Conservors of Farhad's Fist
Conservors are those dedicated to the praise of the Creator by living in - and protecting - the natural wonders of Sammerden. It is natural, therefore, that one of the largest communities of Conservors can be found at Farhad's Fist - the huge outcrop of stone in the centre of the Jellnev Desert.
As well as being a large, defensible, settlement the fist also lies above one of the deepest oases in the desert. The Conservors teach that this is no accident of geography, but the manifestation of the Creator's will that people should dwell in harmony right in the middle of an otherwise inhospitable waste. Other than their contention that the outcrop was put there by the will of the Creator, there is little consensus about how the Fist came to be. It is a large, squat, hill approximately a mile square, rising almost a thousand feet from the dunes. Made primarily of sandstone, previous generations of Conservors have found it easy to mine into the outcrop, meaning that the settlement is now a mixture of sandstone buildings built from the rock, and cool rooms carved into the outcrop.
At the southern foot of the outcrop is Farhad's Well, possibly the largest and deepest oasis in the Jellnev Desert. It is this watering hole which sustains the community at Farhad's Fist - and allows them to practice their devotion to cultivating and protecting nature.
Like almost every Sanctorum in Sammerden, the Conservors are not alone at Farhad's fist - the remoteness of the location, and the hardness of desert life, have attracted Contemptors (hermits who dwell on the mystery of the Creator) and Expenae (those atoning for sins - either personal ones, or attempting to make restitution for the sins of others). All agree, however, that the Conservors rule at Farhad's Fist - their insistence on the proper management of natural resources is not simply a religious devotion in the desert, but a necessity of life. The oasis - and the small fields it supports - can only feed so many mouths, and over-use in a single year could doom the community for good.
Despite their awe-inspiring setting, the Conservors of Farhad's Fist live much like any other community - they pray regularly, tend the fields, the irrigation ditches, and herd some small goats for milk and occasional meat. Given the hot desert heat, the two community prayers occur at sun-rise and sun-down - with almost all labour ceasing for three hours around noon. While officially used for devotion, devotion for a Conservor can be as simple as sitting in the covered colonnade, sipping lemon-water.
Ethics
In common with all Conservors, those at Farhad's Fist view the natural world as the primary gift of the Creator, and seek to live in harmony with it. At the Fist, this means the careful management of resources, but also an opportunity to cultivate plants and animals that no-one would expect to find in the desert.
They are taught that each of them has a special responsibility both to enhance the natural world, but also not to harm it while doing so. As such, they innovate only slowly - checking that new plants will not need too much water (onions and carrots have proved most efficient), and maintaining a complex system of jetties and covered channels to limit the evaporation of the oasis in the harsh sun.
All of this labour is religious as well as physical - by tangling with nature and by applying the mind to the problems of conserving nature, one grows closer to the Creator.
Founding Date
50 AC
Type
Religious, Temple
Leader Title
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
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