Something Else
From the archives of the Brothers of Saint
Sebastian the Easterling;
Greyhold Keep in the fiefdom of Tarana.
Penned by Brother Acolyte Geoffrey of
Devlon, Year of Empire 1180.
Following growing reports of a sinister
cult operating in the Waylun area of the Senta River Valley, south of the
Scribe Hills, Father Parma Corvus of the Order of Saint Sebastian along with
five brothers militant traveled from Greyhold to investigate. Reports by the local magistrate ranged from
desecration of cemeteries, communion with unholy beings, the worship of dark deities and the
mutilation of crops and cattle.
Following a six month investigation
during which Father Parma claims to have encountered and indeed fought
several supernatural manifestations, an order for the extermination of the cult
was issued by the Bishop of Tarana, the Prelate of Greyhold, and the Duke of
Tarana. Some two dozen public burnings
took place, and two hundred brothers militant of the Ordus Malleus descended on
the Waylun area to cleanse. Some ten
"Pits" were found housing dark priests of the serpent cult and
servants. All were set to the torch,
but only seven were re-visited at a
later date to conclude the cleansing (it was not long after the original
burnings that the Third War of Succession erupted in the Red Lands,
necessitating the brothers' presence; they never returned to conclude their
work). Father Parma's records show that the cult had numerous followers in
Waylun and surprisingly, in the small village of Two Trees to the north. The leader was never apprehended and despite
determined efforts by the Ordus Inquisto, no prisoners ever confessed their
leader's name or whereabouts. Repeated
reference to a being known as "the serpent" are found in the
interrogation journals, although it is not clear if this refers to a person or a deity.