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King Peter V of Aragon opening a portal for his knights
Item #: SCP-4565
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: Historical manuals and reference books regarding the Albigensian Crusade are to be acquired and then stored in Warehouse 14-3.
Existing information, online or in academia, concerning the above-mentioned event, is to be analyzed by Foundation historians and adjusted accordingly.
All historical artifacts or items found in the southern French province of Occitanie are to be assessed for anomalous properties and contained.
Description: SCP-4565 was a 20-year anomalous military campaign that occurred from 1205 to 1225 between Vatican-assisted Crusader Knights and the Cathars of France1. The war was instigated by Pope Innocent III, whose aim was to obtain the "keys of the Kingdom of Heaven2" which were believed to be in the possession of the five main houses of Carcassonne.
The houses of Carcassonne were led by Duke Raymond V who was headquartered in the former province of Languedoc. The war concluded with the deaths of Viscount Raymond VI of Toulouse and King Peter V of Aragon and the destruction of South Languedoc.
It is theorized that SCP-4565-1 was obtained by the Knights Templar3, however, with the group's dissolution in 1312, its current location remains unknown.
This campaign is especially significant due to the conception of various anomalous military organizational techniques that would be recreated by Foundation pre-cursors in later years. The most significant of these would be the concepts of efficient team-based anomaly suppression groups and the utilization of anomalies to combat or suppress other anomalies.
The former would later eventually develop into "Rixantes Luce Sacra" groups4 and the latter would later be used as historical precedence for the acceptance of the "Thaumiel" object class.
The purpose of SCP-4565-1 has yet to be discovered.
Documentation: All primary and secondary source documentation and evidence regarding this SCP was obtained from the Vatican Holy Office for Secrets and Prophecies (Secretorum Camerus Prophetias). The veracity of all information about SCP-4565 has yet to be corroborated by any third party reference.
The sources from which the information is provided are written in Middle English or Latin and have been translated to English. The "sæfernmúða edlæcan5" has been translated from Old French to English.
To the most friendly, the most humble count of Carcassone, Raymond V of Toulouse, son of Raymond IV, son of Aquitaine III, House of Trencavel, by the grace of God and the blessings of God onto the entire House.
From the follower of his holiness, the executor of God's Will, the leader of Narbonne, Archbishop Gebhart Kosmas.
Good tidings to you, o' friend of God. You will hereby be aware that the highest office has come to be aware of the illness that pervades the lands of Languedoc.
The call of heathenism and blasphemous ideology has scourged and spread through Toulouse. The benevolent, Pope Innocent the Third, has come to find a solution and as such, I advise to follow the steps that have come to you.
Listen 'o Count, the Council of Cardinals has learnt of many faithful items of which all shall be taken in God's name. The first of which is the Grail, which has been found in Jerusalem. The second is the Ark, which has been found in a new land to the West. And the third is the key, which has been found rumored to be in Languedoc.
That key, which Saint Peter held to his corpse when the sun swallowed the land and all of God's children wept, is said to with you.
The call of the divine is upon you, o' great sir. We fear that the key will be stolen by those pagans that plague the land, as the once-great churches lay bare. Already, the five great cathedrals have been usurped by the heretical sects.
We advise at once to follow his holiness's message to at once deliver the keys which will grant us passage to the highest level. Sainthood and Kingship await, once it has been delivered.
In hopefulness, respect, faithfulness, and God-given duty, the Bishop Aphex, Duke of Auvergne, was present and witness to the writing of this message.
Viscount Raymond VI (pictured center, sitting on lap) instructing his army
The following information is taken from the original transcript of "The Cathar Crusades: A History of Genocide and Magic" by Severus Iona, 1854.
Chapter 3: Old Bonds Burn and New Relations Sprout from the Ashes
…Raymond V denied the notion that he owned the key to Heaven and accused Archbishop Kosmas of slander against his governorship.
The period in which this letter was sent was the height of Cathar conversion in southern France and simultaneously occurred while the tensions rose between the Church and local leadership. By this point, five provinces had already been mostly converted.
Due to the anti-priesthood tenet of the sect, the area was in direct opposition with the Catholic Church. In 1201, the archbishop of Milan listed Catharism as an "enemy of Catholicism" and this was used as an excuse for the incoming Crusade.
In 1203, plans for the Albigensian Crusade began when various barons of southern France called for independence from King Phillip II. At the same time, Raymond V married Beatrice Alba, the granddaughter of King Peter V of Aragon, to secure a military alliance in time for the oncoming conflict.
Plans were established by the Catholic Church to utilize various occult technology stolen from Constantinople and Jerusalem during the Fourth Crusade which ended five years prior in 1202. In 1204, the Council of Cardinals announced the start of the Crusade and called for volunteers from Northern France.
Due to the rather low amount of initial Crusaders, Pope Innocent III permitted the use of psyche-altering machinations that persuaded more individuals to join the conflict…
- Anomalous Methods of Combat Overview
- Corpse Fiends
- Angel Men
- Animal Soldiers
- Bread Doubling
- Daemons
- Anti-Anomaly Crusader Teams
Numerous thaumaturgic and magical combat varieties were used during the entirety of the conflict. It is unclear on which exact groups employed anomalous weaponry and to the extent that such means were used in relation to contemporary weaponry.
It is known that utilizing anomalous methods during the conflict became normalized by at least 1217, according to letters from Raymond VI to occult magicians and the "Rexa Mundi Internal Declaration6" that was passed by Bishop Iona.
Knights encountering manipulated corpses
It is believed that Cathars used thaumaturgic magic to revive beheaded prisoners of war and force them to fight. The exact amount of dead soldiers used is unknown but it is estimated to be about 1,000-5,000.
Records of these anomalous entities date to 1212 when they were first used in the Siege of Carcassone. It is generally thought that they were quite ineffective in battle.
Crusader with wings attached
Used in the Battle of Minerva in 1218, so-called "Angel Men" were Crusaders that were manipulated to fly using large wings. In the letters of Joshua the Clean7, these type of "abominations" would carry a scythe and sweep down "from the black skies into the red fields."
In order to combat these entities, Cathar groups would develop the precision stone-trebuchet which would later go on to be used in other non-anomalous conflicts.
Battle of Termes, 1226
Due to the large loss of Cathar soldiers during the fall of Carcassone, Raymond VI decided to utilize animal life in Languedoc as replacements for infantry soldiers. Other animals used include snails, dogs, and rats.
The skulls of these entities are, occasionally, found in farm fields in modern-day Occitanie.
Peasants eating during a break
Fruit trees and wheat fields blessed with thaumaturgic magic that would heavily increase the output of available food was used throughout the war by Cathar groups.
It is known that consuming such magically-amplified food resulted in deleterious effects but the exact outcome is unknown.
Priest summoning various unknown entities
Catholic-linked churches and institutions in Languedoc would begin work on summoning extra-versal entities in 1207. For more information on containment, please refer to SCP-████.
Massacre of Biggore, 1228
Teams of 6-8 specially trained Crusader knights would be segmented and sent into areas of extreme anomaly concentration to eliminate all life.
The members of the team would have specific spells, kinetoglyphs, and charms that would facilitate mass death. These teams would be used extensively during the last few years of the campaign to clear the land for occupation.
Chapter 6: Destruction, Creation, Combining it All
…Raymond V was assassinated in the sacking of Bogomil in 1220. In the same year, his 3-year-old son, Raymond VI, a reality manipulator, summoned various "demonic" entities that caused a rebellion through the ranks of the Church's army.
In a final bid, to steal the key of Heaven from Raymond VI, Pope Innocent decided to siege the capital of Languedoc, the city of Toulouse…
Date: Unknown, likely 11/3/1228, the Siege of Toulouse
Lead Speaker: Richard Le Grant
Richard Le Grant: This beest Richard Le Grant, high constable of his baroness Raymond the sixth of the once most wondrous Carcassone.
We hereby name oursleves within this most wondrous hall, warriors of the five edged eye, and with this tool yond the gods has't did grant us, shalt we maketh the divine true.
Monk Gawyne: And i beest, Monk Gwayne, son of Arthur, son of Ancelot. The one who is't stands next to Richard, the deputy of the five edged eye.
We shall anon repeat our message yond is true and yond shalt beest deliver'd to his majesty Raymond the sixth.
We hold the key to god and we proclaim yond we nev'r shalt alloweth the demiurge, Yaldaboath, 'r any creature of the night that cometh to taketh the divine wisdom within it.
Richard Le Grant: We art' in the town of Salusbury with five hundred men and shall travel to Toulouse, the city of God.
(pause for 5 minutes)
Richard Le Grant: We art beest in Lastour, the city of iron, neaer 50 perches to Toulouse. 300 men has't been hath sent to god from the evil yond arises from the earth and the demons yond spew from the sky.
We art been gift'd a sigil yond protects ourselves from the eyes of the church. And we shall liveth, and all shalt beest valorous on this earth.
Monk Gawyne: Hush dear sire, the dead men approach and the whispers of death weigh the air. Maketh ready the spears and fire.
(pause for 5 minutes)
Richard Le Grant: We has't hath reached the walls of Toulouse and the armies of Yaldabaoth and church await us. We hath brought the key and we shall make great haste towards God's child, Raymond.
He hath sent word the war shall beest ov'r lief and the dead men shalt wend back to hell and the harpies shall fly hence and the occult shalt once again leaveth this land.
Monk Gawyne: 100 men art hath left and we shall die forth the land. This is our home and yet the sky hast did turn black and the travelling lamp hast did turn red with fury. The last day is upon the land and I desire yond in limbo at which hour all our dead, god shalt chooseth us from the many.
(pause for 5 minutes)
Richard Le Grant: We beest in the midst of fighting and i shall drop this tool anon. The key hast been given to Raymond but they has't overrun god's city. Praise beest to Peter, Raymond, and all who is't square in god's name. Five keys, five counties, they will die in threes, but we die in fives.
(pause for 3 minutes)
Unknown Crusader #1: What is this? Likely some tool of the damn'd.
Unknown Crusader #2: Leaveth knave. Hell is upon us, the sky hast did turn black and some fire is gathering in the sky. Square while thee can and die now, while Heaven is near.
Chapter 12: The End and Its Consequences
During the siege of Toulouse in 1228, Viscount Raymond VI obtained the key from its storage place in Lastour. Later, when the siege ended, a massive blast engulfed Toulouse and many other neighboring cities.
The true cause of the blast is unknown, but it is theorized that it was caused by the magician Jeronium Malgerious, the acting Archbishop of Catalonia.
After the full defeat of Raymond VI and Peter V, the French King Phillip II occupied the region. The Catholic Church oversaw the rebuilding effort, especially of the city of Toulouse, in which they assigned the Knights Templar.
To his holiness, Pope Innocent III
From the follower of God, head of the army of Heaven, Christian Debois
The grail has been taken from theflesh in Jerusalem, the ark has been extracted from the far west (with many deaths), and the key has been obtained from thefive houses of France.
Soon we will begin construction.He is no longer broken.