High Pontiff Tylos I
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High Pontiff Tylos I, born Alfred Barclay, was the High Pontiff of the Church of the Canon, his other titles being Patriarch of Jorenus, Prelate of the Clergy, and a faithful member of the College of Cardinals. His life is more or less devoted to the priestly orientation, for which he left the days of war behind and devoted himself to the service of the church and God. His virtues and interest in the Church began during the pontificate of James II, grew very much and gave him various promotions during the pontificate of Owyn III, and continued at a fine pace during the pontificate of the new High Pontiff Jude II until eventually succeeding him.
Contents
Early Life & Military Career
Like many of his friends and cousins, Alfred's childhood was full of fun and joy, also a lot of pleasure and various benefits given from his parents, which didn't matter to him, at least when he was very young. Growing up was an adventure for him, which he went through with his closest cousin Brandt, going through various accidents in the streets of New Reza, all the way to stressful but exciting moments in the surrounding forests and villages, where they trained regularly. Various and frequent trainings helped Alfred to join the ranks of the Haense Royal Army, with the great moral help of his father Osvald. Yet, as much as he had fun and joy in both his private life and the army, he was just as sad and broken after the death of his sister during the Scyfling Invasion in 1768, Karolina Barclay, with whom he did not spend much time, but nurtured much brotherly love for her.
Little by little, he rose to higher ranks, but before the Scyfling Invasion of Hanseti-Ruska broke out, Alfred's horizons widened beyond the sword and bloodshed, where he decided to try his hand at other jobs, neglecting military training and the army on the sidelines. Having tried his hand at other jobs, Alfred realized after a while that the sword was not for him, and he made the final decision when the decision to join the Church came. His departure from the army was a surprise to his family which grew from the military roots, but after becoming a veteran of the Scyfling War and the many battles in it, he had had enough.
Political Life
Before and after the end of the Scyfling Invasion of Hanseti-Ruska, Alfred's family was involved in the political waters of the Kingdom of Haense, making Alfred, with the support of many others, to try out as Maer of New Reza, the capital city of the Kingdom of Haense. Bearing in mind that his father, Lord Speaker at the time, had experience with the politics of the kingdom and the way the Duma worked, he did not want to make his candidacy for Maer unfair, so he made posters and wrote candidate texts himself, in order to at least somehow attracted the attention of the people.
After the first election for Maer in his life, he won the vast majority of votes, making him another Maer in a row. It was only when he entered Maer's office that he realized that great work awaited him and that the work he was about to do benefits the people of the Kingdom. Alfred's tenure as Maer lasted three years, including the Waldofest held in 1783, the Haeseni Spleef Tournament held just before the festival and the Green Area Act, which did not leave the best impression. Due to a lack of will and ideas to continue working as a Maer, Alfred decided to resign as a Maer from New Reza, being out of work for a short period of time, until the time came when faith was needed.
The Call to Clerical Garments
The days of war and politics passed, so Alfred was out of work for almost half a year, until he found a vocation in the Church. He became interested in the church for a very long time, bearing in mind that his grandfather Anton Barclay was a cardinal and Archbishop of Jorenus at the time. Reading clerical documents and manuals, prayer books and holy scrolls, Alfred realized his path, and that is the path his grandfather took. After a productive conversation with the then Bishop Benedict, Alfred was even more acquainted with the work of the church, and a few days later he was ordained by Bishop Benedict in 1787.
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A portrait of Bishop Alfred of Henrikev, 1800 |
A new path was created before Alfred, a path that took him to the totally other side of his life. After his ordination, his work began at the local church in New Reza, where he assisted the then Bishop Benedict in various ceremonies and minor affairs around the church. His ordination and all the work was done during the Inferi War, where the demonic forces of the Iblees launched massive attacks on whoever they reached. The focus of the war was in the Korvassa desert, where the Ibless force was most influential. Like all other kingdoms, armies and people, the Church of the Canon decided to contribute to the fight against a huge force, which could destroy everything at any moment. Shortly after the beginning of the war, Alfred was given the opportunity to become a chaplain of the Haense Royal Army, with the blessing of the then Archbishop of Jorenus, Alfred Ruthern. As a priest and chaplain of the army, he went into many battles alongside other military units, including his military compatriots and the Imperial State Army, as well as other various soldiers and people who were present, depending on the place of battle where he was. By late 1791 and early 1792, the Inferi forces had been destroyed and driven off the Arcas continent. The period of peace gave Alfred enough time to return to his work, where he managed to hold several weddings and baptisms, until another horrific event.
The meteor shower that hit the continent of Arcas forced the entire population to rise to their feet and emigrate to other parts, which of course Alfred and his family did. By coming to a new continent, Almaris, the Church found itself in a new world, a world in which faith in God and the work of the church itself grew. With the death of the then High Pontiff James II, a new High Pontiff Owyn III was elected, who helped Alfred and his work and efforts in the church by awarding Alfred several promotions. Shortly after the election of the High Pontiff, Alfred was promoted to Bishop of the new Diocese of Henrikev, named after the Basilica of St. Henrikev in Karosgrad, the capital of the Kingdom of Haense, and was also promoted as the Prelate of the Clergy on the same day.
Several years have passed since moving to the new continent, during which Alfred worked diligently for the good of the Church, helping the people to get to the heart of Canonism and to find the path of God. High Pontiff Owyn III, seeing the valuable work of Alfred during his pontificate, bestowed on Alfred the title of Patriarch of Jorenus in the Third Golden Bull of Albarosa, appointing Alfred as a Patriarch of the Kingdom of Haense and Kingdom of Norland.
His next promotion took place during the pontificate of Jude II, after a fatal event known as the Red Diet of Karosgrad, where he became a new cardinal, taking the suffix Cardinal St. Tylos.
His full title, after the pontifical election and enthronement in 1820 is His Holiness Tylos I, High Pontiff of the Church of the Canon, Archbishop of Visigia, Successor of the High Priesthood of the Church, Supreme Pontiff of the Church of True Faith, Keeper of the Canon, Missionary to Aeldin, High Servant to the Exalted's Testaments, Humble Servant of the Faithful and Vicar of GOD.
Family Life
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Alfred was born into the House of Barclay, which has been known for its military tradition through the years. His family consists of two main lineages, the lineage of Antonite and Wilhemite. Alfred and his late sister Karolina belong to the Antonite lineage, which is, so to speak, known for its work in the church, as well as its war knowledge.
During Alfred’s teenage years, the young man was not in the presence of the family from time to time, due to the fact that he thought every young person should have fun and do what they want. By wandering around a lot, and even going to other cities, Alfred had a very relaxed view of the world, because everything was at his fingertips. The charming and enthusiastic young man was known for having experience with girls, so on one occasion, he ended up temporarily in a cell in the city of Helena, after being too obsessed with the city itself and, of course, the fairer gender of the city itself. This way of living was present until he was in his twenties, where he realized what it means to be responsible as a future father and head of the family.
After his twenty-fourth, during the festival in Helena, he met his fiance Nenica Dubois, with whom he later got engaged. After almost a year, they were finally married in the Basilica of Fifty Virgins, in New Reza, in 1777. With Nenica he got four children, two sons and two daughters, Nicolas as the eldest son, Julianne, Lavinia and Halden, their youngest child. Before the great catastrophe, a meteor shower on the continent of Arcas, Alfred's wife, Nenica, died during the birth of little Halden, which affected Alfred a lot, but he went on because he knew he had children to raise and care for.
Work in the church calmed him down, where he stopped thinking about the death of his wife, but the massacre that took place in 1806 in the Basilica of St. Henrikev put an even greater burden on Alfred, and even prayers could not calm him down. On that day, in addition to the many priests who perished, Alfred's eldest son, Nicolas was killed by one of the many knights present in the basilica. Although his family seems to be slowly splitting, Alfred has kept faith in himself and his children, keeping them close to him, them being in the keep in the Duchy of Reinmar.
