Moon Cult
The lines below are taken from the third chapter of the Confession of Eternity in the Shrine of the Agnus at Roðtull'heill.
In the heterogeneous world of Sienne many peoples live side by side, often in great tension with each other. However, if there is one thing that defines these inhabitants, which is the vector of these tensions or cordial relations, it has to be their beliefs.
This chapter will attempt to give an exhaustive overview of the current knowledge regarding the heretical cults and beliefs of this obscure region, whose history and geography were included in the previous chapters. Almost all of our knowledge in this field is the fruit of the meticulous work of Gredore Kurt. A theologist devoted to the Light even when he was in those places where everything seems to be devoid of it.
After years of observation in the heart of the community, he tried to send a memoir to the priory which, unfortunately, was largely destroyed during his journey. Here we will try to transcribe the barely readable knowledge that remained on the smeared parchments.
The people of the vale, as the inhabitants of the region like to call themselves, have worshipped since ancient times an incarnation of the Moon called the Silver Lady. For them, she is said to be the origin of both the magic they draw from the Moon trees mentioned in the previous chapter, and of their prosperity.
Sometimes represented as a white stag, a moon or a blindfolded woman, the followers of the cult seem to follow to the letter the instructions supposedly given by the divinity itself centuries ago to the first inhabitants of the valley. Thus, the latter follow strange customs, discussed in another chapter, which seem to have no logical basis. For example, the people avoid at all costs the sun and its light, considered as enemies.
Legend has been told that when the first men arrived in the valley of Moonfall, the Silver Lady, in exchange for their appearance of then and for their loyalty, offered them magic, the protection given by the mountains surrounding the valley and preventing any intrusion other than by a narrow hidden road, as well as the knowledge necessary for the maintenance of the forest of Moon-trees. Of course the newcomers accepted and paid homage to the deity. Little by little some specialized in the upkeep of the forest and pagan cults, even going so far as to designate an Oracle, who, thanks to powerful drugs from the Moon trees, would have visions. The latter being seen as a means of communicating with the goddess. Feeling a fierce fear and a growing hatred towards the outside world, the cult would have started to train a small army as required by the small size of the population but made up of indoctrinated athletes calling themselves the Emissaries of the Silver Lady. The fighters would make great use of magic in addition to their strength to make themselves more resistant to their opponents' attacks. Descriptions reported by the survivors and an emissary's remains provided a link to the information collected by Kurtthat the fighters in the valley would use ceremonial weapons enchanted by their goddess. However, whatever the source, their power is not to be underestimated and it is only because of the bravery and skill of our heroes that the latest events involving Moonfall have had only beneficial consequences for our people and the civilized world at large.
Fortunately, as explained in more detail in the previous chapter, Emissaries of the Silver Lady are used far more in the defence of the valley than in attacks on its neighbours, leaving this more usual warfare stain to troops from the rest of the Silverwood lands who, despite their effectiveness comparable to the troops of our armies, are in no way comparable to these elite warriors.
The civilized world can also count on fractures within the community. Gredore Kurt had identified that two secondary cults had formed by detaching from the main vision.
The oldest and most populous reading of the decisions of the Moon named its followers the children of the Silver Lady. The latter are grouped around the Oracle. They zealously venerate the Moon while awaiting the coming of her true descendants, having kept the same physique as the first generation of the inhabitants of the valley. Inhabitants who, according to legend, have met the Silver Lady in person. The latter, mostly red-haired and with a slightly tanned complexion, would then have lost practically all pigmentation on contact with her. Giving birth then to this people particularly devoid of pigmentation. It is said that when they saw the sun they regained their colours and did not suffer from its presence.
There are, however, more skeptical inhabitants, who are called "the blind" by the children of the Silver Lady. Far from questioning the existence and benevolence of the divinity, they do not follow the visions of the Oracle and consider the legendary past of their people and their religion as foolish children's stories, considering that the will of the Moon is felt in the heart of all things.
A third group is sometimes mentioned but is still taboo in the community of the valley. This is a sect that worships the hidden profile of the Silver Lady. Convinced that only the spirit freed from the flesh can see the hidden profile of the divinity they meet in the brightest hours of the day to consume substances from the sap of the Moon-trees which seems to give hallucinations. It would seem, moreover, that the divinatory substances of the Oracle are analogous to these. Still, the substance is highly addictive and eats away at the bodies of consumers. To top it all off, it seems that they practice ritual suicides to get rid of their bodies entirely.
Living far from the sun and its heat, avoiding the supreme star at all costs and, because of their difference, moving away from known civilizations, the world view of the inhabitants deserves attention.
Where the Silver Lady is unanimously seen as the protector and nurturing mother of the valley, the sun and the cult dedicated to it symbolize for the inhabitants the destruction of their idol and its light. Not surprisingly, they are seen as evil incarnate and considered the main enemy of the community. Several envoys of the Golden Circle cult have already attempted to convert the people of Moonfall and the entire Silverwood area to the only cult that could save their lives and souls during missions that had tragic ends for many locals during the fierce fighting that followed the missions. The inhabitants hate them immeasurably. Stories to frighten the children mention one envoy in particular, Arne , the Knight of the Bloody Sun, whose name alone has the power to freeze the blood of the valley's inhabitants.
It is said that every child of the Silver Lady at his death joins her in becoming a Moon-tree. He is buried in the Silver Forest with a seed. The seed will grow and soon the body of the deceased will have become a beautiful tree, source of magic and life. Meanwhile the soul of the dead person flies away and comes to stand beside the Lady, creating a new star. However, other legends say that the stars are the tears shed by the Silver Lady when she sees her children die.
The currents of thought of the blind and the followers of the hidden profile would have appeared not long ago, probably almost a century ago, after the envoys of the Golden Circle, having conquered almost the entire Craddle of Stars, had to make an excursion into the valley to retrieve the altar of the sun, ending in an unprecedentedly violent battle for survival with the raging inhabitants fighting with their bare hands, women and children on the battlefield, running towards our brave soldiers, bewildered by such blindness. The Moon's lack of response has dented the belief of some.
This was only stronger when Stjarna'stoll fell and we made it our capital for decades. The silence of the Silver Lady reached the hearts of all her followers, and rightly so. Surprisingly, their even shaken convictions held firm, and the survivors joining the cult of the Golden Eye of their own free will were anecdotal, so to speak.
However, variations in the cult had already appeared with the arrival of an elf caravan shortly after the founding of Elenan'Wa and then with the expansion of the Silverwood Lands. Their assimilation brought a lot to everyone, but the morals were somewhat changed and so was the approach to religion.
A second arrival of foreign population had brought similar changes three centuries ago, timidly opening the valley to foreign trade, the influences of the world were all the more felt and some say that the emissaries of the Golden Disc only accelerated a questioning already present for centuries.
All these legends are passed on both orally and in text from generation to generation and have long been theorized by successive priests and oracles. Thus, they have been trying for generations to understand the nature of the magic of the Moon, their place in the world, and the fate of those who die without worshipping the Moon. All these reflections are archived in many books stored in the temple of Moonfall. In these it would be mentioned the values of the worship of the Silver Lady, benevolence and a peaceful rhythm outside the burning light of the Sun. Courage, intelligence and tradition are valued here. These three values are represented by animals, respectively the magpie, the wolf and the salmon.
Mentioned above, there is a main temple in Moonfall, quite different from the few chapels in the outside world where there are worshippers. However, people often prefer to pray in the forest with the ancestors of the valley.
There is only an altar, a basin of sap and a magnificent view over the night sky in this ancient temple. The priests maintain it like the rest of the forest thanks to donations from the community.
The priests are citizens like the others, they work in the fields or forge for part of their day but their main mission is to maintain the Moon-trees. Some who are passionate about lunar magic use it to maintain the valley and take care of the fauna and flora.
The Oracle is also a normal person. However, she regularly goes to the temple of Moonfall to listen to the voices of the Silver Lady, revealed through the consumption of a decoction of Moon seeds.
Unlike priests who become so by choice, by vocation, the Oracle is appointed by the Moon herself in a ceremony kept secret from strangers.
It is said that at the beginning all the inhabitants of the valley were at the same level on a religious level and that they all met to discuss the plans of the Silver Lady, but that little by little the appearance of priests changed the organization of the council. The present one would thus be the legacy of the village council centuries ago. The groups that could be called "dissidents" try to make their voices heard in the council, although the blind do not seem to really care. However, it is excessive to talk about corruption. The followers of the hidden profile being very badly seen and taboo, they are not talked about but the little influence they could have in the council is unanimously condemned by the population (other than followers of course).
Controlled Territories
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