"The reign of dragons has been long and brutal, but I have foreseen their end." -Alexander Cruxan I
The third era (3e) stretches from the downfall of dragons and subsequent rise of the church to the present age. It is an age of war and conflict between the ever growing Church of the One and the various cultic sects across the world. That conflict is especially heated on the continent of Samayaris, where the Church and her crucifers are ever at odds with the Cult of the Arch Gods.
The third era stretches from the fall of the dragons and subsequent rise of the Church all the way to the present age.
"The reign of dragons has been long and brutal, but I have foreseen their end." -Alexander Cruxan I
"Lo, a child will be born unto thee! She will bring light where there was darkness, and peace where there was war. She will strike the pagans with pestilence and end the reign of false gods." -Archon Alaena, Journals of Alexander Cruxan I, Scribe Gro-Buk of Akhar
"St. Alaena brought the light to us, and now we bring it to you." -High Presbyter Bren
"Men and women come from the far-lands, preaching peace and light. As for me and mine, we will continue to drink from the Red Gorge of Marabal." -Uzak of Zizolgraull
"They dance in blood and drink all day. By the light of Theandros, may we cleanse this unholy place!" -Brother Marvin, Annals of the Church: A history of the Samayaris Mission, Scribe Vissk
"The men wouldn't even fight. Cowards! And the women, gods, the women. We kept a few for ourselves, but they wouldn't cease their wailing. Their blood still cries out, a pleasing song to Marabal." -Anonymous, Against the Pagans, Presbyter Gaius Tuscany
"Not a soul was left. I can still hear the women screaming, crying out as they were lead away. If their god was as merciful as they claim, would that he had killed them instead." -Anonymous, Against the Pagans, Presbyter Gaius Tuscany
"Thus, it is the practice of the pagans to spill the blood even of their own. They are degenerate, and naught but the sword may cleanse the land of them." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Against the Pagans
"Our Lord offers us grace and mercy. We have offered it to the pagans, and in return receive the due penalty for our folly: blood, violence, the worst kinds of tortures, the rape of our wives and daughters, the beheading of our sons. Truly, the sons and daughters of St. Alaena must smite the heads of these pagans with pestilence. Mercy is for the merciful." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Against the Pagans
"The word sent from Samayaris is too dire, I dare not believe it! Surely no man nor woman could be so cruel as these pagans are said to be? May the light of Theandros guide us. May his light outshine the darkness there." -Presbyter Sehaya Lione, A Memoire of Lady Lione, Scribe Ishi
"While our lady taught us mercy, and our Lord offers grace, the Valkyrie are no strangers to war. Truly these cultists are born of the darkness, and truly they will be vanquished." -Presbyter Yondiren Greatborn
"I will spread truth by the sword, as my ancestors before me." -Alexander Cruxan III
"For all of their bravado and talk of war, the cultists at Mar'Ankar were poor warriors. They stood no chance. Their god stood no chance." -Alexander Cruxan III
"He was easily found and captured. He wasn't a very bright fellow, but fearless. He didn't even flinch when axe struck his neck the first time. Of course, who wouldn't flinch the third time? Or the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth?" -Alexander Cruxan III
"It will be a beacon of hope to the priests and ministers. It will be a memoriam to all the saints who died here. It will be a show of might and power to the pagans. It will be a glorious symbol of the might and mercy of Theandros." -Alexander Cruxan III
"I am going east. I do not know if I will return. Samayaris is said to be a strange and hostile land. They've killed priests there before. I fear they'll do it again. I fear for my life Celine, but I must go. I will not break my oath to our Lord." -Anonymous, Annals of the Church: A History of the Samayaris Mission, Scribe Vissk
"We will need a great number of men, for this will be a great city." -Alexander Cruxan III
"As many as are required, that many will we send. We are to spread the light, no matter the cost." -Anonymous, Annals of the Church: A History of the Samayaris Mission, Scribe Vissk
"First they brought their religion, and we answered with our own religion and philosophy and our own gods. But now, now they have brought their warriors and their ships. If they do not cease, we have no warriors of our own to answer with. We must band together, we must insist this invasion stop at once." -Hufi Jal'Alakin, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris, Frederick Dunn
"We have expressed our great displeasure, yet they continue to invade our lands. They speak with words of honey, but hide daggers behind their backs. Their leader, Alexander, speaks of us as barbarians and imbeciles, as if we could not hear him standing just feet away. These Church men have no honor, though they preach much of it." -Hufi Jal'Alakin, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris, Frederick Dunn
"They beat me two days ago for speaking out against their military crusade. They beat me yesterday for speaking out against their abominable treatment of prisoners. They beat me today for being 'suspiciously quiet'. Tomorrow, they will surely beat me again. It is the mercy of their god. I only hope, when they come face to face with lord Achaeral, she will be more merciful to them than they are to me." -Hufi Jal'Alakin, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris, Frederick Dunn
"They protested when we were peaceful and care-free, they protested again when we were peaceful and cautious, and once more they protest at our protesting. There is nothing to calm the heathen mind but the sword." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Against the Pagans
"The heathens weren't satisfied with the blood spilled prior. Their lust for violence is insatiable, thus they attacked the honorable Alexander again and again." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Against the Pagans
"Even our attempts at diplomacy were but a guise: a means of oppression." -Frederick Dunna, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris
"His death was officially declared a mystery. Unofficially, you'd have to daft not to see what happened." -Anonymous, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris, Frederick Dunn
"Backroom secrets, the exchanging of gold, Though this is not how the story is told." Mnedo, Poems of Love and War
"They honored him with their words even as they poked him with their spears." -Mnedo, Poems on Love and War
"A stern hand against the obstinate is as water on the lips of the beggar. Truly, a beating is more merciful to the hard of heart than soft words. And, truly, chains and shackles are more freedom for the rebellious than they themselves know." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Striving for Salvation: Wise Words for the Church
"It's as glorious as I had imagined. Truly, the pagans will tremble at the might of Theandros." -Alexander Cruxan III
"My lords, this land is filled with the most abominable of evils. Truly, these are the false gods our lady, St. Alaena, hates most." -Alexander Cruxan III Petition for a Second Crusade to Samayaris
"We wage war when war is necessary, but make peace when peace is possible." -Presbyter Sehaya Lione, A Memoire of Lady Lione, Scribe Ishi
"He was a great man. Not a very good one though." -Anonymous, A Brief History of Junna, Yuki Asamodo
"Ye, he will be a savior to the nations, And his birth is cause for celebration, The young babe is crowned, Alexander, Alexander, let the trumpets sound!" -Mnedo, Poems of Love and War
"Power is passed from father to son, But victory is granted to no one." Mnedo, Poems on Love and War
"Offer the sign of peace with one hand, but grasp your dagger tightly with the other. For, ye, Theandros is the Lord of Peace, yet is he not Lord of all things? And, indeed, the treacherous are counted among the wise, and will inherit a high seat in the Vault of Souls." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Striving for Salvation: Wise Words for the Church
"The Pagans exchange peace for violence, good for evil, God for demons. Thus, we must exchange soft words for swords." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Against the Pagans
"Have you ever heard the tragedy of Green Gunda the Swole? It's not a story the Church would tell you..." -Anonymous
"My mother was good woman, and I will miss her dearly. But her death cannot be manipulated into an excuse for war. This land has seen enough violence, and we must find another way." -Alexander IV, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris, Frederick Dunn
"It was the will of Theandros. And by his grace, we pushed the pagans out of the land that rightly belonged to the church. If only men had seen fit not to interfere with God's will, the prophecy of our Lady Alaena may finally have been fulfilled this day." -Presbyter Gaius Tuscany, Against the Pagans
"We are off to fight the pagans, Off to glory in war again, We march for our bless'd Lord of Light, We march, we fight, to defeat the night." -Mndedo, Poems on War and of Love
"We chased the demons out. We butchered the butchers. Whereas they enjoyed drawn out torture on our priests, we were merciful in that we killed them swiftly." -Jar'Ala
"I would say we were victorious, of what happened could truly be called a battle." -Aurelius Tuscany
"Gorn keeps taunting me: 'Why haven't you taken a city yet Worthag? Where's your strength?' I could take a city too, Gorn, if I were fighting the fairies in the south. These Northerners are not to be trifled with." -Worthag
"Our victory is a sign of confirmation from Theandros himself. We will take this land by the end of the year at this rate." -Yoto Sasumi
"We set fire to the city, and the heathens came screaming out of it. Their defeat reveals the truth about their false gods." -Grugrani Windback
"They were eager to avoid bloodshed, and more than cooperative. I'd never have expected such a thing from pagans, but these were good men and women. Theandros is surely at work in their hearts, though they don't know it." -Tiberius Sellic
"We lost a good soldier this day. The cost of victory is high, but the cost of defeat, as Jar'Ala knew well, is even higher." -Aurelius Tuscany
"How did you lose 30,000 armed men? You don't just lose 30,000 men!" -Alexander Cruxan IV
"This is where they killed my mother. Her life will not be the last extinguished here." -Alexander Cruxan IV
"In the end, they begged for mercy. So I told them I would grant the only mercy they knew of. The pagans did not seem to understand what I meant by it, until they heard the screams of the first being impaled on the city walls." -Dhas
"The land is a barren waste of mud and insects. Do we really need to take this place? The savages can keep it so far as I'm concerned." -Anonymous, Tales from the Second Crusade, Scribe Asai Myamoto
"We are emissaries of Theandros, messengers of peace and light, not pagans! How dare you stoop to their level! How dare you use such tactics!" -Alexander Cruxan IV
"These were tough men and honorable warriors. With Dhas's forces behind us, however, they stood no chance." -Gorn
"Sasumi, Theandros bless her, just didn't have what it takes. Now Gorn, Gorn has what it takes." -Gorn
"The marshes are no place for an Orc, and we certainly don't need your God here. Take your forces back where they came from, or by Arjunda, you will die here in the mud." -Ethku, Tales from the Second Crusade, Scribe Asai Myamoto
"The lowlands fell to these men, but they were lesser men with lesser gods. Theandros, it seems, is no match for the might of Enliel!" -Throgrim Korvat
"They've kept my father in chains for nearly a hundred years. They'll do the same to us if we allow it. By the gods, they must be stopped." -Ifta Jal'Alakin
"The wicked will reap their due reward. May Theandros, Lord of Mercy, show no mercy to they who have none." -Gaius Tuscany, Striving for Salvation: Words of Wisdom for the Church
"We stop them in the mountains, so they come by way of the desert. We stop them in the desert, so they come by way of the River. Gods only know, if we stop them by way of the River, they'll find a way to travel through the air." -Ifta Jal'Alakin
"Truly, to honor thyself is to honor thy brother. Indeed, how can one make their brother's name great, if they have not first made great their own name? This is the wisdom of the righteous, that we seek first to be great and holy ourselves, and by our own righteousness we may then grant mercies to the brothers." -St Gaius Tuscany, Striving for Salvation: Words of Wisdom for the Church
"For all the cities we've taken, how many souls have we added to the Vault? Is this truly the will of Theandros?" -Presbyter Icuthrik of Nymmirth
"This war must cease. May Theandros, God of Peace, bring peace to us." -Frederick Dunn, A History of the Cultic Conflict in Samayaris
"Kill the blue priest for me. And remember... if you don't hold up your end of the bargain, I'll know..." -Diatana