Hanbroch Monastery (Anbroke)

The Hanbroch Monastery (pronounced anbroke) is an ancient and small order of Chimeric monks in the city of Brode, the central territory of the Enclave of the Free Peoples. The order is dedicated to the worship of Gaermund, but has no ties to Atovism.

Etymology

The name Hanbroch comes from an ancient form of the Lorvi language. It's a compound word made up of haunda, and ancient pronunciation of hova, meaning harmony (in both words, the H is silent), and Broch, an ancient pronunciation of Bach, meaning "collection." Taken together, the name is simply "Collective of Harmony."

History

Formation

Though all of the Atovist Pantheon were believed to have died during the events of the War of Form, in 492 SE, Gaermund revealed that he was still alive to a group of human travelers in the Cadreach Crest mountains. These humans numbered less than a hundred, and agreed to keep his existence a secret and take vows of celibacy. These humans formed the Hanbroch (or the Keepers of Harmony), and created the monastic city of Brode, which was at the time only a small compound. To create new disciples and keep their tradition alive after their death, the humans created Chimera to serve Gaermund. These Chimera in turn kept the secret of Gaermund's existence and continued the Hanbroch order for millennia after the original human's perished, with Gaermund himself creating new chimera whenever needed.

Early Issolation

The order remained small, never exceeding a few hundred members for well over a millennium. Their only notable public interaction came in 1529 SE, when a group of escaped Chimera slaves from Alnuk took refuge in Brode. The order cared for them and gave them an offer to stay. A dozen of those escaped slaves chose not to stay and travelled along the Fingers of Olva and the Passi Sea into Prekha, where rumors began of the chimera monastery that claimed Gaermund was alive. This was coincidentally around the time of the Summit at Lepra and the schism in the once-unified Atovist church. The newly formed Orthodox and Penant branches of the church saw these rumors, and any suggestion of Gaermund's survival, as heresy.

Discovery

The well-maintained secrecy of the monastery waned in the seventeenth century, as more and more chimera investigated the area, following (untrue) rumors that the mountains of Cadreach Crest were a place were natural healing magic allowed Chimera to reproduce. Even humans noted the increased sightings of chimera off the coast of the Passi Sea with one explanation of who created them. In 1662 SE, King Hanley the Foreseer wrote of a "Sixth great house, men without men, rising in the East under a divine sun," which closely matches the Enclave of the Free Peoples that didn't yet exist. In 1706, King Martin II spoke of "the lights of the Cadreach," a rumor from Prekhan sailors speaking of mysterious lamplight flickering off the northern shore of the Passi Sea. The Lorvi of Alnuk all but knew of the settlement's existence due to numerous encounters of Chimera in their expeditions into the Blue Bog.
The existance of the monastery remained in this semi-known state for over a century, with more humans claiming to have seen something in the wilderness. Their existance was finally, definatively discovered by humans in 1833 SE, when an expedition of several dozen Lorvi from Alnuk caught site of the then-expanded monastery while prospecting for Heart Seeds in the bog. They travelled back to Alnuk to tell the Advoch of their discovery.

The Anafel

Farguth Hammi, the King of Alnuk, hid the discovery of the monastery from his Estarian allies, suspecting that it was an Estarian settlement. He turned to Prekha for aid and Emperor Thrine provided the Lorvi with three manned line ships to transport soldiers to the Cadreach Crest Mountains.
After sending scouts that confirmed the size of the monastery, the Prekhan soldiers were convinced that the hidden monastery must be a secret Estarian stronghold. Lord Haramun, the leader of the Lorvi forces under king Farguth, knew based on the scout's description that the monastery likely wasn't an Estarian fortress, but allowed his Prekhan allies to believe so because he didn't believe his own forces would be enough to take the stronghold. The combined force of nearly two hundred humans marched on the monastery on the fifth of Olva, 1833 SE, encountering no resistance from the unsuspecting worshippers. Nearly half of the monks were slaughtered by the attackers before Haramun ordered the remainder to be taken prisoner. The day is remembered by Chimeric Free Peoples as the Anafel.
Haramun's forces occupied the monastery for nearly a week while the captured monks prayed to Gaermund for salvation. The story, as passed down from the surviving chimera, is that on the final hour of the tenth of Olva, Gaermund appeared in the central chapel of the complex in the form of a man with a heavenly radience. The human occupiers were compelled to enter the chapel to witness him, where he revealed his name and true form, bathing the chamber in holy light that smote all of the humans in a single purge. Only Haramun survived, permanently blinded from the display. Gaermund then blessed Haramun and tasked four disciples to escort him back to Alnuk where he could tell the story of Gaermund's existance and warn against bringing any harm to his followers.

Recent History

Few people in the outside story believed the story of the Anafel, but Renewist Atovists were the exception, allowing Chimera into their priesthood and sending many of their chimeric priests on pilgrimages to Brode. Though Gaermund's existence was still highly scrutinized, the existance of the monastery, and its ability to defend itself, was soon widely known.
Over the past two centuries, as the chattle slavery of chimera has grown, so too has the size of the monastery and its surrounding city of Brode. The Enclave of the Free Peoples, a network of communities made up of freed and escaped chimera slaves has grown in the land around the monastery. Brode itself has grown to a population of over 600,000.

Type

Religious, Monastic Order