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Silver Flame Protests at Morgrave University Enter Fourth Day
SHARN -- The ongoing religious protest against Provost Dannad Mourain entered its fourth day on Far. Angry worshipers of the Silver Flame called on Morgrave University to fire the controversial historian.
Several hundred protesters crammed into the Commons atop Breland Spire, alternating between hymns to the Silver Flame and a series of oratories that castigated Mourain for his views on the origin of the Church of the Silver Flame. The crowds are growing larger each day, displacing more and more of the students who use the open-air court to eat and study.
Mourain has drawn the ire of the Church of the Silver Flame for his authorship of an academic paper contending that the church is a theological descendant of a Xen'drik serpent cult. Mourain said that an exhaustive retranslation of the Serpentes Fragments reveals an ancient religion that mirrors the modern-day Church of the Silver Flame to "a degree that boggles the imagination."
High priest Yurik Rendrich, one of yesterday's protest speakers, called Mourain's paper heresy, incitement to hatred, and appallingly bad scholarship. "One way or another, the Silver Flame will burn away dross like Dannad Mourain," he told the cheering crowd. "This church isn't ascended from snakes -- it is the living embodiment of creation's primal spark. All those whose souls have been touched by the Silver Flame know an everlasting truth that Mourain can't poison with his words."
With a full slate of orators scheduled for tomorrow, the protests at Morgrave University aren't likely to end anytime soon. The protestors have been peaceful for the most part, though scattered reports of fistfights between Silver Flame worshipers and university students have surfaced.
Each of the various sects and groups that make up the Church of the Silver Flame is vying with all the others to take a more prominent role in the Morgrave University protests. But the church leadership sounded a more cautious note on Far. Archierophant Ythana Morr said that the Church wasn't organizing the protests directly but would continue to monitor events at Morgrave University. She praised the faith and conviction of the protestors in a written statement yesterday. She didn't mention Mourain directly, referring only to only to "those beneath contempt, casting about in darkness and constricted by lies."
University chancellors refused comment on the protests or on Mourain's status with the university. Most classes are continuing as scheduled, but those taught by Mourain have been cancelled until further notice.
Mourain hasn't been seen in public since his paper was released last week. One of his research assistants, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Mourain had gone into seclusion because he was worried about a backlash from extremist elements of the Church of the Silver Flame.
About the Author
David Noonan is a designer/developer for Wizards of the Coast. Before coming to Wizards, he was a daily newspaper reporter in Washington state. Apparently the city hall beat is good practice for an Eberron campaign.
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