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Ordo AcerbusOrdo Acerbus DevotioDevotio

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- Compiled from the teachings and sermons of Abbot Hugo,- Compiled from the teachings and sermons of Abbot Hugo,Superior General of the Order, and translated from the Latin.Superior General of the Order, and translated from the Latin.

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Know this every one of you will perish in the service of the

Order. Save for your brothers and sisters within the Order, no-

one will ever know your sacrifice. Those we protect and serve

must never know of our actions, or even of our existence.

We are ordo acerbus devotio, the Order of Bitter Piety, because

we must serve in shadow and silence. Our works must go

unseen.

We are the instruments of Gods plan. The Lords plan mustbe protected and shielded from those who would undo His

works. It is the duty of our order to defend Christendom

and the Church from all her foes within and without. It

is the duty of our order, too, to destroy those enemies whose

existence cannot be countenanced. And it is the duty of our

order to conceal ourselves from the simple common folk, from

the greedy merchants and grasping nobles, and even from our

fellow servants of God. Our work is solely for the initiated.

As initiates of the Order, you will go where you are needed, at

the behest of your Masters. You will seek out the enemies of

God and bring them down. You will be the hammer of witches

and the killer of monsters. You will be our instrument, just as

we are Gods. We will make you into holy weapons and fill

you with righteous fury.

You are mortal. You shall die, unknown and unmourned, and

your deeds will be forgotten.

O, but my brothers and sisters, your rewards shall be great

indeed in heaven.

On The History of the OrderThe true history of the Order may not be revealed to you at your

level of initiation. It is a secret only the Masters are privy to, but

you may know that our brotherhood is an ancient one, far older

than any of the Benedictine congregations. Our brothers walked

the roads of the Holy Land ten centuries ago. I say this not out

of pride, but out of humility, in the hopes that you too will

realise the enormity of our sacred task and be likewise humbled

before it. The serpent of pride is ever watchful, hoping to sting

those initiates who mistake the power and authority granted

them by the Order for their own grandeur.

Within these walls, we refer to our Order as the Ordo Acerbus

Devotio, but this is but a private joke shared amongst our

cynics. In the wider world, we may wear the habits of othersas suits our needs, becoming Benedictines or Cistercians or

village priests or mad-eyed prophets or brigands or whores

and heretics if our duty commands it of us. Of late, some

initiates call themselves Joachimites, after Joachim of Fiore

who is a friend to our Order, but this too is nothing but a

by-name. Others refer to use as the Order of St. Michel, after

our home.

In truth, our Order has no name. Names are unnecessary.

The only identity we bear is in our blessed rings. Anyone who

recognises the ring you bear will understand what it means

and give you whatever aid and succour they can; anyone who

does not recognise your ring is not permitted to know your

purpose anyway.

On the Nature of the OrderOurs is a secret and singular Order. We admit male and

females equally, and make little distinction between the sexes.

Our initiates are granted exceptional leeway to accomplish

their tasks as they see fit, by any means necessary. Our purpose

is not to teach or to glorify Gods name through prayer, it is to

protect and shepherd His most holy Church.

Most important of all, our members are held to be in a state

of Extraordinary Grace. Whatsover you do, so long as it is

in the direct service of the Order, is a pure and sinless act.

There is nothing that cannot be forgiven if your intent is

utterly pure. A member of our Order might lie, steal, cheat,

murder until his hands ran red with the blood of a hundred

martyrs, or fornicate with Beelzebub on the very altar of this

church, and yet be free of sin if he did all these things in theservice of the Order.

This must not be taken as license to sin. You will answer

for any sins you commit of your own free will. Beware the

temptation to claim that you act in accordance with the

Order, when in fact you follow your own sinful desires. Grace

is extended only to those who are deserving of it; among the

worst blights on Christendom are those former brothers and

sisters of ours who have fallen because they believed themselves

incorruptible. Extraordinary Grace must be seen as a terrible

burden, not a gift.

On The Duties of the OrderThe sacred purpose of our Order is to shepherd Christendom

along the path of the divine plan. Every soul we save is another

step on that long journey towards the final enlightenment of

all Mankind. The Masters of the Order will instruct you on

certain vital tasks, but these always remember these duties.

You must watch for signs of corruption and sin, especially

those inspired by supernatural evils. Where you find such

evils, you must destroy them. Suffer not the witch to live, nor

the demon to remain on this earthly plane. Where possible,

you must learn all you can about your foe before putting them

to the sword, so that the Order may better fight such dangersin the future. Books of black magic and forbidden lore should

be brought back to the abbey so that those monks trained in

such matters may catalogue them.

Knowledge is dangerous. The Church is the only true light

of wisdom in this world, and must be the gatekeeper of all

learning. Certain things are permissible for the common

folk to know, but other things must be concealed. The use of

magic, the true nature of certain monsters, the use of various

arts and devices from ancient times or other cultures, all of

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these imperil the unwary soul. Better you burn down a village,

sending the souls of everyone within to their judgement, than

let perilous knowledge escape that town into the wider world.

A man may be damned by a whisper, if his soul is not fortified

against such blandishments.

You must protect Christendom from enemies, within

and without. The Saracen, the corsair, the barbarian, the

bandit, the false prophet, the heretic: all of these are to beslain without compunction. You must also intercede where

sin has overthrown the appointed order of society to a very

troublesome intent. Should a lord grind his peasants into the

earth, and make them toil tenfold while neglecting his own

responsibilities, should a corrupt monk sell indulgences and

keep the money instead of giving the Church its dues, should

madmen plot to overthrow their rightful lord, or should some

foolish scholar delve into teachings forbidden by wiser men

in these times too may your skills be put to the Lords work.

Any deviation from the path must be corrected, for the good

of all souls in Christendom.

On The Structure of the OrderThe General Superior is the head of the Order, and is

subordinate only to the Pontiff himself.

Under the General Superior are the Claustral Priors,

Obediantiary Priors and Preceptors. The Claustral Priors

reside here, in the Mont St-Michel, and each of them oversees

a different aspect of our Orders duties. The Prior of Medicine

is concerned with the healing of the sick, the diagnosis of

disease, and the preparation of poison. The Prior of Arms

is responsible for the training of novices in combat and the

use of weapons, as well as the defence of the monastery. The

Prior of the Archives maintains the library and archival vaults

beneath the rock.

The Obediantiary Priors are in charge of the other monasteries

of our Order across Christendom, and of the various satellites

and lesser priories here in Normandy where novices are

trained. The Preceptors command the scattered outposts and

secret fortresses of the Order.

Together with certain respected individuals, these Priors and

Preceptors are collectively referred to as the Masters, and advise

the Superior General on what must be done. The Masters

reside in the Mont St-Michel or their respective priories andpreceptries, and are not committed to the field save for tasks

of grave importance.

On the Teaching of InitiatesAll of you are Initiates of the Order. Some of you, we took

from your mothers womb or as a young child, and we

brought you up in a sheltered priory where your body and

mind could be honed without interference from the outside

worlds. Others, we recruited because of your natural gifts, or

accomplishments, or because of your position in society.

Still others, we took you in because this is the only place left

to you you saw or discovered secrets that it is not permissible

for the uninitiated to know. You, most especially, must commit

your hearts to this Order, lest your just punishment fall upon

you threefold.

No matter how you came here, you have all been instructed in

the methods of the Order. We have taught you to fight with

weapons and without, to vanish in plain sight and to move likea shadow, how to live like a beggar and live like a king, and how

to discern the truth thought it be clouded in deceits. We have

taught you the use of our secret arts, of poison and choking

fogs and secret writings and other alchemical compounds, and

the use of our mechanical tools and superior weapons. I tell

you this, there is no better school in all the world, and there is

no mortal foe you cannot defeat in single combat. You are the

perfect instruments of Gods plan.

You have been tested, and you will be tested again, but for

now you are worthy enough to continue in our service. From

this point on, your life belongs to the Order. Fail, and all of

Christendom falls with you.

On the Abbey of Mont St-M ichelThe LORD said unto his chief disciple, thou art Peter and

upon this rock do I build my church. The rock that was

ordained for us by the Archangel Michael himself is this one.

Our island is accessible from the mainland only by a narrow

road, and that road floods at high tide; the water races across

the flats swifter than horses can run. Here, on this sheltered

island, we have built our abbey and our chief sanctum.

Outsiders believe Mont St-Michel to be merely a wealthy

monastery following the Rule of St. Benedict.

They believe what we permit them to believe.

Initiates, you have seen but a tiny part of the secrets of this

isle. There are tunnels beneath your feet that worm their way

into the very living rock and run out under the sea-bed. There

are hidden chambers and dungeons and sealed vaults that

you have walked past every day of your training, but have not

noticed despite your training in perception. There are secrets

long-buried here that sleep, waiting for the day when the

Order has need of them and I tell you this truly, this is but

one of the Orders fortresses.

On The Blessed Ringand the Orders SanctionEach member of our Order bears a single token of our

authority, in the form of a signet ring marked with the sigil of

the crossed keys of the Pope. Those who recognise these rings

will offer you whatever aid they can. Any bishop or senior

member of the clergy, any monk or learned scholar, and any

warrior monk from the knightly orders such as the Templars

or Hospitallers will recognise the ring, and what it signifies.

Wearing the blessed ring, you are permitted to speak with

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supreme authority, as the Pope himself lends his endorsement

to your words. You may demand shelter and aid, monies or

men, or whatever else you require.

As ever, beware the temptation to abuse this authority. Your

fellow Christians are brothers in service to the Lord, not slaves

to be whipped. Use the ring only when necessary.

On The Furtherance of Our Blessed TaskYou will perish in the service of the Order. You will be whipped

and reviled. You will be tortured, stabbed and mauled. You

will be hurled into dungeons and imprisoned, you will have

your eyes put out and your limbs maimed and broken. You

will do things so vile and terrible that your very soul recoils,

and you will walk the razor bridge over the very pit of Hell,

where a single false step leads to eternal damnation.

Rejoice in your sufferings. Each drop of blood you shed is

a milestone on the path to enlightenment for all humanity.

Each wound you endure ransoms some soul in Christendom

from evil. Happy are those who die in the service of the Order,for they are the instruments of God!

P: Lord, safeguard all that we have taught.

R: The Order must never be revealed, nor its

knowledge made open.

P: Lord, we trust in your guidance.

R: Better a hundred innocents die than one of

evil escape.

P: Lord, we are but instruments of your Will.

R: I vow to defend Church and Order by any

means necessary.

P: Lord, all will face your judgement.

R: The laws of Man are as nothing in the

pursuit of His work.

P: Lord, bless this child so she may serve thee

with all her heart.

R: This Covenant is as marriage to the Lord

God.

P: Lord, give her the wisdom to know when to

act and when to remain silent.

R: Knowledge is both salvation and

damnation.

P: Lord, we follow the path laid before us.

R: Every soul saved is one step forward to thefinal enlightenment of Mankind.