Tag: The Golden Star Serpent Which Breaks the World

#Lore24 – Entry #160 – Wild West Month #8 – The Dangers of the Bitter Frontier

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

The dangers of the Bitter Frontier are all around us.  It is a place of great bounty for the land is full of plants and animals which sustain us.  It is a place of great hardship, for it too is a land which is barren and filled with vast stretches which animals will not go, or which are filled with nothing but poisonous plants and beasts and abominations alike which seek the blood of any who are unprepared to face them. 

It is only by respecting the spirits of the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons that we can understand these dangers and where they are, for the very landscape of the Bitter Frontier can change within the span of a moon, perhaps less, if the Great Spirits are angered. 

While many of the animals which roam the Bitter Frontier can be dangerous, they can at least be reasoned with if one is keen to observe and respect them.  There are many abominations which roam the Bitter Frontier, however, that cannot be dealt with the same.  These must be avoided, or, if one encounters them, they must be fought or driven away through might and magic, for they seek only blood and destruction; a sacrifice may be accepted, but these foul things warped by the dark sorcery of the Devil-Wardens are greedy and will most likely seek additional blood if it is there.  The packs of Wolf-Bears are such an abomination, for these are possessed of the foul nature of a normal grizzly but travel in packs as large as a dozen, seeking to fill their ever-empty bellies.

Only the Red Fang tribe seems to have some affinity with these creatures, but we do not follow their ways, for their ways are brutal and foul; we will speak of them at another time.

But do not think that the only abominations are animals, or like animals.  The very plants of the Bitter Frontier can be filled with the dark sorcery, and even the spirits which we revere can be corrupted by these foul magics and may seek to do us harm.  Many are the tales of the unwary who are drown in by Plants That Are Not As They Seem, seeking nourishment only to have their very lifeblood drained from them, or of the corrupt Wind Spirits which roam the expanse of the Desert that was Once a Sea which use the very sand as their weapons, tearing flesh from bone.

As the Peopel from Beyond the Great Walls continue to try to tame the Bitter Frontier, they are discovering why it is we of the Kerra-Kerra do not go into certain regions at certain times, but they seem not to learn these lessons, and continue to venture where they should not seeking their treasures from within the earth.  Their actions have drawn the abominations from their usual places, and perhaps caused them to breed faster; this is a problem we must deal with, though we of the Kerra-Kerra do not have a good answer; we must simply adapt and survive.

#Lore24 – Entry #159 – Wild West Month #7 – Places Forbidden by the Devil Wardens

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

The Kerra-Kerra tribes have places we consider sacred.  The Tribes Who are Not Kerra-Kerra have places they consider sacred.  Perhaps even the People from the Cities Beyond the Great Walls have sacred places.  However, there are places which we do not go, places our people rarely speak of.  Places which hold great evil spirits, places which are still possessed by the power once controlled by the Devil-Wardens.

The Valley of Mists that Never Fade is one such place.  No matter what the sky, water, and wind spirits may decide in the lands surrounding this valley, the mists always remain.  From the distant mountains looking down upon this valley, you can see the mists swirl and writhe as if some great beast lies hidden below them.  We do not go there.  Those of the Bitter Frontier who are not of the Kerra-Kerra do not go there, for none who do ever returns.  It is a place of great evil and suffering, for it was once of the Devil-Wardens and their foul sorcery.  Those who dare to venture close tell of strange sounds, like those made by the Howling Steel Chariots, of metal and steam, but coming from deep within the very earth.  Many have there been of the People from the Cities Beyond the Great Walls who have sought treasures from the valley, and none of them have returned either.

It is said by our ancestors that this place is still haunted by the spirits of the Devil Wardens, that they seek new souls to imprison and use their foul magics upon.  It is said that should the Mists that Never Fade ever clear, a great calamity will befall our people and all peoples of the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons; even those beyond the Great Walls will not be safe from the spirits of the Devil Wardens should they be released from this place.

Yet, it must come to pass, for that which is sought by the Golden Star Serpent may indeed lie within the Valley of Mists that Never Fade, and it is fated that the Golden Serpent will break the world.  The Kerra-Kerra and other tribes of the Bitter Frontier must remain resolute and prepare for this.

There are other places that are forbidden, still held by the angry, vengeful spirits of the Devil-Wardens, but we shall not speak of these now.

#Lore24 – Entry #158 – Wild West Month #6 – The Golden Star Serpent Which Breaks the World

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

Our Great Mother Saressh, in her divine wisdom, gifts her most faithful children with the gift of the Sight, of visions of futures that may or may not come to pass.  It is with her guidance that we have found our way, alongside the many spirits of the land and seas and air that dwell upon the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons. 

Yet, all that he has shown us does not bode well for our people or for those who are not of the Kerra-Kerra or the Other Peoples who Roam the Bitter Frontier, or even the places within the world we do not travel.  For there exists a prophecy that has not come to pass, but has been shared by the shaman of all tribes, that I have experienced myself.

One day, there shall be a great Golden Serpent from the Stars beyond the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons who shall fall upon our world.  This Golden Star Serpent shall seek truths that we ourselves do not know, buried in the deepest and darkest of secret places within our world.  We know that what this Golden Star Serpent seeks lies within our sacred lands, within the Bitter Frontier.  This much Saressh has shown us to be true, though when it shall happen, we cannot know for certain.

She has also shown us that should this Golden Sky Serpent find what she seeks, the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons shall be changed forever, the very nature of our world torn asunder.  This will scatter our peoples amongst the stars themselves, not only the Kerra-Kerra, but those dwellers in the Cities from Beyond the Great Walls and even in lands far beyond our own Bitter Frontier.  The very nature of life upon our world will be changed forever.  Our world will be broken; this we cannot prevent.

And yet there is hope, for the Great Mother has told us that not all is lost, for even in the darkest of times, the spirit of our people shall continue to thrive through and beyond this Breaking of the World.  Though we of the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons may be changed forever, we will not allow our spirits to die, cannot allow our ways to be forgotten.  We must adapt to whatever changes may come, for that is the life we have always lived upon our Bitter Frontier.