⸶O Turm aus Stahl und Wissen / O Spire of Steel and Knowledge⸷
Penned by Houndspriest Wenche Vanatoure, Of Hasselbach
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Vassertal, and in turn its capital of Hasselbach, has been known by many different epithets through the years.
The Sunken Barony, the Everdying Cities, the lake of little stars.
But for some, albeit far less than the thirty something thousand souls that lived, worked and loved within those streets of just the capital of Hasselbach at its height, it is home.
And the Cathedral of the Iron Star is the luminous northern star at its heart.
The beating heart of a Barony, that fights to this day against the blights laid against it. That stands against evil, and lives still in the hearts of those that carry it with them.
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⸶Wie die Gläubigen des Waldes eurem Ruf folgen/ How the faithful of the Weald flock to your call⸷
Faithful - as such any Holy Site of worthy note will draw around it the Faithful. A location with a notable cohort of faithful worshippers demonstrates its Divinity through how it inspires.
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To be classified as Faithful, the site must be a locus for the Faithful to the Divine Spheres. A positioning or place that gathers and teaches the ways and teachings of The Spheres.The Iron Star Cathedral, a great Church to the Divine Spheres. A notable one with connections to the Grand Cathedral of Niccolo back in Artebazzan, there is no questioning that.
But amongst the halls of Bishops, deacons and Priests, The Houndspriest Chapter of Benedikt made its home. A Houndspriest Chapter known amongst our order for their preeminence of religious training. As you would expect from the Chapter built within the walls and grounds of the great Arcstone Cathedral.
The tenets of this Chapter are what lead the first of the Barony’s guilds to be reborn within the time of the Concord. These teachings are upheld by my brother, Chapter-Kaptain Volker Klein, and of course myself. Continued traditions that will not be lost despite the loss of our home and Chapter.
To be drawn to the Iron Star, or to be lorn upon its steps in hopes of something better or at least something different from that which was originally promised is not unheard of. To find community within the walls of the Iron Star comprised of many Faithful in families chosen rather than made is a blessing from the Spheres, that may not have come together had it not been for the Iron Star.
There are many of the heroic contingent that could call Hasselbach home, that would remember whether at the forefront of their minds or in distant nostalgic recollection the Iron Star.
The Curate Roennfeldt of the Civil Service even. Before he stood back from his ties to the Greenweald Baronies and joined the Civil Service, he was Bishop Roennfeldt of the Iron Star Cathedral. Known to several of us as Bishop Roennfeldt, as a close friend, and fellow Faithful. These hallowed halls hold not just the histories of the Iron Star, Vassertal, and the Faithfuls that filled them. But hold many prominent Faithful Concordians and Civil Service members histories as well.
That is why the Iron Star is Faithful.
⸶Es sei stets glorreich, unter dem farbigen Licht der Lanzetten zu wandeln/ Be it ever Glorious to walk beneath the coloured lights of the lancets⸷
Glorious - If simply being present at a site inspires awe and faith, then it is glorious.
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What is more Glorious than setting your eyes upon the craftsmanship of hundreds, the labours of those whose gifts are bestowed upon them by The Spheres and in turn used to pay thanks and praises to them.
What a wonder it is to behold the vision of something crafted so earnestly by mortal hands in veneration of the Divine Spheres. To walk along the halls to find that not an inch of the stone has not been carved with thought, intention and prayers to that which guide us. And blessings to those who step out into the woods and swamp lands.
To walk under the ribs of the vaulting, and gaze towards the stars and see them crafted in intricate details. To look to the north, east and west and be met with visages of the Spheres, their Eternals, and the subsequent Heralds as they have appeared over time on the Mortal Sphere. Visages that compliment the slopes and valleys of the large oak forests and the marsh lands. That play off the natural shadows to tell tales through the passing of the day and into the night. Master crafters devoted lives worth of intellect and skill, using these to show their reverence to the Spheres, and especially in Arcadian and Stallia’s light.
In some days after the fall, I would like to imagine I could still see the sparkling Arcstone Spires from Eisen. Hear the bells ring out across the marshes, the swamps and trees.
That is why the Iron Star is Glorious.
⸶Lasst uns niemals vergessen, dass es von den Sphären auserwählt wurde/May we never forget that it was Chosen by the Spheres⸷
Chosen - Heralds often visit the mortal Sphere in the course of their duties. For a location to be blessed again and again by a Herald, particularly if they indicate that the location is of import, is to have it be Chosen. Some say that the appearance of an Eternal would be enough to mark a place as Chosen, but such a thing has never occurred.
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So many of us know the Pulpit. The story of gathering it, and the loss and sacrifice that it took to reclaim it. But so many of us know this story due in part, to the Dreams that plagued Priests of Stallia before the summit just after it.
A dream that revealed that the Iron Star had been chosen by the Tome Bearer. A dream shown to those priests by The Star Serpent. What place more holy than that of which a Herald of Stallia stood against the streit. To suffer eternally in their unrelenting duty. To chose their duty and stand strong in it.
Furthermore, The Iron Star Cathedral holds one of the only other Sanctified Squares that I have seen in my lifetime. Whilst grander than that of what we have here in Passage, the power and blessings it grants us are no less than what I have borne witness to in the Cathedral of the Iron Star.
If that is not The Spheres themselves choosing to bestow their blessings upon us, to allow us their boons within the very place that the Iron Star Cathedral stands, then what is.
That is why the Iron Star is Chosen.
⸶Mögen die Lehren, die wir von seinem Observatorium empfangen, unseren Weg erleuchten/Let the teachings we gain from its Observatory inspire our path forward⸷
Observatory - Certain locations within the Mortal Sphere appear to have a closer connection to the Divine Spheres than others. Locations where through mystical happenstance or divine revelation, it is easier for Mortals to perceive the nature, intent, or form of the Divine Spheres are known as ‘Observatories’. Incredibly rare, they have at times been created, such as the artifact of Niccolo’s Window in Artebazzan.
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A tributary of the Iron Star is a piece of Concordian history that many do not realise they stand in front of.
Every ceremony that is cast in the Sanctified Square, every rite, every blessing. We meet in front of this Observatory of the Spheres. A piece that allows us, and has been encouraged by the Heralds and Eternals, to be used to understand our past and our connections to the Spheres better. A great boon given and encouraged to be used by The Concordian Church of the Divine Spheres.
The Pulpit, whilst it now sits in the Sanctified Square of Passage, was safeguarded for close to a decade before being attained by us. And though some may not know the exact history and specifics of it, it is still a reminder of the place it once called home. A reminder and beacon to those that called the Iron Star home. And a reminder to us not to forget our beginnings, our pasts. Whether that be from the Iron Star Cathedral itself or from other paths, it allows us insight into who we were.
That is why the Iron Star is an Observatory.
⸶Und mögen jene, die den Weg weitergehen, ihre sterblichen Leiber einst zur Ruhe betten/And may those Graven who continue on the journey find their mortal bodies laid to rest once more.⸷
Graven - The resting place - of a Paragon is in turn - infused with their latent divinity.
In time the worship of those around them draws the same communal effort that the Spheres seek. These resting places are often places of Worship in their own right
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There is no precedent set currently to say that for a Site to be Graven, it must be the place of a currently recognised Paragon Concordian Church of the Divine Spheres.
Instead, since that list is limited with the Church still in its infancy, we should decide perhaps that places of great devastation or an agglomerate of graves to be the True definition of Graven.
And who is to say that in future, an individual does not take upon themselves the task of arguing for Paragon exaltation of those that have made their way upon the journey at these very sites.
Let us not forget the sacrifice of Pathfinder Hiram, the High Historian Adeline Rossetti, and the High Priestess of Lumos Elsibetta Galadi in obtaining the Pulpit. Lives of Concordians lost upon the stone foundations of the Iron Star.
Let us not forget that whilst the Tome Bearer guarded and continued its sacred duty, The Iron Star Cathedral also came to be their resting place. The resting place for a Herald of the Divine Spheres surely holds more importance than those we as a Church raise as Paragons.
We shall not let their suffering be forgotten, nor their duty wasted. May their Brother, The Fang of Inner Darkness, find peace where peace may be found for such Heralds.
Below the Cathedral, within the crypts of the Chapterhouse and the Cathedral itself one can find rooms adorned with candles. These candles, varying in heights and adornments, speak of those that have not returned. Pillars of dark wax memorializing the devotion of their Duties, their Faith and their very memory. Doused in black wax at the extinguishing of their lives, they are placed to continue their memories and continue the essence of their duties in life now that their soul has continued on the Journey.
That is why the Iron Star is Graven.
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As for Miraculus and Infused.
Currently there may only be my own experiences to regale, but the Iron Star and the city around it glows. The sounds of chattering teeth throughout an evening ringing out across its landscape. And fighting back against the Onyx Aristocracy. Whether this is just of the Weald, or from lingering effects of the Spheres I am unsure, which is why I chose not to fully include it in my writings. But the knowledge is there so it is my duty to share it. And it should be shown the Iron Star refuses to relent in an unworthy defeat.
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I could write for days on end at the memories that are within those walls. Of the faithful that would lay down their swords and souls for those in need. That praised the spheres so fervently that few could sway them from their path.
I could write of its majesty both large and small. Of the tolling bells, to the quiet corners that held comfort or secret. Of the feeling of the sun pouring through the coloured glass of the windows against ones skin and painting the light and dark stone in a maelstrom of colours.
It is a wonder to behold. And an honour to indulge in sharing my many memories of my home.
I thank the Priests of the heroic body of the Concordian Church of the Divine Spheres for allowing me this. To wander through the echoes of the Iron Star alongside me.
I know the day will come where it will be experienced first hand again. It is alive as am I. And I shall continue to fight to see it in our hands again.