Pope Advent VIC

Pope Advent VIC reigned between the years 1181 and 1179, although he reigned in 1180 twice, for reasons that have never been properly explained (although the year 1111 was subsequently removed due to his decree which may be something to do with it). His existence is debated by historians and he has taken on a somewhat mythical quality, possibly having the actions of a number of other popes ascribed to him, it certainly seems amazing that all the acts attributed to him occurred during the three years of his reign. Similarly the existence of the Manifesto of 1180 is not common knowledge and is dismissed as fantasy by most, however a number of books claiming to be part of it exist in circulation. The actual collection of 13 thin volumes (as opposed to the 5 or 6 book set usually hailed as complete) has only three copies, held in secret by some of the more obscure divisions of the church.

The Man

Advent VIC is most often depicted as a large man with long pale-golden hair, he is shown as having eyes of midnight blue (sometimes the entirety of his eyes are blue), he has quite a thin face with an slightly pointed chin and an aquiline nose. His skin is weather beaten and tanned, almost brassy (this may be due to the fact that all statues of him feasibly produced during his reign are made of brass). He dresses in white robes traced with silver (although some sources argue that this is actually tin, or in some cases lead). He carries a book wrapped in blue cloth and bound in chains of verdigrised copper. He caries a staff of carven apple wood inlaid with silver to spell words (some claim them to be passages from Genesis or Revelations, others claim darker origins for them) and topped with a simple silver cross. Around his neck he wears a cross carved from blue agate and backed by a pair of silver keys. He is often depicted not wearing his papal miter, leading scholars to suspect that he may have been a saint or some other figure who has taken on the mantle of pope (no pun intended) over many retellings. All in all he fits the traditional image of a wizard more than that of a pope. He is cast as a wanderer who gains wisdom from the world around him as well as a man of incredible, if somewhat incomprehensible, vision. For this reason he is occasionally and unofficially venerated as a patron saint by those who feel their insight goes unrecognised and, ironically, Science Pirates. He is believed to have had a wealth of knowledge in various scientific fields, a knack for mathematics and is said, when there are no churchmen around, to have had magical and demoniacal lore at his disposal. He was last seen aboard the Grand Temple of the Voyage where he vanished whilst passing through the Vault of Heaven in early 1179, other passengers regarding it as the strangest jump they had ever experienced.

The Manifesto of 1180

The Manifesto is part parable, part mythology and part theological musing with a dash of political reform and a generous helping of alchemists cookbook. Only about four people alive have actually read the entire thing and of those three do not claim to have spent enough time studying it to actually understand it. The fourth claimed a transcendent union with God and went missing from under the eyes of a dozen witnesses when he next traveled by temple ship. His whereabouts are currently unknown although there is an argument for his assumption by a handful of those in the know. Among it's clearer dictates the Manifesto institutes a number of religious orders, repeats the year 1180, bans the year 1111, averts a major famine on Gall's World and makes steps towards ending the New Dark Ages. Some of it's more bizarre dictates have taken decades or centuries to take full effect, and the purpose of some still remains unknown. Rumors abound of 'lost books' and fake ones turn up with some frequency

The Stories

There are many stories about Pope Advent VIC, many downright heretical, I plan to add some of the best known here.