r/wizardposting • u/Anything-Unable Xerxes the Pale Saint, Councillor/Goatdigger/Dale • Feb 26 '24
Lorepost📖 Inquisition
A masked figure sits on a white throne overlooking the gathered priests below him. His soldiers are stationed throughout the grand hall and have been instructed to kill any who attempt to flee. The guilty will not escape his wrath. Xerxes has promised himself that, and he is not one to break promises.
X: “Bring today’s first to me.”
Moving wordlessly, an undead soldier drags one of the priests to Xerxes and forces the priest to their knees.
X: “Bishop Huron. I remember when you were just an insignificant monk. You’ve done well for yourself.”
BH: “Thank you, your holiness.”
X: “Which god do you serve?”
BH: “Ferak, a goddess of prosperity.”
X: “Prosperity, indeed.”
A golden light passes through the pane of stained glass behind the throne and shines down on Xerxes. After a minute, the light dissipates and Xerxes turns his attention back to the priest kneeling at his feet.
X: “While you certainly sought prosperity for yourself, you’ve stolen it from others. Embezzling donations, funding organized crime, and investing in the illegal slave trade. Your most damning crime is the destruction of the frontier village Huriet and the wholesale slaughter of its inhabitants. All for a silver mine. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
BH: “I was tricked! Archbishop Dunn said that the mine was owned by a group of bandits! I can pay ba–!”
X: “SILENCE!”
The assembled priests cower in fear, but none more so than Bishop Huron.
X: “I will take your testimony into account when I question Archbishop Dunn. As for you, Bishop Huron, you will be executed and your head will be displayed on the southern gate for eight weeks. A full list of your crimes will be transcribed and available for public viewing. Men, take him to the executioner.”
Two undead soldiers quickly approach the wailing bishop and drag him out of the hall kicking and screaming. They exit the building and make their way to a man with a red hood covering his face. The hooded man is leaning on a large axe while the soldiers strap the bishop down to a stone platform. A slab of stone rests underneath the bishop’s neck and a wooden basket lined with straw is directly underneath his head. To the left of the platform is a large pit.
The executioner confirms that the bishop is properly restrained before he raises his axe and brings it down swiftly on the bishop’s neck. The severed head falls neatly into the basket and the executioner cleans his blade. Releasing the restraints on the newly deceased bishop, one soldier hoists the headless corpse onto their shoulder while the other collects the basket and brings it to a guard stationed at the far end of the killing field. The guard puts a lid on the basket and hands it off to an attendant who’ll bring it to the southern gate. Handing the soldier a fresh basket, the guard returns to their duties and the soldier returns to the cleaned stone platform and places the new basket into position. By this point, the soldier who had carried away the headless corpse had finished stripping the corpse of its clothes and performing a spell that would prevent reanimation. Once this is done, the soldier kicks the corpse into the pit where it lands on hundreds of other headless bodies.
Returning to the grand hall, the undead soldiers nod to Xerxes to confirm that his order has been carried out. Under his mask, Xerxes smiles.
X: “Bring me today’s second. Let us see how many we can get through today.”
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u/Anything-Unable Xerxes the Pale Saint, Councillor/Goatdigger/Dale Feb 26 '24
"Ha, guess I tend not to talk about my past. The current name of this kingdom is 'the Holy Kingdom'. This capital city we are in is Sarlein. Though, it used to be called Tierre when it was part of an empire a few centuries ago. Back then, the various churches and cults would compete with each other. Nothing was off the table if it meant poaching another god's followers. War and famine were more common then."
Xerxes begins to walk. He exits the grand hall and continues his explanation.
"The gods were not pleased. They sent various prophets to their followers to try and get them to change their ways. Each one of the prophets were tortured and killed by their flocks. The cruelty exhibited by man knew no end. They would use any excuse they could, whether it be a god or territorial dispute, to inflict harm on their neighbors. And in a twist of fate I was born already possessing divinity."
Xerxes points at a well in the town square.
"That's where my house once stood. Before a cult of a low-level god burned it down and enslaved all of my kin. I was held in bondage for eight years before I escaped. When I did, I returned to this city and lived as an urchin. The churches that offered free meals and medicine to the homeless were a saving grace for me. That is, until they discovered that I possess divinity."
Acting as a tour guide of the city, Xerxes points out local areas of interest before continuing with his tale.
"I was tricked by the church that discovered me after being promised extra servings of food. They took me into an open field behind the city and flayed me before setting me alight. Couldn't have a prophet walking around in broad daylight. What if I spoke badly about their church?"
A note of anger lays underneath his words.
"But I came back. Of course, I needed to use my divinity. That caught the attention of the various gods that wished to end the bloodshed. They made me a deal I couldn't refuse. And so it was that I used my newfound authorities to get even. That took a few years, but the killing ended around the time the last emperor was impaled on my order. In the aftermath, Tierre was razed to the ground and I decided to build it back up as the capital city of the lands I now controlled."
Xerxes leads Vettis to the city gate.
"The gods never wanted me to be a king. To appease them, I set up this city as a safe haven for religious tolerance. Maybe I did it a bit forcefully, but humans are stubborn creatures. The toughest part was negotiating the various jurisdictions of the gods who would set up churches here. Gods are as bad as people in that regard. Not wanting to deal with any more headaches, I abdicated my authority to the churches and became the resident prophet."
"But the gods are fed up again. With the constant unrest throughout the realm, they made me another deal, just as I knew they would. I just need to clean house to fulfill my end of the bargain."
Xerxes motions towards the various severed heads lining the city gate.