Confused By The Light & Oblivious In Secrets
The gods now worshiped on Golarion were not the first, nor shall they be the last. The followers of what is now knows as the Old Cults know that what mortals regard as gods and manifestations of truth and perfection are anything but—they are, at best, nomads from other realities who found the universe and the worlds within while exploring a dusty corner of the Great Beyond.
The misty lands of Ustalev is the home of most of the Old Cults that's been discovered and Investigated. Here are some of the most famous Cults that have been uprooted in the Ustalev at the time of the writing of this tome the most notable sites of Old Cult activity in Ustalav are Vieland, the Graidmere, Scrawny Crossing and Carrion Hill. (See appendices for the most recent events) The entity known as the "Star Worm with Three Tongues" have several different guises but one thing is Common amongst them is the corruption of the mind and soul. The old Cults that worships this deity also allies themselves with other monstrous races. These allies are normally referred to as servitors by the cultists. The most Common servitor/ally of the cults of the "Star Worm" have been a race of unspeakably evil and powerful beings called the Neothelid. They are said to have been the rulers of Golarion during the Age of Creation and partway into the Age of Serpents, before they burrowed into the core of the planet and now they are seldom encountered outside of the Darklands.
The Carrion Hill incident according to the ratfolk killer Pidget Tergelson. The Cult of the Old Gods calling themselves the Keepers of the Oldest was somehow involved in a string of murders in Carrion Hill. The local constabulary investigated the mysterious deaths with the help of some outside investigators, managed to locate a ghoul hive and a magical tome called the Pnakotic Manuscripts. These Manuscripts detailed the connection to the Cult of the Keepers of the Old.
It is unknown if the testament of Pidget Tergelson is reliable as there is evidence that something happened at the Crove Asylum and that resulted in the asylum and parts of the town of Carrion Hill disappeared into a sinkhole after some sort of earthquake. Pidget Tergelson might have been an inmate of the asylum as he is now clearly insane, rambling on about tentacled monsters and that he blew it up, no evidence of this was ever recovered. The last record of Pidget Tergelson was that he had been transferred to another asylum outside of Sandpoint in Varisia in the care of Erin Habe at the Saintly Haven of Respite.
Illmarsh, formerly called Baytown, is a town in the southern Ustalavic province of Versex. The Illmarsh folk have been dealing with a Shiver of Ulat-Kini colloquially known as Skum for generations, due to a contract entered into a long time ago. The local church The Recondite Order of the Indomitable kept the Illmarsh folk remain unaware of the true nature of their benefactors and the actual faith of their daughters that was sent to the “Neighbors down bay” for "fostering" paying them homage in exchange for bountiful harvests of fish, protection from the many predatory dangers of the Ustalavic coast, and an occasional exotic treasure of the ancient past dredged up from the depths of Lake Encarthan. The homage is not overly taxing to the folk of the Illmarsh, consisting of a tithe of the taxes and trade within the town, an occasional blood sacrifice on the Tern Rocks—usually a condemned criminal, nosy stranger, or other similarly unpopular figure. All this was under the watchful eye of the HIgh Priest of the Recondite Order of the Indomitable Sea. "The Fostering" seemed to be a way from the Ulat-Kini to procure more breedable females to repopulate their Shiver, as with several of the Old Cults they seem to be heavily invested in fertility rites and amalgamation between different species. Luckily the debauchery of Illmarsh was put to an end when a group of adventurers came upon the village and discovered the true horrific nature of what have been going on for generation. There is no true reliable record of what happened in Illmarsh that we have managed to locate at the time of writing.
The misty lands of Ustalev is the home of most of the Old Cults that's been discovered and Investigated. Here are some of the most famous Cults that have been uprooted in the Ustalev at the time of the writing of this tome the most notable sites of Old Cult activity in Ustalav are Vieland, the Graidmere, Scrawny Crossing and Carrion Hill. (See appendices for the most recent events) The entity known as the "Star Worm with Three Tongues" have several different guises but one thing is Common amongst them is the corruption of the mind and soul. The old Cults that worships this deity also allies themselves with other monstrous races. These allies are normally referred to as servitors by the cultists. The most Common servitor/ally of the cults of the "Star Worm" have been a race of unspeakably evil and powerful beings called the Neothelid. They are said to have been the rulers of Golarion during the Age of Creation and partway into the Age of Serpents, before they burrowed into the core of the planet and now they are seldom encountered outside of the Darklands.
Appendix I
The Carrion Hill incident according to the ratfolk killer Pidget Tergelson. The Cult of the Old Gods calling themselves the Keepers of the Oldest was somehow involved in a string of murders in Carrion Hill. The local constabulary investigated the mysterious deaths with the help of some outside investigators, managed to locate a ghoul hive and a magical tome called the Pnakotic Manuscripts. These Manuscripts detailed the connection to the Cult of the Keepers of the Old.
It is unknown if the testament of Pidget Tergelson is reliable as there is evidence that something happened at the Crove Asylum and that resulted in the asylum and parts of the town of Carrion Hill disappeared into a sinkhole after some sort of earthquake. Pidget Tergelson might have been an inmate of the asylum as he is now clearly insane, rambling on about tentacled monsters and that he blew it up, no evidence of this was ever recovered. The last record of Pidget Tergelson was that he had been transferred to another asylum outside of Sandpoint in Varisia in the care of Erin Habe at the Saintly Haven of Respite.
Appendix II
Illmarsh, formerly called Baytown, is a town in the southern Ustalavic province of Versex. The Illmarsh folk have been dealing with a Shiver of Ulat-Kini colloquially known as Skum for generations, due to a contract entered into a long time ago. The local church The Recondite Order of the Indomitable kept the Illmarsh folk remain unaware of the true nature of their benefactors and the actual faith of their daughters that was sent to the “Neighbors down bay” for "fostering" paying them homage in exchange for bountiful harvests of fish, protection from the many predatory dangers of the Ustalavic coast, and an occasional exotic treasure of the ancient past dredged up from the depths of Lake Encarthan. The homage is not overly taxing to the folk of the Illmarsh, consisting of a tithe of the taxes and trade within the town, an occasional blood sacrifice on the Tern Rocks—usually a condemned criminal, nosy stranger, or other similarly unpopular figure. All this was under the watchful eye of the HIgh Priest of the Recondite Order of the Indomitable Sea. "The Fostering" seemed to be a way from the Ulat-Kini to procure more breedable females to repopulate their Shiver, as with several of the Old Cults they seem to be heavily invested in fertility rites and amalgamation between different species. Luckily the debauchery of Illmarsh was put to an end when a group of adventurers came upon the village and discovered the true horrific nature of what have been going on for generation. There is no true reliable record of what happened in Illmarsh that we have managed to locate at the time of writing.
Symbolism of the Cult of Shadowed Fire & Star Worm with Three Tongues
Common symbol used in worship. Symbolising the three tounges of the Star Worm.
Fertility Pendant worn by the disiples of the cult, symbolising the trinity of the Star Worm.
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