Kernher's reply

Joy! Kernher has replied to my message. She writes:

"Mr. Savnar,

I have been busy planetside and only seen this mail now. It is a pleasure to make your acquiantance. I appreciate that you have read my writings, and not dismissed them out of hand.

I cannot agree with you on the Ametat and Avetat, however. It is a common mistake in our culture, so obsessed with relics and trophies, to feel that some physical trinkets are out there still waiting to be found. And, so having found them, that we will be elevated among our peers, perceived as bastions of piety and enlightenment. Maybe the originals still exist out there, but whatever we find will be hollow, empty things, divorced of the divinity God bestowed on them and left as just what they are: a crown, and a scepter, fit only to sit on display in an Imperial palace. No amount of scouring worlds will find Ametat and Avetat until Amarr has been made right with God again. It is God that chooses when and how we will find them, and for Him to do so requires that we prove ourselves worthy of them. Do you believe we are worthy of them, today? 

I can share Toth's writings, such as I have been able to find, but little exists. Most of it has been removed from history by his detractors in court. But it is not his expedition that should be your focus, rather it should be his teachings. His quest was not successful, or if it were, only such that he and his followers were taken from this world to be reunited with God. It is a spiritual path that we must follow, not a physical one.

Regards,
Samira Kernher"

I have thanked her and expressed my gratitude for agreeing to share her archives. As for her question, I agree that the Amarr I see today is undeserving of God's gifts. The goal of being truly deserving, just as the goal of finding the artifacts, may be unreachable. But then maybe God meant us strive for these goals anyway: often the journey matters more than the destination.

Letter to Kernher

In the reports of the Theology Council Tribunal I cannot find a formal condemnation of Samira Kernher as heretic, or Kernherism as a heresy. I searched, because on the IGS many Amarrians were denouncing her as a heretic. However, most of the time in these IGS discussions everybody calls everybody else a heretic, so that is not a very reliable source. Therefore, I prefer to rely on the files of the Theology Council. 

Since I do not find any official denunciation of her, I sent a letter to Samira Kernher, to find out more about Ilash Toth: 

Dear ms. Kernher,

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a wandering monk, trying to recover the Empire’s most valuable relics. It needs no explanation that Ametat and Avetat are foremost on my mind. 

I have been living a hermit’s life in an asteroid monastery for many years. So, before my quest began, I have not been following worldly affairs. 

I am now trying to catch up.

In doing so, I came along your manifesto, “The Test of Faith”. I do agree that our Empire is rife with sin and that those that rule must be held much more accountable than they are now. 

Even though I do not agree with all aspects that you write, my soul was warmed by the strength of the fire of faith in you. I laud your faith, and I pray that your critics never succeed in diminishing it. Those that say nothing can ever be changed have forgotten how the Mad Emperor’s corruptions of both the council of Apostles and of the scripture could be undone, without civil war, but through the actions of a single saint.

My firm belief is that the Avetat will not be our reward for returning Amarr to the faith, but that it will be the tool that helps us achieve this. Therefore, I devote all my efforts in finding it, even if others denounce me as a madman for doing so.

My quest has been hampered by a lack of information, in particular on Ilash Toth. However, from your manifesto I gather that you are familiar with his writings. Since he was the last person to allegedly succeed in leading an expedition to find the Avetat I am trying to understand his mind better. I do not expect his writings to show his route or which system he ended up, but any scrap of information can hold clues.

I humbly request access to your collections on information on Ilash Toth, and I seek any advice you can give me in my quest. If it please you, I can meet you at a location of your choice.

I thank you for your time reading this missive.

By his light and will,

Theodosius Savnar

 

Samira Kernher

 A certain Samira Kernher, who wrote a pamphlet denouncing the vice and corruption in the ruling classes of the Empire and proposing more oversight, appeals to Ilash Toth’s writings. She seems to have deep knowledge of Toth’s life and thought. 

I hesitate to contact Kernher to be able to access Toth’s writings, since many call her a heretic.