FUZZY: Midmarch Religious Council
Alisa felt that Kendrick's question was a valid and important one. But she also knew what she wished to say as regards the three in question, and decided to go ahead and get it out now-
"For those who don't know me, I am Alisa D'Medvyed, priestess of the mostly forgotten, yet not wholly gone, Acavna. And I will offer my clear feelings on the potential presence of these three faiths in our lands."
"And I shall start with the worst of them, that being Gyronna's sect. While I do feel compassion for some of those whom end up in the sick embrace of that spiteful faith, I can in no way condone a religion that delights in setting friends and loved ones at each others throats. And that also doesn't blink at robbing cradles, nor stooping to murder if it happens to serve their ends. Endorsing this faith is, in my view, tantamount to telling the population that if some tragedy should befall you, then you are entitled to spend the rest of your days taking it out on the innocent." She shook her white-maned head, lips frowning in her obvious distaste for Gyronna's creed.
"Now, as for Hanspur...I doubt we'd otherwise be discussing this sect...save for the fact that cold blooded murder is woven straight into their ritual and rites. And what precedent does it set, to know for certain that the worshipers of this faith will commit murder, that it's only a matter of time, and to turn a blind on it? Hanspur is a failed demi-god, if I understand right, mostly abandoned by Gozreh, and held as an affront by Pharasma. A pair of gods have spoken as regards this one, and I feel we should pay heed to what they are indirectly telling us."
"Besmara...the saint of the three," Alisa quipped in plain humor. "Relatively speaking. I could almost see making a case for her...in the same way that gods of thievery are sometimes accepted, if not loved, in all quarters. However, piracy is more likely than thievery to lead to bloodshed and loss of life. And the message here would be that it can be justified or excused as a matter of religious practice." She shook her again.
"I may well be prejudiced. The one I serve made a great sacrifice to protect and spare mortal life. And I wouldn't at all be living up to her example by tolerating faiths that hold life in such disregard." She paused for a moment, almost finished, before adding-
"If the choice were made to outright ban their practice, however -- the downside is that they may then practice in secret, and be even more dangerous for it. As well as possibly holding a grudge."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Tue 09 June 2020.