Following the arrest and incarceration (without trial!) of some of our members for minor infractions, AD LIBERTATEM is now a secret organisation.
[BACKGROUND STORIES][See also the first and subsequent posts below. Every character joining is encouraged to write a story of how they came to distrust the establishment and join Ad Libertatem]
You walk into Kada El's, tired and quite thirsty after a hard day's work of mining and killing several creatures- harvesting their assorted parts for sale to various merchants. After ordering a pint of your favourite drink, you head over to a cozy chair by the fireplace to take a well-deserved rest. You notice that someone has left several leaflets out on the tables, though the tavern itself is empty so you have no idea who. After scanning the first few lines, you shout at the bartender.
"Allelia! Who left these pamphlets here? I doubt the Vigesimi would approve of the political message! Wouldn't want my favourite inn to get shut down!"
"Don't shout in my bar!" She bellows back, and then thinking a bit adds- "No idea, you know that all sorts of shady characters come in here!"
'Hrumph' you think to yourself. Settling down into your chair, you take a sip of your drink, and since you left your usual book at Jayose' Library and out of curiosity, you have a read through the pamphlet.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Something is Rotten in the Dome... Read this before you place any trust in our 'leaders'
A weary and bedraggled Klyros banged his fist against the sodden stone wall. "What I wouldn't give for a pipe of the old Diaboli fern right now! Damn you all!" He let out a long sigh, and slumped back down onto the cold slabs of rock, his chains jingling in a sound that had now become all too familiar. He noticed a few fresh drops of blood fall from the sores his shackles had caused.
The Klyros could see the rain pouring down outside the small window of his cell. Its sweet scent was masked by the stale odor of having gone many days without washing, combined with the malodorous musk of the large globs of mould growing inside the prison. A small arangma dropped down from the ceiling and scurried along the floor though a small crack. The Klyros didn't even notice.
He wasn't sure how many days had been spent inside the cell. The only daily occurrence was the few bits of dried clacker meat that were anonymously thrown through the window, for there was not even a door. The only way out was through magick, and only the vigesimi knew the spells. If the prison warden had varied the meals slightly, he possibly could have kept track of the days, but they were all blurring together now. The worst of it was that when the clacker meat was chucked into the cell, half the time, or even more often, it landed out of reach and was snatched up by a rat or some other such vermin. Not that it mattered, it was usually rotten and inedible anyway. The Klyros' belly ached with the pangs of hunger.
The only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that at some point, some completely unknown and unfathomable future point in time, he would have a hearing in front of the Hydlaa council. He knew that Amidison Stronghand- the Hydlaa vigesimi, would be one of his judges, and Jefecra Harcrit, head of the guards, another. Datal Allavium, the vigesimi of the winch would likely be present, considering the trumped-up charge of his "illegal" presence in the winch area. All told there would be five in attendance, but he didn't know who the other two would be. Presiding over the farce would of course be the Octarch, which caused great worry to the Klyros. In what conceivable way would the Octarch believe a so-called rogue spy over the testimony of his trusted advisors. The exhausted Klyros let out another long sigh and attempted to sleep. His dreams invariably took him back to that ill-fated moment when he was caught.
Interested? You can read more of this story and those of other members amongst the arcane tomes of lore of other liberals.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OUR ORGANISATIONAd Libertatem is an organisation of like-minded individuals who believe in freedom from oppression and the right to liberty. While some of our members would consider themselves anarchists, most are simply libertarians. We do not have one single mission or goal, except to promote a free society.
WE BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING:1. The Octarchs are narcissistic figureheads born into wealth and privilege and lacking any sense of reality. The unelected Vigesimi are in control of Yliakum and completely corrupted by their power. There is no system of accountability to the citizens of Yliakum. Think of the laws that have been written that unjustly allow for the Vigesimi to acquire more wealth and control! From the Octarchal Decree of 425 AY:- III. "No person shall be deprived of their property except... or direct intervention of a Vigesimi or Octarch."
- XIII. "Anyone not making productive use of their lands shall have them seized by the Octarchy. A Vigesimi may seize any lands they deem needed for the preservation of the Octarchy with their Octarch's consent without public or private reprisal."
- XIV. "Any lands deemed by the Vigesimi to be required for governmental use will be exploited to the pleasure of the government..."
- XV. "Mines and other resources may be seized by Octarchal authority without prior warning."
How can such a callous disregard for the rights of the people be allowed? There is no system of grievance, and no ability to replace a corrupt Vigesimi...
- XXI. "Racism and racially motivated speech shall not be tolerated."
While this is of course a great liberty, more can be done! Why do the Vigesimi only allow marriage between a man, woman or kran? Why are marriages not allowed between man and man, woman and woman or kran and kran? What absurd hypocrisy!
2. The Iron Hand (Priests of Laanx) are corrupted by their greed and ostentation. Likewise, the Conclave of the Glyphs (Priests of Talad) are corrupted by their own self-righteousness. While we cannot deny the existence of the gods, we can deny them worship and their temples patronage.- It is a fallacy to think that the worship of the gods is necessary for resurrection- books by the Death Realm librarian Londris Kolaim state this clearly. Additionally, the temples beguile the gullible into donating their hard-earned tria 'for the betterment of society.' Ask yourself, what have the temples done for you recently?
3. The Circles of Ways are corrupted by their restrictions on the knowledge and practice of inter-way magick, and the shadowcasters are denied access to tomes privileged information reserved only for exclusive masters.- The Circles have imposed such stringent restrictions on the trade of glyphs that currently only basic ones are available to purchase Ironically, this has resulted in a black market trade of the more powerful ones through rogue characters, providing them with considerable money and influence. Make all glyphs available to purchase and this black market trading will cease!
- The Circles have also made it a point to not provide information about the proper combinations of glyphs to create spells. Without this knowledge, many hurt themselves attempting reckless combinations. This practice of withholding knowledge must end!
STRUCTUREIn Ad Libertatem, you will find support from others in the organisation, but you may do what you wish. [We encourage roleplay] and interaction with others but there are no rules, and no ranks. Any member may invite another to join as a
'Dissident Recruit' and once you meet a few others you can decide to join one of the following seven cabals:
***SECRET POSITION*** Shrewd Brigand:Consider yourself a deceitful, conniving and skilled thief or swindler? The Brigands are for you! Of Course- you're just robbing from the rich and selling to the poor right? It's only the fair and just redistribution of wealth!
Cunning Assassin: Enjoy hiding in the shadows and fighting dirty? The Assassins know there is no such thing as a fair fight, and laws only apply to those who are caught.
***SECRET POSITION*** ***SECRET POSITION***Banished Shadowcaster: Enjoy practicing destructive or seditious magick? The Octarchal laws are very restrictive on where and how you can practice the forbidden, and the Circles are very secretive with all but the best masters. This Cabal encourages the free practice and sharing the knowledge of spells and other forbidden arcane arts.
***SECRET POSITION***There is finally a
'Guardian' of the Organisation. This position is a formality [and a technical restraint] and he/she/kra has no more power than any full member. They are responsible for keeping other members informed and acting as a mediator in discussions of policy.
JOIN AD LIBERTATEM AND TOGETHER WE WILL FREE OURSELVES FROM TYRANNY AND OPPRESSIONContact any suspected member of Ad Libertatem for more information. Just say; "the secret of happiness is freedom."
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