Topic of the Month: Los Amantes: A Miracle in Glantri?
By Hector Tremontaine, Priest of Valerias from the Church of Darokin, Diplomat Second Class of the Darokinian Diplomatic Corps, Karameikan Mission.
[The following is an excerpt from a recent meeting held on Fyrmont 17, AC 1017, at the Church of Valerias in Mirros, discussing the mysterious events in Glantri City now dubbed as "La Milagro de Los Amantes" ("The Miracle of the Lovers" from Belcadizian Elvish). In attendance were Father Sergei Horatio Romankov, Patriarch of the Temple of Valerias in Karameikos, Lady Admetis Gabriela Valeriatides, Pontifex Valeriana from Thyatis, and Doņa Marianita Lucia de Leon y Valdez, Glantrian Ambassador to Karameikos.]
Marianita: In fact, from my recent correspondences with Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz, I have learned that the mystery woman whom you claim to be a manifestation of your Immortal was identified as one Doņa Rosario de Villaroja, come to the Savage Baronies in the far west.
Admetis: And what of the Ethengar calling himself Tabak, which, if I may add, is a variant of the Ethengar appellation of the Sun-Prince Ixion, the radiant lover of our Patroness?
Marianita: Ah, you must understand, the Krondaharans of Glantri are skilled masters of illusion. This "Tabak" could have been any one of these Krondaharan illusionists under a very elaborate phantasm, as the whole spectacle of the dance and their disappearance was.
Admetis: And yet, the divinators of the Council of Haruspices of Thyatis have gathered sufficient evidence that this "whole spectacle," as you call it, was not created with any wizardly magic at all, but Immortal magic-more powerful than any licensed cleric in Glantri at the time could even have managed!
Sergei: Milady, if I may, perhaps I can provide an explanation. For decades, the Temple of Valerias in Karameikos has been receiving intriguing reports of a secret cult of female worshippers of the Immortal Valerias in Glantri, based primarily in Belcadiz-
Admetis: Ah, yes! What I have heard is that they are a coven of witches who-
Marianita: Impossible! There is no thing as a secret cult or coven in Belcadiz or Glantri for that matter! And as a woman of Belcadiz myself, I must say, I take strong offence at these allegations! Besides, wizards or witches simply cannot practice clerical magic.
Admetis: And yet, our divinators have detected the taint of Immortal magic at the Belcadiz Mansion! So if this did not come from clerics, they must have come from the Immortals themselves! How do you respond to this?
Marianita: Organized religion and the practice of clericism is forbidden in Glantri, and the use of priestly magic has only very recently been sanctioned, and very restrictedly at that. We Glantrians believe that relying on Immortals for any magic or powers simply hinders the individual person in achieving her potential in spellcasting and-
Admetis: That does not answer my question at all!
Sergei: Milady, please, if I may, our meeting today is not to attack the good ambassador here, but to address the issue of Los Amantes and its significance to the clerics and worshippers of Valerias throughout the Old World.
Admetis: Is it not apparent enough, Pater Sergei? For Valerias to appear in a heathen city is a call for us to proselytise and spread Her worship, and who else but the ardent and zealous followers of the Patroness of Passion can dare face these godless wizards!
Sergei: Milady, please, let not your fervour get the better of you. I understand your enthusiasm stems from the recent popularity of Valerias in Thyatis, but Glantri is a different matter altogether. Remember that the Lady of the Rose was aligned against Glantri in the Wrath of the Immortals War, and perhaps Her appearance merely signifies Her forgiveness of-
Admetis: Pater, this is not the place to discuss spiritual matters of the utmost sanctity.
[End of excerpt.]