The Cudgel of Wisdom

Artist - Nikolay Nikitin - Artstation.com

The Order of the Frozen Wisdom and their public opinion:

It is a dangerous time to be associated with the Order of Frozen Wisdom. The message of the Brothers proselytizing on the corners, has been deemed by the Empire to be potentially damaging, and the guard are watching the known members while they are in public.
Their message is that the gods are angered by the Valsgardi expansion from their homelands in Skandia. Skandia was the place the gods made for them to live immediately before breathing life into the first of their kind. The order believes that if they are ever to get back into the favor of the gods, they must forsake this land and return to Skandia, and go back to their old way of life.
In response the order no longer meets in public, they keep to the basement store rooms of taverns and homes owned by sympathetic adherents. They have had to stop all outright communication other than handing out papers with cryptic statements on them. On the surface they seem benign but upon further inspection it seems to be a clue, beckoning the reader to embark on an hunt to find the meeting place.
Once the location is found, the seekers are initiated into the order, and given their first task. To make, for themselves a Cudgel from the wood of an Ygdrasili Redwood, and cover it in the protective carvings of their gods. From that day forward they wear the Cudgel on their left hip, and all members will know each other as an initiate and trusted ally.

Manufacturing process

The maker will select a branch of the redwood, as thick as their arm, and from it whittle away the unneeded parts until the end is heavy enough to be effective, and the handle is strong and comfortable in the hand. Each one is different as each maker is different.

Significance

The Cudgels of Wisdom are a symbol, of a simpler time, when the humans of Valsgard and Skandia were still in the good graces of their gods. By wearing them on their hip, it signifies the wearers desire to return to a time where that was the dominant weapon, not the axe, or short sword, that most other armed peoples wear on their hips.

The Cudgel of Wisdom

Artist - Darryle Holder - Artstation.com

Rarity

Cudgels themselves are quite common, although they are considered a primitive technology, and thus are not used.
The Cudgels of Wisdom, are hand made by the initates of the Order of Frozen Wisdom as a symbol of their membership, so with each new member the number of Cudgels of Wisdom also rise.

Raw materials & Components

The wood of Ygdrasili Redwood is used as it is a very hard wood, it has a beautiful deep red tone when polished. The trees themselves are sacred, revered as ancients, and providers the trees are nearly as loved as the gods themselves.
The Cudgels are intended to be plain, and unassuming, however it is expected that the creators will carve onto it the protection symbols of the gods. However some take this further by adorning the handles with leathers and stones.