Ithicus: Thank you, all, for attending mass. I recognize many familiar faces among the stars, and as many unfamiliar ones. I welcome you, travelers. Before I truly engross myself in today’s sermon, I would like to take a moment to address the situation which weighs most heavily on all our minds. The Renad have been expelled from Raturs, and now they’re here. Naturally, the mayor has taken steps to guard all sources of water and food for this town while they are present. There will not be a single chance for them to hurt us as they hurt the people of Raturs.
Ithicus: Furthermore, for you familiar faces I would like to say this: the Renad, by all counts and witnesses, have no plans to stay in this town. A number of reports from fellow Gelenians, some of whom are with us now, all indicate that the Renad are simply passing through. They will be with us for the next three days, but they plan to move out soon to avoid getting snowed in through the winter. Gods be willing, the weather will not delay them. However, until they leave I plan to hold midnight mass nightly, instead of only on Sterday.
Ithicus spared a glance for Marek. The boy shrunk under his father’s gaze. Others seemed relieved.
Ithicus: To you travelers, you who keep the wheels spinning in our fair town, I have less reassuring news. While it is clear that the Renad plan to travel, the night still hides their intended destination. The reason for this, it seems, is that the Renad have not made up their mind on where they want to go. I believe it would be best if they founded their own village, so that they can remain apart from us, but that would obviously not be an option until late winter.
Ithicus: Now, to begin the sermon I would like to read chapter 72 of the Divine Charge. In it, he speaks on how people are meant to interpret his teachings, and the teachings of the gods. Quote, “I want to make it clear to you, who might read this treatise, seeking faith and understanding of the gods we worship, that my word is not one of divine finality, nor does any word of any god hold that status. There is no God of Death, no constellation of endings, no predestined fate. What we perceive as finality is merely the continuation of the world, the next step in an eternal rondo; the end to life is a beginning to dust, and from dust springs forth life. In the same way, my teachings are but one in a set that will spiral out unto Eternity. They are aimed to deal with our present plight, that of witches—those who seek to banish Eternity, to invite the True Death. I recognize the limited nature of what I teach. It is not applicable to all circumstances and all moments that a life may experience. This is, of course, why we have other books. The book of Ouroboros, and the books of the Elder Gods. The books as of yet unwritten, though perhaps transcribed by your time, dear reader. When my words fail to reach your heart, turn to those books. Turn to the teachings of the divine, for within them is the wisdom of countless generations.”
Ithicus: When I began planning this sermon under the knowledge of the Renad’s imminent arrival, I scoured the Divine Charge for Marek’s advice. After all, he wrote about how to deal with witches, with the form of an ‘other’ in our midst. As I searched, however, I realized that his words were failing to reach my heart. When I stumbled back upon this chapter, and reminded myself of these verses, I realized I was looking in the wrong place. It is true that the Renad and the witches hold some similarities: both have unorthodox and dangerous beliefs, both are fundamentally incompatible with Gelenian way of life. Even so, I came to see that these two exist on a very different level. The Renad are not like witches in our midst. They do not wish to tear down the firmament. They do not wish to see the return of sorcerers. They do not wish to allow those sorcerers to become gods, to command the sun, and to bring out the True Death of this world. They are misguided in their beliefs of the stars, they are cruel to the gods in denying their existence, and they are quick to lash out at we Gelenians, but they are not fundamentally dangerous in the way witches are. Seeing as we were able to overcome the oppressive evil of the witches through Marek's guidance, I think fear towards the Renad is misplaced. If their only recourse to attack our faith is by poisoning us, undermining us through underhanded means, then we have already won. They cannot subdue us, and the senseless hurt they inflict upon us only strengthens our conviction.
Ithicus: What, then, are we supposed to do? What attitude should we take? One of indifference, of callousness? One of superiority? One of kindness? To answer this, I turned to the teachings of the Fountain. As you might recall, while the Pen transcribed the tales of the Heroic Gods within the city of Gelenia, the city from which we Gelenians originate, the Fountain managed this city. He oversaw its growth into the greatest city this world has ever seen. During its growth, he was faced with one particular challenge that stood above the rest.
Ithicus: Quote from the book of the Fountain, chapter 7, verses 1-2: “Twelve years into the Fountain’s mayorship of Gelenia, many people began to flock to the city. They sought a piece of the wealth he had built, and in order to avoid the dissimenation of the wealth outside the city he brought those people into the fold and integrated them as citizens. They were given work and fair pay, given the right to earn a piece of the city the Fountain was building rather than to take from it. However, a subsection of these migrants were more sinister, people that questioned the very foundation upon which his city was built.”
Ithicus: These dangerous people were known as communists. Much like the Renad, they questioned the existence of the gods. Moreso, they questioned the gods’ supremacy, and especially the supremacy of the sorcerers. We can see this in verse 4-5, where the Pen says, “They questioned us on the basis of cultural and economic ideology, pushing us further left when Gelenia was already further left than any other city on this side of the continent. They failed to see rationality in moderation and wished only to push the most extreme forms of economic and social reform. Communism had failed countless times, but Sorcerocratic Socialism had been proven countless times. The Fountain worried about these ideas catching on in the eyes of the public, so he made swift moves to consolidate his rule.”
Ithicus: Context established, what we’re really looking for here is found in verse 7-9. Quote again, this time the Fountain is speaking to his people. “If we lash out, they will only fight harder. If we debate, they will only articulate their position better. There are three things that we must do: we must distance ourselves from them, we must discredit them as individuals, and we must disenfranchise them. We must refuse to give them a platform and we must not allow them to form a platform of their own. Other than this, they must be treated with all manners of outward respect. We must treat them as people, as citizens, and allow the people to form their own opinions.”
Ithicus: This makes our position toward the Renad clear. We must not be immediately unkind to them, nor can we deny them their lives. They need shelter, they need food, and these things cannot be deprived of them. Beyond that, we must recognize our superior positions as the ones who hold truth in our hearts. We must not reduce ourselves to their level, arguing them on their beliefs. We already know those beliefs are wrong, and any attempts to disprove it will only give them undue credit. It will only make them bolder. No, we must hold our heads high, even if we feel scared or angry, because above all else, we are right.
Wow. You know, for a guy who cares about context I feel like Ithicus might not really understand what happened in the book of the Fountain. I guess that's what a thousand years does to context. But should I tell him..? I could clue him in, catch him up on thousand-year-old politics, but...... I mean, he’s so convicted! He really believes all that! Shucks. I just don’t think I have the heart to do it.
Ithicus: The pen goes on in verse 12 to say, “In response to the Fountain’s measured kindness, the communists lashed out. They staged riots. This was where public opinion truly turned against them.” So, yes, the Renad might be upset by our measured kindness. They might act against us, as they did at Raturs. But the mayor is ready, and we all are ready. Their attempts will fail, and it will only be made ever more clear that they hold no power over us. We have no reason to fear the Renad, no reason to be anxious. The gods and the law are both on our side, and their stay is temporary. We will weather this threat as we weather many others, and through it we will come out stronger in our faith.
Marek’s eyes scanned the crowds. He hadn’t honestly been listening, but he wanted to see what people thought. The men seemed bolstered, but some of the women seemed unsure. His dad could never quite strike the balance of appealing to the entire congregation. His next sermon would probably be catered more towards those he left behind.
Ithicus: So, this is where we stand. We will endure the Renad and give them measured kindness. Hopefully they will be gone soon, and hopefully they will not return. I’m now going to pass the floor to the choir, so we may sing together, praise the gods, and praise Ouroboros above all. After this, there are a few announcements I’ll be making, including one of our own who manifested his sign just two days ago. Thank you.
