Monday, April 27, 2015

Aufstrag, The Horned God's Acre

When Unklar lifted Aufstrag from the ruin of the ancient city of Al Liosh he did so in order to build a fortress for himself, for in those early days of his reign, he was plagued by doubt, and feared the return of the Val Eahrakun (the gods) and that they might smite him for his sudden assumption of the world. But too, Aufstrag was built as a temple, to house those who paid him homage and who would serve him in all his thoughts. These were his most devoted; those who bent to his will without question and served him as priests and champions. He set them above all others in his realm and gave them both the tasks of service to his worship and the defense of Aufstrag.

Thus it was that the second level of that dread domain was given over to them, the priests. It served to house them, and as a bastion from which they could rule all that passed through Aufstrag, to and from, the Citadel on high. A high priestess was set to lord over them. Chosen from the ranks of the Aenochian Lords, the priestess was given the name Nectanebo. Thus they were called ever after, both in name and title. So that the first to grace Aufstrag they called Nectanebo II. After she fell to the Aenochian Rebellion, Nectanebo III ruled and so on through the centuries.

After its completion, Unklar ordered Aufstrag and he granted the second level, amongst others, to Nectanebo to rule. There she set her the lesser ranks of her priests, giving the quarters to live in and instructing them to build temples for the worship of Unklar, cells for the punishment of those who defied him, rooms for contemplation, meeting halls for the priests to gather for instruction and all the many other and varied rooms necessary for the maintenance of the rank and file of the priesthood. Too, rooms were given to the Crna Ruk, those assassins in Unklar's employ, the Ungern, his must trusted soldiery, and wizards of the Paths of Umbra. All those represented the lesser minions and peopled the Acre.

~Aufstrag, The Horned God's Acre


No comments:

Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds: An Introduction

For several weeks now, we’ve been hyping up the Gygaxian Fantasy World series on various platforms, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Twitch. It ...