Voice of Auros

It was a common sermon that the Bishop of Wessex preached to the assembly often in the last few months.

We are justified by faith, and faith is the heart of our salvation. The road to salvation, however, is long and narrow, and it must be paved with the skulls of heretics. Those of you with faith are the builders of this road -- our road -- to salvation!

As long as man could see the world and speak the words of prayer, he has worshipped Auros. Mercians arose from the wives of the Father when he bore our 144 ancestors that we trace a lineage to today. Since that creation, we have been His. Never forget that our flesh, our souls, all our works are His, and he may reclaim us whenever it suits His needs. In the dawn of our creation the Father did not coddle us because He knew our strength must rise from travail.

Today, Auros' covenants ensure we lead our lives in obedience to His priests who themselves remain obedient to the Laws of Truth. We offer daily prayer in recognition of our Father so that He will never be forgotten, lest we lose all and surrender our rightful dominance over beast and wilderness. This was the birth of the Sacred Flame within the Diocese of Wessex, a single never ending fire that burns in every church, uniting them as one, and maintains our promises. Villages arose and some that survived became the cities of today.

You may think I dwell too long on ancient times, but heed me well. You must feel in your bones and sinew that we are part of a sacred covenant with our Father from the dawn of mankind. The ills of this world arise from those who have forgotten or shamelessly abandoned the first and most important promise. Auros was and is our Father, and He gave us everything we required to foster civilization and thrive. He left us here on Agon but left His priest in His place. Time passed.

Men are akin to children -- so easily do they go astray. Yes, even a priest may lose his path if scrutators, like Father Merrin, do not remain firm and willing to provide discipline. Man fall to worshiping false idols and looking to lesser gods rather than Auros. Some enter a deeper betrayal by giving offerings to Malaut, enemy of the Shaper of Mercia. Lesser gods arose, allowed to exist only on the sufferance of Auros while those they led astray forget from whom mankind had sprung.

The hardships we bear in these days are small matters, for we are being tested. The devout suffer in His name only, and when the time comes it was Auros' will that the Duchy of Wessex was forged into the land of Mercia. Without Auros' favor, our bones would lie in the earth, or we would be adrift in a void of lawlessness. He is the giver of all things, and by serving Him without question we may be spared His righteous wrath.

After the Morak orcs quit our lands years after they had first come, we re-built our church and our walls and erected monuments to His glory. We helped the people of Mercia re-build while spreading His word. There were those who listened, and there were those who accepted our aid but would later forsake the faith. Some of Auros' children chose to abide by the teachings of other devotions, either forgetting the true way or turning their backs deliberately on the Father. All face his ultimate judgment when they pass through His hands again. Our missionaries adamantly taught that all lesser faiths must know their place, particularly our allies; elves whom worship immortalized heroes, trees and old traditions, while even a dwarven king questions the mastersmith Ymir's teachings. We tolerate them only as long as they acknowledge Auros as supreme to all lesser powers, for it is Him from which they were created. We cannot be too indulgent to allow them to accept their errors and rejoin the true faith, or too eager to send them back to the cleansing light of Auros.

We are a people who thrive on strong leadership. We find our way when the entire Church can look to one ruler who commands absolute obedience in matters of faith. Sadly not all leaders of the faith have the same uncompromising strength of character. Archbishop is a title that must be earned and is not idly imparted. The founding of Church of Auros saw this from the earliest days when there were those who refused to take the title. For they knew their own limits and recognized that they were not the same caliber of man as those before them. The death of each hierarch has always brought a time of turmoil and transition as the Church struggles to adjust and find its new voice.

Sometimes there is contention among the priests, and this strife is natural since we must ensure Auros' will above the petty aspirations of individuals. A number of petty sovereigns, visgoths, and senior priests sought to elevate themselves throughout the years, and from the records it seems many forgot their first duty was to their god.

Duke Manus of Wessex has brought our nation to its greatest strength since its inception. It was he who was taught by Father Hadrian Accardo to adapt to the challenges of the battles ahead without losing sight of our divine purpose. Our gaze has turned within once more, the perfidy of the Malauts has been made clear even to the commoners, Mercia is surrounded by enemies, and we will be the righteous flame that seizes our enemies lands and returns them to the true faith. Tempers flare on other borders, and the corruption from below is about to erupt in a war that will decide the fate of humanity.

We shall finish what began so many generations before. We will convert or conquer the lesser faiths beginning with Malaut the demon prince of greed. Every faithful member of the congregation, now is the time to answer the call and come together with such a great purpose. Duke Manus will lead us to greater glory. He is Auros' hand, and we are the weapon He wields. Auros be praised.