Religions
We are here on this land as the the people of the Great Procession, when heroes walked over all the lands with God at their helm and the world was cleansed from the evil that blanketed the world. Those were the best of us, when our creator was made manifest and saints followed in their glorious wake. If only we could agree on who they were.
Our world is maddening, capricious, unpredictable, and callous, yet it contains everything beautiful and good that we keep close to out hearts. Why should some have so much while others have so little? Why do some days seem to pass in moments while others last for lifetimes? Why do the outcomes of our actions flutter like flags in the Shoot Day breeze? There are many ways to answer these questions, and so the people chose them all.
Below are some of the leading denominations by which the people of Gnomestones contextualize their existence.
Ulf, Lord of Creation
Excerpt from Ulfbook
"God who led The Great Procession was called Ulf. Ulf is he who comes before all, before even it itself, and thus he is the, and the is he, Ulflord who led Ulfprocession. All of Ulfland and Ulfsea is his creation, and Ulfpeople were made by Ulfstrike of his divine hammer. He who created Ulfsky and Ulfground, Ulfsun and Ulfmoon. Your house is Ulfhouse, and your forge is Ulfforge, and your creations are his."
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"After Ulf created all things, Ulf built a mortal form so he could live amongst his people. This was good, and the people rejoiced in a Golden Age, but not all of Ulf's creations were so glad. Ulfelf, who Ulf gave more favor than any other, was discontent, and craved more than Ulfgifts offered to them. Elf made a wicked plot to take Ulf's divine hammer. "I will only take it for a little while, and then I will make my own just like it! Ulf will never be Ulfwiser!" elf said. But when he did take Ulfhammer, it did not go as Elf thought it would. Ulfhammer held the power of all creation, and Elf created things they did not mean to create. Elf's dark creations destroyed many of Ulf's other children. When Ulf saw what had happened, he wept, and said to his people, "My children Elf and Hammer have attacked others. I am to blame." Ulf swung his hammer and unmade Ulfchildren of Elf and Hammer, and as Ulf was to blame, Ulf then un-made himself. Ulf said, "I will leave this place." And thus Ulfgolden Age was at an end, and the world was once again covered in darkness."
The Way of Bue
Oral recountment, Monk Grolio, at the fire in front of the cart by the ditch at the end of the lane
"Ah, hello child, did you bring the mutton-stick I asked for? Yes, yes, very good, very good indeed. I suppose you mightn'be wanting that story from before? That's was it, I see. It's not a tale you'll hear in your little schoolhouse, what with all the chanting and banging and clatter. Yet it is the true tale of how this world came to be. The story is not short, in the Way we all must take our time. Pull up this stool, and I will heat up some Grolicforn tea. One sip and you'll know whether or not it will rain tomorrow, I swear on the Sword of the Sun.
Long ago, all the lands were covered in a foul mire, and no thing moved with freedom. In this darkness, for 1000 years, a secret order of monks studied and practiced the ways of the motion of things, their sacred temples hidden on islands far out to sea. There would come a time when the darkness spread so far that it even touched the beaches of Bue, remote though they were. The forces of evil arrived at the sacred island with blade and torch, but each time, the monks cast them off with their wonderous magicks. But again and again, the evil came back, and the monks wept, for they loved their temple, and many had already died in the fighting. The monks believed in their hearts that they were protecting the last seeds of hope in all the world.
It was at this time when all seemed lost that One Who is All Things appeared. A young monk they were, named Bue, wielding an unknown sword of fearsome strength. This time when the evil returned, Bue motioned to the monks to step aside. With their mightly balde and fearsome magicks, Bue defeated the monsters and demons as easily as tearing through a crust of bread. When the battle was over, the wise elder monks asked Bue, where did they had find their sword, where did they gain their great powers? Bue merely turned to the great ocean, and began to walk, and the waters parted before them.
Seeing that this was Truth, the monks of motion began walking behind Bue. They walked across the seas and over lands, further and further. As they walked, good things came out of their holes and began to follow in Bue's wake without fear. Where ever they went, they pushed the foul mire back, and things moved freely and with joy oncemore. This was known as the Great Procession. It was a time of glory and rapture, when God walked among us and their followers were saints and heroes.
The Great Procession was destined to end the age of darkness, and the fiends that thrived in those shadows could do nothing to slow the tide of hope washing over all the lands. Eventually, Bue pushed the monsters all the way to the wastelands at the very edge of the world, where in a forlorn castle hunkered the demonking T'choll and his princes.
By this time Bue had gained many followers, of which the greatest had forged their own swords of power, and were known as the Disciples. One held a sword of ocean tide and another held a sword of the howling wind, one held a sword of molten rock while yet another held one of unbreakable iron, and one held a sword of shining light while the last held of sword of deep shadow. Bue and their Disciples went to the edge of the world and fought the Demonking and his Princes and defeated them too.
Then the broken Demonking laughed, and said to Bue, "You cannot strike me down, for I have woven myself into the fabric of the world, and if you destroy me, so too will go the rest." As Bue was all things, they knew that this was true. Bue struck down T'choll, and then said, "You are in the fabric of this world, but I am All Things, and so this world is not doomed, not this time." Then the world was gone, and then Bue was gone, and the world was Bue.
In the wasteland dust at the edge of the world, the Disciples of Bue stood in stunned silence, and then they began to quarrel. The Firemonk wanted to search for Bue and bring them back. The Seamonk said that the Great Procession must never end, for the sacred motion of Bue held the darkness at bay. The Daymonk said that each Disciple held one piece of Bue's Truth, and thus they should lead together as council. The Windmonk said this was foolish, and that one of their number must ascend to wield the power of all things and take Bue's place. The Nightmonk laughed and asked if this successor would be the Windmonk, or if any of their number was free to take the throne. The Windmonk declared that the Nightmonk had long been a traitor to the Way, an agent of demons, and moved to strike her down as well.
The Disciples fought each other in the wasteland at the edge of the world in the shadow of T'choll's great castle. When the dust settle, the Stonemonk was dead, falling while defending the Disciples from each other. The Windmonk declared the Nightmonk a murderer and left. Each Disciple retreated in turn, taking their followers to a different corner of the world, leaving the Stonemonk in the dust at the edge of the world.
For a time, the Disciples lived in an uneasy peace, finishing the work of the Great Procession and carving out a new way of life. The Seamonk took part of the Great Procession and resumed walking, and they walk to this day. The Daymonk and the Windmonk claimed thrones of great empires, and rebuilt the world which had been consumed in darkness. The Nightmonk fading into the shadows of the world, as was not heard from again, though many still worship her as spirit of protection. I do not know if the Stonemonk was recovered, I'm sorry to say. Perhaps they lie deep underground in some dusty tomb at the edge of the world. The Firemonk had loved Bue, and could not bear their grief. Over and over they tried to find their lost lord, warping the fabric of space around them by the force of their desire. But this could not be done, and the Firemonk died for their efforts. The Daymonk assumed the Lands of Fire, becoming the Emperor of the Sun. In response, the Windking declared war, and the rest is history. The War of Wind and Sun was at hand, and the Golden Age of Bue was at an end.
That doesn't mean the Way is lost though! Or, we are lost, and will be found? It will find us I think, and then we will be on our way! Ah, I don't remember how it goes. Um, well anyway, the Way of Bue is the Truth, child. The only truth indeed, despite what people say about Mr. Ulf the Hammerman or any other false gods. You heed these words my child, and remember that the Great Procession is still out there somewhere. They will come for all the faithful one day.
Well, it looks like you're out of tea. If you don't have anymore mutton then I suppose you should run along home. It's going to start raining soon, as you know. By the time the storms pass on Small Day the morrow, I will have packed up and gone on my way. Don't cry, and take this polished glassrock. If you ever see another faded cart like mine at the end of the lane, just show them the glass, and you will have support from the followers of the Way. You have friends out there, and ones you haven't met yet. Those are the best kind of friend!"
Gurshthrumil
"Ok so basically the gnome said that Gurshthrumil was like her mother? Definitely at the bottom of the earth though. The gnome said that if you keep going down you'll eventually find her. Yes I know how that sounds. No I don't plan on going to find out. Yes I am feeling ok. No, the gnome stole all my silver, I need you to pay."
-Washika Flurnk
The Lost Seers of Vidur
"In the shadows of the new world, before the Ulfans, and before Great Procession and even before the monks of motion, there were seers. In order to survive in the time of evil, they build traditions out of secrecy and shields out of shadow and moonlight. It is said they worshiped the Unknown, that their lord was master of all beyond the edge of comprehension.
Well they are all gone now, and few relics are left to prove they existed at all. Bye and bye folks will come across some boarded up rootcellar with a moon-faced statue inside and say they found one of the temple of the seers, but it's probably a lie. I guess that's the way about a deity of the unknown, you're never really sure when you found it. Not very persuasive in my opinion."
- Ol' Berga
The House of T'choll
You might think that worshipers of death would be exiled from polite society with haste, but if you think about it twice, it's not that surprising. Even before the Great Procession was over, followers started looking at the demons on the other end of their sword and thinking, "hey that doesn't look so bad". Thus, the Denizens of the House of T'choll was born. Always, they lurk in the alley or around the corner, perpetually more tolerated than you would expect.
Their symbol is the Valknut and they summon demons using the shape of a triangle. Their currency is life and they are all greedy to the core. They will buy your soul and your blood and thank you by sending you to the land of death. They periodically attempt to bring back their dark lord or some other fiendish prince, and heroes inevitably have to prevent catastrophe and pick up the pieces.
The Order of the Web
"The elites in the hanging city of Octavia have their own traditions. I guess the rest of the cosmos weren't good enough for them. If you ask about it, you'll only hear that it's the oldest faith of all, and that it concerns the existence of everything. More like the existence of huge piles of gold, that's what I say".
Gleeorp to Fligwig, upon breaking into the underside of a basket-palace in Upper Octavia and stumbling upon a strangely shaped shrine
The Sunwitch and the Moonwitch
Many heroes were forged in the Great Procession, as many people needed help. Each one of the Great Disciples inspired new heroes with power their rivaled their own. The Sunwitch and the Moonwitch were two of these followers, who saved the land of Rutne, when the world was young. Rutne is two valleys, split right down the middle by an ancient mountain range. The Moonwitch took the northern valley into their protection, and the Sunwitch took the southern. When they passed from this realm, they selected others to take their places, and thus the twin Protectorate of Rutne was born. Some deacons in Rutne say that the Sunwitch and Moonwitch were merely saints, while others claim that they were the essence of God made manifest.
The Cult of Very Last Day
The Timekeepers, ancient wise ones of Octavia, say there will be a Very Short Day this year. Is is getting shorter, or is that longer? Those of the Cult believe that the Last Day is coming. They think the secret is partially in the stars, partially under the earth, and partially hidden the calendar.