Sapience,

Perhaps you will decide to take me seriously in the opinions I will put forward in this post. Perhaps not. Obviously my attitude will be tinged with bias, but I will attempt to view the issue at hand from all angles in an attempt to show the merits and the faults of the Church process of Excommunication.

For those of you unfamiliar with the process of Excommunication, the first step to achieving such a level of disrespect is leaving the Church. This is not, as has been stated, an adequate reason for the Excommunication of a previous Churchmember, nor do I believe it ever will be seen as one. Excommunication is done with great meditation, and only those who truely have done the Church great harm will have their skills removed from them in such a manner. Such has been done to myself. I am not bitter over it, I understood such would occur when I chose to follow the Truth.

The Church views all who would oppose its teachings as being a possible threat. Such can be argued for any organization, but the Church as a whole has had a long history of forgetting their faith when necessary. True, the path of a Churchmember is perhaps one of the most difficult. Then again, it is a lot harder to support a lie than it is to prove the truth. I followed the ideals of the Church for the greater majority of my life in Sapience. I do not regret it. I am a more enlightened person for it.

Thus being said, I now address the issue at hand. My Ordermate Zero has issued a challenge to the Church to drop their practice of Excommunicating members who would turn against them, based on the fact that the threat of Excommunication is so great that many who would otherwise leave do not do so because they do not have the resources available to learn a new set of skills. It was for this very reason that I quietly kept to myself for the years after my stepping down as Sultan of Shallam, pondering whether it was worth the substantial downgrade in my ability as a warrior to search out the Truth. Ultimately, I did. I am glad.

The rebuttal of the Church was also very well organized, and I applaude them for it. Israfel and other members of the Church have stated that the skillset of Devotion is granted to Priests and Paladins to protect and aid the innocent and the allies of the Church. The Devotional abilities are directly linked to the powers of the Divine and as such the source of the power can be cut when those powers are used against the Church. All too true, as I have seen.

However, I must say through conversations with various Priests and Paladins that Zero is far from incorrect. I know personally, of 3 Paladins who wish to leave the Church but do not for fear of Excommunication. And these are not lowly Probates, I am afraid, but full knights, who have become closer to realizing the Truth. Thus, I accuse the Church of slavery. These Paladins are bound to the falsities they have followed throughout their lives through fear induced by their master, the Archprelate of the Church. Such hardly seems a quality one would see in such a "holy" man.

But then again, it's not your job to be nice, is it Israfel?

For all those who have argued diligently over this issue, I applaude you. It is an issue which must be given much thought. The Paladin and Priest guilds bear a great weight upon their shoulders, upholding such false values as "protection of the innocent" and "upholding of the faith." I pray to my Gods every night that they may all someday see what I have seen, and realize that their path is not the most holy in any respect. I respect the fortitude of the likes of Isildur and and Israfel, but I must laugh at the Church in its keeping of such scoundrels as Silverlock. Was there not a referendum in Ashtan to accept him into their city? If Ashtan is such a vile city, as the Church would have you believe, what of those who Ashtan rejects? Are they the weak and the innocent the Church harbors?

Paladins and Priests who seek enlightenment, I implore you, fear not! Come before me, and I shall show you that which I know, that which I have seen and heard and lived. I shall show you what is truly holy in this realm, and I will accept you for what you desire to be, for the life you desire to live. The holiest a man can be is when he is true to his own soul, for what is more holy to a man than that which is his own essence? Cast away the chords of lies you carry upon your shoulders, and allow yourself to fly free! Know that true union lies not in common practice, but in acceptance of others. Then shall you know that which is most holy, and then shall you be free.


Cyre Elseth
The Teacher

Penned by my hand on the 7th of Glacian, in the year 270 AF.