Saint Syntrofius
Saint of Wine, Love, and Friendship
Syntrofius is the Saint of Wine, Love, and Friendship, and is the newest of the Saint of Order under the All-Father Godric. Syntrofius was the only Saint to have been ordained AFTER the fall of the Daemon Lord Aloth.
Then called Syntrofius Carloman was a humble barkeep in a small mining town outside the city of Vostrum called Segestica, who owned a tavern called the Snarky Badger. The Snarky Badger itself was not (and was moreso far from) the most extravagant or luxurious of establishments; it's floorboards creaked relentlessly, the trophies and decorations on the walls were rusted and in tatters, and even the drinks available were not of the finest calibre. Despite all this, it was within the wood-panelled and beer stained walls of this unremarkable establishment that the heart of Segestica was held. It was the only tavern in the then tiny mining town, and it was where every man and woman of the town would gather after the long day's labour to rest, relax, socialize, and even settle their disputes. The place might not have been much to look at from any noble from Nazzareth, but to the people here it was their place as much as it was a business, it was the beating heart of their little frontier town. At the center of this place was "Mr. Carloman", a husky human lad of a mere 32, who would sling brews, quips, and a comforting word depending on what his patrons needed on any given day. Though the town had a mayor, it was Syntrofius Carloman who had his finger on the heartbeat of the town, and anytime anyone was in need, it was always him who would make sure they had a warm meal and a soft bed when they needed one.
The Early Second Age was not a time of pure peace, as many of the clergy like to claim, and there were many daemonic cultist hangers-on the would plague the rural and less patrolled areas of the continent in those days. One such cult, The Brotherhood of the Bad Moon, decided to try and make segestica their new stomping ground, looking to use it's material resources to re-forge the weapons and idols after their defeat by the city guards of Vostrum.
It wasn't the mayor (who notably fled town 2 days before the cults' arrival), nor was it the local guards, that the townfolk rallied to when the cultists came to beseige the pitiful wooden palisade around their town. Every woman and man of fighting age gathered at the Snarky Badger, looking for comfort in the company of those who were willing to support them in both their fat times and the thin. And so it was in this time of dire need that the townsfolk elected ("Gasp!") Syntrofius Carloman as their leader, to which he heartily refused. He stood on a barstool and gave a rousing speech, of how they did not need a "leader", nor did they need the support of some far-away city, all they needed was three things: A stalwart friend at their side, a lover behind them, and a belly full of ale, and they could overcome any foe.
This may seem like a foolish proposition to some in urban society. However, none of those people know the strength of a small community of close-knit kin, if not by blood then by hardship, who are willing to stand by each other till the end.
Segestica not only held out against the attackers, but on the 23rd day of the siege (coincidentally the day the beer-taps ran dry), Syntrofius Carloman himself led a sally forth of the entire town's fighting people against the besieging cultists, and routed them totally. A town of merely a hundred-some people overcame a viscious daemon cult of many hundreds in only an hour, and sent them running across the hilly plains to the south of the town.
Later that night, as the townsfolk gathered again at the Snarky Frog, drinking the looted wine of the cultists, an old man in a long cloak entered, unknown to the townsfolk. Some attempted to stop him, beliving him to be a cultist in disguise, trying to hide among them. at this, Carloman waved them away "never turn away a new comrade my friends!" he said "come stranger, let me get you a draught on the house". The old man nodded under his hood, and now all the tavern was eyeing the mysterious stranger. The least-loved barstool was made free for him, and it creaked as the old man sat in front of the wooden tankard presented by Carloman, who lifted his own in cheers.
"To new friends" Carloman said;
"and to old ones too" the old man said, as they both laughed and took a long swig.
the old man's hood fell back as he took a long drink, and the crowd gasped as they beheld something they had only seen on church walls. Godric the all-Father himself sat amongst them, not as a domineering god, but as a comrade amongst his kin.
Accounts differ as to what occurred after this, but all agree that Saint Syntrofius was ordained on this day, and his followers claim he still wanders, filling the glasses of weary travellers and filling the hearts of those who seek friendly comradeship amongst their fellow kin in goodness.
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