Ceroan Anomalies

## A History of Ceroan Anomalies

Ceroan anomalies began with the native peoples of Ceroan and were amplified by the arrival of Aeduain colonists, who soon formed a distinct culture from that of the mainland Aeduains, widely believed to be the result of unimpeded Arguilist religious values and colonial expansion. Interpretations of native lore have had an impact on modern Ceroan anomalies, though the Native tribes have been all but wiped out by Ceroan expansion and territorial dominance.

The Ceroan government is generally less restrictive concerning public knowledge of cultural anomalies, while standard measures are taken to ensure the secrecy of more dangerous/influential anomalies.

This article will detail the most prominent Ceroan anomalies, their effects on Ceroan society, and the unique nature of Ceroan governmental handling of anomalies.

## Ceroan Anomalies

### The Story of Saint Klaus

In 1801, shortly following Ceroan independence, the Knights of Ceroan rode to relieve a village suffering from a Typhus outbreak that had reported being attacked by natives. The Lancer-Sergeant of the contingent that arrived brought with him a bag of toys and sweets for the children of the town, and spent the fateful eve of 24 December 1801, distributing toys to the sick children, who had been quarantined in the town hall.

It was shortly before midnight that the natives came and attacked the village. A long fight ensued, and several knights were killed on the outskirts of town, which was poorly defended as the settlement was somewhat new and laid on the frontier of the first Ceroan expansion. The knights were forced to fall back and shore up in the central cluster of buildings, but in the retreat several native warriors broke into the hall which was housing the village's children. Saint Klaus Ritter von Blutwald, cousin of Johann I von Blutwald, who would soon become the first King of Ceroan, was the only soldier within the hall. He fought and killed every native in the building, sustaining serious injuries, and succumbed to his wounds one hour later, right at the stroke of midnight. When the natives had been driven from the settlement the children relayed the story of Saint Klaus to his brothers in arms, and reportedly wept for several days over his death.

The cavalry breastplate which Klaus wore that night was put on display in the recently founded Institute of the Revolution, which today is one of the largest museums in the world.

The next year a legendary event is storied to have taken place. A child, grown some from the previous year, swore to the Cer that she had seen Saint Klaus, and that he had given her a toy from his burlap bag. The child accurately depicted his breastplate, adorned with a Chateaux Cross and holly leaves, which on the same night went missing from the museum despite exhaustive security measures. Subsequently, children from newborns to 17 in the cities and towns awoke to find that they had all received toys, and so had the children of the Ceroan frontier. When dawn came, the breastplate had been returned to the museum. This event has recurred annually for the last 189 years, and despite the rise of security cameras the annunal disappearance of Klaus' Breasplate has not been publicly solved, save for theories that his ghost steals it each year.

This is, in fact, partly true. There is an anomalous spiritual representation of Saint Klaus that bestows gifts upon children every year, and the ghost has been caught on camera using advanced infrared film capture devices. It is not known, however, how the breastplate leaves the Institute of the Revolution, as similar efforts to record the theft of the breastplate uniformly result in equipment malfunctions in all areas surrounding the item, and all posted guards end up falling asleep, no matter what efforts are taken.