The Blue Spire
That mountain, especially that one. The Lost City. The Rakshasa. The Home of Gods. The cave where a monk entombed a demon in the purity of salt. The Blue Spire is full of ghosts and legends. Maybe true, maybe just simple people with scary stories to entertain themselves in the long cold dark winter nights.The Salt Spires lay north and east of the Imperial Esereti frontier and north and west of the Taurien lands.
Summary
Long ago a demon roamed the mountains and the lands around the Salt Spires. It preyed upon mountain folk, travelers, miners and ash burners. It even preyed upon the Raksasha. The people prayed to the Gods for help, for none could withstand the creature nor predict when it might strike.
One day a party of heroes arrived. Clad in shining armor and heavily armed, they said that they would defeat the demon. Up into the mountains they went. That night a terrible storm could be seen - lightnings and smokes upon the mountain, the Blue Spire. In the morning the people could see that part of a slope had fallen. They thanked the Gods for destroying the demon.
That night one of the heroes came to a village. Bloody and broken she said "My body is broken and hidden, but your old friend is still here. None are safe." And the hero died. From her mouth boiled out a shadow of terror and many limbs, a shape like a lizard standing upright but on it's front legs with the tail in the air. This shadow jumped upon a child and poured itself into the child's mouth. "My new hunting begins." said the child in the demon's voice and it ran away into the night.
The people wailed and cried. The parents of the child wept and all asked the Gods for help. But the demon now wore the forms of stolen bodies or roamed the night as a ghostly shadow. It increased it's attacks. It stole people in the night and lured many to their doom as a crying lost child, a young girl, an old person seeking aid, or wearing the form of a Rakshasa attacking hunters, miners or fisher folk.
A young fae of the troll race came and took an oath to defeat the creature. Tem-mees was her name. Though she sought it, she could not slay the ghost. It taunted her and once possessed her, leaving her naked in a village. For a month after she roamed the village in madness before her mind returned. She said that she had seen and heard horrible things and places and the screams of all the demon's victims. A troll's magic is in the oaths they take, and they may never break them or they suffer a dreadful curse. So she set to equipping herself again with spear and bow- weapons such as the villages could make. She made armor of boiled and hardened leather and though on how to protect herself from the demon's mind control and possession.
The Gods finally sent a holy man. A priest and monk named Ghil. He told the people that he would defeat the demon or die trying, as many had before. Ghil had heard the stories and was wise, and so had a plan. Ghil took Tem-mees and they set into the mountain to find the demon's body. With prayers, magic and guidance of the Gods they found a cave and in the cave, entombed by blocks of salt crystals they found the demons body. The pure salt prevented the demon from re-entering it's body, this was why it had become a ghost. Here Ghil took a bone from it and carved a flute. With the demon bone flute he would call the demon. They went out from the cave and Ghil made arc of salt and told Tem-mees to close the circle when the demon came. If all else failed, he would be possessed and she must then take him with the demon inside to be sealed in the salt tomb with the demon. She swore to do this and to guard the tomb from disturbance if that came to pass. Ghil told her to place a piece of the salt crystal rock in her mouth when the demon came.
They set the trap of salt and runes, and Ghil cast aside all but his robes and the flute. He played it and called the demon. Tem-mees put the rock salt in her mouth. The demon came and tried to enter Tem-mees- but the salt in her mouth stopped it. It turned and tried the same with the priest. But he also put rock salt in his mouth as the shadow drew close. Recoiling, it called forth flames to burn the priest. The troll closed the salt circle. Now the demon wheeled, enraged, to try to break the circle. Ghil called on the Gods and tried to cast the demon back out of the world. It laughed and said that so long as as much as a scale, a hair or bit of bone remained, it could not be cast out. Ghil played upon the flute and called the demon into the bone. And so it was drawn in, but it lashed out and sent it's tail up Ghil's nose and some part dwelt in the Priest. The demon laughed from Ghil's body and proclaimed it's victory as it kicked away the salt circle. Tem-mees lept and bound Ghil in strips of leather enchanted with Fae magic and rubbed in salted water. She put salt in his ears and nose. Then she gathered up the flute and Ghil and carried them to the salt cave. Here she picked the salt from the monk. The demon laughed and said it would never surrender the priest. Tem-mees gathered salt blocks and sealed the chamber as she had sworn to do. She carved warnings and wardings. Then she went to the villages to tell the people what had happened before she went back to guard the entry to the tomb.
None have heard or seen Tem-mees since that day. None knows where upon the mountain the tomb lies but they say the demon waits and Tem-mees still guards the entry to prevent the demon from escape or rescue.
One day a party of heroes arrived. Clad in shining armor and heavily armed, they said that they would defeat the demon. Up into the mountains they went. That night a terrible storm could be seen - lightnings and smokes upon the mountain, the Blue Spire. In the morning the people could see that part of a slope had fallen. They thanked the Gods for destroying the demon.
That night one of the heroes came to a village. Bloody and broken she said "My body is broken and hidden, but your old friend is still here. None are safe." And the hero died. From her mouth boiled out a shadow of terror and many limbs, a shape like a lizard standing upright but on it's front legs with the tail in the air. This shadow jumped upon a child and poured itself into the child's mouth. "My new hunting begins." said the child in the demon's voice and it ran away into the night.
The people wailed and cried. The parents of the child wept and all asked the Gods for help. But the demon now wore the forms of stolen bodies or roamed the night as a ghostly shadow. It increased it's attacks. It stole people in the night and lured many to their doom as a crying lost child, a young girl, an old person seeking aid, or wearing the form of a Rakshasa attacking hunters, miners or fisher folk.
A young fae of the troll race came and took an oath to defeat the creature. Tem-mees was her name. Though she sought it, she could not slay the ghost. It taunted her and once possessed her, leaving her naked in a village. For a month after she roamed the village in madness before her mind returned. She said that she had seen and heard horrible things and places and the screams of all the demon's victims. A troll's magic is in the oaths they take, and they may never break them or they suffer a dreadful curse. So she set to equipping herself again with spear and bow- weapons such as the villages could make. She made armor of boiled and hardened leather and though on how to protect herself from the demon's mind control and possession.
The Gods finally sent a holy man. A priest and monk named Ghil. He told the people that he would defeat the demon or die trying, as many had before. Ghil had heard the stories and was wise, and so had a plan. Ghil took Tem-mees and they set into the mountain to find the demon's body. With prayers, magic and guidance of the Gods they found a cave and in the cave, entombed by blocks of salt crystals they found the demons body. The pure salt prevented the demon from re-entering it's body, this was why it had become a ghost. Here Ghil took a bone from it and carved a flute. With the demon bone flute he would call the demon. They went out from the cave and Ghil made arc of salt and told Tem-mees to close the circle when the demon came. If all else failed, he would be possessed and she must then take him with the demon inside to be sealed in the salt tomb with the demon. She swore to do this and to guard the tomb from disturbance if that came to pass. Ghil told her to place a piece of the salt crystal rock in her mouth when the demon came.
They set the trap of salt and runes, and Ghil cast aside all but his robes and the flute. He played it and called the demon. Tem-mees put the rock salt in her mouth. The demon came and tried to enter Tem-mees- but the salt in her mouth stopped it. It turned and tried the same with the priest. But he also put rock salt in his mouth as the shadow drew close. Recoiling, it called forth flames to burn the priest. The troll closed the salt circle. Now the demon wheeled, enraged, to try to break the circle. Ghil called on the Gods and tried to cast the demon back out of the world. It laughed and said that so long as as much as a scale, a hair or bit of bone remained, it could not be cast out. Ghil played upon the flute and called the demon into the bone. And so it was drawn in, but it lashed out and sent it's tail up Ghil's nose and some part dwelt in the Priest. The demon laughed from Ghil's body and proclaimed it's victory as it kicked away the salt circle. Tem-mees lept and bound Ghil in strips of leather enchanted with Fae magic and rubbed in salted water. She put salt in his ears and nose. Then she gathered up the flute and Ghil and carried them to the salt cave. Here she picked the salt from the monk. The demon laughed and said it would never surrender the priest. Tem-mees gathered salt blocks and sealed the chamber as she had sworn to do. She carved warnings and wardings. Then she went to the villages to tell the people what had happened before she went back to guard the entry to the tomb.
None have heard or seen Tem-mees since that day. None knows where upon the mountain the tomb lies but they say the demon waits and Tem-mees still guards the entry to prevent the demon from escape or rescue.
Spread
The myth is a local one.
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