> Nick, how about the "true" history behind the Loskalmi New Hrestoli
> church, not the one which Gaiseron tells now?
RuneQuest writeups of the New Hrestoli Idealist Sect of Loskalm and the Holy Rokari Church of Seshnela will be in our "Malkioni Special", Tales #13, which is due out soonish. Wyrms Footprints has wreaked ungodly havoc with our schedules, but we'll be back on track before long (and in the meantime, you'll love our new book: it's looking wonderful!). So I'm not going to post anything partial or incomplete (from the "How the West was One" versions) about either the Hrestoli or Rokari churches here, as much better versions will be available soon.
Also, I'm not sure of what Joerg is implying: Gaiseron the Mystic is a wholly admirable and worthy character, IMHO. Any disreputable actions of the Loskalmi Church were performed in the Bad Old Days before the Ban: most noteworthy was the festering corruption at the Sixth Ecclesiastical Council of Malkionism (Leplain, 1427) when the Loskalmi bishops, bribed with Mardron's Tanisoran gold and shortsightedly hoping to discomfit the "rightful" lords-in-exile of Seshnela (now resident on the Castle Coast), voted to number Rokar as Third among the Prophets. This Council is now known as the "Blasphemy of Leplain" to all virtuous Hrestoli Idealists, who proclaim that the sickening depths of self-interest to which the Bad Old Church could stoop proves, by contrast, the superior virtue of their own New Hrestoli Idealist way.
All Malkioni know that there is a gap between Ideal and Reality: this is why the Invisible God in times past sent Prophets to heal the world. Any such "gaps" now developing in Loskalmi society will be adequately covered by the Hrestoli Sect writeup, I assure you.
In re: Malkonwal, my own assumption is that the Holy City must have been somewhere in Seshnela, and must have vanished before the Dawn (possibly it was swept up in the Rapture of Malkion's "I Fought, We Won"?). Greg's draft novel of "Arkat's Saga" has a city of Malkonwal on Brithos, but I'd hesitate to identify the two, as the Prophet Malkion's exile from Brithos is one of the cornerstones of my own personal Malkioni faith. Richard's act, in so naming his kingdom, would be like William Blake's "Jerusalem, in England's green and pleasant land": a pious statement of his intent to recreate the perfect Malkioni society on fresh soil. Think of Augustine's "City of God".
(Oh, the "Brief History of Malkionism" will be in Tales #13 also. I hope the art is as good as the French "La Toile" pieces we had last time).
Here's another HtWwO piece: yet another interpretation of Hrestolism! The Perfecti are a "heretical" group within Hrestoli Idealist society, who seek to embarrass the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of Loskalm by exposing any perceived shortcomings of their faith.
HISTORY The Perfecti are a mystical sect who possess the True Secrets of Hrestol's Second Revelation.
Prince Hrestol, as everyone knows, was the first man to transcend the limits of Society by mastering all of the arts known to man. The knowledge that enabled him to do this came to him as he sat in silent vigil, meditating upon the foes who assailed his country. His ancestor, Malkion the First Prophet, granted him dispensation to follow the promptings of his Heart, and not the stale word of old, dead Laws. Flushed with pride, Hrestol rode out as a shining knight, questing in dark forests and deep within the bowels of the earth to seek out and slay the enemies of his people.
This was his first Revelation, which we Perfecti call the Liberation of the Body. But it was not enough. After achieving all that he could do within the framework of society, and splendid in his victory, the Prince was cast out by his own people, banished into the Wilderness. (In this tale we see demonstrated the vanity of worldly pomp and success). And it was now, as a rootless wanderer, that Hrestol sat his second silent vigil, contemplating not the worldly concerns of his youth - fighting, battles, dynastic strife - but rather turning his mind inwards to ponder the state of his soul.
And then came the second Revelation, the Liberation of the Heart. This was the realisation that although his mundane, outer self had been changed by the skills and arts he acquired as Farmer, Soldier, Wizard and Lord, he had failed to transform his inner self. There is a state of mind which corresponds to each of these orders of society: where before, the Prince had remained a Prince, he now strove to master his inner make-up, and to become a truly Perfected Man.
This was a mighty ordeal. These were no mere mortal foes to be overcome, but rather the personal demons of habit and desire. No mundane crafts and skills to be learned, but the harmonious completion of every person. For in attaining his state of Perfection, Hrestol had to become each and every one of us. It was only because he had achieved this that his glorious martyrdom could reopen the paths to Solace for us all.
THEOLOGY Against the false claims of the Hrestoli "Idealists", we Perfecti know that the institutions of the Loskalmi state are inimical to holiness. No progression through the classes can be achieved within the structures of the established church, as the lords and wizards of Loskalm are too interested in the trappings of worldly power to provide for the salvation of the masses. Their rites of passage - Fairs, Tourneys, Examinations - are mere outward shows, a hollow display lacking true substance. Our purifications achieve in reality all of the ends these tawdry pageants can merely claim.
Through ritual and meditation, aided by the secrets of Silence, members of the Perfecti carry out a spiritual process of development and purification, in which the aspirant to perfection gradually refines his soul and transcends the four aspects. The few who have achieved this are known as Perfecti: rather than being "Lords" as the Idealist Church proclaims them, they embody all four of the social classes at once.
HIERARCHY There must be no Hierarchy! God created all men equal -- all men can achieve perfection through their own efforts! Those Perfecti who have transcended the limitations of humanity and become One with the Whole, can offer salvation to the masses, leading them to Solace in Glory by the perfect holiness of their lives. Those who recognise the perfect and virtuous state of the true Perfectus are themselves assured of salvation. Like Hrestol, the Perfectus need not fear Death, for a transcendent reward in Solace is sure to await him.
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