Source of Corruption (LustfulSins & obieblu)

[obieblu]

The Cult of Qolnos was an ascetic religion with fairly unreasonable standards and little to offer for incentives to join, so they primarily took in orphans and trained them up as monks. Qolnos was the god of Purity; physical, mental, and philosophical. Adherents were to abstain from anything their ancient scholars had decided was impure, even as it applied to mixing naturally occurring substances, like mixed fiber clothes, anything but whole, unseasoned foods, and even using and wearing metal alloys and cut gems. Even virginity was revered as existing in the natural state in which one was born, and celibacy was mandatory. That was another reason the followers of Qolnos were eager to take in orphans.

The cult was tolerated mostly because their crusades could be often be directed towards pragmatic ends, such as crusading against necromancers and revolutions against corrupt leaders. As a vague form of payment, governments didn't stop them from enforcing their standards, such as banning the sale of spices and alcohol in the towns where they had monasteries.

While alchemy was heresy, most other academic pursuits were valued, such as history and the study of the natural world. This knowledge was merely to identify the inherent truths of the world, as to better maintain or force a return to those original truths. While all Qolnon monks trained their bodies as to achieve best what they could physically be, some also trained their minds as much in the accepted areas of study.

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One such academic was Nasir. The young monk had barely any memory of his life before the Cult of Qolnos, and those memories were mostly of poverty and loneliness. Nasir barely knew what he was missing outside the ascetic religion in which he'd been raised. Inside, he found a passion for nature that was encouraged. The cult frowned on the domestication of plants and animals, but they begrudgingly acknowledged that that box couldn't be closed. However, their naturalists strove to locate, record, and encourage the growth of the most 'original' of species as to try and cultivate as natural a world as possible. Nasir saw the beauty in nature, and he was fulfilled by serving in this role.

Though, something was seeping out into the land that was changing, corrupting nature and man alike...

 

[LustfulSins]

Not far to the north, the ancient forest of Rhythia, long deemed forbidden by the average villager due to its dangers, is extending a new stream. It's as though the forest itself is alive, occasionally reaching out fingers, new streams, to expand its borders. But it's been nearly a century since the last new stream. This one brings with it the cause of the forest's seeming liveliness; waters imbued with an aphrodisiac essence, something deeply frowned upon by the Cult of Qolnos.

The residents of Rhythia further prove the reason for the villagers' reason to make the forest forbidden. Nearly every living creature residing amongst the trees bears an unusually strong sexual appetite, fueled by the aphrodisiac waters. At all times of day, howls, growls, and calls can be heard throughout Rhythia, of its inhabitants pleasured activities. Sometimes, a strong wind will carry these sounds out of the forest, sounding like the moaning of ghosts as the wind passes through the trees.

At the heart of the forest, a full six days travel on foot from the nearest village, is a lake from which every stream in the forest originates. At the center of this lake is an island upon which grows the large, white, star-shaped flowers that are the cause of the water's aphrodisiac effect. The great oak tree that marks the home of Rhythia's forest Guardian also resides on this Island.

Only a bare handful have ever seen the Guardian and lived. Described as an eight foot tall vaguely humanoid stag on two cloven-hooved legs, with long claws for hands, the wraith-like Guardian is a foreboding sight to those who lay eyes on it. Black skin, seemingly paper-thin, is stretched across the Guardian's broad-shouldered structure. A deerskin is draped about its shoulders like a shawl, and another is tied about its waist with a length of rough rope. A green glow emanates from the black eye sockets of the Guardian's stag skull head, around its claw fingers, and from beneath its deerskin clothing. The Guardian's stag antlers span a width of four feet.

​

The Guardian rarely leaves its sanctuary at the heart of the forest. Often, it uses its mournful sounding stag call to summon Rhythia's wildlife to it, rather than go out to hunt. But the forest has created a new stream, and the Guardian has left its island home to explore the new direction of water flow.

 

[obieblu]

Nasir's monastery was not close to Rhythia, but the forest's new stream extended it's reach far. Word reached the elders of Qolnos and piqued their curiosity. There were rumors of changes in nature around the new source of water, and even what had caused the new flow was worth investigating. Nasir was chosen due to his combination of academic aptitude and experience surviving alone in the wilds. The young monk accepted the quest happily, though without showing too much of his excitement to his superiors. While he was fine with a simple life, uncluttered by outside society, he did prefer greenery to the walls of his monastery home.

With only basic provisions like camping gear, dried meat, and a change of robes, Nasir set out the next morning. It would take more than a day to reach the closest meander of the new stream, but he wasn't in a rush and rather enjoyed walking. Not having heard of the forbidden forest of Rhythia, Nasir traveled in good spirits, expecting only to satisfy his intellectual curiosity. His optimism was answered with a spot of luck in the form of a traveling merchant with a soft spot for solitary religious types. The wagon brought Nasir to a town shortly after nightfall, and he thanked the merchant before spending the night on a pew in the local chapel.

In the light of the morning, Nasir drew some odd looks from the locals. His warm brown skin and goldish eyes were different than theirs. There weren't many monks traveling through their small town, but enough of them recognized the icon of Qolnos Nasir wore around his neck. That produced some indignant snorts and a few thoughts of worry that the cult was interested in moving into their area and making life more strict and boring. With no business there, and feeling a bit unwelcome, Nasir set off to the North, hoping to find the mysterious stream and make some good progress before the next evening.