Frusians

Deep in the Great Swamp there is rumored to live a tribe of pygmies that worship the goddess Frus. Frus is the goddess of fecundity. Life springs forth in all she touches. She is depicted in drawings by a shortish woman, of average build and skin the color  ranging from sandy  (images found in coastal areas), reddish brown and all hues of brown up to the dark brown, almost black of very rich soil. Her hair flows in long, green tresses and is often adorned with berries or flowers. Most images show her with her eyes downcast, intent on the energy around her which can be depicted in a light surrounding her, usually gold or blue but in notable instance, purple. In this picture her eyes are open and looking straight at the viewer and are the blue of glacial run off.
 The image is in the home of Derdick Menhias, archeologist, trader and dabbler in magic. He claims to have seen Frus, who came to him while on an expedition he took on his twenties while searching for the Frusians. During this expedition, he disappeared for almost a week and was feared dead. He returned on the eighth day of his absence, dressed in the rags that remained of his clothing and delusional.
 When he finally came to his senses he told of a religious people that didn't want outsiders interfering with them. He claimed they called the goddess to reiterate their claim and that is when he saw Frus, who marked him with her symbol, a circle with wings. The mark was found on him but the rest of the party could only imagine that he had been tattooed even though there was no sign of scabbing or that it had been made by breaking the skin. He assured them that the application had been quite painful but that he considered it an honor. They decided he had been drugged and tortured by the Frusians and were determined to find them. 
According to Menhias in his book, this is when he left the expedition and headed home.  Two months later, the bodies of the rest of the team were found at the edge of the Great Swamp, arranged in a circle and, by the state of them, they had been dead for a long time. Menhias has always hypothesized that it was Frus who killed them but there has been speculation in some circles that the real killer was actually Menhias.
What is known of the Frusians, a peaceful people when left to their own devices, is from Menhias and his week long stay and is found in his book "Seven Days of Life Out of 25 Years Lived". According to him, Frusians worship the Great Swamp as an extension of Frus and have feast days according to the rising and falling of the water. They have no single priest, as all take turns holding the spiritual health of the community in their hands, even women and children over ten. Worship consists of prayer and offerings. Divination is done sporadically using thrown polished bones of the water rat.