A Pilgrim's Guide to Northern Aeldin

[VIROS 2915]

A PILGRIM’S GUIDE TO NORTHERN AELDIN

PENNED BY HIGH PONTIF JAMES II FOR LORD FISKE VANIR

ON THE OCCASION OF HIS KNIGHTHOOD AND SUBSEQUENT PILGRIMAGE

 

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Lord Fiske,

 

With the assistance of my Secretariat, I have prepared this traveller’s guide for your pilgrimage to Aeldin, according to the itinerary you presented to me. I have provided such sites of pilgrimage as are most notable in each city, though I assure you that northern Aeldin is faithfully Canonist, and so there are likely hundreds of other sites you may visit as they are revealed to you.

 

I will pray that you have a safe and enlightening journey, and eagerly await your return with news of that distant continent.

 

Deo Gratias,

James II

 

 

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POWYS, GWYNON

 

The White Cliffs of Powys

 

Powys is the first port which you will spot upon arriving in Duchy of Gwynon’s waters. It is not a notable pilgrimage site, but it is a suitable location for resupplying and getting your bearings upon arrival in Aeldin. I am told its white cliffs are quite beautiful.

 

This is also, to my knowledge, the region in which my former colleague Fr. Griffith lives. If you are unable to locate him--for it is a large port city--you may leave my letter with the local cathedral.

 

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ULMSBOTTOM, GWYNON

The Reformative Monastery of St. High Pontiff Lucien I

 

Ulmsbottom is a small, temperate island off the coast of Gwynon, used as a penal colony for repeat criminals in the Duchy. It is the birthplace of St. High Pontiff Lucien I, who was born on the island as Velwyn Ashford, son of an exiled courtier of the once-King of Oren Pampo Perea.

 

To all known sources, Ulmsbottom remains a penal colony, but with a distinctly ecclesiastical flair. After the canonization of St. Lucien I, the island developed a monastic tradition, allowing some criminals to take vows in return for a pardon. The town continues to be administered by an overseer appointed by the Duke of Gwynon, though the Monastery of St. High Pontiff Lucien I is autonomous and keeps its own governance. 

 

The most notable site of pilgrimage in Ulmsbottom proper is the Ashford House in which Lucien I was born. It has come into the ownership of the penal colony’s overseer, who attached it to his home by a breezeway and converted the structure into a family chapel. According to our most recent records, the colony’s overseer is Arval Hughes--he has been accommodating to visitors and allowed them to sleep in his home. However, he is recorded as being of advanced age during our most recent contact in 1762, and so has probably been succeeded by his eldest son Bedwyr Hughes.

 

The Reformative Monastery of St. High Pontiff Lucien I is physically separated from the town and penal colony, occupying a rocky promontory even further north of the island. There, the monks obey a monastic rule unique to their order: as Lucien I is patron of crusaders, they train in combat, and each is accorded a set of plate armor emblazoned with the Kaedreni Cross. The monastery lends out fully-fledged brothers as bodyguards for missionaries further into the continent, and some serve as attendants to the Duke of Gwynon. It is traditional for pilgrims to join the monks in their combat drills, though the visitors often find themselves outmatched by these men in both strength and skill, for many of their number are former convicts. As St. Lucien I is also the patron saint of the family, it is not unknown for children illicitly born of the penal colony to be raised in the monastery, or even adopted by families in Gwynon.

 

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WYCKE, FJORDEM

 

The Cove of Wycke

 

Wycke was once the seat of Bishop St. Malcom of Fjordem. It is the capital (although with only 20,000 residents, you may find it somewhat provincial) of that country, which is frigid and rocky, with stormy seas and perilous coasts. The overseer of the Ulmsbottom penal colony has at his disposal some Fjordemian convicts, former pirates, who are skilled in navigating its treacherous waterways. Though I am assured your sailing skill is up to the task, personally, I would still employ one of these navigators for your journey. At the very least, he will make an entertaining companion.

 

The city of Wycke lies in a small cove, ringed by mountains that shield it from the worst of Fjordemian winters. It is the only proper city on the island--all others are mere castle towns, their lords making court over a few scattered barbarian tribes. Like all of Fjordem, Wycke is wracked with terrible storms that mix both hail and lightning. The locals revere St. Malcolm, and there is a shrine to him in the center of town, whence they purport he guards the city from the worst of nature’s fury.

 

Pilgrims are engendered to make two traditional offerings at St. Malcolm’s shrine: on arrival, the shed skin of a viper, which native superstitions allege to grant immunity to the animal’s venom; and on departing, a bronze coin, which St. Malcolm uses to pay off pirates who would harry the pilgrim’s journey. I find both of these assertions to be a little folkloric, but God’s miracles are many, and laymen are too often dismissed.

 

If you wish to test your faith even further, St. Malcolm is also the patron of heathen conversions--Fjordem’s outer reaches are host to several pagan tribes who occasionally receive missions from the local cathedral. The barbarians are generally very tolerant of these visits, which are heralded by lavish gifts (by local standards), but the journey itself is treacherous due to inclement weather. At least one of these tribes, however, reveres the viper as a divine spirit--they may react with hostility to Canonist pilgrims, who seek to collect the snake’s shed skin for votive offerings.

 

The local cathedral of St. Malcolm of Fjordem was in a state of sede vacante during our last records, and so I have no information for you on its clergy. However, they are said to have among their number some reformed pirates of the surrounding waters, who may be of use to you in charting its seas.

 

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ERVEMARK, GAEKRIN

 

The Blind Priests of Ervemark

 

You reach the end of your journey in Ervemark, the most westerly city of Gaekrin, and a true glory to behold. It is sometimes called the City of Flames, for its civic buildings and finer homes are carved from a kind of polished red marble that glints splendidly in the rising and setting sun. This city is Gaekrin’s only port, and through it, all the treasures of inland Aeldin are carried out to her distant coasts.

 

During our last mission to Gaekrin in 1642, we found that some ships of the Exodus had been brought to land and were on display outside the palace of the Count of Ervemark--the vast wealth and military skill the Exodites brought with them had greatly increased his ancestors’ fortunes, and so the refugees from Anthos are regarded with much more benevolence in Gaekrin than in Arcas. We have no record of this, but if St. Thomas’ ship has stood the test of time, it is surely in Ervemark. If you are able to obtain an audience with the Count, please petition him for sliver of wood from a ship of the Exodus; it would make a fine relic.

 

In Ervemark you will find literally dozens of shrines and monasteries dedicated to the templar saints of Kaedrin: St. Peter, St. Malcom, St. Edmond, and more. The greatest of these is the Eternal Flame of Ervemark, doubly dedicated to St. Malcolm and Exalted Owyn. It is a vessel of the city’s red marble, located before their Cathedral of the Holy Light. As the name entails, it remains eternally lit since it was first kindled by St. Thomas centuries ago. Aeldinic pilgrims often light a brazier from its flame, bringing it home with them for St. Thomas’ blessing. It is unlikely that any flame could survive the months-long journey from Aeldin to Arcas, but with God all things are possible, and I would recommend you attempt it.

 

The priesthood of the local cathedral are mostly blind men. It is unclear why, but nearly every man who spends more than a decade in service there is eventually afflicted with glaucoma. They are generally good-natured about this, and many believe that the clouding of their eyes allows them to see the mysteries of faith better. They make a tradition of memorizing the Holy Scrolls in their entirety, that they may continue to review the scripture even after their sight has gone.

 

I recommend that you spend some weeks with them blindfolded, tending the Eternal Flame and memorizing the Virtue. By this you will allow yourself to extend your pilgrimage across your lifetime: whenever your heart longs to sojourn for God, you may simply close your eyes, and be transported to that holy place.

 

I pray that God grants you speed and safety in your travels, and He reveals to you all the glories of pilgrimage in His name.

 

[GMRO 6187]

Ser Boris var Ruthern offered a small prayer for his fellow knight, Ser Fiske Vanir. "May Godan guide vyr path on vyr journey, Fiske."

[TheNunnery 1853]

"Oh my, I pray for you to be fine old friend." Theodosiya Vyronov cheered her wineglass filled with Carrion Black to the the hot fireplace in the Barony of Astfield while the cold wind blew down onto the building from the outside.