door was already splintering. The Nemorians hadn't bothered to wait, weren't interested in giving their prey time to get away. Even as the frightened believers clambered down the ladder, Dinah knew there wouldn't be time to replace the barrel that hid the secret door. Matella moved decisively, tipping the crockery cabinet over to partially block the door. The sound of wood cracking increased; someone was taking a crowbar to one of the window shutters.

"You to," said Matella. Her friend had her face set, her spear ready. Dinah realised she was planning to stay and fight. There was no way she'd hold off the guards for more than a few moments, but those moments might be enough to let the others get far enough ahead of the soldiers they'd never catch up to them. She turned, paused, made up her mind. She took a firm grip on her staff and stepped up next to Matella.

The older woman shook her head, as the door started to give way.

"You don't need to do this," she said. "They need you."

"You don't need to do this either," replied Dinah gently, ignoring the fear in her breast. "They need you too."

The shouting intensified, at door and window. The crockery cabinet jerked forward, shattering pots falling all around.

"I have to, " said Matella. "These are my people."

Dinah smiled a little sadly, put a hand on her friend's arm for just a moment, willing her to understand.

"They're my people, too," she said quietly. "And so are you, and I won't let you do this alone."

And then there was no more time for talk.