The Monsters of the Woods
We are told by the church that they are a curse created by the Old Gods who sought vengeance against those faithful to the All-Father. But honestly, I think the Church just came up with an answer for the fear and despair that the beasts cause. They have existed for as long as anyone can remember. Some look like warped and gnarled trees, able to move and crush anything and anyone they come across. Others look like undead monsters that rose from the graves, rotting and putrid they eat anything their slimy claws touch. Then there are the ones that only a handful of people have seen. These monsters are fabled to be the most vile and dangerous, and so those who have seen them, never live to tell anyone. Over time, as they continued their pillaging and devouring, we came to call them one simple name, the Monsters of the Woods, because that’s exactly what they are.
Originally, for over 500 years, the Green Swords protected us from these creatures. However, with the descent into chaos the entire realm is experiencing, and the Church’s decision to no longer provide the needed coin for the Swords, we have no defense. It makes me laugh, because the lords want to know why we don’t make as much food for their troops anymore. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, I think. They usually come at night. You can hear them, slinking around the villages, trying to find food. All you can do is just cover your child’s mouth, and hope the monsters don’t take you tonight. The big cities don’t have to worry about it, only the villages along the forests. What they fail to realize is that we give them food. We are the source of their comfortable lives behind their big stone walls. I am confident that in time, they will have to come out and help us. Lets just hope that when they do, it won’t be too late.
Originally, for over 500 years, the Green Swords protected us from these creatures. However, with the descent into chaos the entire realm is experiencing, and the Church’s decision to no longer provide the needed coin for the Swords, we have no defense. It makes me laugh, because the lords want to know why we don’t make as much food for their troops anymore. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, I think. They usually come at night. You can hear them, slinking around the villages, trying to find food. All you can do is just cover your child’s mouth, and hope the monsters don’t take you tonight. The big cities don’t have to worry about it, only the villages along the forests. What they fail to realize is that we give them food. We are the source of their comfortable lives behind their big stone walls. I am confident that in time, they will have to come out and help us. Lets just hope that when they do, it won’t be too late.
The Swordsmen of the Order of Celadite
Founded shortly after the discovery of the celadite metal, the commonly referred to Green Swords is an order that usually inspires courage and gratitude among those who still remember them. The Green Swords once held strongholds across the realm, forts that held stockpiles of celadite weapons, the only weapon that can effectively kill one of the Monsters.
After the Swords grew and established a presence in the realm as the defenders of man against the Monsters, they would eventually adopt the Angel of Heraldry, Alandra, as their symbol. She would forever fly on their banners wielding her greatsword. The Swords would develop their own leadership, with the Grand Knight at the top, followed by his subordinate Commanders. They would spread their influence across the land, defending countless villages and homes, saving more lives than any guardsman. They were our heroes, until the Church decided they weren’t worth the coin. Within only a few years of no funds, the entire order had to disband, and their members were forced to all fend for themselves in whatever way they could. Most have chosen the path of mercenary work. It’s an unfair end to such a great force for good.
I think most people forget what it was like to not have Monsters around each corner, hiding in the shadows, having friends one day only to have them disappear the next. The Swords once stood as a symbol of hope in our bleak existence, but that’s gone now. Now the members of the order travel, finding odd jobs where they can, often working as mercenaries. They are always noticeable, their green blades shining brilliantly, never seeming to grow dull.
After the Swords grew and established a presence in the realm as the defenders of man against the Monsters, they would eventually adopt the Angel of Heraldry, Alandra, as their symbol. She would forever fly on their banners wielding her greatsword. The Swords would develop their own leadership, with the Grand Knight at the top, followed by his subordinate Commanders. They would spread their influence across the land, defending countless villages and homes, saving more lives than any guardsman. They were our heroes, until the Church decided they weren’t worth the coin. Within only a few years of no funds, the entire order had to disband, and their members were forced to all fend for themselves in whatever way they could. Most have chosen the path of mercenary work. It’s an unfair end to such a great force for good.
I think most people forget what it was like to not have Monsters around each corner, hiding in the shadows, having friends one day only to have them disappear the next. The Swords once stood as a symbol of hope in our bleak existence, but that’s gone now. Now the members of the order travel, finding odd jobs where they can, often working as mercenaries. They are always noticeable, their green blades shining brilliantly, never seeming to grow dull.
The Divine House of the All-Father
The Church, so it has come to be known, is a term that brings a mixture of emotions. Inspired by the teachings and life story of a man the priests call Ulver Lindhardt, it is the faith that most of us in this realm worship, though it has fallen into obscurity as of late. Once standing for hope in a dark world, the Church’s new Consulate, the name given to the leader of the Church, is a man with selfish goals, much like the king he advises. No one harms the clerics, and no one would dare desecrate a holy place of the All-Father, but the men and women inside are no longer heeded by the nobles, their words are ignored, because the lords of the provinces fear they would side with another lord, which is something they will never do.
The Church teaches us that the man Ulver was visited at night in a clearing in the forests. His visitor would be the angel of heraldry, messenger of the All-Father, Lady Alandra. The joyous angel told him that he would be granted the power to change humanity for the better, if he would use the power to spread the word of All-Father while he made our realm a better home for all. Ulver accepted of course. We are told he gathered adherents rapidly, many men and women all willingly dedicating their lives to the spread of the True Faith. The Chronicles of Ulver tell us that he fought to defend our homes against the Orc Incursion and the first incursions of the Monsters of the Woods before the Green Swords. But was captured, tortured, and killed by them before ever getting to see the end of the war. A sad end for such a great man.
The Church teaches us that the man Ulver was visited at night in a clearing in the forests. His visitor would be the angel of heraldry, messenger of the All-Father, Lady Alandra. The joyous angel told him that he would be granted the power to change humanity for the better, if he would use the power to spread the word of All-Father while he made our realm a better home for all. Ulver accepted of course. We are told he gathered adherents rapidly, many men and women all willingly dedicating their lives to the spread of the True Faith. The Chronicles of Ulver tell us that he fought to defend our homes against the Orc Incursion and the first incursions of the Monsters of the Woods before the Green Swords. But was captured, tortured, and killed by them before ever getting to see the end of the war. A sad end for such a great man.