Forgotten Truths from the Soil and Stone

Forgotten Truths from the Soil and Stone is a book discovered beneath the ruined keep of Cal Dorthorne.

## Description

The outer form of the book is wrapped in a fine organic-feeling mesh that moves and shifts in response to being touched, recoiling in a continuously moving floral form. While primarily silver in colour, pulses of green and purple pass through the lattice without an obvious rhythm.

## Research

### Completed by Zareyl Arkenviir

*Written by the Astedian historian Sar Roli, illustrations and diagrams provided by Bihana Liatumal. First published by the Esterving Printing Guild in 1001 AG.*

*"It is known to all that consider themselves scholars the true nature of the stars and constellations in the night sky - the lights of course serving as the celestial castles and citadels of the sixteen Principal Deities of the Ahlusian Pantheon, and those between them the residencies of their countless servants and seneschals. Sailors and merchants alike rely on the Flame of the High-Mother and the Wave of the Pathmaker to aid in their navigations, warriors look for the greatsword of Kroai in times of turmoil and competition alike, and few can deny the joy of an evening spent beneath the sign of Buwello with wine and fruit available for all. Yet there is one constellation of particular curiosity to scholars of astronomy, be they learned and famed, or mere novices and acolytes. I am of course talking of that that historically served as the seat of Caihrnn, also known by the names of One With The Dirt and the Lord in the Quiet Places."*

*"The Lord in the Quiet Places has always proven a decisive deity, owning to the near militaristic nature of his more stalwart believers, most known for the riots perpetrated by the Chittering Holt in the Imperial Capital of Esterving during the year of 978AG, following the declaration of Astedian dominion in the continent was made by the Emperor and the Increscent Six. Although acquisition of resources to repair the damage dealt by those that opposed organised civilisation was easily obtained, this only garnered further ire from the order of Druids, Feyfolk and other beings of the wilds. Prepared for this, further insurrections were quickly and efficiently dealt with, primarily by Gearhearts repurposed after the Siege of Iron for more civilian purposes. Nonetheless, oral folktale from before Aita's Second Gift (during which Theamera taught the Principal Races the secrets of writing, vastly improving the reliability of such histories) suggest that Caihrnn is simply one half of a being dedicated to the maintenance of the nature order, and that a split occurred at some point in aeons past due to a deep running disagreement in the process for this to occur. For all the vexation that those invoking the name of the One With The Dirt with particular zeal garner, they serve a deity that fundamentally represents the potential of the wilds for both respite and freedom, whereas his counterpart is more sinister by far."*

*"Known as the Darkbringer to those select few that acknowledge its existence, the echo of Caihrnn instead seeks absolution through entropy, that is to say purity achieved through annihilation. A primal hunger like that of a hunting beast lingers at the heart of the Darkbringer, and all caught in the grasp of its arms surely feel the chill of the void as they struggle in face of their immediate demise. Nonetheless, there are no reported cults or sects dedicated to the Darkbringer, for it is claimed that Caihrnn in his fathomless wisdom feared for the soil and stone he had shaped and used his power to cast the Darkbringer aside, severing its connection with Ahlus. Its essense scattered and left to drift in fragments in the void between the Planes, there is no direct route through which the Darkbringer can interact with the Prime Material Plane, and so no seemed way for it to make physical contact with those living upon it to enact its will. Nonetheless, few acknowledge this facet of Caihrnn's repertoire, for fewer still know of the tale of the Darkbringer. Instead, Caihrnn is seen as a neutral power in Ahlus that stands aside from the Principal Pantheon and the Malign, even more so that the Stoneheart Iotl. Whereas Srar embraces the choatic form of nature, changing form and gender as frequently as the seasons they shape, the Lord of the Quiet Places stands unchanging and unyielding. And yet, even in spite of it, there are those that fear that as civilisation continues to spread, his power will continue to wain, and with it his strength will falter."*