The Iconoclasts

It is the Burying of Regrets, a festival during which losses, grievances and regrets are mourned, then put aside.

This year, the Orders of Paladins have summoned the Citizens of Rastaban to the Great Court in the Boulevard, to try and finally put an end to the Icon Question, a doctrinal dispute which has existed for as long as anyone can remember, and which has only grown more divisive in recent years. Simply put, the question is this: whether it is ever appropriate to depict the Muses as people, or only ever in the guise of their sacred item.

There are, broadly speaking, three factions:

• the iconoclasts, who would see all human icons destroyed, even those belonging to Paladins;
• the individualists, those that believe that human depictions of the muses should never be displayed publicly, but that it is acceptable for individual Paladins to fashion their own icons how they wish;
• the iconophiles that believe that depicting the Muses as people is the most correct way and needs to be encouraged.

The Grandmasters are looking to put together a formal recommendation to the Silent Regent to settle the dispute once and for all.

• Elias of Esteban - Joe
• Jeremiah Stingelhelm - Emma
• Sly Genet - Sally
• Nessa Orphrey - Sally
• Selva Sithigh - Florence
• Magda Nylund - Florence
• Sato Cross - George
• Eli Jin - Aleaha
• Sofia Darling - Aleaha
• Mabel Bembrooke - Iain
• Garrek - Alex
• Jasine - Anna
• Aldrich Kamali - Michael
• Peleus Perin - Declan

• THE SILENT REGENT declares that:
  • From this day, depictions of the MUSES OF RASTABAN that are to be displayed publicly MAY ONLY depict the Muses as their SACRED ITEMS.
  • From this day, depictions of the MUSES OF RASTABAN that are to be displayed privately MAY depict the Muses as people, so long as the depiction is not blasphemous.
  • From this day, Paladins of the HOLY ORDERS OF RASTABAN may continue to craft personal Holy Icons that depict the MUSES OF RASTABAN in the fashion they believe most befitting.
• The SILENT REGENT reminds Citizens that:
  • It is RIGHT and PROPER to destroy BLASPHEMOUS ICONS wherever they may be found.

• There is specifically NO COMMENT on rumour that the Great Edict may be lifted in future.
• The new law is perceived as an Individualist position.

• Paladins of the Rod are encouraged by their Grandmaster to destroy any Icons they do not like.
• Paladins of the Torch are encouraged by their Grandmaster to be vigilant to destroy blasphemous Icons outside of the Embrace.
• Paladins of the Wheel are encouraged by their Grandmaster to go along with the new law
• Paladins of the Throne are left to their own initiative.
• It is unknown whether Paladins of the Shroud have received instruction from their Grandmaster.

• Following the new law, Great House Telemere, like every house, is proactive in ensuring the new law is upheld. On the advice of Peleus Perin, they adopt the following definition for a depiction of a Muse:

“A work made to look sufficiently godly, or clearly embodies the same qualities as a given Muse is said to” and using this, several prominent works of the Muses as people are destroyed.

• In Esteban, the Great House works to quickly remove any dubious pieces of art. A few Actuaries are approached by Elias of Esteban who offers to purchase works they would otherwise have to dispose of, or ensure were carefully hidden away. A few accept the offer, others decline, taking the risk upon themselves.
• Tipped off by Sly Genet, Rom is quick to replace one of its prominent statues with a joint work between Aldrich Kamali and Cyan Habreham of the Shapers’ College, depicting <SOMETHING PERFECT>
• ‘Great House’ Keelen reports that the matter is being handled.

• The Imperial Commission is reportedly “disappointed”.

• There is renewed collaboration between the Order of the Throne and the Order of the Torch.
• Great House Telemere rules that a polite depiction of the Muses as people held in the private collection of Cyan Habreham to be acceptable. Conversely, it rules that a depiction in the same collection depicting a scantily clad Rod should be destroyed. Enforcers from Telemere arrived at the collection to find Paladins of the Rod had already beaten them to it.
• Devout Phasael is notably not attacked by anyone.
• With the recent support for finding the origins for blasphemous depictions of the Muses outside of Rastaban, research is being conducted into where they might be found.
• An old servant of the Stingelhelm family has a nasty fall down a sheer drop in one of the older parts of the estate. They swear there was a staircase there yesterday.
• As observed by Garrek, Alicia d’Estena Rastova is put to death on Traitor’s Gate for her crimes.

• Cornelia Chol and Thaddeus Grimm bury their rivalry.
• Elias of Esteban and Devout Phasael bury their past disputes.
• Peleus Perin buries his envy of his older brother.
• The SILENT REGENT pardons Devout Cantara Helu for directing a misguided play depicting the Wheel as a person, which caused multiple citizens to enter into Error.

• +2 pieces of art depicting Muses as people. It would be reasonable to assume that displaying these in public would be Treason:
  • One depicts a shadowed man hiding behind a tree wearing a long black cloak, who is clearly depicting Shroud.
  • The other depicts a smiling woman sitting on top of a mountain, with many smaller people kneeling before her, clearly depicting the Throne.

• You study the scroll from Peleus.
• It is clear that this language is incredible bizarre, and seems to make no sense based on what is known of human lingusitics.
• You may recognise further instances of this language when you see it.
• Amidst the text is a particular symbol which you seem to recall from somewhere else but can’t quite put your finger on it:

• A part of their body becomes touched by the plane of Erosion.

• Handles a number of cases relating to the new Icon law and gains reputation as experienced with this area.
• Gives Mabel the scroll she was expecting.

• Performs a Ritual to get the ability to detect fragments of Glory in other people. It fails.
• Gains the ability to, by concentrating at close proximity on an unresisting or willing individual for 10s, determine whether or not the individual has a fragment of Glory within them.
• As a side effect, Glory gains another foothold within Aldrich’s mind. Exact effect TBC.

• Investigation into the pile of crappy Icons that were brought into the meeting finds a number of people who are deeply upset that their Icons were removed by a rapid and brutal one-man crusade by Grandmaster Marlon Grandwick himself.

• In the aftermath of the experiment, Sato is left reeling. Jeremiah is able to tend to the immediate effects of the Forest upon Sato's body - mostly the symptoms of dealing with a flu or strong fever - which eventually come down, thanks to his ministrations.
• Sadly, there is permanent scarring that cannot be healed - scars that look like the ridges and furrows of bark now cover nearly a third of Sato's body.
• It is unclear how this experience has affected Sato personally.