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The Unravelling - what can really be said that hasn’t been said already? Untold strife, mass immigrations, conflict, and uncertainty. However, it is necessary to mention it, as this is where our story begins. Certain tribes who lived in the old Dwarvish realms of the Old Mercurian Empire were among those groups that immigrated to the New World. They were traders, farmers, brewers who forged strong ties with these old Dwarvish realms. These ties were severed with The Unravelling. Not only were the ties of these tribes severed between them and the dwarves, but their ties with each other were severed as they fled from the chaos. Many ended their long tumultuous journeys in the modern realms of Perth, Casadia, and Östlaed. We now call them the Östrons, but this was not always so - it wasn’t until sometime in the mid 300s that this term first appeared. There were several broader groups, even more at the time of the Unravelling.
Some of them never made it to the east.
Fleeing disasters and conflicts was once the source of many nightmares for young Pyrencians. After fleeing the Danaan Empire, the Pyrencians once again feared for their society as they were threatened by the chaos of the Unravelling. They wandered for a generation until settling the Sea of Ashes - modern Pyrencia.
Pyrencians have a parasite that live in their blood, with several different variants. The Pyrencians themselves believe that they are descendants of the gods, with each variant of the parasite representing one of their gods. The parasites physical effects can vary, with some bloodlines being stronger, some being faster on average, etc. One characteristic that remains static for each bloodline is that Pyrencians mature and age over twice as fast as humans. An 8 year old Pyrencian is nearly indistinguishable from an 18 year old human, excepting the unusual color of eyes or hair that bloodlines possess. Needless to say, to a Pyrencian, nothing is more sacred than blood.
The proto-Östron tribes largely worshipped nature spirits, most important of which is the Creeper. Many tribes have been lost to time, and have lost this religion in some form. Others integrated it with local religions. One of those proto-Östron tribes settled east of what is now Mytheth, living in almost total isolation until the Pyrencians settled the same region. The two cultures merged over time, and after a few generations, the Pyrencians offered their “gift” - the Pyrencian blood parasite - to the proto-Östron peoples. Many of them died, but those who survived changed forever. They didn’t entirely give up their Creeper religion, and in a sick twist of events, the merging of the two cultures lead to the perversion of everything that was once sacred to them. The Pyrencians in the surrounding areas were filled with complete disgust. Disgust became hate; hate became persecution.
They withdrew from Pyrencian society. Drawing into their secret caves, they slowly built entire communities away from the outside world. They delved deep into mountains, and practiced their strange religion in peace. They bled thousands of creepers, draining their blood into pits. They sacrificed people they kidnapped from the trader’s road, and displayed their bodies from hooks and spikes around their homes. They held ceremonies during which they consumed the raw blood of whatever they could kill - animals, peoples, creepers - and called on the dark spirits of the world.
Their blood worship had consequences. In one of their communities, they opened a terrible portal to the nether, one that allowed the deepest pits of hell to seep through to the overworld. Terrible monsters emerged, which they killed and used the skeletons of to decorate their village. Lava spewed forth, never fully hardening into stone. The great weed of the nether, nether wart, spread like a disease.
In secrecy, this blight on the overworld, and the people who caused it continue to practice this religion - the Creopblodh.
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Ealdorman Cerdic Beoden Accynnafon of Östlond
Runner Up of the Glas Claddach Boat Building Competition
Minister of Justice
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