>>5776117>>5776121>>5776142>>5776168>>5776206''The Cathars, the grail and Montsalvat'' The title reads. The author's name under it has been crossed out by the furious scribbling of the quill. The binding is old and plain, but surprisingly sturdy. Despite the somewhat odd placement and the plainness of the book itself you can't help but take it. Moving quickly, you sit down at the nearest reading table. Amidst the busy students whom are all studying.
The book, for the most part simply talks about the Cathars or Albigensians, after the French town of Albi which was a stronghold of their faith during the middle ages. The Cathars rejected the old testament of the bible as false and considered the god of the new testament as the sole god. In a struggle with the evil god from the old testament. They also practiced a form of gnosticism. Considering the world to be an evil place created by the god of the old testament.
Their dualism and gnosticism got them branded as heretics by the Roman-Catholic church whom had the kings of France persecute them into extermination. This mostly took place in southern France from where some Cathars fled into the Pyrenees for refuge. Yet this was not to be for the French hunted them even there, eliminating the heretics by the 14th century.
The later chapters focus more on addressing the rumours that the Cathars had the holy grail. The official, yet printed text mostly attempts to dissect these rumours through an academic lens, yet there are multiple footnotes, written in an aristocratic cursive style of writing, most of the claims made in these notes seem nonsensical at best, schizophrenic at worst. Yet you can't seem to dismiss them. They talk about connections between the Cathars, the grail, the Arthurian mythos, Richard Wagner and so much more. The writer of these notes also seems to worry about ''the order'' silencing him.
Yet you don't have much tine to worry about that. You decide to take the book with you, you quietly drop into your bag and you make your way back outside.
Worrying about some order? ppffft, you have more existential fears to worry about then some ancient order disappearing some mad vandal of books
It is late november 1912 and all of Europe is a powder keg poised to explode. The Balkan states have declared war upon the ever declining Ottomans to seize the remainder of the Turks European territories. The great power have not yet intervened in the conflict but who know how long they will remain on the sidelines.
You can only hope that your own country remains neutral.
Select a home country
>The United Kingdom (may select an extra language)>France (Bonus to Charisma)>The Netherlands (Bonus to navigation)>Austria-Hungary (can traverse mountains easier)>The German Empire (Bonus to melee weapon)>The Kingdom of Italy (Bonus to unarmed) 