Shadows & Sorcery #35
Welcome to the thirty-fifth edition of Shadows & Sorcery! This one’s a paid subscriber post, but please enjoy the first story in full, and make sure to go to back and check out the first tales in older editions I’ve made free for all! If you were looking to subscribe for $2 and didn’t see the option, it’s up and running now, sorry! And remember, you’ll get a 7-day free trial of the full archives when you do subscribe.
This weeks edition brings us to a city where gods are made, we meet a transcendental mountain cult, we uncover a crypt and its inhabitants, we learn the legend of legends among night wizards, and get a vision of a world that will never again be dark…
The tales are:
Throne Sacrifices
Temple Mountains
Forgotten Crypts
Moon Glade
Fires of Old
Throne Sacrifices
The islanders were known for the curious class of people that composed much of their higher echelons. Above the wider populace, which consisted of everything from farmers and fishers, to the merchants, soldiers and guildsmen who ran society on the local level, there was the class of "lofty", "elevated" or "high ones", an elite caste who received the finest education, dwellings, and training. They were the cream of the crop, a class of scholars, poets, and martial artists, for the islanders had no royalty and all was organized under the guidance of the priesthood, which alone communed with the ancestors.
The high ones were the most precious members of society, but they held no power. They were ambassador figureheads when not languishing in luxury, indulging their expanded interests. Provided for by the wider social caste and the priesthood, the elites often were guided to be as paragons, and though their input was respected in more serious affairs, ultimately it was the priesthood who made the decisions. The institution of the high ones was necessary, for it ensured that the island nation would always have a hand from above guiding it.
The reigning faith of the island chain was a primordial ancestor cult that revered figures of legend or highly respected figures of living memory. But the these folk did not shed their human natures upon ascension, indeed their fierce natures were the reason for their godly status. These clashing personalities dwelt above, and the celestial realms shook with their wars. The priesthood knew a more permanent solution was needed, for there were times when the heavens were aflame with deific conflict and the guiding hands of the mighty were absent. And so a solution was presented. The high ones.
The high one families are vast, complex, but this merely means more to choose from. The priesthood keeps a close eye on promising young members of various lines, selecting them for matchmaking with other gifted members, and culminating these projects in a brilliant soul destined to take a throne and be sacrificed so that the priests might populate the heavens with gods of their own making. Knowledge of the process isn't widely known, but the honour of a throne is. A great sealed temple sits in the capital wherein are rows of exquisite thrones, each one housing a withered corpse. A throne is a seat of power, and the high ones yearn to exercise their mighty wills. The priests see to it that they do so at their full power.
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