Valley of Hermits

The Valley of Hermits was two days' journey east of Li Heng.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 18, US HC p.274 It was famed as a place of quiet retreat and meditation where one could take counsel with the holy men and women who resided as ascetics in the valley's caves.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 18, US HC p.274/276
==In Kellanved's Reach==
Heboric made his way to the Valley of Hermits hoping to find someone to consult on his unease over the unrest he sensed in the pantheon. Expecting the valley to be relatively uninhabited and serene, he was surprised to instead find crowds of celebrants holding what appeared to be a religious festival. The valley floor was crowded with makeshift lean-tos and yurts. Celebrants of Burn chanted around one bonfire while crowds assembled around others to hear speakers exhort and preach. One filthy, wild-eyed pilgrim approached Heboric to excitedly claim that a Kynie had miraculously come among them. Heboric was off-put by the man's enthusiasm as the appearance of a messenger of the gods was generally not one that was welcomed.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 18, US HC p.274/276
Heboric was brought by the crowd before Sessin and the three other ascetics who confirmed the visitation, saying the Kynie had been a woman accompanied by fire and rage who shook the ground with her wrath. Sister Hav shouted out from the crowd that the Kynie had warned that The Protectress was a false god suborning the people and among those seducing worshippers into new cults, although the four ascetics disputed the Sister's recollection. Sessin said some among the faithful had lost their way and turned to the Protectress, but the ruler of Li Heng had made no claims of her own godhood. When Sessin called for Heboric to share Fener's wisdom, Heboric admitted he sensed disquiet among the pantheon, suggesting the world was entering a time of trial and instability. While Sessin and the ascetics saw this as sign from the gods to commit to greater faith and devotion, Sister Hav proclaimed it as an exhortation to end backsliding.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 18, US HC p.274-276
Sessin later took Heboric aside to say Sister Hav, although defrocked by the Temple of Burn for enthusiastic tests of religious purity, was not so far from the truth as Li Heng had become a breeding ground of nascent cults. Among them were those of Hood's Mortal Sword, Dassem Ultor, the so-called "Shadow Throne", and the Protectress herself. Heboric found this nothing new and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the ascetic's empty statements. But when Sessin suggested the priest confront the unrest he felt by following the Kynie's exhortation and travelling to Li Heng, Heboric agreed.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 18, US HC p.276-277
==Notes and references==
Category:Locations
Category:Quon Tali