Part 46: Regarding Horus the Holy, High Protector of Fairlands

Regarding Horus the Holy, High Protector of the Domain of Fairlands



Horus the Holy, born in 1377 Horace of House Truesteel, is the second son of one of the baronial nobility of the Kingdom of Fairlands. With no expectation that he should assume the baronial title, he was free to pursue his own interests in study and religion under the priests of the Four High Gods, where he found he had an uncanny natural knack for magical learning, particularly with Sorcery. Although Bright magic did not come as naturally to him, he forced himself until he excelled his teachers in his expertise in Bright magic at the tender age of seventeen, and he dedicated himself body and soul to the gods. His reputation as a holy man grew, and many amongst both the peasantry and the nobility began to look up to him as a spiritual example and as a leader.

In 1399, believing himself to be compelled by the gods to make Fairlands a more holy land, he gathered amongst himself a number of barons willing to support him, and, under false pretenses, gained entry to the royal palace of the King of Fairlands with a band of armed men he had bolstered with magic. In one night, the entire royal line of Fairlands was slain, and Horus the Holy decreed a new Protectorate Council of his most pious followers with him at the head, abolishing the hereditary monarchy and installing himself as High Protector.

Horus the Holy is an austere and driven man, entirely dedicated to his belief that he is the chosen speaker for the gods. He disdains luxury and self-indulgence, and his only personal 'adornment' is actually a pendant of enchanted glass he uses to aid his formidable abilities as a wizard. He is greatly dedicated to increasing his magical powers, that he might better serve his appointed role. He has personally formulated a new doctrine of the gods, claiming that the free-will of the people on the worlds is a consequence of the action of the Dark Gods to sway people from perfect and inerrant obedience to the Bright Gods, and that to continue to hold to individual desires is an inherently sinful act. Though he is absolutely merciless to 'heretics' and unbelievers, he believes that his actions are ultimately for the good of all the folk under his rule, and he has a certain concern for the physical well-being of his subjects, even if this is ultimately secondary to what he perceives as their spiritual well-being. He has effectively ensured public order is his domain despite the harshness of his rule, and many of his people revere and love him as a living prophet of the gods.