Heirs to Heaven

the subtle joke is funniest to decamper

Holy Church Performs Private Burial for God, Fails to Agree on Leadership and Policy
The Holy Church announced that it had performed a private burial of God's corpse in the Holy City. The Holy City has been flooded with seething complaints from clergy, nobles and commoners from across His Kingdom. The Holy Church's failure to inform the Houses and the rest of the Faith of its plans further displays it's isolation from the rest of His Kingdom and the Great Houses.

Further complicating matters is the lack of a direct Heir, or even clear subordinate leadership. A council has been formed by high ranking clergy to handle matters of the Holy City and its holdings, but they can barely handle that, much less policy decisions for the whole of Heaven or the Church.

A Faith Dividing
While the private burial of God is a great offense to the Great Houses, it is most deeply felt by the rest of the Church outside of the Holy City. Clergy from across the continent have begun criticizing the Church officials in The Holy City. Many fear that the Faith is fracturing, if not already shattered.

With the Holy Church folding on itself in the Holy City and surrounding provinces, the rest of the clergy across the continent has found itself questioning where it looks to for doctrine. Two movements have risen to the forefront of the Great Houses' attentions. Many who are content with the status quo have urged their Houses to remain loyal to the Holy Church and continue to worship as if He was still on the throne. On the other side, a growing number of commoners, nobles and clergy are the Houses to denounce the Holy Church and free local worshipers to practice and organize in their own interpretation of the Faith. Moderates fear that conflict between Church loyalists and the Faith separatists may arise if the Great Houses don't take sides.

Questionable Legitimacy of the Great Houses
The Great Houses have ruled their lands and peoples by and for the grace of God. There are now whispers among the commoners and lesser nobles over the justification for the supremacy of the Great Houses. Does God still favour them? Even if the legends of the Houses being granted their positions by God centuries ago, or being descendants of God himself, are their positions still guaranteed by a dead God? Is his death a sign of change? The rulers of the Great Houses can likely ignore the mumbling for now and continue existing on inertia, but they will no doubt have to answer these growing questions at some point, lest the commoners decide the answer for them.

Worries Over Respect of Borders, Lesser Houses, and Rule of Law
Just as the legitimacy of the Great Houses is growing fuzzy, so is the certainty of the borders. Drawn by God to separate the responsibilities of the Houses, those with hungry eyes now wonder if the lines are truly infallible. Lesser nobles are alternatively eager to gain land, or terrified of losing their border holdings, and both are petitioning for support and assurance from their overlords. Smaller Great Houses are also worryingly watching their larger neighbours. If the borders aren’t to be protected, who’s to say the smaller Houses should be as well?

The North
Despite the cold, North Ehar sees a disproportionately large share of the Kingdom’s trade. Houses Lamere, Dandale and Wychland have all built their fortunes on trade, and the provinces of Veniera, Wychwood and Davensport are the busiest commercial centres on the continent. Whether the Lords of the trade Houses can continue their traditions unmolested, or if competition between merchants will lead to bloodshed, remains to be seen. The wildcards are also still in hand, with the intentions hardy House of Koriates, ambitious House Isaakios and industrious House Polud being questionable. The North may continue to be the financial heartbeat of Heaven, or it may descend into a brutality suited to those harsh lands.

The Midlands
With the Holy Church seemingly withdrawing from the Kingdom’s politics, the fate of the centre of the Kingdom now rests in the hands of the Midland lords. The Thurian Peninsula stands apart from the rest of the Midlands, blocked by Holy Church lands and the Northern Houses of Terpira Bay. House Taran and House Thustra have been at peace since unification, but now lesser nobles eye lands across the border, and the dream of a unified Thuria is growing quick enough to question the stability of the region. Meanwhile Houses Atkyn, Arimathea and Isthon jostle for position west of the Holy Church lands, wary of the North, the South, and one another. The centre of the Kingdom may have once felt vibrant, safe, and prosperous, but now it is the centre of a wide killingfield, and all eyes are on them. And across the Sea of Lillies, House de Toullies sits on its island, either to join the mainland fray, or wait out whatever madness may follow.

The South
The breadbasket of Heaven, House Mephs sits nesled between the Midlands and Summer Bay. It has long been relied upon by the Kingdom to keep itself fed, and the House earned respect for its toils. But now, as lords and ladies rearm their soldiers and knights, there is no telling if that respect will protect the House of Mephisels from the the Midland Houses or its aggressive and fanatical neighbour, House Baxton. On the southern peninsula, House Natt och Dag had been a prosperous, if small, House, but now that the legality of the borders drawn by God are in question, it is uncomfortably surrounded by the larger House Iskariota and House Faulhamer. Blood may flow if the industry of House Faulhamer and the will of House Iskariota are turned towards controlling the peninsula, either setting upon one another, or their smaller neighbour.


Stats

Notes
This is just a small introduction to get the ball rolling. Make sure to check your stats for errors. If you find something off, shoot me a pm and I’ll take a look at it.

Please send orders via PM, and title them HtH [turn] [house] to make things easier for me (this will be turn 1, by the way). You can format orders however you like, but please try to keep at least the spending clear for me. If you are forming a mechanical relationship (support, marriage, trade deal), remember that both parties must include it in their orders.

Orders will be due Saturday, June 18th. That’s not a lot of time, but I want to try to keep the pace up with this if possible. If enough people need an extension, we can do that.

Still accepting names for seas.

Would anyone be interested in buying my fleet? I consider it to be quite useless towards my goals of prosperity. While surely no one would dare break the peace God left us in, my house guard is still useful for protecting my smallfolk from bandits and their ilk.

How much do you want? We've got the cash. $$$.

We could also be interested in purchasing the fleet

Declaration from the HOUSE OF MEPHISELS

The death of GOD has taken us, like all else, by surprise and the rushed and hushed burial by the church in the holy city was a shocking disappointment for us in the high clergy. It is a show of a lack of faith in the houses and the power structure GOD has decreed upon us all. Such an act will only serve to destabilize our kingdom, and has already created a major schism between the detached priests of our holy capital and the priests who serve the common man.

The House of Mephisels has served the common man since time immemorial, for we have been put in power by GOD to feed the many, the masses, the common folk, those who live far from the gift and the holy plains. Here on the coasts of Summer Bay GOD has decreed we will farm the land and feed a kingdom worthy for him, and we have done so since GOD has built this kingdom by his own hands. We have no intention of abandoning the command gives to us by god, we will continue to feed and care for those who are not fortunate enough to be born into riches and glory. We stand with the commons. I, lord Aegron decree that I will stand as protector of the kingdom’s unfortunates in the face of rising upheaval.

I invite the high clergy and the new clergy to discuss peacefully and diplomatically a solution to our problems, one that will see the kingdom continued unification and strength. I invite members of all the houses to join me in this plea for peace. We shall reap what we sow, and we must sow peace and stability, before we reap chaos and death, for the ever burning fire of our kingdom, like the burning tree, must continue for all eternity.

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Well, since it's 5 maint, that means it's worth 5EP, 5IC, and 1MP. I'm not sure if my sailors are willing to leave with their ships, but either way, I think a minimum of 8EP would be fair.

You give us the ships, we'll provide the sailors. Don't worry about that.

In the wake of God's apparent death, Lord Byrias the Quiet issued this letter to be sent by messenger to the noble palaces of all the Great Houses of the Kingdom of Heaven:

Dearest Brothers, Sisters, and Cousins

This is a turbulent time of much sorrow, and our hearts are, together, filled with loss. For this year, the year 416 of Our Lord, we have lost that which is nearest and dearest to the heart of a Kingdom. We have lost our King.

However, we must not let this loss overwhelm us. We must stand strong, together, unified. For though God may no longer walk among us, He walks with us, in our dreams, thoughts, and actions, and still though his body may have fallen and we must mourn together for this loss, his Eternal Soul will always be with us in our hearts.

There are some in the Kingdom who are so overcome with pain and loss that they lash out against the Church, and the Holy City, and therefore even against the memory of God himself. I beg of my fellow Faithful: do not react with hate and violence against your fellow Believers, for though it may seem as though they are rejecting the Faith, their words are formed of the same sorrow that must form our resolve.

To the Church loyalists: Please, though the claims of the Separatists are outlandish, we must not judge them. Only God can judge, and His judgement is forgiving, and so must be ours. The Separatists are simply acting in their love for God. Are we not also, in our grief, somewhat sorrowful in our barring from the Holy City in these troublesome times? Though we may not reach with such anger, we must find forgiveness for those who do, for they are acting in the Love of God the same as we are.

To the Church Separatists: Brothers, Sisters, I beseech you, let your anger go in the face of this tragedy. We are all sorrowful of the loss of God's physical form, but so too is the See of the Holy City, and though they may bar us from Heaven's Gate we should be understanding that they too are acting in grief. Though I, and hopefully the other heads of the Great Houses of the Kingdom of Heaven, will extend the same forgiveness to you that God would, it is crucial in this time that we remain united, for the good of the people and the Faith.

And, to all our Comrades in the Kingdom of Heaven, I extend the bounties of the Oristhian vineyards. Any caravans or cargo parties, while already always welcome in the domain of House Isthon, are openly welcomed into the lands under our jurisdiction, in the hopes that sharing goods, words, and Faith in these troubling times will provide the basis for unity.

Yours in Grief,
Lord Byrias Isthon

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Isthon has extended the offer of a Trade Deal to every single Great House, as well as the pleas of unity in these times, to both Loyalists and Separatists alike.

Your God has died, but fortunately, ours will live forever on so long as people keep on trading.

Speaking of which...

Any of you wanna some trade deals? You know you want to. We've got the best trade deals. You won't find better trade deals. It's gonna be great.

House Iskariota has an important announcement to make, but before we do, I want to bring attention to how Iskariota views this tragic new period in our history, and our vision for what we can all become.

With what legitimacy would the next "king", the next ruler of all these lands, rule? Looking at the map, looking at some houses and their leaders, some no doubt believe that military conquest or economic power alone determine legitimacy. If the continent is unified with either belief, the unification will be bitter and short.

The only legitimacy a new overlord can bring into the Holy City will be the kind gained from far-reaching support of all houses, which can only be earned and maintained by the care and cultivation of the realm. We can never fully go back to the old ways of doing things, but we can beat our swords into plowshares and live in a productive peace once more.

I am announcing a marriage and trade deal between House Iskariota and House Faulhamer. I am also announcing that Lythric Faulhamer, a wise builder of both consensus and industry, has pledged his support for House Iskariota.

Smelt. Shape. Smite.

Leadership and Loyalty; Faith and Fulfillment.

inthesomeday said:

Isthon has extended the offer of a Trade Deal to every single Great House, as well as the pleas of unity in these times, to both Loyalists and Separatists alike.

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Tolni said:

Any of you wanna some trade deals? You know you want to. We've got the best trade deals. You won't find better trade deals. It's gonna be great.

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Deal or no deal

Sure. Why not. We all like money in House Dandale. Coin, not sword.

Tolni said:

Coin, not sword.

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And hopefully the clash of the former will echo through the realm louder than that of the latter. Announcing trade deal between House Dandale and House Isthon.

The house of Meph will sign a trade deal with anyone who does not already make over 20EC, since those certainly have no need for such a deal ()

Also we again wish to invite everyone to out capital for discussion about the problems in the faith.

House de Toullies will sign a trade deal with House Ishton.

erez87 said:

The house of Meph will sign a trade deal with anyone who does not already make over 20EC, since those certainly have no need for such a deal ()

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We discussed this privately, but we did finalize our trade deal, correct?

Sonereal said:

We discussed this privately, but we did finalize our trade deal, correct?

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May trade flow eternally.

House de Toullies announces that it will accept the trade deal between us and House Dandale.

House de Toullies also announces that it will enter in a trade deal with us and House Iskariota

Even in times of turmoil, the coin must flow after all...

House de Toullies also announces that it will enter in a trade deal with us and House Iskariota

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Confirmed.