Vidamy of Mara's Vigil

**Abbess**
 **Seat**
 **Beliefs**

Mara's Vigil is a newly-established vidamy in northeastern Elwynn Forest. It is comprised of the two abbeys of Light's Watch and Cairn Lake, and the land granted to them to watch over by the ruler of Eastburg. Guarding the duchy's northern border, this peaceful vidamy will soon become a center of learning and training in combat against dark magic. Mara's Vigil is named after Saint Mara Fordragon, the High Clerist of Stormwind during the First War. Mara is the patron saint of the knightly orders of Eastburg, who strive to follow in her example of protecting refugees. The vidamy's seat of power is Light's Watch, and its ruler is always the abbot or abbess.

Once the spiritual capital of Eastburg, the Abbey of Light's Watch is a dessicated and haunted place situated in the northern foothills of the Eastvale. After its destruction and looting a decade ago by Forsaken Deathstalkers, the ruins sat idle and unused until 633 K.C. With its former clergy all dead, the clerist Merellia Hallewell works to see the abbey rebuilt and its once-proud halls filled with the devoted once more. As the once-grand building is reconstructed, a small chapel has been built to serve daily spiritual needs, along with a number of small support buildings.

Light's Watch once held status as the foremost abbey in the region, its leader a powerful abbot governing Cairn Lake Abbey and the other holy houses that served the people of eastern Elwynn. After its destruction, the abbeys and few churches of the region turned mostly to themselves for leadership.

## Culture & Inhabitants

What priests currently gather at the site are few in number, but varied in background. A few are quiet sorts who seek a life away from the infighting and strife that has often plagued the Church of Holy Light in recent years. Others have come from far afield - clerics of Whitegrove Chapel in Drustvar who have pledged to see their ways brought over to Stormwind. Some have come from Lordaeron, speaking little of their background but taking this opportunity to build a better future.

The residents of Mara's Vigil place strong emphasis on the teachings of the battle-cleric and inquisitor. With many of them hardened by years of horrors within Drustvar's forests and the Scourge-infested wastes of Lordaeron, there is a strong emphasis on the duty of clergy as protectors of their flocks, seekers of the truth, and slayers of evil.

It is said that many of the new clergy of Mara's Vigil are lovers of books and hoarders of knowledge. Heaps of books and scrolls have been brought for preservation.

## Economy & Resources

The land surrounding the two abbeys was gifted to the Church of Light by Harold Ascania, a well-known patron of the holy arts. Invited by the abbots there, this fertile land has come to be inhabited by many farmers, who work the lands surrounding it and provide a portion of the income to the Abbey. These farmers grow cauliflower, strawberries, beans, parsnips, and rhubarb in spring. In fall and summer, they grow pumpkins, berries, radish, and beets.

Light's Watch also near one of the few remaining groves of Holyoak trees. This resource is hoarded and sheltered rather than exploited by the residents of the area.

## History

### Founding

The Abbey of Light's Watch was founded by Bishop Sanctus, a prominent bishop of Stormwind hundreds of years ago, to protect and shelter a grove of Holyoak trees. Cairn Lake Abbey was later founded to serve as a supplemental abbey to support the Church's expansion efforts into eastern Elwynn.

### Destruction of Light's Watch

Light's Watch was destroyed and its entire staff of clergy were slaughtered by Deathstalkers during a bloody raid seeking revenge against House Ascania for a crusade led into Lordaeron in the early 620s.

### Consolidation

Presently, the Vidamy is being consolidated as House Ascania renews its focus on Eastburg's internal affairs. Abbess Hallewell was appointed to lead the new Vidamy. Light's Watch Abbey is under reconstruction by the Stonemason's Guild following the end of Stormwind's feudal war. Its new clergy currently handle day-to-day functions from the provisional buildings constructed at the site. Cairn Lake Abbey welcomed the rebirth of the other abbey, and now the land between the two has become the new Vidamy.