Scrolls of the Forge

Scroll of the Forge

Behold the religious writing of the Stahl Riesa faith, the Scrolls of the Forge, dedicated to the faith of our beloved god Vulkan and his kin.

Origins:
Creation: In the beginning, there was the sun, moons, and plants, but there was no life. It was but a lifeless realm until Vulkan. Born within the icy void of space during a solar alignment, Vulkan was gifted in his ideas but had no bearings on where and what to do. He would explore the vast unknown in his early years, watching other entities like him be born into the realm and leave. Finally, he began to think of a permanent place to remain, for he did not wish to wander like the others.

He started to create his domain, one that he would call "Valnir," setting it in the corner of the realm that would allow him to ponder and create whatever he desired, but he was lonely. So he looked to the space around him, and he laid his eyes upon a planet he would call "Earth." Although he planned to create life, Vulkan realized that he couldn't undertake this task by himself, so taking his arm, he drew a drop of golden blood; and created his firstborn, Vidar. Upon Vidar's creation, Vulkan gave him vast knowledge and power over the weather and sent forth Vidar to Earth to develop livable climates.

Vulkan then created more kin. First, Norns, the Goddess of Law, Order, and Nature, to provide the world with life and the law of nature for how life shall work. Next, Iris, the Goddess of Love, Fertility, Beauty, and Health, to provide the Earth with beauty. Finally, Borr, the God of Life and Death, to give safe passage to the dead on their way to the afterlife and provide life to the creatures of the Earth.

The Troggs: Centuries later, the Earth was completed. With pride, Vulkan went to work creating the first Intelligent life on Earth, creatures he would call Troggs. While the Troggs could walk and talk, they were far from perfect. Troggs lacked empathy, were brutish, fought each other over minor disputes, lacked positive emotions, couldn't develop ways to document their history, had a bland culture, and tended to be incredibly unlucky. While pondering ways to fix his mistakes, Vulkan decided the only way to fix the mistakes was by creating more gods.

Vulkan created Tsun, the God of War, Honor, Strategy, and Justice, to provide Troggs with an idea of proper Honor and Justice and provide a feasible option for disputes. Saga, the Goddess of Stories, Writing, and Luck, to provide Troggs with stories, the ability to write their history, and much-needed luck. Finally, Gerd, the God of Alcohol, Party, Music & Art, provides the Troggs with culture, fun, and hopefully new emotions. With his new kin, and the passing of time, the Troggs became more like what Vulkan had hoped.

The Guardians: Although the Gods could create weather, nature, love, life, and death, they couldn't be around at all times to maintain the world. Vulkan called on his daughters Norns and Iris to find a solution, and so through their combined efforts, they made 4 Guardians.

Norns and Iris created Tondren, the Serpent "Guardian of the sea," a massive serpent that stretches around the world to maintain currents and prevent the world from drowning.

Yakin, the Ram "Guardian of the Harvest," a giant ram with 8ft longhorns, tasked with providing a bountiful and healthy harvest no matter how terrible the terrain.

Ubba, the Wolf "Guardian of the Protection," a giant dire wolf created to protect the world's inhabitants and provide companionship.

Finally, Terra, the Leviathan Turtle, a titan-sized turtle created to become the Guardian of Earth. The turtle was said to be the size of an island, with a shell made of stone.

With the Guardians in place, the issue of the world would soon become resolved, and for the next five hundred years, everything was calm.

Veles Rebellion: As time went on, Vulkan became interested in an experiment. He wanted to create a new god by infusing his blood with a Trogg. So, Vulkan went forth and found a lone Trogg called Veles. Veles had initially been a priest to his people but had left after his family disappeared. Seeing potential in Veles, Vulkan offered the Trogg a new beginning, to join the ranks of the divinity, to which Veles accepted. Unfortunately, Vulkan failed to realize that Veles, who was initially a priest, was, in reality, a being of hatred, desire, and insanity. Veles had become a priest not to be a holy man but to spread lies about the gods and spread ill faith among the people to remove the divinity from their existence and bring absolute chaos.

It wasn't until Vulkan had brought Veles back to Valnir and completed his experiment that he realized his mistake. Vulkan had hoped that his new son would be a messenger for the Troggs, a deity that could bring forth the wishes of the Troggs to Valnir with ease. However, upon the completion of the experiment, something was wrong. Veles had become something else entirely from what Vulkan had hoped. Veles had a horrible aura around him; he had grown but was still smaller than the rest of his kin and was very angry. Suddenly Veles screamed out like a horrendous beast, spewing flames, and he yelled out, "I AM VELES, AND I SHALL DESTROY THE GODS," before breaking down a wall, destroying a part of Valnir, and escaping. Veles traveled back to Earth and would find the Tondren, use a spell to disguise himself as his sister Iris, and command the Serpent to raise the sea level by order of Vulkan.

By the time Vulkans warriors arrived and the Tondren realized his mistake, the flood had already killed millions, and though their souls had departed, their bodies began to change into the first draugrs. The battle lasted for three days before Veles was captured and imprisoned. Finally, most of the draugrs were destroyed; it was decided that Veles would be sentenced to rule the Netherworld, where he is to remain for eternity. Before being cast from the realm, however, Veles would yell out, "I'LL BE BACK, THE ETERNAL FROST SHALL COME, AND I SHALL BE YOUR DESTRUCTION."

As a result of this destruction, Vulkan hid Valnir away from the realm to prevent Veles from finding it again, and the remains of Troggs were spread throughout the world, forsaking their creator and going out in search of new gods to believe in. Tondren would hide away from the world for the next 1000 years, causing the world's oceans to remain still. The remaining Troggs would later evolve into the various intelligent races that live across the globe.

Humanity: With the Troggs gone, the Earth half-flooded, and the remains of the draugrs still wandering the world, Vulkan ordered his kin to repair the Earth right before isolating himself for the next few thousand years. Upon his return, he brought with him a new creation. He called it "humanity."

He used his idea of the Troggs and began to alter their design, intelligence, and behaviors. The result was that humans were his second and better attempt at life. Vulkan then sent humans to the Earth to live among the other races. But, one problem would rear its head quickly: humanity would need assistance to have a chance in this new world.

The Forges: Seeing that humanity would need help in their new existence, Vulkan would require the assistance of his kin Vidar and Norns. The three would develop large forges infused with the very essence of Vulkan himself, allowing for whoever uses the forges to create powerful weapons. Humanity managed to catch up drastically with the other races with the forges and prevented their extinction.

Human Society would thrive over the next few thousand years, but as time went on, humanity would move on, and the forges would disappear beneath the ground. Most forges remain hidden, except for a few currently run by Stahl Riesa's worshippers.

Arising Threats:
Ehecatl & Drakon: Years after creating the forges, Aska & Revna discovered and reported to Valnir a terrible discovery. Two dragons are seen clawing their way out of Netherworld portals. Terra fled to warn the gods, causing Norns to arrive with hast to find the two giant dragons. Their scales were charred by the fires of the Netherworld, horns engulfed in fire, and the names "Ehecatl" and "Drakon" carved into their hides. Upon a closer look, it was discovered that the two beats were growing larger by the minute. Norns began to fire arrows at the creatures, attempting to force them back, each arrow causing blasts of ice that would shred the charred scales. As they retreated, the dragon with "Drakon" carved name would turn its head and speak, "No ice nor fire can end us. We shall return with the Eternal Frost and devour your days and nights" before escaping through the portal. Norns would return victorious but with a look of dread.

The Eternal Frost: Although uncertain, prophesiers predict that the Eternal Frost will be the end of Vulkans days, but fate has an interesting way of changing from even the slightest change. The Eternal Frost is foretold, to begin with, earthquakes, volcanoes, and plagues all across the five worlds. Then will come what will be described as a never-ending harsh winter. The winter will last four years. Upon the winter's end, a rift will open from the deepest hole in the Earth, and from that rift, demons, wraiths, draugrs, and all sorts of horrifying monsters shall crawl out from the depth of the Netherworld. Soon after, the Forsaken god Veles shall manifest on Earth, commanding his legions to destroy all who don't pledge loyalty to him.

The Sentinels shall arrive. Vulkan, Vidar, Saga, and Tsun will come soon after to partake in Earth's defense. For the next 50 days, the two forces shall fight in bloody combat. First, Veles will send Ehecatl & Drakon to fly into the air and devour the sun and moon. Veles will then slay Tsun and Saga mercilessly. Veles and Vulkan shall face off in hand-to-hand combat on the final day, ending with Veles striking Vulkan down. Upon Vulkans death, Vidar shall take his revenge by grabbing onto Veles and tearing him in half, ending the destruction he has caused. In the end, Vidar will have become the new Stahl Reise, tasked with rebuilding the Earth with his remaining siblings. Finally, the Sun and the Moon shall be reborn from the corpse of Ehecatl & Drakon. As for life on Earth, a single Empire shall reign supreme over those who survived, and the realm shall enter a hundred-year peace. All that will remain of the various kingdoms of the Earth shall become an Empire of Frost.

Comedic:
Tsun and the Wedding of the Sheep's Husband: On one of his hunts, Tsun lost Willbreaker when ambushed by a giant 8-legged boar. Upon this realization, he sought his Warhammer for three days before coming across a mortal holding Willbreaker named Ari. When Tsun approached requesting the return of his weapon, Ari, rather than hand the Warhammer over, refused and instead decided to make a demand, "I shall give you willbreaker, but only if I have the Goddess Iris hand in Marriage." Although furious by such a demand, Tsun hid his emotions, stating he would return in a day with his answer. However, upon his return to Valnir, he spoke to Vulkan and Saga. After explaining what happened, they devised a devious plan and would return to Ari with a wedding proposal. On the wedding day, instead of Iris arriving, Tsun was dressed in a wedding gown, posing as Iris and his sister Saga posing as "Iris" bridesmaids. While there, Tsun would eat three cows and five barrels of mead, but when asked by guests how or why, Saga would explain that when Iris received the news, she was so excited that she refused to eat for ten days. Right before the wedding, Ari would approach Tsun, believing him to be Iris, where he would compliment "her beauty" before handing Willbreaker over as a wedding gift. Upon the return of his Warhammer, Tsun would pull out a bottle and splash its contents on Ari, causing him to pause for a moment before running outside and returning in with a sheep in his arms. Ari would marry Sheep and be forever known as the Sheep's husband.

The Guardians Tasks:
Tondren and the Siren: After Veles's rebellion, Tondren, the Guardian of the sea, hid on the ocean floor for 1000 years out of shame for his action. For 1000 years, the waters lacked their currents and had no waves. But this would all change with the siren. As big as a ship and looking like merfolk, her arrival sent a shockwave across the world's oceans and indirectly awoke Tondren. He rose to the surface and watched from afar as the siren began to sing her song, unaware of the Serpent's presents. The siren sang her song out into the skies, but to whom it was for was unknown until the god Borr arrived. The Serpent watched as the siren lured the enchanted god, but the siren's true appearance began to show as Borr got closer. Her skin darkened and started to decay, spikes grew rapidly from her back, demonic horns grew from her head, and runes of Veles carved onto her sides began to show. It had become clear Veles sent the siren to lure the god of life and death to a watery end. Refusing to let Veles cause more destruction, Tondren began to rush forwards, causing the siren to realize the serpents' presents and flee, leaving Borr in a trance. Rather than let the siren escape, Tonren continued after the foul creature and continues to do so today, never letting the siren stop. With Tondren's pursuit of the siren, the ocean's currents and waves returned, so shall the sea as long as the Serpent moves in his endless chase. As for Borr awoke from his trance and returned to Valnir to speak of what had happened.

Yakin and the Sulfur Plague: During humanity's earlier years, Yakin, Ram guardian of the Harvest, began to witness something disturbing. A strange plague that caused wheat to turn black and taste of sulfur. Yakin began to investigate to try and discover the cause. It was soon found that a demon had been spreading the plague to earn favor with Veles. Yakin took the plague and sealed it away in his horns to spare the world from the plague, causing his horns to turn black. To prevent the demon from retaking his weapon, Yakin hide away from the world, watching over the harvest through the eyes of Sheep and goats.

Ubba's Watch: While patrolling the forest, Ubba, the Guardian of Protection, came across a lone child in the woods. The child had been chased from his home by a wraith, trying to convert the child to the will of Veles. Ubba approached, making herself the size of a pup so as not to scare the child. Ubba guided the child back home, preventing the wraith from coming near out of fear of the wolf. Before leaving the child, Ubba brought forth a wolf pup to take her place and stay with the child for the years to come. After that, Ubba returned to the forest, tasked with hunting the wraiths that dare hide in the woods and continually watching over the people as their protector.

Terra Sacrifice: When watching over the lands, Terra bore witness to something horrifying. Terra watched as a volcano arose from the sea; it towered over the land and threatened to burn the world. Recognizing this as a threat to all life on Earth, Terra realized there was only one way to stop the death of all life. Terra climbed to the top of the volcano and placed himself over the vent. While it sealed off the volcano from killing everything, it resulted in Terra receiving the full power of the volcano's eruption, causing his death. The sealed-off explosion caused the volcano to implode on itself, destroying the volcano, leaving only Terra's skull and his shell, becoming a new island. While Terra died to save the world, his spirit is said to still reside in his skeleton, bound to the Earth and providing an island home for whoever discovered the turtle's shell.