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Kamarathin
- 40 -
Chapter One: Kingdom of Tursh
Woodcutting
The village of Rayne is pretty accepting of
many things, considering it's a frontier town that is
fast becoming a trade gateway as well as a
gathering place for "adventurers" and other
undesirables.
There are three industries in Rayne, Trade
with the Matharians, Woodcutting and Mercenary
work. The first involves all aspects of trade for the
Matharian stone and metal goods, ranging from
raw ore to finished products.
The second is the prominent industry for
those without boats or trade contracts and the
third involves the many patrols of mountaineers
that keep the passes and surrounding areas clear
of predatory monsters and Enni slavers or the
guarding of foolhardy expeditions into the Malgit.
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Rayne is surrounded by thick hardwood
forests which have led to the primary industry of
the village.
The woodcutters live in a small complex
of sorts set aside on the western edge of town. It
consists of four buildings that are more like human
stables than townhomes or cottages. One building
for the bachelors is just a long room lined with
beds. The second is for the bachelorettes and is
much smaller, but otherwise the same. The third is
a series of rooms like an Inn and is reserved for
the married woodcutters and their families; most
will eventually build their own cottage, but reside
here until the home is complete.
The last building is community storage for
the tools and supplies, including the draft horses
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Kamarathin
Religion
Religion within the Village of Rayne
generally mirrors that of the surrounding
highlands. The Old Faith holds sway here and
thanks to the Plague Wall, many distrust or
outright despise the Church of Asuna.
Unlike most of the highlands, Rayne is
home to a Forge Cult temple as well as a small
temple to Asuna, specifically the Order of the
Children of the Sun.
Founding Day
1510
A.F.
Discovered
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During High Summer the village of Rayne
traditionally holds a weeklong celebration that is
funded by the mayor (Sir Lissean). This celebration
is in honor of the village’s founding and consists of
feasts, musicians, entertainers, merchants and
contests. It begins on the last new moon of the
summer.
The contests revolve around archery, axe
throwing, log cutting, log throwing, wrestling and
fisticuffs, as well as eating and drinking contests.
Each contest has a small purse of 1 Pence and the
one who wins the most contests is awarded a
dagger crafted of Matharian Steel by the Ilumite of
the Khazar Clanhome.
militia let alone a house guard. When the winds of
war began to blow, she quickly turned to the
Khazar Clanhome and the Halls of Geidbrir for aid.
With the Ettell and Gaver rivers forming her
northern border she decided that they would be
the quickest route to deploy any resources her
allies would send.
The Matharian Ilumite, Birud Anam
approached Chieftain Trayne of the Bendams, now
House Bendam, to utilize his tribe’s wintering
ground for the gathering of the soldiers and
supplies. The negotiations were quick and simple,
Trayne would receive full ownership of the land
and title rights, and the Matharians would build a
bridge that crossed the Ettell. For their part, the
Matharians would have full trade access and use
of the new village without taxes or tariffs during
the reign of the next three Illumites.
And so it was that the village of Rayne
came to be. House Bendam would fall into neglect
over the next ten years and finally be absorbed
into House Vilare.
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and wagons. A blacksmith and Ferrier also reside
here.
Surprisingly enough, the woodcutters are
not an organized group. At most two or three
work together to share profits but the entire
group manages to work together, sharing
everything. Guildmistress Jirdolen has seen a great
opportunity here and is in negotiations with her
superiors and the woodcutters to incorporate the
latter into the Carpentry guild.
The History of Rayne
Just over 100 years old, the Village of
Rayne has had a fair share of excitement and
tragedy. I’ll relate just a few of the highlights her
for your edification.
1466 A.F. Rayne Is Founded
During the time of the Robber Barons,
Duchess Kaline had to fend off many petty raids
and even several full assaults from Lordlings who
claimed full inheritance to her lands. Despite her
having come from local tribesmen, she was still
not able to tax enough to raise a well equipped
Rakhil
Is
In 1510 a great discovery was made by
the miners from the Khazar Clanhome: Rakhil ore.
Rakhil is an ore that is extremely rare, outside of
fallen stars it is only found once in an Age. As an
ore it has no use outside of a rather striking door
stop, but once refined it turns into a reddish metal
that is blessedly easy to enchant. Just a few
threads of metal placed within armor or weapons
or anything you'd care to enchant, will allow the
enchantment to take much easier.
To say the least, the Clanhome became
rather wealthy as merchants from across the
continent began to make calls on our village. The
constant traffic was a boom time for us and the
village grew to twice the current population from
rivertraders and caravans alone. Every inn and
tavern that you see here today and more besides,
were built during this time.
But soon enough the vein ran out and the
bulk of the merchants and traders stopped
arriving. The fair weather townsfolk packed up
their belongings and headed to Riverford which
had become a rather major trade town. Rayne
went back to its quiet origins, a mere shadow of
what it was.
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Chapter One: Kingdom of Tursh
Spring:
A
Cold
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In the spring of my 26th year, I had just
completed my studies at the Royal Academy and
had returned home to begin studying metallurgy
with the Matharians. The winter snows refused to
loosen their grip and had lasted well into spring. It
didn't take long before rumors of foul magic and
curses began springing up.
I tried to counsel my fellow villagers to
remain calm as surely there was no reason for our
fair village to be cursed. However, Sir Kirine had
other ideas and with a word here and there he
was able to turn the terrified people against an
innocent woman. He claimed that the Asunite
priestess, Mary, had brought an endless winter
upon us. He dredged up the stories of the Blood
Wall and swore that Asuna had no love for those
who followed the Old Faith. It didn't take long for
the village to turn into a mob. Poor Mary never
stood a chance as they hung her in the village
green. It took another tenday but the snows did
stop.
It was this terrible event that made me
question the decency of the man that ran our
village.
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1571 A.F.
Injustice
1571 A.F.
Rebellion
Summer:
Seeds
of
That summer Lady Ethalian of House
Jobarry accepted the hand of Sir Kirine in
marriage. A massive feast was held in celebration.
Lords and Lordlings from across the Duchy came
to participate in the tourneys and to offer their
congratulations to the new couple. There was talk
among the peasantry that the good Lady would be
able to tame the ill-liked knight.
As the Weaving Circle druids were giving
the blessings of the Goddess to the pair, a voice
cried out from the crowd. A Mountaineer
named Perley burst from the audience, he
demanded justice for the murder of his friend,
the Priestess Mary. He challenged Sir Kirine to
a duel to prove his innocence in this matter.
True to form and with much embarrassment to
his new wife, the ‘good’ knight ordered the
capture and execution of Perley.
Perley was no fool and had
anticipated this reaction.
Several other
Mountaineers appeared from the crowd and
defended Perley from the oncoming guards and
freelances hoping to win favor. Perley and his
men escaped into the mountains becoming a
terrible thorn in Sir Kirine’s side for many years to
come.
For his part Sir Kirine began imprisoning
anyone who even had the slightest association
with the rebel. This was a dark time for us, no one
knew if the next knock on your door would be a
friendly neighbor or the lord’s guard come to
throw you in chains for real or imagined slights—a
dark time indeed.
1571 A.F. Fall: Raids and a
Birth
Perley and his men continued to raid any
caravans or riverboats that had any signs of the
hand of Sir Kirine. Each tenday Perley would add a
few more disgruntled villagers, mountaineers and
even bandits to his cause. It was a good time for
the popular rebel, with the winter coming and less
traffic arriving due to the increasingly severe
weather and his own actions, Perley was sure that
the villagers would rise up and depose Kirine.
Mid-Fall Perley’s wife gave birth to a
healthy little girl that he named Sinia. Perley was
a happy man; I remember having tea with him
once, you see, I was taking a small trip to
Geidbrir’s Halls to winter with the Vaerdi there.
Apparently one of our porters was one of Kirine’s
men and Perley’s rogues ambushed us and took us
prisoner. The porter was questioned and hung on
the road, the rest of us were held in a nearby cave.
It was here that I met the man. He was quite an
amiable fellow, though not one disposed to long
conversations. I still do not know how he had
discovered the loyalties of that porter.
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Kamarathin
Winter:
Life
and
1577 A.F. Summer: Death and
a Nightmare
This summer proved the Druids’
predictions. It started off well enough, Sir Kirine
and Lady Ethalian birthed their first child and heir,
a daughter. The nobles’ joy was to be short lived,
however, as the ghost of Mary did appear and
placed a curse upon the family. Exactly what that
curse was no one is certain, when Sir Kirine exited
the room he had the pallor of the grave on him
and his daughter in his arms. The good Lady and
the midwives were all dead without a mark on
them.
In midsummer I was summoned to the
Weaving Circle, when I arrived I was greeted to
what I thought was a camp of war. Every druid
within a league was gathered along with what I
suspected to be nearly every Mountaineer as well.
Sprinkled among them was every form of animal
that could be found in the Highlands. My
entourage and I were greeted with weapons bared
until identities could be established.
I was led to a tent just outside of the
circle where I gazed upon a most wretched sight.
A man who claimed to be from Marone was
huddled in the back, his eyes sunken and wide
open in utter terror, his entire left side was
warped into nightmarish forms of twisted faces. I
have never been able to remove that poor man’s
eyes from my nightmares.
I was told that he had been found,
wandering in the woods wailing in abject terror, a
band of Mountaineers were sent to the town to
see if anything more could be found, they
returned in full flight, running from something.
According to the druids, those men and women
are still running to this day. It would take the rest
of that year and the lives of many more good
people before the druids and I discovered that
Marone had become the birth place of a
Nightmare. The entire town was slaughtered or
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Unfortunately for Perley, the coming
winter held many horrors. It started off well
enough as my good friend Ishalân Zirun Ulumîn
was given leave to build a Forge in Rayne. A great
boon, indeed, this meant that travelling
Matharians would be more likely to stay in the
village rather than pushing on to the Clanhome
another day away.
But all the Forges in the land could not
assuage the fury of this winter. The snows came
hard and fast. Several blizzards hit our poor
village; the Vaerdi claimed that the blizzard was a
good sign. They claimed that the ice was the
weapon of their goddess Thurgaard and it was a
sign that Hafgring had crept near and she was
doing battle with him. Half of the Halls kept
awake at night with weapons and armor ready.
“For when the Beastlings come.” answered one
warrior to my inquiry. And come they did.
Throughout the winter woodcutter cabins
were found empty, their owner’s bodies found
ripped apart as they ran from some unknown
monstrosity. I once accompanied a Vaerdi hunter
and though we found no game we happened
across the remains of an Aigulf camp. Whatever
had happened here had been the stuff of
nightmares. As we searched for any survivors I
heard the muffled crying of a babe. Tracking it
down we uncovered an Aigulf pup hidden within a
tent. We took him back to the Halls and the
Vaerdi women took him under their wings, caring
for him through this evil time.
I adopted the lad, named him Caid and
raised him as my own son. You may have met him
on your way here, he’s become the law in this
village; he’d be a Sheriff had we lived in the east.
A good lad he is.
That all changed in late spring when
several woodsmen returned with signs of the
Blackhand plague. We all feared for our lives then,
seeking out the druids we begged them for their
aid, thankfully the Old Faith runs strong through
Rayne and the Druids were able to stop the spread
of the disease before it killed too many of us.
But the comet had brought more than
just the Blackhand to us, an evil far worse was
gestating a few days to our west in Marone.
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1571 A.F.
Death
1577
A.F.
Harbinger
Spring:
The
On the New Year a comet appeared in the
sky, the Druids told of a darkness encroaching
upon our village and that the comet was its herald.
When nothing happened through early spring,
most had thought the Druids to have
misinterpreted the signs.
The seasonal
rivertraders came and Perley and his rebels
continued to fleece them. All-in-all it was a typical
spring.
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Chapter One: Kingdom of Tursh
1578
Day
1577 A.F. Fall: Early Freeze
Sir Lissean and his wife, Lady Phermma of
House Manevin, have begun construction of a
fortified manner house on a small rise on the
south side of Rayne. At this time only the
foundation has been settled and the outlines of
the walls and out buildings have been dug away.
Many see this as a sign that the village is
going to enter a boom time and they are eager for
the supposed growth. Sir Lissean is actually
building the fort in response to a Druid’s
premonition that the Marone Nightmare's
corruption is expanding and will soon threaten the
village of Rayne, but not before it swallows the
Geidbrir Clan.
Sir Lissean has spoken with Birud Anam
the Khazarian Ilumite, Chieftain Kastar and Afknir
Ava, Guildmistress Jirdolen, Sage Thonelle, Caid
and Ishalân Zirun Ulumîn the Forgeborn Otases
about this. All agree that defenses must be
developed for the village.
Caid is training the militia even harder
while Sir Lissean has sent envoys to Baron
Riondsay to alert him of the danger and to ask for
some knights to help train and recruit a soldiery.
The Ilumite has offered the services of several
Pyroclasts and Homeguard once the time comes.
Mercenaries are always at hand and the
Guildmistress will likely fund the hiring of many.
Chieftain Kastar has pledged his warriors and
hunters to the cause as well.
Many mountaineers have come forth and
offered to keep watch for Shadowlings, a sure sign
of the Nightmare’s encroachment.
Word has
even been sent to the Royal Academy, but little
word has been received from that illustrious
institution.
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The threat of the Nightmare held my
attentions for the entirety of the fall. I journeyed
to Riverford and then to Lissinia. From there I
made my way to Haylone where I wintered with
the Asunian Priest, Stermilin. A more corrupt,
intolerant and lascivious band of nobles and
priests I have yet to encounter, but that is a story
for another time. To say the least I had no
connection to Rayne while I was away.
When I returned I received word that
Mary’s ghost had appeared once more, this time
she did so in the village green. Her wail struck a
local
woodcutter
sending
him
into
unconsciousness. As he lay in his sickbed he told
of visions of the village covered in ice and he and
his family frozen in their bed. The woodcutter’s
words would turn out to be very prophetic as a
cold snap enveloped the village early, it was said
that even the Ettell froze over. As for the
woodcutter, he was indeed found frozen but not
in bed, he apparently had moved his family into a
neighbor’s home and had died while trying to
retrieve his daughter’s favorite doll from his own
abode. His family, however, had been saved by his
actions.
1577 A.F. Winter: The Flood
As if the early freeze wasn’t bad enough,
the winter proved to be rather warm and snows
were uncommon. Instead Merdashtes brought
rains, according to those that were there, you
could count the rainless nights on a single hand
during midwinter. The Ettell became glutted with
so much water it leaped from its banks. The Ettell
flooded the basements and root cellars of every
building within the village. For nigh on three
tendays the village was awash.
Between the freezes and the eventual
retreat of the waters, there was no food left to the
villagers, what was left had rotted. By the end of
the winter my kinsfolk were starving and suffering
from the Hollow Cough. Once again the actions of
the druids would prove to be the saving grace of
the village. Through their faith in the Old Ways,
the druids were able to bring an early spring crop
of fruit and herbal remedies to chase away the
sickness. We owe the Weaving Circle much.
A.F.
Spring:
Present
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run off and the Nightmare grows stronger each
day.
Prominent Villagers
My village is small, that is very true, but
we do have folks that we consider to be
important. While they may not make center stage
at the King’s Ball, I can state with full confidence
that should something of import take place here,
they will be involved.
Sir Lissean of House Vilare
Sir Lissean of House Vilare, a knight in the
service of Baron Riondsay of House Jobarry, is the
mayor of Rayne. Born of noble heritage he is a
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Kamarathin
Ishalân Zirun Ulumîn
Captain Crahn
Captain Crahn of the riverboat Marsh
Queen is arguably the most well known rivertrader
along the Ettell and possibly the entire Gaver. His
boat is like no other and harkens back to the
longboats of the Great Darkness.
He claims to have found it in the Water
Wood while living with the Tilla tribe of Bezzi (a
claim that is almost as absurd as his tale about the
boat itself). It was during a hunt for a particularly
nasty Water Dragon that he heard the voice of a
maiden calling to him.
He knew the tricks the marshes could pull
on a man so he ignored it, but the calls continued
and only he could hear them. For three days he
tried to resist, but finally, driven mad by them, he
journeyed off into the swamp.
For weeks he searched, surviving on
nothing but insects snakes and...
Well, the story goes on for a very long
time, getting longer with each retelling and more
outlandish with each pint. But the truth is that the
boat is in pristine condition, it is a design no longer
made and it seems to run aground or snap its oars
whenever the Captain has a tryst with a woman on
shore.
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The Cult of the Forge has a temple in
Rayne. All of these temples are called Forges
usually preceded by the name of the city it resides
in, so this particular one is called the Rayne Forge
or just the Forge by the locals.
The Rayne Forge is under the direction of
Ishalân Zirun Ulumîn. He has attained the rank of
Otases and is of the Forgeborn, those that speak
for the Great Ilkhan, Mathar.
He is wise, crafty and exceptionally short
tempered with those that make him wait. He is
also good friends with the Tursh sage, Thonelle.
The two are often seen having oft-heated
discussions at Thonelle's cottage or at The Dog's
Bar.
and the resulting goods, preferring to not get
involved and overstep her political bounds.
However, she will not tolerate a non-guild
craftsman attempting to work in "Her village."
Many suspect Vilin and Oivo are more
than they appear, particularly Oivo who doesn't
seem to know anything about carpentry and no
one has ever seen him working wood.
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graduate of the Royal Academy and a mage of
middling skill who prefers the company of those
who work hard and play hard rather than musty
tomes and books.
He is married to Lady Phermma of House
Manevin, a Tursh who is descended from a long
line of Highlanders. Her house is in service to
House Jisan and their marriage was a political
maneuver to ward off tensions between them and
House Clah.
Living with the knight and lady is Sir
Lissean’s cousin, Lord Scota. An enigmatic figure
among the citizens of Rayne, he keeps his secrets
close to his chest and is never seen without at
least one of his bodyguards. Many rumors
circulate about the lordling and his affairs, but in
truth little is known about him.
Jirdolen of Clah
There is only one guild in the village of
Rayne (and that in of itself is rather unusual for
such a small village), the Carpenters guild.
Considering that Rayne's primary exports are the
fine hard woods that can be found in the
surrounding forests, it may not be a surprise that
the guild has some serious pull in the local politics.
The guild contains all of 4 members: the
town’s Guildmistress, Jirdolen of Clah, a Tursh
woman of low birth whose business acumen has
propelled her to the top over those with more
carpentry skill; a local Tursh man, Journeyman
Vilin; an Aigulf woman, Journeyman Isorlean; and
finally an Atharân apprentice named Oivo.
The Guildmistress tends to keep the
guild’s activities limited to their focus on lumber
Dariss of Leenor
Dariss of Leenor is the second most
popular merchant in town, she's known as The
Provisioner and specializes in goods for the
traveler.
Dariss is a stunning redhead with a patch
over her right eye.—a wound she took while
fighting off Bezzi near the Water Wood.
Once a Rivertrader herself she decided to
set ashore after meeting and marrying the
mercenary, Krayne. Every time she would arrive in
the village with her latest cargo, Krayne would
have a list of supplies that he needed for his
current employer.
Backpacks, lanterns, waterskins, rope,
wedges and grappling hooks as well as dried
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Chapter One: Kingdom of Tursh
foodstuffs and sturdy clothes, Dariss quickly saw a
market. She sold her boat and petitioned Sir
Lissean for a writ to build a cottage near the
village green. It wasn't long before her shop was
doing quite well.
Dariss' shop has a 50% chance of
containing an item that is useful in the
"exploration trade" during the spring this chance
gets reduced by 1% for every 10 days after
summer begins and the prices rise accordingly.
She doesn't trade in armor or weapons leaving
that work to the Matharians or Sir Lissean’s smith;
Gayn.
If an item isn't found another attempt
can't be made until the next caravan or riverboat
arrives from down river or from Beilean. She does
take requests but it can take upwards of a month
or longer to acquire the goods depending on
availability and the time of year.
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The Rayne Forge has been covered
already, but the Asunite Temple bears more detail.
Long ago in the village’s history, an Asunite
Priestess was unjustly accused of dark magic and
tragically slain by the villagers. The now deceased
mayor at the time was responsible for this heinous
act and her ghost has haunted the village ever
since.
About 10 years ago, an Asunite priest
arrived on a trader’s boat and met with Lord
Scota. Soon after, the Lordling gifted the priest
with a small townhome which he converted into
the temple of the Children of the Sun.
The temple itself is fairly non-descript and
the rundown building lies just off the bridge. The
few priests that dwell there spend their time
serving warm stews and opening their bottom
floor to any who wish to take of their generosity.
They don't preach to the masses and those who
wish to join their services are welcomed with open
arms and without any expectations.
The Children's low profile and a collective
guilt for the murder of Priestess Mary has
combined in a way that lets the villagers forget the
Plague Wall and leave the priests alone.
At most people will discuss sordid
speculations as to why the generally aloof and
arrogant Lordling would have been so generous,
particularly since it is well known that he follows
the Old Faith.
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Father Jone
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Kamarathin
- 48 -
Chapter Two: Religion
spirits that are "common" and infuse the
aforementioned places of the world. These are
also the creatures which Spirit Binders control and
The world is a frightening place full of
manipulate.
dangerous and unexplained things and
The second stage is called ‘Awakened’
happenings. To help cope with this, the people of
and at this time the spirit has garnered a form of
the world have turned to religion and superstition
sentience. These are the spirits that are able to
to ease their minds and allow them to endure
walk in our world for as long as they wish without
tragedies both real and imagined.
causing detrimental effects to themselves or the
The power of the supernatural is both
world around them. At this stage they will actively
real and significant. Whether you follow a deity,
seek Channelers and work to gain worshippers.
spirit or pay service to an entire pantheon, religion
The third stage is what has become
is a core facet of every member of nearly every
known as gods. These spirits have reached a level
race. Even those rare few who do not offer
of power that we cannot comprehend and all of it
regular prayers to the gods and spirits will be
gained through their established Faiths. Ironically,
hesitant to speak ill of them for fear of bringing
this is also when they can least affect the world
forth their ire.
directly. Due to some supernatural barrier that
Within this chapter I explore the
was apparently erected during the Scale Wars, no
fundamentals of the spiritual world, or at least
"god" can directly access our world.
what have become common beliefs, and the most
In shape and form, the common spirits
common religions within the Kingdom of Tursh.
are transient. They have no natural form in our
To say that these are the only religions within the
world and simply resemble that which the viewer
Kingdom, let alone the whole of Hylrexia, would
feels the manifestation "should" look like. These
be an arrogant disservice to the diversity of our
varied appearances apparently have no affect
lands.
whatsoever on the capabilities of the spirits.
These few
The second
“We are the children of the Spirits. They are in
that have been listed
form becomes much
here do, however, everything you see, everything you touch. It is they who
more solidified in its
cover the religions created the world and it was they who punished us for
shape as it acquires
and beliefs that one is
more
and
more
turning away from them. Some call this the Scale Wars,
most
likely
to
followers. The image
encounter and the but we who listen know it as the Awakening.
of the fledgling god
ones that have had
These gods of the New Faiths are just uppity
becomes a constant
some direct impact
as
their
religion
spirits. They have been corrupted during the Great
upon the foundation
develops
and
Darkness by contact with us and now they look to rewrite
of our Kingdom.
becomes codified.
their own histories and to shackle us to them and them
The
gods
Spirits
themselves are static
alone. But we who listen know better, we know the
in form, having been
Spirits infuse sounds of spoiled children and we must be like the patient
established in it for
every aspect of our parent and let them learn their lessons.”
generations
upon
world, while there
generations.
That
is,
are places where the
unless,
their
form
is
Fiorlann
the
Skald
of
the
Eóghas
Clan
discussing
the
area is spiritually
inherently
nature
of
gods
and
spirits
dead;
these
are
changeable.
dreadful and thankfully rare places.
Spirits
are
spawned
from a dimension
Spirits are wholly chaotic creatures that
other
than
our
own,
a
place
known
as The Aether.
have no rhyme or reason beyond the object, ideal
They
are
physical
manifestations
of concepts,
or emotion they embody. But not all spirits are
emotions
and
things.
Because
they
are
not born
this way, like all things they change and evolve
they
are
without
souls
and
are
thus
immortal,
over time.
unable to be killed in the traditional sense. Their
There are three known "stages" of this
cohesive form, however, can be dispersed. This
evolution. The first and lowest forms are the base
Sa
m
ple
file
Introduction
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