Smile like you mean it

“It’s the waiting that gets me” Koralo mutters, splicing apart the grass stem with her sweaty fingers, only half watching the figures out on the makeshift playing field.“As you’ve said before. As you’ve said a dozen times already.” Rava replies, throwing her own half-mangled bit of turf at the other woman’s back, her blunt nail picking at the grass-stains on her knee. She winces as a particularly bold tackle raises cheers from down the knoll.“Then we should do something - we shouldn’t fear to act-” Koralo sputters as another sheath of greenery scatters against her face.“-but be shamed by inaction” Rava laughs, smoothing down the blue linen of her tabard as she stands. Several half-formed grass bracelets tumble from her lap. “Again, at least two-score times” she smirks, only half-glancing at Koralo’s strained scowl. “I mean look-” she spreads a calloused palm towards the distant figures coursing back and forth across the fallow field below, “We’re not exactly up to nothing” her languid tone just makes Koralo’s bottom lip jut further.“Foot-the-ball is hardly seeking glory - it’s a distraction - it’s-” Koralo begins, working up clods of spring-ripe grass with her fingers, “It’s-” she pauses, attention drawn back down to the field as the ball careened from a stray kick, spinning askance of the two heaped up cloaks serving as goalposts.“The greatest threat to Pride is shame.” Rava smiles, the edge going out of her teasing. She bites her lip wryly and offers her hand down to her friend, watching as the agitation bleeds from Koralo’s posture.Koralo watches the hand for a moment, then walks her gaze up over the sunburst she had hand-stitched into Rava’s tabard, then beyond into her eye, still seeing both, despite the simple leather patch that covered half of her open expression.“And the greatest weapon against shame is Compassion.” Koralo responds solemnly with a laugh, grasping the outstretched hand and hauling herself up. “I make this far too easy for you.” she adds with a snort.The two stand under the sun for a moment longer in silence, watching another abortive goal, each wincing at the wet thump of leather on breeches.Rava breaks the silence: “C’mon - right now I think there’s glory to be won in showing Petro how to pass.”Another moment ticks by and Koralo releases Rava’s hand, thumping her playfully on the shoulder.“Alright - let’s show them how it’s done.”

Overview

The Free Folk, former slaves from the Asavean Archipelago, have been living quiet lives in Dawn since being accepted into the nation. Currently they are yeofolk, but a number are treading the path of the knight-errant as they work to prove their glory. On hearing of the death, and recognition, of Lady Eleanor Novarion whose tireless work as Lady of the Proffered Hand they count as being a major factor in their current settled lives, a number of the Free Folk set off for Anvil hopefully to ensure that the new exemplar receives all the recognition they believe she is due.

Free Origins

The Free Folk are a population of Dawnish citizens brought to the Empire in the wake of a failed rebellion Formerly enslaved, the Free Folk have their origins in Marracossa, an Asavean subject state They possess several distinct interpretations of the Way

The Free Folk are a population of former slaves who liberated themselves in the fires of the Marracossan civil war - where the nobility of the Asavean satrapy sought to seize independence. Emancipated in exchange for service in the rebel armies, the majority of these volunteer soldiers were recaptured when the Marracossan forces were overwhelmed by the combined might of the Nemorians, supported in part (and much to the dismay of the rebels) by Imperial Mercenaries.

In the closing days of the conflict, as the rebel stronghold of Maragladia fell, Sumaah and Imperial captains performed daring blockade runs to ferry Marracossan, slave and former slave alike to safety. Where the former plenum of Marracossa settled in the ruins of Trajadoz, with any of their household servants who chose to remain with them, all of the Free Folk chose instead to part ways with their former masters and travel the Empire.

These strangers in a strange land were supported by their faith: the Way had long taken root within the slave population of Marracossa, seeded by Imperial and Sumaah missionaries - and the involvement of these great powers had further cemented the Folk’s belief. However, generations of isolation from the orthodoxy of the twin Synods of Anvil and Timoj had shaped a belief system that had syncretised with the Free Folk’s own thinking and some of the Asavean religion that was impressed upon them while in bondage. To the Free Folk the Virtues are not abstract ideals - but collections of divine beings - human spirits that have transcended the Labyrinth and now act from beyond to aid the faithful. This ‘Divine Family’ of paragons are constant presences in their day to day lives - siblings in Virtue with whom they seek to develop a personal relationship through their faith.

What have they been doing?

Since Spring 386YE the Free Folk have been settled into new homes in the vicinity of Caer Faucon, in Astolat

Over the years since their arrival in the Empire, the Free Folk have stirred debate about the nature of idolatry and the idea of paragon intervention. Through all this the Free Folk have been unabashed in their beliefs and passionate supporters of the Way as they sought to join the Empire and turn their freedom to further the aims of ‘the faith that made them free’. In return the Free Folk were embraced and guided in their new lives, supported by Highguard and Dawn in particular in their education in the Way and establishing new lives. The question of the Free Folk’s faith was seemingly settled by the recognition of one of the Folk’s most prominent Divinities - 'The Speaker for the Dead' - as an Exemplar of Pride.

Upon their arrival in the Empire, the Free Folk were brought to the House of the Proffered Hand in Astolat. It was with the support of the then Lady of the Proffered Hand, Eleanor Novarion, that the Free Folk were able to reclaim their Pride and experience the rewards of their own Prosperity as free people. It was from Astolat that the Free Folk spread, bringing their experience and love of hard work to the farms and businesses of Dawn. Without the compassionate foundations that the House of the Proffered hand offered to these people without a home, the Free Folk would have surely departed and drifted away from the land they so passionately sought to embrace.

We recognise Eleanor Novarion, the Lady of the Proffered Hand, as an Exemplar of Pride. Once a slave, she dedicated her life following her freedom and recovery to helping others who had suffered the same, demonstrating her Benevolence. Her work served as Inspiration to others, resulting in the creation of the Proffered Hand Network across the Empire. She was pivotal in securing the Salvation of the Free Folk of Asavea, reconciling their beliefs with the Way, an event marked by a miraculous aura of Pride. In her final months, she undertook Pilgrimage to Bastion, where she summarised her life with these words, a lesson to be shared across the Empire: "The greatest threat to Pride is shame. The greatest weapon against shame is Compassion."Edward Watcher, General Assembly, Spring Equinox 387YE, Vote: 1126-416

A New Exemplar

The Pride and General assemblies have recognised Lady Eleanor Novarion as an exemplar of Pride

With the recognition of Lady Eleanor Novarion as an exemplar of Pride, the Free Folk - now settled and thriving across the lands of Dawn and the Marches - have been gripped by a passionate outpouring of adoration and respect for their former benefactor. As an exemplar, Lady Eleanor is seen as a beacon of Virtue who will lead the spirits of the faithful through the Labyrinth when their time comes and, as people who had known her in life, the Free Folk believe they should seek to spread her example far and wide. In the past season the Folk have returned from across the Empire to Astolat to pay their respects, erecting effigies to the ‘Lady of Compassion’, as the exemplar has been dubbed, and discussing among themselves and the citizens there what they as a people can do to express their gratitude and celebrate this recognition.

Three potential avenues have won out over others, splitting the Free Folk’s opinions three ways:

The Army of Love

The Free Folk might be encouraged to support the Lions of Adelmar in its pursuit of glory The Free Folk would flock to its banner, turning their Prosperity to supporting it however they canOne cannot simply love and do nothing: it's what we do for those we love that matters. Compassion must be a shield for the helpless held ready for those in need.Johano de la Floroj

The Knight-errant, Johano de la Floroj de Fiereco, proposes that the Free Folk embrace the newly founded Lions of Adelmar. He asserts that the army embodies the compassion that Lady Eleanor taught was the foundation of Pride - and that through it Dawn might bring about the rebirth into Virtue of others that the Proffered hand allowed for him and his loved ones. Johano asserts that the Free Folk should do whatever they can to support the Lions and bring them to further glory in spreading the Way: be it by once again taking up arms and joining the army themselves, sharing their Prosperity in its support or volunteering to aid in its supply and maintenance. Johano is passionate in his belief that the Free Folk’s hard work can make a difference.

Love its powerful - love is fierce. Let love be the sword that protects those to who we are Loyal and smites those who would do them harm.Florence d'Astolat

The Troubadour Florence d’Astolat, a Proud Gryphon has spoken out against this suggestion, noting that the Free Folk already speak so broadly of love - of an encompassing love for all those who pursue the Way - that they would prove a barrier to the Lions of Adelmar winning glory on the battlefield: what good is compassion when foes such as the Druj abound? The Lions should be an avenging force of love’s terrible power to shift hearts towards passionate action - that is the truth path to glory. The Free Folk should not be permitted to influence the Lions to be tender-hearted defenders of the weak, Florence concludes.

Liberation’s Call

The Free Folk could support Dawnish efforts to spread the Way to Asavea They could use their knowledge of Asavea’s people, gods, language and culture to support espionage, sabotage, and missionary effortsCompassion demands sacrifice: we must be ready to give up all we love in the name of the Way. Ours must be a love that burns within - the spark that will ignite the Way for all those souls that yearn for its burning.Merita Saĝo

Merita Saĝo, a guiser from Semmer’s Rose, instead argues that the Free Folk have benefitted greatly from the compassion of Lady Eleanor and the wider Empire that Prosperity demands that they in turn extend that compassion to others in the same way. Merita speaks fervently of those across Asavea who struggle and suffer as her people once did, holding close the truth of the Way in hope of eventual liberation. She invokes the names of Amika and Alberto Acciai - former Plenum of Asavea that became tools of such liberation. She stokes the Pride of the assembled Free Folk in stating that whatever a Plenum might achieve, the steel of those they once exploited might cut three times as deep. It is Merita’s suggestion that the Free Folk should seek a more active role in the Synod’s requests for support in toppling Nemorian power in Asavea. The Folk’s knowledge of the languages, culture and social customs of their oppressors could be potent tools in bringing about this change. Merita urges the Free Folk to make these tools available to Dawn as spies, saboteurs, agitators and missionaries - for the good of the Way.

Prosperity and freedom have been the wages of the Free Folk's toil: more work may be the reward of a job well done, but let that work be here. Let Marracossa be their final battlefield.Melodia de Bondir

These sentiments give pause to Melodia de Bondir, a Dawnish teacher of the Imperial tongue who has long supported the Proffered hand. She notes that while none should ever stand in the way of the Free Folk putting into action the Pride they feel so strongly, it would be wrong to suggest that this is a Pride won already at such great cost. The Courage they have shown in their liberation and survival is waged with the freedom and new lives they have achieved. For the Free Folk to be encouraged to return again to the shores of Asavea, Melodia confides, would be to ask them to risk their earned rewards and face re-enslavement and execution upon capture. There is no doubt that Free Folk will be lost, their bodies and stories ended in a land far from the one they chose to embrace.

The Way must speak with one voice and that voice is the Synod: if Asavea is to be brought to the Way it must be without compromise or deviation.Merita Saĝo

A more practical objection is raised by Antius, a Grey pilgrim and former tutor of those Free Folk who sought to learn priestly skills in Highguard. The Synod has indicated that the embers being set amidst the kindling of Asavea should be pure, cohesive and hew to Imperial Orthodoxy. The Free Folk’s reluctance to part with their most deeply held, yet flawed, interpretations of their faith would inevitably lead to a similar reluctance to correct those they encountered in Asavea. If the Empire is to speak its truth with one voice, then it must be mindful of who it entrusts that truth to beyond its borders. It is Wiser, Antius believes, that the Folk channel their fervor into using their skills in a supportive role.

An Offered Hand

The Free Folk could help strengthen the Proffered Hand network They would spread across the network, applying their experience and fervor to directly supporting and expanding its efforts - in and outside of the EmpireA hand offered in Compassion may only reach as far as the arm that extends it: let us reach further, let us act with purpose and Pride so not one soul further is denied the birthright that is the Way.Merita Saĝo

Venka Kuraĝo, a retainer of House Asterion seeks to encourage her fellows in embracing the Proffered Hand network itself as a great work of the Lady of Compassion. Through its flourishing, Venka believes, the glory of Lady Eleanor’s story will only grow - and that pursuit of glory is a worthy one. There are countless humans and orcs that suffer in shame, denied the compassion of the Way - robbed of their Prosperity, denuded of their Courage, their Loyalty flensed by brutality and their Pride crushed from them by slavery’s singular evil.

These souls lie not across the ocean, but mere leagues beyond Imperial borders in every direction. The jewels in the network’s web must, Venka effuses, be the Free Folk’s focus so that the liberation of the Way might wash, unimpeded, beyond imagined lines in the soil. Venka proposes that the Folk seek glory in both elevating those received by the network and supporting in their welcoming into the Empire and also in taking a more active role in bringing about change in the Empire’s neighbours that deny the Way: be it the Thule despots, the Iron Confederacy’s oppressive heresy or even those inmates in Faraden that languish in chains.

Much more can be done by a Wise pen than by through impassioned folly: let the compassionate receive with open arms who the Wise drive to them with measured words.Jacob Astatus di Sarvos

This gives pause to Jacob Astatus di Sarvos, a travelling pilgrim. As readily as the Free Folk have found their place in the Empire and as strong as their will may be, diplomacy, Jacob notes, is not a business best ruled by such passions. The affairs of Ambassadors and civil servants on Imperial borders are taxing enough without internal agitators - however well-meaning - potentially acting in accordance with their own Pride. Jacob is a firm believer in the Proffered Hand’s works - but sees the Free Folk’s energies being best channelled into becoming just that - a hand of friendship, ready to clasp the other that reaches to accept it. It’s the case too, he adds, that the Free Folk’s beliefs would be best presented to the newly freed alongside other perspectives from across the Empire.

The Synod’s Role

The Free Folk can be encouraged down one of the three paths by a Judgement reaching a majority in the Dawnish Assembly Other proposals need a greater majority to sway them A judgement with a greater majority in a Virtue assembly that refers to the Free Folk, could shape their approach to whichever path they choose A judgement with a greater majority in the General Assembly will have the strongest impact on what the Free Folk choose to do The complex nature of faith and the bewildering array of possibilities make reliable prognostication impossible at this stage

As early Spring ends, the Free Folk find themselves at an impasse. Their debate spreads to the yeofolk and nobility of Caer Faucon, but still no one choice wins out over the others. In this the Free Folk fall back on a quote that has long shaped their experience in the Empire, a motto of the Marchers they have adopted as their own: “You must take all of us, or none of us.”. Here the meaning is clear; they will all choose a single path and move with a single purpose.

The Free Folk look to the Synod for guidance - in particular the Dawnish Assembly - though any authoritative voice will influence their decision. They ask that a judgement be passed speaking on how the Lady of Compassion’s example would best be celebrated so that they may follow that path.

Any judgement by the Dawnish Assembly that directly addresses the Free Folk which reaches a majority will shape the Folk’s debate - though only those relating to the three paths they have proposed above will have a strong enough impact without achieving a greater majority.

Judgements that seek to direct the Free Folk that pass with a greater majority in the Virtue assemblies, particularly those relating to Pride, Prosperity and Loyalty could also influence the way that the Free Folk pursue their ultimate goal. Finally, if the General Assembly were to speak with a greater majority, the Free Folk would feel impelled to give their view the greatest weight.

Under normal circumstances, the civil service prognosticators would provide a clear picture of what the consequences of each of these three choices might be. In this case that has proved impossible. In part that is because of the complex nature of faith which sometimes defies divination, in part it is because the outcome has the potential to be strongly influenced by the wording of any statements that pass the Synod with a greater majority. As is sometimes the case, the Synod must be guided by faith and their own personal insight and experience into these problems.

Compassion & Choices

A group of Free Folk are travelling to Anvil from Astolat to celebrate the recognition of Lady Eleanor Novarion as an exemplar They also seek to discuss how they can better glorify her example and assist with the needs of Dawn and the Empire The group will arrive at the Dawnish camp at 17:00

A small number of travelling yeofolk - some bearing the yellow sunburst of a knight-errant - are making their way to Anvil from Caer Faucon in Astolat. They carry a simple pennant showing a red-haired figure riding astride a lion, leading several figures in the breaking of chains. This is, the travellers explain in only slightly-accented Imperial, La Suna Imperiestrino; the Empress of the Sun, Empress Richilde. These are Free Folk - once slaves in Marracossa, but now Proud citizens of Dawn and the Empire.

As they travel, they speak of their excitement regarding the recent recognition of Lady Eleanor Novarion - former Lady of the Proffered Hand - as an exemplar of Pride. On the subject of Lady Eleanor, whom the Free Folk refer to as the Lady of Compassion, it is revealed that this entourage is making for Anvil to celebrate this elevation. They also hope to seek advice from the heroes of Anvil on how they can best follow in the Lady of Compassion's example.