Giask - A Compilation

[Eduardo Almighty]

I am working on a serie of religious-based RPs about the Cult of the Bloodmoon. I have shown these RPs for members of Luria and within the religious channels, but now I decided to broaden the audience and let more people know these texts and through them, the character and religion (from his point of view). All criticism is welcome and appreciated. Just remember that English is not my native language, so be nice with my poor grammar.

Enjoy 

[Eduardo Almighty]

Giask - Part I

***

"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.'" - Nietzche

***

Henrich had come down the road with a small procession behind him. Men, women and children who worked in the fields transformed into musicians and dancers. Daydreamers. The High Priest wore a white robe, pure as the clouds above him, so simple that it was difficult recognize himself on those calm waters like the Duke he had once been. Without a homeland, Henrich had become a stranger in foreign lands, avoiding a nobility now so strange to him, taking refuge with the common people, converting them and spreading the word about a world beyond the Shroud, a world that they could touch when they sang, danced, drank and dreamed. Before a Diplomat, Ambassador and High Magistrate, mastering the laws of his people and foreign policies, now he remained reclusive, preaching and pacifying hostile regions, taking his message to merchants and the rich class living below the nobles, paying taxes and accepting him with dinners and curiosity.

Sailing from Askileon to Giask, he remembered his adventurous youth in Kid's Rock, seeing an entire region flourish through his hands. The times in which he threw himself overboard to whaling. The seagulls were a constant reminder of Itau and its ports. Nothing had been more edifying than give life to that forgotten and abandoned city. So, he could understand the men who had trodden the path before him. His father had been a humble warrior, a hero spending his last days taking care of Abilotiel. Yeux had erected magnificent temples that were destroyed by enemies and now only Avamar was still a jewel in the hands of an elvish conqueror. During his time at Itau he had consolidated the triad of power within his family. Him, the Duke of Itau; Yeux, Duke of Agyr, Great Maharshi of the Bloodspeakers and King of Melhed; Erik, Duke of Avamar, the one with more titles than a mortal could ever have. What his ancestors would think of him now? A noble without titles, without power, without lands or estates. A self-imposed vow of poverty. An exile that went beyond the physical world.

However, these were characteristics that shaped Henrich in a solemn, pure and kind creature. A nobility which could not be purchased or ripped from the hands of an enemy. His presence was overflowing peace and a nobility that appealed to the common people. Those who saw him as a different model of noble. Someone who could give without ask anything in return. Someone who could walk among them, tell him stories, ministering healing and love potions. It was said that the grass was greener where Henrich walked. The cows gave more milk and women gave birth to healthy children. Not coincidentally, the virgins worshiped him and that peaceful aura that gave him an austere beauty.

Thus, in all his simplicity, Henrich reached Giask, the last city of Asylon. A dying kingdom living from its own ideal, much more into the Dream than in the world of blood and flesh. The High Priest had no illusions about the future. He was not there to serve the living world and its kings, but to build a bridge between the mankind and its crazy dreams. If the south loved the stars, he would teach them to kiss the sky.

[Eduardo Almighty]

Giask - Part II
The Science of Transmutations

***

"The changing of Bodies into Light, and Light into Bodies, is very conformable to the Course of Nature, which seems delighted with Transmutations." - Sir Isaac Newton

***

Henrich had learned long ago that he was a temple within... then, he preferred to walk around Giask before visit the temple built by the new King. His presence and that of his followers was not easy to ignore, opening the way through the streets in a colorful and vibrant parade. The young priestess beside him had tied his belt with a well-polished bronze sword, a ceremonial blade. Along the way he let a girl put a necklace of shells and seeds around his neck and when he sat down to rest in a square, under a tree, the priestess bared his arms, drawing hypnotic spiral patterns in blue ink, concentrating there all the omens and auspices of the Tongue of Prophecy.

Henrich Eyolf: "I like this place... I will rest here for a while."

The followers were happy with his choice. There, in those gardens, indifferent to the city around them, they pitched their tents, spreading rugs and cushions. Soon the square was a colorful amalgam, smelling of incense and scented oils. There they shared their wine, beer and bread. They danced and sang, inebriated with the sacred. They attract the people and there Henrich preached to them, shared his advices and his potions. There, under the tree, he decided to show them a miracle of his powers. Under the astonished eyes he improvised his small "lab", putting a good portions of his gold coins to melt. When gold reached a good color, he did his magic, using his alchemical ingredients. Sinopia red, misy and cadmia. With a magic formula he sealed the process and allowed the gold to cool, then showing a solid piece twice the size. The miracle that transformed the ordinary into extraordinary. A silent lesson, but one that would know to be heard. Were not the humble farm workers that turned food into wealth? That was not the work of merchants and commoners of all kind? The young men were not transformed into soldiers covered in gold and glory? Weren't the noblility a shinning extension of those below, taking the riches from the land, paying with their lives and their blood? Fools would see only the gold, but the true believers would see there the transmutation of the ordinary into the divine.

Obviously, that was just an alchemical trick. The real magic was not transforming mundane materials into other materials valued only by the greed of man. But the process itself was full of wonder and showed to everybody that Henrich was the guardian of occult knowledge, powers that could bend men without the urge of swords and armies. Moreover, it was necessary to display some superhuman power to conquer the fervent mind of those he wished to convert. He had to show something capable of show them the world of faith couldn't be ruled solely by the lonely stars in the night sky, deaf to the appeal of men. He was a path to the stars and he had the necessary knowledge to illuminate the way. He has the key to open the doors of enlightenment.

Henrich Eyolf: "Why do you care for gold??? What transforms this world is knowledge. Nothing else can change anything in this world. Knowledge alone is capable of transforming the world, while at the same time leaving it exactly as it is. When you look at the world with knowledge, you realize that things are unchangeable and at the same time are constantly being transformed. Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place. Life isn't about just having dreams, it's all about transforming them into reality and an army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot."

The High Priest raised his arms as a new horde of followers took part in that small squere surrounded by gardens where the true miracle of transmutation happened. Where Henrich disarmed the ignorance and opened the seas of darkness to bring illumination to the common people, always living the worst vicissitudes of life while the nobles sprawled in their feasts planning new wars and conquers.

Henrich Eyolf: "I don't just wish you rain, Beloved - I wish you the beauty of storms!!!"

[Eduardo Almighty]

Giask - Interlude

The priestess stretched like a lazy cat. Eurwen, 'fair as gold', a beauty of the northern lands, a gift and a blessing. Henrich fell asleep, careless of how long he lived of small generosities and great urges. The room was worthy of his lineage, the Serpentis. He should be the King's guest, but he preferred the invitation of a local patrician. Perfumes, potions and oils had relieved his body under the graces of magic hands. As a diplomat he had tasted the wine and talked at length with the rich men of Giask, giving them the pleasure of being seated with a formal Duke of royal blood and clarifying questions about the political turmoil. Drunk they preferred other subjects and the night became a nice ode to all gathered there under his draconian wings. Awake, Eurwen touched his dreams with her purr.

Oh, remember the mocking bird, my dear bought
He used to sing for his dinner,
He used to sing so sweet
But since my dear left me he ain't sang a tune all day

Oh, remember the blue-birds and the honey bees,
They used to sing for the sunshine
Yes, they used to sing for the honey
They used to sing so sweet
But since my dear left me they ain't sang a tune all day
All day...

Come... come on back to me
Make everybody happy as can be

So, my dear, if you'll please come home again
You know I'll kiss you for my dinner.
But, ah, if you don't come back you know
I'll have to starve to death
'cause I ain't had a kiss all day now
Please remember
You got to remember
You got to remember our love
Come on back, dear, come on back in my arms,
I'll make everything that better
Come on, dear, hurry up now
Can you hear me calling you back again now?

Henrich smiled and attacked his prey, involving her with his arms and bites. Kisses and caresses. The bodies tangled up under the silk. He drank from the sacred fruit in the high mountains, in the valleys and in at the southern temple always sliding along with the golden light that danced over her body. Life was so sweet. The world was there waiting for him, free to try a bit of each pleasure. Never again a single port, but all ports.

Henrich Eyolf: "We are singing quite often, my dear... quite often..."

[Eduardo Almighty]

Giask - Part III - I
Revealed Secrets - Or the man who could heal the world

***

"For if a man by magical arts and sacrifices will bring down the moon, and darken the sun, and induce storms, or fine weather, I should not believe that there was anything divine, but human, in these things, provided the power of the divine were overpowered by human knowledge and subjected to it." - Hippocrates

***

Henrich was sitting at the table with his hosts for another enjoyable evening. That rich merchant had a special taste for music and arts and the former Duke enjoyed his presence, spending long hours with him discussing abstractions. A flutist played nice notes and the dinner was appetizing. Before dessert is served, one of the guests finally showed his mischievous curiosity.

Guest: "You mentioned in other discussions about the ways of your Cult..."

Henrich Eyolf: "Yes, of course. The Science of Transmutations, introduced by Lady Ven and the Role of Sacrifice, introduced by Sir Graeth..."

Guest: "Excuse my rudeness... but you never introduced your own way?"

Henrich Eyolf: "Don't worry with your curiosity -- she's the capricious lady who guide our paths. As a Tongue of the Prophecies, I was initiated at the Science of Transmutations and I understand the Role of Sacrifice, however my specialty has always been the exploration of the unknown, dispersing the shadows of ignorance and bringing light where there was darkness."

Guest: "Then... nothing special!?"

Henrich Eyolf: "Special, unh!? Like raise the dead, cover the sun with a shadow and turn day into night or just turn ordinary metals into gold? - and he paused as they spread the laughter around the table - No. Nothing special. There are many secrets in this world and a true understanding of the magic universe is the way to control the forces of nature. What you call 'special' or magic, I call knowledge and wisdom. I never seriously thought about it, but maybe I created the Path of Spiritual Healing. When I was a child, my father realized the essential difference between us: he was a hero of Ikalak, a warrior like many others in my family. He cultivated the ideal of a good death and the joy of a honored battle, but I was more concerned with books and teachings of my mentors. I was especially interested in learning about the mysteries of healing. I saw bones being put in place, members being  amputated and all kinds of combat injury. This interest grew when I had access to the books of King Yeux Serpentis while I was Duke of the Carrion Corvidae. He was Grand Druid of Avalon, a lost kingdom in Beluaterra and after that, Great Maharshi of the Bloodspeakers. His books contain a vast range of information and recipes. Potions, poisons, treatments and sympathies. My position also allowed to collect all kinds of medical information from the Eastern courts and you would be amazed at how the elves live there and how their techniques are different..."

Guest: "Then, you're a healer? We have many healers..."

Henrich Eyolf: "Of course you have. However, they are not able to cure beyond the body. They ignore the power of mind over body and how faith can be used to save a man. The body can not survive without the mind and a man who witnessed the horrors of war and had his mind shattered into pieces is more useless than a cripple, for he is already dead, but the real death is denied him. But if you know the right processes to heal the mind, a man will never fear the enemy spears and swords, 'cause they can bleed his flesh, but never his faith. A man tortured will resist the pain inflicted by his captors, 'cause his mind knows how to ignore the wounds and his faith knows that the physical sufferings means nothing to the soul of the righteous."

Guest: "So, you intend to cure the world with... wisdom!?"

Henrich Eyolf: "Untroubled, scornful, outrageous - that is how wisdom wants us to be: she is a woman and never loves anyone but a warrior. This is what my father used to say. I don't intend to save the world, since the world have little value while its people is blind. I'm here to unveil the mysteries, remove the blindfold and let the people save themselves, so they can save their world."

They kept talking, eating and enjoying the illustrious visitor and only when Henrich expressed a desire to leave, one of the guests came for a private conversation. He was a local noble, a wealthy man with important connections in Giask and that until then saw Henrich as just a fool priest trying to sell his faith -- or worse, a homeless spy taking advantage of the hospitality of Luria and Asylon to foment riots. However, desperation had won the battle.

Guest: "I heard about your magical cures. The young ladies are delighted with your love potions. The mothers say that you heal their children and the elders compliment you for give them some relief after a life struggling against the pain. This is true?"

Henrich Eyolf: "There may be some exaggeration, but I studied many arts and medical procedures. So, yes, this is true..."


Guest: "My firstborn is still young... I was teaching him to ride and he fell from his horse. Since then he's stuck in bed. He is suffering with hallucinations and the doctors say he was possessed by evil spirits... he ... he will be useless for military service... or any service. His tongue curls, he squirms, shaking and sweating. I always tried to be a good man! Why the gods had to punish me this way? I didn't trust you, but if you can save my beloved son, I will give you all the wealth I possess!"


The High Priest saw the tears of a concerned father. A man without masks when life imposed him a great punishment. The despair of feeling guilty for bringing the tragedy to his own son.

Henrich Eyolf: "Don't worry about gold... I will save your son."

[Renodin]

Excellent works in my opinion and really add quality and flair to a section of the Lore I knew nearly nothing about. Thanks!

[Graeth]

It's good to see you working on RP for the CoB.  I love how every priest approaches the religion in a different way or tries to add their own flavor to the religion. 

[Glaumring the Fox]

Excellent! I love RP's!