Dean of Laroc Cathedral
I am one to weave my words where stalwart roses shed their name
And turn their tales to ash, but gird about their fleshy petals greater fame.
Take up your Courage; an axe burred is better tried than never whet again!
Slip your sword from scabbard where it stirred! Let lie the coward, embrace your flame!
You shall stand the brighter for their claim; the strongest fears are those we face within,
When forests darkly weave about our frame fear shall not find a hold therein
For we are seven, they are six…
I am one who seeks to know the fire, for what is spoken twice is never truth,
And words – not wings – shall be my squire, no place for fireside folly ‘neath my roof.
Think freely on your actions and admire the warmth within the ember’s arms, love’s youth,
And bring the breath of Wisdom to inspire – un-shutter them! Knowledge incomplete but not aloof
That passion pulse within, they know, but lacking proof they will not believe that fires burn.
Yet guide their gentle embers, be their glow, sooth the nature they shall grow to yearn.
For we are seven, they are six…
I am one who stands unblinking as the stone, with gazing eyes without and eyes within
The merry warmth of home may be undone should I but blink and think what might have been.
Fling the fetters, lose the brackets wide! Tis known: the Vigilant strike before their enemies begin
To raise a single, smothered brand. Be ever bright, fire-sown, brightly bathed in light. Your kin
Will never want for warmth – your gaze shall turn, and when the warning comes you are half-saved, stand tall:
Take not the dousing dullard at their word, a pin may yet be beaten to a sword, or not at all.
Yet we are seven they are six…
I am one and by my deeds I shall become much more than my own words, for unashamed
Of past transgressions’ trailing tales I drum the thunder out: heart as witness, I untamed
Lead on in full, and bank the budding bloom to brighter glow. Not content to be named -
For Pride leads always by the better step – I run. And watch, that I shall not be blamed
Should other’s stories turn to ash, I never claimed as kin the passionless. Pave my path with embers,
I revel in the running! Teach the tamed this inner fire, and I shall teach you of such splendour!
Thus we are seven, they are six…
I am one that aims at stars, for they shall never be enough!
My price is consequence, my art will shun the shackles spoken rough
To drag me down in darkness – I shall thwart attempts to tell me ‘Life’s too tough!’
For what is life if un-forged by heart and flame? I shall not snuff
The dream of friends, nor willing cuff their hands from quill and steel.
Burn bright, the stars are not enough, and we aren’t known to kneel.
Thus we are seven, they are six…
I am one that grows with my own blood a crop of warmth that’s fit to share
To comfort all deserving. Such the good that comes from work and honest fare -
But never waste it! A fool in the flood steals the flame, should ye dare
To bring it’s taker back, their name be mud. The thief and the miser need beware
That all the coins they would declare as theirs will sit uneasy on the bones
And cannot go beyond, nor yet compare with the happiness such choice postpones.
So we are seven, they are six…
I am one, a chain of many links new-forged, and we our foes outlast.
Let them that strike us – glean a glimpse of passion each to each, our past
Was but a tempering – and what beast blinks shall find that we hold fast.
Our hearts are empty to what thinks that treachery forms a fair contrast
To our Loyalty. May forge’s blast find purchase on their skin, for we are marked
When first we threw our shackles cast, foes knew not what they had sparked
Overview
Dedicated to the Imperial virtue of Courage, the Cathedral at Laroc was commissioned by a motion of the Imperial Senate in Summer 380YE by Earl Valentin Orzel, Senator for Weirwater. The position of Dean is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but granting votes in the Synod and providing a regular income of liao.
Responsibilities
The Dean of Laroc Cathedral has no particular responsibilities; they are recognised as having votes in the Imperial Synod and they receive a bounty of liao from the civil service. If the cathedral were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Dean to deal with those threats.
Powers
The Dean of Laroc Cathedral is an Imperial title that grants custodianship of a sinecure.
A Portion of Liao
The sinecure provides an income of six measures of liao each season, to be used as they see fit.
Point of Pilgrimage
The Dean of Laroc Cathedral may sit in the Imperial Synod, and possesses 12 votes in Synod affairs (or an additional 12 votes if they already have a congregation). They may use these votes in any assembly they are eligible for.
Selection
The Dawnish national assembly appoints the Dean of Laroc Cathedral. This is a national title, and may be held by any citizen of Dawn. Despite the sinecure's association with the virtue of Courage, there is no requirement for the recipient to be part of the Courage assembly. As a national sinecure, only a Dawnish citizen may hold the title Dean of Laroc Cathedral.
Removal
The Dean has tenure and serves until they die, step down or are revoked.
The Dean can be revoked by the Dawnish national assembly, the the General assembly or the Assembly of Nine.
History
Construction of the Cathedral of Courage was completed shortly before the 380YE Autumn Equinox. At the Autumn Equinox 380YE the national assembly of Dawn appointed Lady Eleanor de Rondell, the former Virtue Inquisitor of Courage as the first Dean.
The Cathedral at Laroc
Built of white granite, the "cathedral" lies close to the tournament grounds in Laroc, Astolat. Penatgonal in shape, it has five transepts surrounding a central hall, in the centre of which stands a polished marble block inlaid with an epic poem composed by Kahendrin Wordsmith. Four of the transepts are dedicated to paragons and exemplars of Courage, while the fifth is dedicated to specific Imperial heroes.
Although it is officially named a cathedral, the actual structure is more akin to a chapel in size and grandeur. While it is not especially large, it is beautifully decorated. Fine works of art painted by artists inspired by the virtue of Courage adorn the walls, brought from all the nations of the Empire. It stands in a well-maintained garden.
The statues in particular are noteworthy. One stands in each of the four transepts dedicated to a paragon or an exemplar.
- A Vard with a toothed axe, representing Korl, Paragon of Courage.
- A Highborn with their hood up, representing Permion, Exemplar of Courage.
- A Dawnish with a crown of blue roses, representing Gilda Ashwine, Exemplar of Courage.
- A Steinr with a two-handed hammer, representing Inga Tarn, Exemplar of Courage
The fifth statue is more a diorama, representing five figures, each a hero of the recent Empire. Two Highborn, a Leaguer, a Marcher and a Dawnish stand side by side, and the inscription on the plinth indicates they represent individuals named Asher, Vulgaris, Tyrus, Andrea Von Holberg, and Henry Talbot.