The Priors of Veylin
From the county of Leyawiin to the dominate of Spatharia, the reach of the eight is carried by many.
Veylin Priory
Veylin Priory was established in the year 2E 429 by Attivus Caelus Tibolear, a radical and militant clergyman dedicated to spreading the word of the Eight, and abolishing slavery across all of Tamriel.
The torch of leading the priory and associated brotherhood of knights has been passed with each generation, currently held and led by Prior Decortius.
In recent years, Prior Decortius has shifted the focus of the priory, and the Knights as a whole, from its former radical elements to more holistic and altruistic endeavors.
Now, Prior Decortius tends to the peoples of Spatharia with many of his priors, while maintaining hold of land and employment with his fellow brothers in the county of Leyawiin.
The priory itself trades goods and services to the people and regions around. The clergy within the priory offer religious and medical services, as well as simple handyman work.
Though largely self-sufficient, the priory does import various goods to maintain its larder. These goods range from grains and vegetables to salted meats.
It is located two days ride from Leyawiin, northwest, on horseback near a small forest in the county of Leyawiin.
Decortius Arrentia Ducurio
Born on the 31st of Morning Star 2E 529 on the family homestead of the Ducurios, a day's ride from the city of Leyawiin in the county of the same namesake.
His father, a stout and dependable man by the name of Cornelius, had provided Decortius a strong foundation for the growth of responsibility and ethics. His mother, a kindly woman by the name of Solomnia lay the seeds of empathy and kindness.
What his parents could not prepare him for, however, was his own naivete. At the age of sixteen, he departed from his homestead and joined the Knights of the broken shackles, where his life was changed forever.
years of conflict, liberating and killing, the damnation of his ethos and soul. Decortius had spent thirty years rising through the ranks of the brotherhood. It was during these long years, that he discovered the truths of the eight.
Assuming the mantle of responsiblity over the brotherhood of knights, and its sister priory, decortius implemented radical changes to remove corrupt and harmful elements to the word of the eight, and to the lives the brotherhood was sworn to protect.
in recent years, and for the last twenty before, decortius has guided the priors of Veylin, and the knights, into a unified force that promotes honor and integrity, devotion to the eight, and charity to those less fortunate.
On Ethos and Perceptions
Decortius started his youthful adventures within the Knights of the Broken Shackles naive, boisterous. As the years dragged on, and more time was spent within the corruption of the brotherhood he had enmeshed with, Decortius had grown more apathetic and jaded, unable to reconcile the actions he had taken over the years.
During one of his missions, he had experienced a moment of divine clarity. Through the ultimate sacrifice of many through the release of Stendarr's Mercy, he began to understand the deeper layers to the will and law of the Eight.
This epiphany allowed him to see that the actions taken by him and his brothers were truly perverse and ran counter to the will of the eight that they claimed to venerate, and dishonored the sacrifices of the alessians an age past.
Decortius had sought atonement and salvation within the eight, dedicating his life to serving them as man was intended to do so. charity, mercy, love, toil.
He is, however, as much a mortal man as everyone else. with topics of sensitivity, namely around those he calls his daughters, as well as the treatment of those unable to tend to their own lives or children, he embodies the wrath of stendarr. mercy begets righteous fury and his militant roots brandish themselves like steel.
However irrational he gets in those moments, he is able to temper himself - usually. These moments provide him clarity, and the ability to see the truth to why such travesties or hostilities occur and to provide sagacious insight as to how to proceed or circumvent.
Decortius views everyone his junior as his children, and strives to elevate their thinking to encompass the world with understanding and empathy rather than ignorance and apathy.
On The Familiarity of Faces
Decortius has formed many connections over the years, and has experienced many passings in kind. Of those whom he still holds dear to his heart, or keeps apprised of his happenings and likewise to theirs, these are his thoughts.
Indahlia Vantius
"My first daughter. I remember the day that you were brought to my doors, all those years ago. I have watched you grow into the woman you are today, and I could not be more proud of you. Though, I admit your choice of profession has fostered a kernel of concern, I trust in your abilities and your judgement. You have always been a tempering agent to my own irrationality, and I will love and cherish you always."
Rhiannon Auclair
"Rhiannon, I remember when you were ushered through the doors of the priory after being taken from Evermore. You were this frail thing, but you bit back like a cornered animal. You have tried my patience more times than I can count, but I would be lying if I said I did not cherish every moment I watched you grow. You have become my second daughter, and even though we sometimes do not see eye-to-eye, I will love and support you however you need me to, until the ground swallows me whole."
Iram Andolinus
"Oh, Iram. You have not long been under my care and tutelage, but I have found you to be a sharp and intelligent individual. A bit too selfish at times for my liking; but beneath your vanity and antagonisms, I see the soul of a boy who strives to please. I sometimes feel like you seek to have me replace your father; and while I see you as something of a son to me, I fear I can never give you what you were neglected as a child. In time, you will grow and fly from the roost; and when you do, you will have my blessings. Always."
Volund Decentius
"The self-proclaimed Emperor-Regent of the Dominate of Spatharia. You are a cold, calculated man. Irrational. Blind to the world around you save for what you can take from it. You build cities of beauty and utility, but you neglect your people at their most fundamental levels. You do not truly see them as anything but assets, much like your soldiers. Your palatina, your legionaries, your domina. I fear that, unless you are able to open your eyes, you will lose sight of all and be blind to reality, always in delusion. I hope I can help you see the light before it is too late."
Cadmor Bull-Horn
"I am not sure how to feel about you, Bull-Horn. On one hand, I see a man desperately trying to break free from the cage of his upbringing and the trauma that ensnared you in the years that followed. On another, I see a rabid beast, beset by some curse - but feral beyond even that. Sometimes, I admit, it is hard to see you as a person. This is a flaw I acknowledge in myself, for even those twisted to weapons by war, are still men nevertheless. I have committed to trying to help guide you into something you are not. The Eight as my witness, I will try all I can and know. I just hope that I can break through your walls before your insanity hurts those around you, and those I care about."
Lucius Parthax
"The Decurion. Former? I know not. Such titles flow back and forth interchangeably. In you, I see a sad man. War has changed you, and not for the better. You fell off the path, the one oh-so-delicate. You, Parthax, have become your own worst enemy. Alcohol is your vice, and it saves you none. I know not what I can do, if anything, to help you. The darkness that consumes you is something only you can truly conquer. But, that is what you are. A conqueror. Perhaps you should try to overcome yourself, rather than the closest bottle of booze or woman. If you don't, your anger is going to hurt someone you care about, or I care about. I cannot promise Stendarr's Mercy if you do."
On The Familiarity of Faces
Caius Lavinius
"We have not spoken much, Caius. However, from what I have gleaned from our conversations, is that you are a damaged vessel. In you, I see Iram, but twisted into something that I cannot hope to unravel. You are strong, capable, but your perceptions are clouded by your own ego. You don't portray it much, but it is in your tone. Your verbiage. the nuances in which you act. I can see the pain in you, and how you were forced to adapt. I just hope you are able to see yourself, truly, before you hurt someone dear to me."
Constantius Tarvis
"You are a cold individual. But, like many others in your profession, I can see that it is another layer of armor that you use to protect yourself. Unlike many, though, through your words but not your tone, you were able to convey to me that your heart is intact. Damaged, as war and tragedy does, but there nonetheless. Take care of my daughter, Tarvis. Guide her when I cannot, give her the tools to survive in this cruel world. Show her that, even with death and war, new things can grow. Like the snowberries you talked to me about."
Eva Bishop
"I have not interacted much with Miss Bishop. I know she at least hails, recently, from Evermore - of which, I learned that many of our attaches or cohorts are. Still, she knows her craft. She seems sad, though. Running a hospital prepares one to see death, but a warfront makes the suffering of such care pale in comparison. I fear she will break under the strain - soften uncontrollably, or harden immeasurably. Only time will tell."
Minimus Merus
"I admit that I have mixed feelings regarding this Bosmer. Not because of her heritage, but her actions and words. I try to avoid pitying her, for it seems she resents what she is, on account of the treatment she received from her family out of Skingrad. Racism of the noblest degree. I try to understand. But, her choices to serve the Worm Cult cause me to worry about her stability - and her hostility towards my daughter invokes my ire. Patience, I must endeavor for."
Marius Vatallion
"One of many broken soldiers who I have found to be in the company of Volund. He tries to care too much, while forcing himself to not care at all. He embodies irony and contradiction. Still, I see his heart bleeding. He believes that he has betrayed his fallen comrades by surviving. Such guilt is commonplace amongst soldiers. But, he has to overcome it. If not for himself, then his daughters. Time will tell if he can."
Mariana Nautius
"I admit that I have had few interactions with the Domina. I know she is a priestess of dibella, something advised to me by a noblewoman who was in attendance of the court for a time. Miss Falco, I believe. She warned me against degrading beliefs, which amused me. I do not admonish the domina for her choice in worship, or how. Nor would I admonish her even were she not a priestess. If she is happy with her path, and is devoted to the eight, then that is all that is needed. Of which, she is devoted. I have seen her charity in action and her adherence to the Divines. A soft, tempering agent to Volund. But, I feel though she should assert herself more. She should be seen as his equal, not his servant."
Iram Tirtius Andolinus
Starting as the stablekeep at the priory, he quickly asserted himself as a capable and strong-willed asset to Veylin and Decortius himself. He remains uncertain as to why he was originally selected for the position itself, having joined the ranks of his fellow priors only to reclaim his familial birthright.
However, he rose to the challenge of the base work. Over the years, he achieved a degree of peace within himself, learning that the rigors of maintaining a steed allowed him to discover the responsibility of tending to others.
Now, Iram has grown to be a powerful proponent of the priory and is rumored to be in line to replace decortius upon his abdication or passing.
The Fellow Priors
I have many brothers, here, at the priory. Some, I have grown closer to than others. But, I love and respect them all the same. Of the twenty-three priors in service to Veylin and the Eight, these are my most trusted.
Decortius - Grandmaster
Iram - Stablekeeper
Maybell - Groundskeeper
Tehyl - Blacksmith
Alvor - Tailor
Sejan - Carpenter
Ironius - Cryptminder
Varien - Quartermaster
Theyvin - Prior
Barus - Prior