Post by letterlost on Mar 14, 2020 23:49:55 GMT
A. Where was the logo found?
It is most commonly found as an amulet worn by the Clan of Horus, a minor group of thieves who work with other thieves’ guilds to find and acquire artifacts for a fee. Few scholars will remember the brief instance a few hundred years before when it was used by the Hierophants of the Hatching. The symbol marks the Tome of Earth, the Trembling Chimes, the original case of Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments, and the symbol lays scarred into the earth in huge gashes within the Fractured Lands though you would have to be high up in the air to recognize the cliffs and ravines as such.
B. What does the logo stand for?
Most are told that it stands for the Hawk Horus, the clan’s patron, acquiring artifacts. It was originally used by the Hierophants of the Hatching to symbolize the God they call Horus within the earth, its egg.
C. Who does the logo point to?
The Clan of Horus to most, even within the Clan. Only the original members of the clan and their descendants remember its true meaning, and their true mission.
D. Why is the secret society being secret?
A few hundred years before the Hierophants of the Hatching were not secretive. Their leader Lumelda being Neutral good thought everyone would want to help free a God trapped within the earth, like a baby chick unable to break its own shell. When the Hatching ritual was “interrupted” by the hero’s, he recognized for the first time that there are those who are too selfish to sacrifice their world in order to save a God (not one of those regular g gods, this has a G). They now work in secret to find the 3 stolen artifacts, and they only need 1 more.
E. Anything else that you can think of!
Almost 400 years ago Lumelda was a devout worshiper of Bilma (DMN 23) in a monastery devoted to her. One night he received a dream, all worlds existing either on the egg like fetus, the slumbering body, or the dead carcass of a Supreme God. He meditated on this and told his fellow monks, which was well received and even considered to be a “Discovery” (Hermit Feature). The next night he received a dream of the God within their world, Dayiembe, trapped and trying desperately to get out. When he meditated on this it caused him distress as he now felt the yearning of the God within the earth when he quieted his mind. When he shared this vision with his fellow monks it caused great debate. Some, like him, wanted to help the God; others said he should dismiss it for it must have been a mistake or a lie from Nom; still others now spoke against him saying the dreams were blasphemy against Bilma and the other gods. Eventually the Elders had to intervene. Lumelda was told: truth or lie, such matters are beyond mere mortals and it is wise to leave the affairs of gods to the gods; focusing too hard on things such as this is not the way of Neutral Good.
To Lumelda, this wasn’t enough. He left the monastery to openly gather a following, fully crediting Bilma with the discovery. 3 notable members were: Belval, a powerful Wizard who traversed the plane of Earth and lived there for 10 years (considered quite mad), who crafted the Tome of Earth, Dayiembe edition; The Tinker Ibandul (many of their finely crafted instruments are still held in high regard even to this day) created the Chimes of Tremor; and Nolzur, an alchemist and artist of unparalleled skill, who created the first set of Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments.
3 years later Lumelda and the Hierophants of the Hatching were finally ready. When they began the ceremony the earth shook for miles around. By the 2nd day earth quakes of increasing intensity were happening all across the land. On the dawn of the 3rd day, Groki the Bronze and her band of Hero’s arrived, bringing an untimely end to the ceremony and nearly all of the Hierophants.
Lumelda was raised from the dead the next day, but both his failed dream and brush with death had changed him; now Neutral Evil, he and the survivors formed the Clan of Horus. Lumelda still leads them, training shadow monks in secret caves within the Heralding Peaks. The Clan of Horus has the original case and jars from Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments as well as the finest crafted pigments from the original recipe, all 20 of the original bars of Ibanul’s Chimes of Tremor (Xylophone) as well as his original mallets; they also hold Groki's Bronze Horn of Valhalla and her Bronze sword Bryling Bright Gem. All they Lack is the Tome of Earth and then, at last, the Hatching will take place.
