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Iskirami Chronicle

Through Tradition Comes Strength

Priestly Tribunal of Oze'uis Ends
4/15

A week-long Priestly Tribunal on the cause of soul-wounding has come to an end after a majority consensus was reached. Ordered by Lord Regent Uzida after multiple letters from the wives of veterans were brought to his attention, 100 priests of high status gathered in Sahiyat to determine a unified cause of the mental disease that affects many of those who fought in the Unification Wars. Victims describe themselves as being beset by nightmares, anger, bouts of guilt and paranoia, often feeling that "nature itself plotted against them."

Cases of soul-wounding rose exponentially in the direct aftermath of the Unification Wars and the Decimation, being able to strike down even the most hardened veterans and highest-ranking officer, with Sultan Ahmad III himself being one of many who fell to it. Fear itself has been able to claim many, with multiple prominent generals falling into despair and taking their lives following the Decimation.

In a public announcement, High Priest Yasin Abboud declared that it was not an imperfection of birth similar to children born of atomic affliction, but something that was inflicted through conflict and suffering, persisting long after the wounds such as a scar does.

"Many, many angry spirits of the dead wander the deserts, from both sides of the war. The sickness many of our warriors and levies have are from a kind of unseen wounding caused by these spirits lashing out at their souls long after their passing, and this unseen wound can be just as deadly as any physical injury. "

As for a cure, High Priest Yasin said that both counselings by the Church and medicines provided by apothecaries could assist, though there are no true guarantees that they will assist. It was suggested that to aid in its prevention, soldiers should fight for a "good and just cause" to steel themselves against the wandering spirits of the fallen.

"An honorable cause should be one willed by Oze'uis - a war for a higher and just cause, to reinstate law and order - not for personal gain in the form of money or satisfaction. It is by these means that one may protect both their mind and their soul while in the act of shedding blood. "

While it was acknowledged that other forms of soul-wounding existed, it was stated that the treatment for both was medicament and therapeutics.