The Old Iron Gods
As commissioned by the High Historian of The Concord, Dhahab Al’Murjil in Summer 223, completed Winter 224.
The Valleyfolk, those warlike and industrious people who reside in the high places of South Eastern Esterra, hold a history of survival, conquest and community close to their hearts. Among all the present nations of The Concord, they are the ones who hold their history with the greatest heart, although both the Andashi and and Kingless Kingdom both have claim to this in their own unique manners. But the Valleyfolk have resided in their home for thousands of years, they have won and lost among those stones and this makes a cohesive idea of their history fractured, incomplete (regardless of the opinions of some Sagites). It is my hope that my research here will show the Valleyfolk that there is thousands of years of knowledge for them to learn of, not just learn from.
Victor Grauken, Wolstad, Civil Service Archivist
The ‘Old Gods’ of the Iron Valley refers to the religion held by the Valleyfolk (both High and Low) prior to the revelation of Niccolo. It is likely that there are as many interpretations of this faith as there are years in its existence. What this document seeks to do is gather the broadest strokes of this belief and contrast it with the most prominent spikes of conflict, unorthodoxy and notoriety. I do firmly believe that there is much more to be learned from here, both culturally, historically, economically and philosophically. I entreat to the office of the High Historian to pursue this research closer in coming seasons.
The vast amount of this research comes from three sources, arraying in order of usefulness and volume:
- Documents, artifacts and accounts held in Lerona Mere that were created or looted by the Artebazzani inhabitants of the city during the First Mercenary War. These texts and artifacts are often the best kept due to their position as objects of intellectual interest rather than a living piece of culture still in use. While some of them have been lost or destroyed in the Revolution of 221, a vast many were simply relocated.
- Iron Valley records and artifacts that are still in use. The Valleyfolk, as dedicated record keepers, have many documents which reference the previous faith of their region. However as objects and records in use they are often in worse condition than pieces held in storage. In addition, many have been lost over the long defeat, leaving The Concord a scattered and incomplete written record.
- A dispersal of records found in my home Baronies and abroad. While very few, they offer some external view of the circumstance.
Through my research I have managed to broadly categorise the faith into three eras spread from roughly 600BE through to 100AE. I will examine each era as well as a preface and conclusion. I have named these era as:
- Predation - 600BE through 250BE
- Reformation - 250BE through 100BE
- Decline - 100BE through 100AE
Introduction - A Time Before Stone
Prior to the Mountain Kings and Reeves, it is likely that the Valleyfolk who fought with stone tools and crude metals looked to the sky and world about them with wonder and thought of Gods. Humanity's predilection towards idolatry and the raising up of petty spirits is well known. Records from nearly a thousand years ago are hard to find and, quite honestly, hard to read when they are found. By the time the shape of the Valley came together around 500BE there were many local faiths and superstitions that were yet to unite through conquest or divine rhetoric. The best records we have are mysterious and strange but can be found carved into the structures of the Old Valley.
While the structure of Hjorvarths Rampart remains outside The Concord’s control at present, references to its nature can be found in other texts. Gnar The Beast, a strange title for a Sagite, wrote in his tome ‘The Stones of My Grandfathers’
“Eldest of the Stonehomes, Hjorvarth’s Rampart has a chamber deep within its northern Arch, where the stones of the mount begin to meet with the stones of humanity. Carved into the stone and fed with the waters of the earth. Carved into its walls are images of three figures. A tall man carrying flame, a crouched man carrying a bough and a woman carrying a wave. The three place their offerings within the stone of the mount and are replaced by three differing figures. A great Wyrm in the visage of a Dragon. A vicious creature of fur and teeth. A foul figure of tentacles and seeping water. The three depart and their offerings remain.”
As we will come to see, a lot of the Valleyfolk faiths of the early period appear more focused on the origins and nature of life about them, rather than the life they led (both internal and external). But we can see that mystic events occupied their time and concern. If we interpret this carving in the Chamber of Hjorvarth as an origin, we can clearly see the creation of three peoples, the industrious Valleyfolk (the Wyrm), the maritime Lowfolk (the sea monster) and the Bailites (the forest beast). Although why they felt it was worthy of internment beneath Hjorvarth’s Rampart is unknown.
The only other possible artifact of faith prior to the establishment of The Old Gods is the ‘Goddream Plinth’. A simple construction of dark gray stone, roughly carved in a monolith and dotted with constellations found on a rise some three hundred paces up the massive mountain of Goddream Pinnacle. The constellations are marked clearly and cleanly, with measurements obvious between them in the form of two finger width sections, each of them in relation to a single four pointed star that adorns each side of the plinth. While objects that are used to map the night sky for navigation or whimsy are not uncommon, the Goddream Plinth is unique in that it does not map any orientation of stars that has ever been seen from that location. Tradition in the area has one person there each night, attempting to match the constellation on any side of the plinth to any shape of the stars above, but in hundreds of years none have been successful. Lacking any use as a form of navigation or record keeping, it is possible that the Goddream Plinth was once a place of worship in the time before The Old Gods. As the earliest Valleyfolk looked up into the night and saw stars that have since winked out from our dark tapestry and paid them homage.
Predation - 600BE through 250BE
The first indelible proof and record of The Old Gods as a faith can be found in the ‘Tome of Caldreda’, a record of the Mountain Kings of the High Valley intended as a warning for those who would attempt to recreate such circumstances. The earliest King of the Tome is ‘Chasun of the Timber Hearth’. Of Chasun it is said:
“Chasun came with his hall from the woods, they were the Obhan Dahk. They brought with them grim tidings. They had angry Gods where they had come from and the greatest of those Gods had cursed Chasun to do war against his neighbours or else his children would grow hooves and become doe. So Chasun did war against his neighbours of the Hemminlingas, Presindullan and Vatter Dai who fell before his axe. With them came their angry Gods who became our Gods. He was the first mountain king, crowned with a silver crown by his god, The Bloodglass Stag.”
The Kingdom of Obhan Dahk ruled much of Windholme and part of Brotherslee for what appears to be a hundred and forty years between 603BE and 462BE before the Kingdom collapsed to infighting after the death of Chasun’s great granddaughter, who remains unnamed. The Obhan Dahk brought their religion by force to the peoples they conquered and in the process of having to teach it to others, carved much of it in stone for us to find.
The best is held in the collection of Iago Van Indremettchi. The Indremettchi remain one of Artebazzan’s most notable purchasers of heathen artifacts and Iago was a scion of the household managing their operations in Lerona Mere before his death in 221AE of political causes. The Indremettchi collection in Lerona Mere is now property of the Quesetti family and the matriarch, Donia Quesetti graciously allowed me to view it for this research.
There are two artifacts in particular relevant to the Obhan Dahk in the Quesetti collection. The first is the ‘Teaching Stone’. A stone tablet three hands tall and two wide. The Valley runes are well smoothed from many hands running over them.
The Bloodglass Stag's Might
Behold the Bloodglass Stag, conqueror-crowned, draped in war's mantle. Monarch's might, empire's grasp, but beware its wrath on the vanquished. Glory, the stag bestows; to fail, invokes its furious storm.
The Breath of the Ash Viper
In shadows' shroud, the Ash Viper whispers, venomous vigilance. The King, wary, eyes betrayals, for deceit lurks in viperous coils. Traitors, like shadows, dance on winds – a sovereign's silent war.
The Great Stone Bear's Hearth
Before the hearth, the Great Stone Bear stands sentinel, fierce and protective. Defend kin with unyielding fury, yet bear in mind the wrath that swiftly descends upon those who threaten home's sanctity.
The Iron Wolf's Pack
Circulate as the Iron Wolf, keen-eyed over territory's expanse. Howl in unity; in danger and opportunity, pack's strength prevails. But in defending your realm, hard choices, like hungering wolves, must be faced.
The Star Owl's Shadows
Fear the shadows, for within, the mystic and malevolent dwell. Star Owl's guidance to hidden realms – magic and knowledge intertwined. Beware the enigmatic tapestry; in shadows, glory and malady entwine.
It is likely that many of these Teaching Stones were carved and were used to spread the faith of the Obhan Dahk as they conquered, informing their new citizens of their obligations and celestial judges. It appears that the Obhan Dahk had little problem sharing the religion as they conquered. ‘Chasun’ appears to have become a word referring to a priest in recollection of the first King. These Chasuns were organised and emboldened preachers in a land where worship was a communal or personal belief rather than formal faith. Through formalising belief and sharing it from township to township, it became a binding element that lived on longer than the Obhan Dahk Kingdom did.
In this the priesthood fell to two parties. The Kings worshipped the Mountain Gods (The Ash Viper and the Bloodglass Stag), two deadly forces that put their pressures on the kings themselves. This close relationship was both priest and predator, prey and god.
The second party was this Chasun, who worshipped and spread knowledge of The Valley Gods, the Iron Wolf, the Great Stone Bear and the Star Owl. These were threats for all to face and gods for all the worship. The risk of the Moutain Gods were ever present, but they were exclusive to the domain of the Kings, while this was not the case for the Valley Gods.
Following the collapse of the Kingdom, the faith spread, before finally being adopted by King Baelag the Third sometime near 449BE. This inscription is reportedly found atop the highest tower of Baelags Holdfast, although is placed there on an Iron plate, rather than as part of the stone, implying it was added later:
“King Baelag Vyrtan the Third, under the Stag's relentless gaze, begs absolution with a warrior's heart. Beast of conquest, taste our submission, and may your antlers shield us in the storm of war. Let the blood spilled be a testament to our loyalty, and the roars of battle echo in your divine realm. Stag, accept this pledge of a king's unwavering fealty, knowing that all we build is in smoke beneath your shadow.”
Overwhelmingly, we see a fear on the part of the Kings of the Valley in regards to their gods. The Bloodglass Stag is a force to be placated, not emulated or beseeched. The Ash Viper is a source of paranoia, not an absolution from it. This fear is also not just a fear of the soul, but a real physical fear of consequences, such as those seen in Chasun of the Timber Hearth. But it was not just the Mountain Gods that brought this fear, but also the Valley Gods. In a manner that disrupts the histories, many deaths, victories and strange occurrences throughout this period are directly attributed to the Gods. For example, this record is drawn from the earliest records of the Rugnhall, which would become Rumwold, where in it details the births and deaths of all members of the Hall. These records are a collection of these Godly involvements.
“Detrin is born to Ausufer and Draun in the three hundredth cycle of snow. She is named for her mother and is an energetic child. Detrin is slain by the Great Stone Bear in the three hundred and nineteenth cycle when she refuses the feast of her father.
“Jatod is born to Brifen and Wallans in the three hundred and seventeenth cycle of snow. He is named for his mother’s axe. Jatod is slain by the Lowfolk at the Battle of Falls Ridge when the Iron Wolf granted them its boon and raised up their warriors as heroes in punishment for Rugnhall’s fearfulness.”
“Nymaer is born to Valint and Nymaer in the three hundredth and sixty first cycle of snow. He is a large child who sings well. Nymaer is slain by the Star Owl when he took its bargain on the eve of midautumn and was turned to salt.”
This tone is what overwhelmingly characterises the period of Predation, a time when the Old Gods were a present force that was both the Valleyfolk’s highest ideal and their greatest danger. It is entirely unclear how much of this fear was due to manifested powers (and if so where these powers came from) or how much of it was a cultural tendency to ascribe divine malady to everyday danger. This is the period of the Chasun, the Valley’s first priests and the time of Kings that both lived in fear of their gods and spread their religion through might and conquest. There is one other artifact that relates back to this time, also held in the Indremettchi collection. It is one of Donia Quesetti’s finest objects and I was only able to witness it for a short time and while under guard by a particularly jagged looking Bravo. I will do my best to describe the object here.
A large carved figurine of dark volcanic rock roughly five handspans long and four high. It has the form of a gargantuan snake mid-slither. The creature's mouth is open and a small human figure can be seen being consumed. The underside of the figurine contains a hidden sheath for a dagger. Rust and other decayed fluid have fused the dagger into its sheath. Carvings in the tongue of The Obhan Dahk can be found running down the creature's spine. It reads “By the blood of kings we are unmade. I am the Viper.”
It is difficult for me to describe the air of the thing. While I note that the pageantry and importance placed on the figurine by Donia Quesetti certainly added to it, there was more afoot. While in the presence of the figurine I felt ill at ease and unsettled. I was distinctly aware of my observers weapons and my lack of similar effects. I felt compelled to attempt the drawing of the hidden dagger. Thankfully propriety held firm in my bearing and I was able to avoid making a fool of myself or insulting my host. But I feel this stands to show that, in some way, there was magick in the worship of the Old Gods back in this age. A real arcane effect that can persist through hundreds of years. I am unaware of how far this power may have spread in those forgotten years, but it shows that at least some of the Valleyfolks fears would have been realised before them.
The final collapse of the age of Predation appears interwoven with the collapse of Iron Valley Kingship. King Baelag the Ninth was one of the most fervent of the Ash Viper’s followers and particularly raised the strange hidden dialogue between King and God as one of his greatest concerns. By aligning his cause with this paranoid God, Baelag made his kingship and the angry gods of old inseparable. Such that when he was cast down by the Great Jarl Caldreda Seacaller for his hubris and imperiousness, the people of the Valley struggled to return to orthodoxy. Baelag’s dedication to the Mountain Gods had been so thorough that their danger seemed distant, had it ever been real, and the idea of returning two fifths of the pantheon to the rarified shadows was difficult to stomach.
Reformation - 250BE to 100BE
In throwing Baelag the Ninth from his tower, Seacaller not only brought the last Mountain King down but also brought the Mountain Gods down to the common people. In the period that follows we see a vast shifting and weakening in the understanding of the Old Gods. This reformation took a force that was arguably one of the greatest dangers to the Valleyfolk and recast it as a series of idealised patrons and guides, not too dissimilar to the Heralds and Eternals we now know as truth.
While the names and natures of the gods remained the same, they shifted in function. We no longer see references to the Gods themselves bringing misfortune to the people of the Valley and no one is actively slain by them. Instead we begin to see parables and teaching stories where the Gods act as virtuous examples and cautionary tales.
This reformed faith drifted out through the Valleys, high and low. The highpoint of Baelag the Ninths empire had the reach of the Valley as large as it ever was, stretching from Anderslee to the Bailles. This age of wealth and plenty had already removed some of the fear of these phantom deities that had been held in centuries prior; this shift for many seemed appropriate. In some far corners of the Valley, particularly the High Places, there are still records of Chasuns moving among the populace, attempting to stir fervour and fear but to little result.
Instead we begin to see references to new priesthoods and use of the faith in daily life. More than in the past we see a taking in of the Gods into the person. For example, many children in the High Valley were blessed to one of the gods shortly after their birth. I have recovered an account of such a blessing of a child from 196BE in Brotherslee;
“On the two-hundredth and fourth days of the year, Volgierd and Tama had their daughter, Jiral blessed by the borough’s Bearblood. The Bearblood drew the form of the bear across the babes brow and anointed her with oil of mistletoe and mountainsoil. He evoked the Great Stone Bear within her soul and charged it with providing her a strong body, a fierce spirit and a kind heart. The borough rejoiced and feasted for much of the night. The babe grows strong even now.”
The concept of invoking one of the Gods towards the protection of a child and their nature is an inversion of the faith from centuries prior. Now humanity and the Gods were in harmony, rather than one pursuing and feasting upon the other. More and more the Valleyfolk were the Gods, an inseparable element of their identity and personhood. When the High Reeves of Brotherslee rallied an army to march on Baille Fein to put down a rebellion of the Thralls there, they adorned their brows with ochre warpaint in the style of antlers. The stone that stands on the site of their camp south of Hjorvarth’s Rampart supposedly states:
“By the stone and blood of the Valley let it be known. We are the Bloodglass Inheritors. In our souls burns the strength of conquest. Those that would scheme and flail against our right will know what it means to be broken down, to be driven from the mountains to the sea. To be another fool beneath our majesty. We are the Bloodglass Inheritors, kneel or be broken.”
The Bailite thralls rebellion was broken in a single season between 220BE and 219BE.
In this time we saw the rise of a new priesthood, or rather priesthoods. Where before the Chasun had been the arbiters of all the Valley Gods, we begin to see priests dedicating themselves to a single one of the Gods. They would guide their burough in the style of that god and over time it was common for the whole borough to align with that god’s manner. At the height of the reformation there are a smattering of references to wars between the gods, but rather than divine conflicts, these appear to be conflicts between groups of boroughs whose gods were in opposition. This high point appears to be near 175BE. During this period most boroughs were aligned with one of the gods and the great artifacts of this age were produced.
While lesser in power than the artifacts of the Age of Predation, those great items that remain since the Age of Reformation are still notable. In my research I beheld three of these items; An arcstone plinth in the Wolfden Woods of Weiland, a Bloodglass Warhorn in Lerona Mere, and Spearform of the Wolf-Champion in Brakkenloh.
The arcstone plinth in Weiland, also known as the Valleystone or ‘The Assassin’s Stone’ by the locals of Arbington, is a tall and smooth pillar of arcstone twice as tall as the Kings Ranger who showed me to it and slim enough that you can wrap your arms around it. It rests atop a small unwooded hill south of Arbington in the eaves of the Wolfden Woods. Inscribed on the stone are images of snakes heads with open mouths, fangs bared. The inscription on the stone reads:
“We masters of stone and iron lay this claim to you. Any king here shall know the ire of the Valley. Shall know the hatred of the stars. Shall know our undying opposition. Our blood is poison and all our hearts beat to see you fall. No peace for kings, no mercy for the fields.”
While the location and nature of the stone is alarming, it was likely raised well before the arrival of King Artourious Bordevar. Instead the stone ire is likely directed at the Endemani Kings of the Petty Kingship period. While not an overly religious icon, the presence of snakes in its design evokes the Ash Viper and shows that the Valleyfolk still invoked its image in manners of regicide, albeit externally rather than internally. The other element of strangeness is the location. It is unlikely that the individuals who erected the stone travelled all the way from the pass at Alfwen’s Wall, simply given the vast stretches of travel through hostile lands. Given the location of the plinth and the current interactions with the Boar’s Head Clan who control the Steinvaults above it, I would believe those that carved it used hidden paths through the Steinvaults to do so.
The Bloodglass Warhorn is a large carved stone horn made out of a single piece of fine bloodglass trimmed with brass. While incapable of producing a call, it is a beautiful piece that commands some respect. The Warhorn is currently held by one Zampano Van Tarsei, resident of Bambino Castille and member of the Wargoats currently seeking parliamentary election. Zampano allowed me to examine the Warhorn on the case that I made it known that the Wargoats Party seeks strength for the people of Lerona Mere and stands for all The Concord.
Aside from its majestic form and immense worth, the greatest element of note of the Horn are the brass embellishments. These bands ring the horn at three points, growing in size towards the mouth of the non-functional instrument. Each band is embossed with images of stags being followed by Iron Valley Warriors. References to the horn elsewhere are rare, but a single verse carved into Deorlings Citadel’s central gatehouse may shed light:
“In a time past we held our god's call in our hands.
Horn of bone and blood Drum of skin and stone
Lyre of iron.
Now we rest in empty graves, for our gods are silent,
And we have stolen their tongues.”
The exact age of the carving is hard to discern, but given Deorlings Citadel was finished in 92AE, it was likely hundreds of years since the Bloodglass horn was made sometime during the Age of Reformation.
The Spearform of the Wolf-Champion is perhaps the best understood of these artifacts. A stone casting form hundreds of years old, these casts were originally used to produce heavy speartips to arm the warriors of Brakkenloh. It is known that Brakkenloh and its various boroughs aligned itself with the Iron Wolf during the Age of Reformation. While there is a scattering of the forms still to be found across the Valley, the Spearform of the Wolf-Champion is notable in style and function. The spear blade it produces (really more of a glaive) will have the image of a snarling wolf’s head. Strangely, attempts to use the form with simple iron, forgesteel or any mixture have failed, producing a blade with a warped form that is unusable. Attempts to pour mithril into the form have more success but are also prone to failing, with unwieldy blades resulting from such attempts. It is likely that whatever metal was intended for use in the Spearform would have been of greater properties than even mithril, producing a blade well beyond our current capabilities. Unfortunately, no examples of this blade remain, truly I am unsure if one has even been successfully cast.
The period of Reformation drew to a close around 100BE. The cause is, as with many things in history, multifaceted and beyond a single event. The nature of the Reformation, its allegiances with particular gods and the reframing of the gods as emblematic ideas rather than active threats lead to a weakening of the faith rather than a strengthening. Valleyfolk cohorts had to hold the competing beliefs that;
- The Gods were equal and needed to be held as a complete set.
- Their particular god was the greatest among equals.
This meant that any faith, sect or group that rose to power was unable to consolidate on that power, unable to weaken their position of primacy by accepting other gods as valid, but equally bound by orthodoxy and unable to entirely disregard them. The faith wallowed and gone was the time of heroes. The world for the Valleyfolk became a little less mystical over time, a little less a land of divine mystery and moreso a place of coin and maps. While there were stuttering starts, it would never again reach the heights of the Mountain Kings.
Decline - 100BE to 100AE
I begin the period of Decline with the end of a war. Not a great war of realms, but of localities. In the eastern province of Brotherslee, the townships of Motjar and Vrekkur were drawn into war. Both townships were reasonably large, with more than a thousand souls in either. Motjar, a mountain valley settlement, was known for trade in precious stones and gems, with an allegiance to The Great Stone Bear. Vrekkur was a lowland settlement that acted as a crossroads. It was aligned with The Star Owl and used its location to gather the rumour and knowledge of travellers from many places to fill its records, which we have sadly lost.
While the beginning of the war has been obscured to me, I believe it occurred because the Sagites of Vrekkur had come into the ownership of a secret of Motjar, which enraged the Reeves council in Motjar, pushing them to war. Both the Bear and Owl were invoked early in the conflict and in the rites completed before warriors went to battle. But it appears that this was all theatre, the individual industries and histories of Vrekkur and Motjar had long since supplanted the Gods. That is to say; they worshipped those Gods because of the work they did, not the reverse which may have been the case in centuries past. The most conclusive writing about the conflict comes from a Summiter named Brujj the Bird who wrote the following:
“The buroughs of Vrekkur struck out at the walls of Motjar that catapults and rams, breaking it down and entering the outer burgs. Where they went they looted the storehouses and trading posts, all others; the homes, the temples and the granaries, they burned.”
Valleyfolk warfare that sees arson and conquest is nothing new, but Valleyfolk warfare that sees holy structures to your own faith (in a manner of speaking) destroyed by your own hand, is a new low, a true sign that the faith at this point was lost. A refugee from Vrekkur (who were apparently the victors of this conflict, with their settlement still standing until the Illsevir arrived), said that on the outside of the town there was an old graveyard that held marker stones from this time and while she recalled there being references to the Star Owl on some old priests gravestones, there was none other that she could recall from her time there.
What this shows is that by 100BE the faith and priesthood of the Old Gods had truly waned. The Old Gods were invoked as theatre, as formality and as afterthought, a far cry from their heights as the greatest predators, brought down from the mountains by the Obhan Dahk.
During this time there are scattered references to other new faiths appearing across the Valley. It is unsurprising that the arboreal faith of the Bailites took root, particularly in Bolsterlee and Anderslee as this reference attests to:
“Valind and her Husband Doric have met with Reeve Torstine and declared that they are leaving the burough, taking their young girl Dorind with them. Valind said that she had been adorned with the holly leaf by the Thrain Wodrin in the Baillite Woods and that they were going there to live for some time, or perhaps going further afield to Anderslee, she not sure what. Torstine tried to convince her to stay but Valind could not be shifted. They left the next morning.”
(From the tome of Freytin of Riverbend Burough, Autumn 62BE)
Unfortunately our understanding of the Bailite faith is largely empty and so it can be hard to know how subversive these actions were. Although it is worth noting that, in comparison to previous stances, Valind, Doric and Dorind were allowed to leave without harm, an act that may not have been the case in previous centuries.
Another small faith we see is the ‘Hufthr-Adn-Adlack’, an indecipherable name in any tongue I or any other archivists have known. I have found two references to the group I have taken to calling the Hufthr. The first is in this poem from a set of Skaldic Songs of the Valley, collected by an Artebazzani Priest of Stallia. It is as follows:
In Baelags shadow, where whispers soar,
A tale unfolds, of priest and door.
A wandering soul, I chanced to meet,
A priest of faith, so strange, so fleet.
From Hufthr-Adn-Adlack he hailed,
Beneath ancient stones with secrets paled.
Guardians they were, of a door of stone,
Hidden deep, where shadows moan.
With fervent faith, he spoke in awe,
Of runes unknown, with ancient draw.
Tapping rhythms, a mystic rite,
Unveiling mysteries in the dead of night.
But as the tale did onward creep,
A darkness stirred from his deepest sleep.
The priest's eyes gleamed with eerie sight,
A chilling shadow, in the fading light.
Whispers hinted of a sinister plot,
To capture souls, to tie the knot.
In shadows deep, his plan unfurled,
To steal away, me from the world.
With trembling heart, I fled the scene,
A warning cried, 'neath moonlight sheen.
Beware the priests with sigils strange,
Their intentions dark, their motives deranged.
So heed my words, dear traveler fair,
Beware the priests with the shadowy stare.
For in their eyes lies treachery's door,
A path of peril, forevermore.
The other reference is that apparently, although I cannot confirm this beyond hearsay, is that there is a barracks within Baelag’s Holdfast known as ‘The Hufthr Capstone’.
But amidst all of this was the arrival of a far more powerful and righteous faith; The revelation of Niccolo Van Demuer.
From my readings there was already a Valleyfolk who had taken up the true faith from as early as 30BE particularly in eastern Bolsterlee where they had chance to interact with the new settlement of Posta Lerona. As we can see from the above, the Valleyfolk clearly yearned for a divine redemption and it is not surprising that many of them saw the truth in the Spheres. Progressively over the following decades we see a growth of this across Bolsterlee and up into the High Valley. For the Artebazzani cultists of Niccolo, the Iron Valley was an ideal place to preach; an established people with a weakened faith, a history of adapting their own beliefs to suit political necessity, and all of this within a mostly comfortable and civilised locale.
The two most important events along this arc that I can follow are the First Mercenary War and the Blessing of the Citadel.
It should be noted that during the First Mercenary War there were Spheric peoples on both sides. A vast majority of the Artebazzani forces were Spheric (the imperial writ that made it an affront to be a heathen was only penned in 91AE) and among the forces of Deorling were likely many buroughs that had found the truth. It is noted by records at the time that Deorling struggled to keep peace in the camp as Spheric priests often interrupted rites of other faiths (of which there were noted to be at least four at this point including both The Spheres and The Old Gods) preaching of conversion. It is a compliment to Deorling that he was able to keep his forces cohesive enough to combat the Artebazzani to a standstill despite this. But it is also telling that the great builder himself was blessed by Tivus Viia, a Cervitasi priestess and sister to Gustavo Viia, Imperial Minister of War during the peace treaty. It appears that the great builder found the truth in the war and judging by his eventual marriage to Tivus in 96AE, even more than that.
While a grand moment for Deorling and Tivus, this was a final nail in the coffin of the faith of the Old Gods. Deorling, who was ‘named and raised to adulthood under the twin gaze of the Great Stone Bear and the Iron Wolf’ was the last great Iron Valley hero who kept the faith. His central role in the (mostly) successful defence positioned him to become a new heathen messiah, showing the primacy of the Old Gods and so he was duly raised by the priests that were beneath him. These priests struggled to withdraw their support when his faith changed, not only creating the first Spheric Iron Valley hero, but also showing themselves to be fools.
While the First Mercenary War clearly delineated the border between Artebazzan and The Iron Valley, perhaps The Imperium was only willing to accept this as it knew it had control over the Valley through the true faith. The first council of the Iron Valley Church of the Divine Spheres, which named the first ‘Reeve-Priests’ who oversaw the coordination of the faith in the Valley, was in 98AE. It was this council that organised a great blessing of the walls of Baelag’s Holdfast in 100AE, in celebration of one hundred years of the faith and a realignment of the Valley’s greatest structure to The Spheres.
The following law-record recalls the event:
“On the eighth of October / twenty first day from frost, Jitira of Brakkenloh attacked Poter of Heinsgraf on the outer wall of Baelags Holdfast. Poter was engaged in a blessing of the Spheres of the fortress alongside nineteen other priests. Jitira attacked the Poter with a wolfs-head blade for desecrating the monument of her people, invoking the Iron Wolf as she did so. Poter was protected by his allies and Jitira was hanged for attacking a priest engaged in a rite.”
And with that the Old Gods were gone.
Conclusions and Further Research
In certain, very very old, parts of the Valley, you may find Spheric churches that seem muddled. Where Cervitas’ pillars are adorned with stag horns, where Stallia’s stars are found in the eyes of an owl, or Panoply is represented by a charmingly fat bear with strangely intense eyes. The people of the Valley are pragmatic and fierce and this is no less true than in their faith. They have changed the truth as they knew it to suit themselves, both in their heroes and their downtrodden. In the end, they twisted their faith back and forth like a stubborn tree root until it tore free from the soil.
Surely, heretical revitalizations of this faith will happen as long as a record of them still exists within this world. But these dalliances are short lived and short sighted. In the modern day the people of the Valley are true to the Spheres beyond all reproach and are some of the foremost priests in The Concord.
During my research I have found a number of other topics of interest that may be of use;
- The faith of the Bailites is certainly contained in some records in Bolsterlee, Brotherslee and Lerona Mere. Understanding this may be of great use.
- The life of Deorling would certainly be an enjoyable project for any researcher and the first great Spheric hero may provide a great example for all the Concord.
- A true record of the Mountain Kings, detailing the names and deeds of all those who sought that title would certainly be of use.
I remain your loyal and faithful servant,
Victor Grauken, Wolstad, Civil Service Archivist.