"To change the world we must be good to those who cannot repay us" - Pope Francis

At the turning of the new age off at the far eastern lands of the Raman Empire was given birth the Religion which would dominate Western Europa; Christianity. It would suffer under the persecutions of many despots and emperors whose goal was beyond that of which the Church strived for, and such there was great tension and opposition to embrace Christianity for it was considered Taboo for the then Pagan empire. It would not be until the reign of Emperor Constantze in which he would oversee Christianity as the dominant, and then later on the official Religion of the empire.

Through this long process to integrate Christians into the empire it resulted in many problems for both the bureaucratic and religious systems, namely on many issues regarding interpretation of the Bible, systems and powers of the clergy, and numerous more which would lay dormant yet set the foundation which would split this unifying faith in the face of a greater enemy. With the Christian reforms largely succeeding for the most part, it allowed Emperor Constantze to centralize his power and, controversially, relocate the Capital of the Empire to the city of Byzontium; renaming it to Constantium.

With the founding of the Church proper it has allowed for the institution of the Church to also exist, no longer being a pariah in the Empire's borders, with it being another powerful political entity; akin to the patricians of old. However with the migration of barbarians coming from Germania into Gaulia came to be the end of the once whole Raman empire, with the west collapsing into several kingdoms and the east continuing to carry the flame of Rame into the present era; however tumultuous its position might be. The institution of the church was also affected by these events in many ways good and bad for the church and the followers of the faith.

Following the collapse of the Western part of the Empire the Institution of the church would be complicated due to the fragmentation into several different diocese; though the heart of the Church lay in the pentarchic order of the 5 most important cities for the administration of the Church. However this division over time began to change and divide the church, at first it was minor problems like what books should be considered part of the bible, etc. This would grow into fierce debates on many issues such as regarding interpretation of the bible and what traditions it would mean to follow, etc. These small but cracking divisions would imploded in the mid 11th century with the proclamation of the two churches; the Western Raman Catholic church and the Eastern Greese Orthodox church.

The Western Church was in a more precarious position as it was not ruled under one state, which the Eastern Church was, and such several key institutions were governed by separate entities, some of which were quite hostile in the churches involvement in their lands; seeing them as outside influence to their own rule. This was quickly rectified with the rise of the Frankish Empire. Starting off as a small pagan state birthed from the collapse of the Western Raman Empire in the 400s it quickly gained influence and power following the ascension of king Charlemagne to the Frankish throne in the 800s. Throughout his reign he waged many successful wars with his neighbors but also improved the stability and economic activity of the lands he ruled, akin to when Rame had once governed those lands. Charlemagne eventually was able to piece together most of the shattered remains of the Western Raman Empire into now formally the 'Frankish Gaullic Empire'. With this unification came also the power of the Church, which still held claimant to the Western Raman Empire, and with Charlemagne effectively uniting the Western Raman Empire had decided to coronate him as the Emperor of the "Holy Raman Empire"

This caused 2 major ramifications for the political situation in Europe. First and the most glaring being that of Raman Legacy, whilst the pope had coronated a new "Emperor" of the Ramans, there was still the Eastern Raman Empire that existed. Whilst no direct wars have been waged against the two, it began the first fragments between the Eastern and Western church. The second ramification it had regarding the creation of this new "Holy Raman Empire" is that it had inadvertently set the the continuous problem of the circular power between the pope and the emperor. As such led to an internal division in the politics of the HRE, this came to a head during the late 11th century when several counties and baronies in the northern and central parts of Italia, under Holy Raman Empire control, declared their allegiances to the pope rather than the Emperor, starting a series of wars, called the Rame-Vaienna controversy, against the HRE to remove their influence from the peninsula. These wars ultimately culminated in nothing major, more like a series of skirmishes and loud arguing at the other side, and eventually the Emperor of the HRE, King then Holy Raman Emperor Haroldson V, and then the pope of the time, Pope Callistis, came together to agree to mend the power balance between the two entities. However this feeling would not be shared with the current Holy Raman Emperor, Ottomark IV.

Following the growing rise of the churches influence due to both growing Oni and Vampire uprisings and attacks, particularly in the far east of Europa, this allowed the then Pope of the Raman Catholic Church, Camile II, and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantium, Spiridon, to spread their individual agendas throughout the lands in which nobles usually held the dominant power, especially in areas like Germania and Gaul, whilst most kingdoms welcomed the light of Christ's corporeal servants many felt as if the growing clergy were disconnected from the kingdom of god; one such ruler that shared this feeling would be Emperor Ottomark IV. In his early reign he voiced great displeasure with the state of the Raman Catholic church and wished for the church to stay in their own affairs, especially in Germania. In the later part of the 12th century the current head of the church, pope Camile II, unexpectedly had passed away in his sleep. Being the pope for the better part of 7 years he managed to uphold the careful balance and relationship between western and eastern churches, along with managing the numerous knights orders which maraud in and out of various conflicts and other such duties; he did well to keep the stability of the Raman Catholic church. Following his unexpected death the cardinals of the Vatican quickly prepared to inaugurate the next pope which shortly thereafter in the coming 2 weeks the next pope was named; Pope Johan.

To many of the hardliners in the church it came as a surprise due to the unorthodox nature of how Johan approached religious issues in the church and the general unpopularity Johan had in his clergy duties due to differing interpretations. Most controversially which Johan was known for was his support for not only magic toleration but normalization in both the church and broader society as a whole. Many hardliners felt as if his reforms and ideals were going to ruin the church in an irreversible way; with many speculating a potential schism to happen because of his ideals. However during this time Pope Johan made a herculean effort to convince the church as an institution that his ideals would not lead to anything bad and to generally calm everyone down. Even with this massive effort on his part there was still a large and growing majority that felt uneasy with how he was going to lead the church as a whole; with some more extreme groups outwardly decrying him as the anti-Christ, coming here to hijack the holiness of the church. One of the biggest opponents when it came to Johan and his reformist ideals was Ottomark IV. Due to the increased unrest in his realm due to both abhuman and magic practitioners uprisings and rebellions; fearing that Johan's ideals would only give these groups more power and influence in his realm as it was already. Ottomark IV would send a numerous amounts of letters and envoys to the Vatican to voice his displeasure, yet ruluctant cooperation, with the pope on the issues of paganism on the rise in the eastern parts of the HRE's realm. Things would seem to stabilize and calm down however going into a few months after his inauguration rumors began to circulate regarding Pope Johan's draft of a papal decree in regards to treatment of magic and magical users.

This imploded the inner structure of the church because if any decree that changes the church's stance on magic is put through it is considered something that the entire church, not just the Vatican, must adhere to and any such deviations to the stance could be charged with extreme punishments or worse; Ex-communication from the church itself. Though a large part of these rumors were largely built on unfounded evidence and speculation to the shock of the entire church during a regular meeting of the cardinals Johan would put out that he has been drafting a decree to a similar nature; named the "Iustus Magia" or "Just Magic" decree. It is said the cardinals in attendance went mad and began to shout at the Pope, hurling insults and threats at him, whilst many things were being thrown; the Vatican was embroiled in chaos. With the growing chaos happening someone was bound to be hurt and whilst a chair was thrown, a loud thud was heard landing on the ground, and to the shock of all as they quickly knew who had been hit by it; for it was the Pope, Johan.

Many of the cardinals rushed to his side but the blow from the chair had done in a good portion of his head, many feared the worst and rushed him to the Vatican's physician who tried all that he could to care to the stricken pope, however the damage done by the chair was more severe than what most knew. Only after 5 months and 28 days after his ascension to the highest position of the Raman Catholic church the Pope, Johan, was declared dead. This news sent shock throughout Italia, then to the wider world, as word began to spread quickly of the Pope's death, and to many Johanist sympathizers; blatant murder. A commission was quickly formed comprising of local lords, scholars, and clergymen in Italia to figure out the whole story of how the pope died. They began to interrogate the cardinals as to who threw the chair at the pope, with many of them ousting out Cardinal Mese as the one that threw the chair; even though Cardinal Mese was an avid support of Johan and his reformist views. The cardinals were split on the issue yet ultimately Cardinal Mese was charged with murder of the pope. With this being resolved it allowed the Vatican to orient themselves properly and focus on the major issue at hand; selecting the new pope to lead the church. Despite his short reign Johan had left an impression on many of the cardinals and leaders in the church. To a point that no side could agree on any candidate to become the pope; fearing that one side or the other would push their agendas through. However a radical proposal was put forth to which many of the cardinals agreed to; that was to make a well-known local priest in the Italia countryside as the pope.

Father Ferdinand was a well known and respected priest in the Northern Italia countryside, despite his fairly young age as a priest, who often took great care in his duties as a priest, handling charity, preaching the good word, and ensuring a stable presence of Raman Catholicism in the face of political uncertainty between the various kingdoms and baronies that occupy the lands. Whilst not being a puritan like many priests and bishops are in lands where there are a lot of abhuman and magic influences he holds the good word of the lord dearest to himself, not just as a Christian but as an individual. A envoy of Bishops were dispatched to Father Ferdinand to inform him of important matters in the Vatican; to which he accepted and began the journey to Rame. It was only when he arrived in the Vatican that he knew why he was brought there in the first place; witnesses described Father Ferdinand fainting at the revelation of his ascension to popehood. Whilst initially reluctant he knew what was at stake for the church as an institution and accepted the great privilege. On Christmas day of 1197 Father Ferdinand, born of low birth to a devout Christian family in the lands of Italia in which he then devoted his life to the service of his good lord, was coronated and became Pope Ferdinand of the Raman Catholic Church.

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Christian kings and Lord from both the Orient and Occident flocked to the new Pope, who they have heard to be quite generous, to seek his favor in both political and religious affairs they find themselves in. However Pope Ferdinand would maintain his distance, for he knew what became of popes who strayed away from their sacred duty and chose to indulge in the pleasures of the material world rather than the eternal salvation which his good lord will bring. However one monarch which he made great lengths to interact with is Emperor Ottomark IV of the HRE, making frequent envoy missions to his realm and vassals, ensuring the hold of the church's influence in these lands. Whilst Ottomark would normally be displeased with this influence in the past, it seems that new leadership has tempered his thoughts and begun to re-embrace the authority of the church. It was not only because of new leadership but also Ferdinand's somewhat neutral stance on the issue of magic and abhumans; something which he greatly was pleased at considering who Ferdinand had preceded as pope. Whilst it seemed that the relationship between the Raman Catholic Church and the HRE, once greatly intertwined with each other, would be mended a recent development had changed that course into something that would begin this era of uncertainty which the current Church is in right now.

During a visit to the lands of the HRE, Pope Ferdinand and his entourage would be attacked by forests bandits in the lower parts of Germania. Despite being able to easily calling upon any of the tens upon hundreds of thousands of soldiers devoted to protecting Christianity the Pope opted to travel without any guard stating in the aftermath that "One of the holy commandments is "thou shalt not kill" and whilst many Christians interpret it in many ways I see it as my duty, as pope, to uphold the lord's word to the fullest; if I cannot then what position am I to be pope? I extend that to those who are close to me; they shalt not spill any blood." Being outnumbered and without any real means to defend themselves these bandits took hostage of the pope and his entourage. For days they were held captive by these bandits, and despite the torture they endured they were in good health, but at this point many people had wondered where the pope had disappeared to; causing a slight unease to fill the minds of people who were ready to receive the pope at their destination. Ultimately their escape would come, however it would not be at the hands of god or his intervention but rather men whom the church had vilified since its establishment. A bishop, Bishop John, who accompanied the pope during his travel gave his recount of the event which led to their escape from the bandits:

> It was the fortnight since we got captured by the bandits in which we heard unusual noises coming from where they normally would be sleeping and/or patrolling to ensure we hadn't slipped out into the night. We were tied by our hands and feet to a wooden post they had erected in the ground near a small cave entrance near their camp; most of us either stood or laid on the ground during our capture but with this unusual situation most of us stood. Ferdinand was amongst the first to alert us of the strange noises to which we quieted our conversations and prayers to listen. The bandits which took us hostage were screaming in their Germanic tongue; even with the one bishop that understood Germanian in our party he could not decern what they said. Eventually their screams stopped and we prepared for ourselves to be attacked by whatever animal or beast they encountered; even with the large amount of men they had a bear could easily take all of them on. However to our bewilderment we found that what had attacked these bandits was not a bear but rather several hooded figures of human form, carrying all manner of weapons such as spears, daggers, and bows; even though it was quite dark at this moment their silhouettes contrasted greatly against the campfire from the camp . Though we tried to maintain our composure we all feared that we were going to be captured again by bandits who had more intent to kill than those who took us in the first place. However to our amazement they lifted their hoods and dropped their weapons before us; the a gaping of the mouths of all the bishops and even Ferdinand himself was evident. These humans had unusually pointed ears and an aura which conveyed a sense of divinity even though they were clearly borne from the dirt of this earth. They spoke to us in near perfect Latim of their intent with us:

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> "Be not afraid holy men of the human world, we hold no intent to harm you. We wish to speak with your leader, Ferdinand, in privacy."

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> All of us protested this idea but, ever open, Ferdinand decided to humor this request from these odd people. They untied him first and led him a ways away into the forest. If they spoke some degree of Latim they must be quite educated and civil; compared to many such other peoples who seem to only speak as if their tongue had been bent in a way that made speaking Latim an impossible task. We all waited anxiously to see if these people would honor their agreement with the pope. We all prayed to make sure that the one man keeping the whole church together at this moment is well; to which it seemed our prayers were answered after all. Returning from where they led him, Ferdinand returned, to the joy of many of the bishops. He appeared to be in better condition than when we left previously but we were solely focused on being able released and to make haste; many people would be worried at this point. Those odd people we never saw again as Ferdinand help to untie us from our captivity and to ushered us to begin preparations to go back on our visit.

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> When we arrived at our destination of the Lord of Sweinslenburg's Castle, he took note of our condition and rushed to get us treated after our journey. When questioned about what had happened I was about to explain to him, but Ferdinand had cut me off before I could speak and simply said that we had gotten lost and encountered some stray dogs which attacked us. He had lied. He then shot me an unusual glare from him, as if to say "You have no authority here, do not speak Bishop John." So I stayed quite about my account of events. We quickly wrapped up our business and began our journey back to the Vatican. All throughout the return journey Ferdinand's face was different from his usual self. He held a face which was optimistic and bright-eyed, giving to his calm and agreeable nature. Now he holds a face of contemplation, that belonging to not the scholars of today but the philosophers that hail from ancient Greese. I do not know what he discussed with those odd people but whatever it was it made him think continuously without stop. Even when we stopped to rest and camp for the night he still contemplated something. Even when we returned to Rame he still held that thoughtful look. That one discussion with those pointy-eared folk had caused Ferdinand to contemplate something that he could not stop thinking about. I pray that whatever it is it is something holy, rather than something unholy clouding his mind with its temptations.

To the blissfulness of many people in the human world, especially in the church, pope Ferdinand had encountered a group of enigmatic abhumans, which from the description given by Bishop John suggest they're the people known as "Elves". Elves have been a dominant abhuman species in Germania, even before the rise of the HRE, and been struggling to keep their lands in their control as Humans have begun to settle these lands; fueling the instability in Germania. Whilst it was never said what was discussed between these Elves and Ferdinand at the very least it left an impression; some would say the spark which has led the current church into the direction it is going at now. In the summer of 1199 Pope Ferdinand enacted the controversial "Magia Toleratio" decree. An official decree from the Vatican and the Pope itself. Under this decree many things would be instituted to be changed in terms of the stance the church has on Magic users and Abhumans. Most controversially in regards to two aspects of this written decree:

1. The abolishment of the death penalty for any person found to be using magic, combat or otherwise, and must be treated regularly on the same level as those of convicted of mild criminal behavior, such as theft. This is applicable to all Monasteries and Kingdoms that have some form of lawful jurisdiction and associates with the Western Raman Catholic Church; this decree overriding any local laws made in relation to this. With each accusation for the usage of magic being dealt with independent tribunals overseen by members of the local clergy. If the case is severe enough it will be dealt with by the Vatican itself.

2. The writing and overall prose of the decree not matching up to how pope Ferdinand usually writes, with many scholars speculating the origin of the decree; with many oppositions to the decree and overall ideals it puts forth implicating that a good chunk of it was written not by Ferdinand himself but rather his previous successor, Pope Johan, with his speculated "Iustus Magia" decree being an inspiration at best and downright plagiarism at worst.

These two factors set the internal workings of the church on fire, as both reformist and traditionalist factions, which was tempered with the ascension of Ferdinand to popehood, began to reignite their inner factionalism with each other; with many reported monasteries and churches having physical fights with one another's members on this issue of magic usage. Many kings and lords reacted in different ways to the news of this decree being passed, some being sympathetic to the reforms whilst others felt the church was over-stepping their boundaries as a political entity that is meant to be a mediator between kingdom's disputes. The one that reacted the most aggressively to the decree was Ottomark IV of the HRE, with many reporting that angry yelling could be heard from day to night from his castle. Ottomark IV condemned the Papal decree and detached their church institutions from the influence of the Vatican itself due to the ramifications it would have in its efforts to conquer Germania from the various abhuman kingdoms it faces off. However it would not just be met with aggression, the Albion churches reacted with great support for the decree and its effort to mend the relationship between the church and magic usage. For now as it stands just several months after the decree was announced a rising tension between the HRE and the Papal State has existed ever since. The Germanian break-away church has not been condemn at all by the Vatican as of yet, seeking for a peaceful re-integration into the wider Raman Catholic Church after the tensions and dust has settled.

Though that is for the future, as it stands Pope Ferdinand has been kept under immense watch and protection by the Papal Guards and Church as a whole; due to speculations of a planned assassination attempt against him by hardliner traditionalists which still exist in the church now. The HRE doesn't fair any better, due to rising health complications and the wear the constant battles and wars he has waged in Germania Ottomark IV is in poor health. Not only for him but also his realm as the spark has turned into a raging inferno, with the various Abhuman kingdoms working more closely together now against their shared enemy, with many scholars even predicting the largest war in Germania is about to begin, with both sides gearing up for their eventual final confrontation against one another. Will the Bulwark of the HRE, established all those centuries ago, and it's strength be able to hold their lands in this coming war or will the power of these abhuman groups persist and crush the HRE decisively, undoing centuries worth of expansion and rule in mere years; if that is to be the result what will happen in Germania? Will they make peace with us or will they remember the persecutions and vow revenge on us all? This is an era of great uncertainty, not just for the rulers in charge that play this game of chess but also the pieces themselves; the ordinary folk and soldiers of both worlds. "Deus Misereatur Nostri" "May god have mercy on us."