Tag: sacred place

#Lore24 – Entry #179 – Wild West Month #28 – Gods of the Peoples Who Are Not Our Own

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

There are many gods that exist alongside our Great Mother Saressh.  I have spoken of Lashana and her followers before, of how we sometimes have our disagreements, but do not seek conflict if it can be avoided.  This is not often the case with those of other gods, for not all gods are good, and not all gods are just.  As with the Many Peoples, there are many reasons that the gods do what they do, and why they guide their followers as they do.  Always be wary when dealing with those of the other gods; you may not know their intentions, but you can keep some things in mind.

Amongst the Gods of the Peoples Who Are Not Our Own is one that you should be very cautious of, the evil god known as Malvaxor.  His ways are deceptive, preaching of healing the sick and the mad, only to make those who fall for his treatments worse, often hidden within the new Fortresses of Stone and Metal.  There have been times terrible abominations of flesh have been created by his followers, and great plagues have spread because of his “healers”.  Though the followers of Malvaxor do not recognize the Many Spirits, they are doing the work of the Reaper Spirit without question. 

The followers of Goldeneyes, the Seekers of Knowledge, may seem trustworthy, but be cautious what you may reveal to them.  They seek to know all, even that which should remain sacred and amongst only the Kerra-Kerra.  Though they say they record this knowledge to preserve it, who is to say what others may use this knowledge for?  Always guard our secrets, especially around the followers of Goldeneyes. 

Though the God of Death, Mausolus, and his followers, do not often work with the Reaper Spirit in mind, for he is a vain and prideful god, and his ways are only of benefit to him.  Those seeking the death of a specific person will often ask for his favor, the bounty killers and assassins of those with great power Beyond the Great Walls, usually, but his influence is spreading into the Bitter Frontier.

If life in upon the Bitter Frontier has taught us anything, it is that chaos is firmly in control, and this is pleasing to Old Man Entropy.  Some say he knows not what he does, for he is mad, but this is not so; mortals simply cannot fathom the true nature of his ways.  Understand that all tries to return to chaos, and this is the ultimate goal of Old Man Entropy.  It is said that he sometimes will reveal himself upon the great buttes and mesas on nights of the full moon, appearing as a great steed composed of starlight twinkling in shadow, a great horn upon its head.  Be ever cautious of such a strange vision, for it is a sign to contemplate and consider well what may come.

Chief among the gods of the Orc People of the north is Mantok Badaxe, a great warrior god who seeks to guide his people beyond the ways of the raider and barbarian.  His people upon the Bitter Frontier do not listen often to him and may have even forsaken his teachings altogether.  A rare few, however, still seek to follow his ancient ways, and it is these orcs who are often reaching out to live amongst other peoples, to learn their ways and live “civilized” lives.  If that is the path they have chosen, then so be it; be wary of them as you would be for any outside the Kerra-Kerra, but if their intentions are true, they will find their own rewards with Mantok.

It is often difficult to say where you will find followers of the goddesses Erisaya and Yurisaya, for they are as two halves of the same being, one standing in light, the other in shadow, sometimes in a temple, sometimes in the Houses of Whores and Fire Water.  Generally, they are goodly, bringing healing and their chosen forms of “love and compassion” to the world, but this often brings with it stirred passions and its own form of chaos as the hearts and minds can be swayed by their ways.  Always be careful around them, for they know well the ways of the flesh, and can say sweet words that will twist the mind as surely as any dark sorcery to sway those to their ways of thinking. 

#Lore24 – Entry #178 – Wild West Month #27 – The Land of Deadly Water that Shoots to the Sky

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

A land that is both sacred and deadly, not to be traveled by the unwary, though perhaps if the Many Spirits are willing, one who is not familiar with the region may survive their journey through it.  The Land of Deadly Water that Shoots to the Sky can be found many days to the west of the Hills of Coal, within the northeastern reaches of the Peaks Reaching to the Sky.  The land is both good and bad here, for there can be found many places where animals and plants for food are plentiful, especially around the many lakes spread around this region, but also many places that will kill without thought or mercy, for the Many Spirits are often in conflict here.

It is the spirits of the earth and water which are most often in battle within this area, and perhaps it is the spirits of fire that stoke the feuds between them.  There are parts of this land where you can find Pools of Smoking Water that Smell Foul, and though colored in beautiful ways, the water is deadly.  Not only will it boil flesh while you still live, perhaps before you even realize it, but it will also poison if cooled and drank.  Even the earth around these pools of water is not safe, for it can be thin and misleading, breaking off to dump you into the very boiling water that is hidden beneath it.  In other regions, the Many Spirts of Earth and Water make pleas to the spirits of the Air and Sky to aid against the Spirits of Fire, shooting huge streams of boiling water into the sky.  One would be wise to tread carefully when you begin to smell foul air and feel rumbles beneath your feet, and watch for the bones of animals, for they too fall prey to the battle of the Many Spirits here.

Even with the dangers here, the good parts of this land are very good, and it is shared amongst the Kerra-Kerra and the Horse People throughout the year as we roam from place to place.  In recent times the Many Peoples from Beyond the Great Walls have begun to venture into The Land of Deadly Water that Shoots to the Sky, ever seeking their shiny treasures and the dark blood of the earth.  I have seen for myself their folly in venturing unwarily through this land, and you will likely see their bones scattered amongst the Pools of Dangerous Water and in the Places Where Water Shoots to the Sky. 

#Lore24 – Entry #177 – Wild West Month #26 – The Great Valley of Stone Towers Reaching to the Sky

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

South of the Peaks Reaching to the Sky, west of the Plains Which Stretch Forever, several days before you would reach the harsher deserts of the Great Scorpion Flats and the Vast Dry Sea of Salt lies the Great Valley of Stone Towers Reaching to the Sky.  Surrounded by higher mesas, the valley drops sharply from these heights.  Below lies a land that is more hospitable than the other desert areas I have spoken of, with plants and animals and water that are more easily found.  Most striking of this wide, long valley are the Stone Towers Reaching to the Sky, standing as high as the mesas surrounding the valley, but dotted all throughout the valley floor.  It is almost as if they were pushed through the earth by the spirits of earth and accepted by the spirits of the sky.

We sometimes journey to the Great Valley of Stone Towers Reaching to the Sky, for it is one of the sacred meeting places of the Kerra-Kerra, a place where we commune with the Many Spirits of the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons, for days, sometimes weeks.  It is one of the places that we come closer to our Great Mother Saressh, and a place where we lay our venerated dead to rest, hidden amongst the many Stone Towers, where the spirits welcome them into the Great Beyond and home to the Great Mother so that they may be born again.

There are many pathways hidden amongst the Stone Towers Reaching to the Sky that lead to the flat tops, for that is where we perform our communion with the Many Spirits.  These paths may be found by those not of the Kerra-Kerra, but only the brave would venture to such places, for the spirits often do not allow those who do not commune with them to come into these places.  There are other dangers for those who do not venerate the Many Spirits, for the Valley itself is guarded by the mighty Thunderbirds that make their nests atop the Towers, and they do not recognize outsiders as welcome, and they wield the power of thunder and lighting as easily as we wield our bows and spears and guns.  Not even one of the Howling Steel Chariots could survive the attack of a Thunderbird.