The Bishops || COTL

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   Beings known as The First Gods, natives of an unknown continent, separated a portion of their lands using the Godly Axe and the curse Oath of the Crown, thus creating an island separate from the rest of the world. The First Gods were responsible for shaping the mountains, creating the rivers, and fulfilling all their desires using the Godly Hammer, for in this world, the land responds to those who possess it. Likewise, with the creation of this world, a new existence arose the very instant these lands came to life, an existence that would become the Mystic Seller. The First Gods vanished, their fate unknown, leaving behind their ichor and tears in these lands. The Last of the First Gods created three feathered guardians, who would be the custodians of the divine tools, their legacy.

   Clauneck would be the guardian of Fate, Kudaai the guardian of Weapons and Curses, and most importantly, Chemach, guardian of Crowns. The nature of these three Feathered Guardians was molded so that they would never yearn for or desire the divine, thus perpetuating these divine tools and protecting them from corruption.

   After the disappearance of the First Gods, Chemach was tasked with choosing the new gods according to their criteria. One of these chosen gods was a being who sought only survival, one who would become known as The Fanatic. This god's devotion grew immense; they were a faithful believer in the words of the First Gods, vowing to nourish their crown and sacrificing those who did not serve them in life.

   The Fanatic encountered the Three Feathered Beasts, initially not understanding their nature, until over the years they realized that, under the bosom of the First Gods, they did not yearn for the divine in the same way a mortal would. During a pilgrimage, The Fanatic reached Spore Grotto, where they found the corpse of a Great Ones. In this place, they felt watched, but the only things around them were fungi, which would later become the Mushroomos.

   At some point in the story, Chemach would find the corpse of a god on the beach. While this was happening, the thought arose in her mind as to why she couldn't claim divinity, and she began searching for it. Later, she would run to a kind of white space where she would find the Mystic Seller (possibly their kingdom). What happens after this period is unknown.

   After an unknown number of years, The Fanatic would encounter Chemach again in an alarming state. She was mutilated and insane, asking her brothers what had become of her duty and her very nature. Her brothers replied that it was something that had been expected, and that both aspects of her had been lost.

   After Chemach abandoned her duty and became obsessed with divinity and the creation of Relics from parts of gods, the Crowns she was meant to safeguard were lost, allowing anyone who found them to become a God. One of these Gods of a Right that was no longer Divine, who rose and fell, was a young Shamura thirsty for war who had visited the temple of The Fanatic, who expelled the young deity for considering it blasphemous.

   Just as the young spider known as Shamura came to find their crown entangled in their web, a young burrowing worm known as Leshy would find his crown, not knowing whether he found it or it found him. It is in this way that a small group of gods without divine right would possibly end up forming.

   Shamura was the oldest, Kallamar was the second born, then Narinder, Heket, and finally, Leshy. This group of gods, comprised of these siblings without being related by blood, would be known as the Bishops of the Old Faith.

   To the temple of The Fanatic came whispers of fallen gods, destroyed sanctuaries, stolen followers, and vanished crowns. The number of Chosen Gods began to dwindle, and The Fanatic decided to take up their Righteous Axe and Zealous Sword to confront the heretics, for heresy in these lands would not be tolerated.

   During these events, the Goddess of Winter, Yngya, witnessing the fall of the gods, decided to ask the Mystic Seller for something to help her and her people hide. When they told her they had nothing to offer, she simply hid from the world and everyone, even them. Yngya decided to build a hidden refuge for her lambs; this refuge would be known as Woolhaven, and her domain would extend to a mountain called Ewefall, the interior of which would become a kind of sanctuary in her honor.

   With Yngya's disappearance and the arrival of winter, The Fanatic assumed the purge would be final, and no one would survive. They also learned that Haro had adopted a different tactic during this purge, one they could not tolerate. The Fanatic remained steadfast in their beliefs, and thus began to be known as The Greatest of the Fanatics, for they would rather perish than abandon their faith in The First Gods. In the end, their fate was sealed. The Fanatic would consider themselves a sinner, who so easily abandoned their faith in The First Gods in the face of pain, leaving as their final message in their chronicles that although they call their faith old, they are nothing more than heretics: He of havoc, he of blight; she of hunger, they of might. He that lays a soul to rest; five remain of hundreds blessed. Although it is unknown how, at some point, their consciousness ended up on a kind of altar in a room known as the Lore Room, where their remains were also found on a rug on the floor of this room.

   After becoming the sole gods in the pantheon, the rest having hidden themselves (possibly the case of Turua and Warracka, and as in the case of Yngya), slumbered (possibly the case of The Icegore), devoured, or been devoured, the Bishops ruled these lands for approximately three thousand years. From their position of control, they shaped the lands to their desires, and the lands came to be known as "The Lands of the Old Faith."

   One of the Bishops, the Bishop of Death, Narinder, grew increasingly dissatisfied with his role over the millennia. Kallamar's followers prayed for health and long lives, while Heket's followers prayed for bountiful feasts and good harvests, Leshy's followers prayed for safety, and Shamura's followers prayed for knowledge. He began to question it. His ambition was gluttonous. Shamura, in their love and recklessness for their brother, supported his ideas. They introduced ideas of change, for they domain was knowledge, which is constantly evolving. An organic state of being for Shamura, but for Narinder... the most unnatural thing. Narinder was different from the rest of his kin. While others dealt with flux; chaos, famine, pestilence, war. Things in which their constancy must transpose. And yet he was the inevitable; the obstinate and irresistible. Narinder, truly peculiar, 'twould then seem, has appetency to invite the novel and the new, break ancient vow and primordial bond alike.

   The Bishop of Death began his experiments; he wanted to open a door between Life and Death for mere mortals, thus breaking the laws of nature. These plans were overheard by a cowardly Kallamar, the Bishop of Pestilence, who went to tell the rest of his siblings about them. While this was happening, many followers flocked to him. His promises of immortality and return to life could not be matched by his siblings; devotion to him grew, and he seemed not to care what would become of those who were his siblings. During these events, the other Bishops had gathered at Shamura's temple. There, they would organize the plan to imprison Narinder, with Shamura in charge. However, they failed to mention that the chains used to bind a god were made of divine matter. Kallamar didn't really want to be part of the plan, but he was still a willing conspirator because of his cowardice.

   The five Bishops met where the gates to their respective domains now stand; it was here that a battle ensued. The earth trembled, and the fighting lasted for several days. The Bishops won the battle and created four chains, each tied to one of their lives, and chained Narinder, sealing him in The Gateway for a thousand years, at a great price. Hapless Leshy, youngest of the five. T'was his eyes he lost. Temperamental Heket, with her throat cut neat. Cowardly Kallamar's ears, torn from his head. And Shamura, once the brightest of the five, 'till their skull was split. See no evil, speak naught, hear nothing and think none. The One Who Waits made it so. Divine wounds were inflicted by the strongest among them, and thus they would never heal. The Bishop's crowns and powers accommodated their wounds, but no power could heal Shamura's shattered mind, and none of the Bishops were ever the same again. And so, the balance of power shifted, with Shamura resting and Heket leading her two siblings. Leshy was desperate to prove himself, Kallamar's paranoia, especially regarding the Red Crown and its promised bearer, increased tenfold, and Heket was consumed by rage at the suffering the Red Crown had caused her family. All four were consumed by grief.

   At some point in history, Shamura encountered Forneus, from whom they requested her sons Aym and Baal, unable to refuse the will of a god. These were a gift from Shamura to Narinder, so that he would not be alone. Although Narinder did not see them as such, considering them more as guardians, he decided to guide them under his influence, given their inexperience.

   Around the thousandth year of his imprisonment, Narinder sent various vessels bearing his Red Crown to destroy the Bishops and free him. He chose his vessels at random, considering that during his years of confinement, he had a great deal of time with nothing to do. One of these vessels was Ratau, a young rat loyal to him, who would form his cult with his followers: Klunko and Bop, Shrumy, Flinky and The Fox. He decided to resign his position after a deal that resulted in the sacrifice of a follower, leaving Narinder's cult to collapse. Even so, Narinder kept him, to be the guide for his next vessel.

   In the Lands of the Old Faith, a prophecy was one day made: "Praise the Lamb, Conduit to great power, promised liberator of The One Who Waits below." This prophecy alerted the Bishops, who decided to massacre all the lambs so that this lamb would never fall into the hands of The One Who Waits, the one once known as Narinder.

   The Bishops went to Kudaai to request something of great power and flexibility, even capable of shattering a mountain. This weapon would later be known as the legendary weapon Yngya's Torment. In response, Yngya went to confront the Bishops, with her followers praying for her triumph over Chaos, Famine, Pestilence, and War, a prayer of victory, a victory that would never come. Yngya would ultimately be killed and left to Rot in the Heart of the Mountain.

   Chaos raged over Woolhaven; the lambs were hunted and slaughtered. Sariel, Yngya's disciple and confidant, upon learning that she, whom he loved so much, had died, felt that the world they lived in had no future, and that the world itself no longer deserved to exist. He took command of the remaining lambs, who needed a leader, and he would guide them to the end, although not all the lambs agreed with what Sariel was planning. Chazaq prepared the graves for the disciples, and made that of his beloved Koka large enough for her children to fit inside as well. Amidst the chaos, Aniel came across a baby lamb. She thought their crying would give her away, she placed them in a basket and floated them downstream, never knowing what would become of them.

   In the Heart of the Mountain, where the corpse of their Goddess, Yngya, lay, a ritual would begin, one that would cover the world in rot. The disciples Baraq, Rami, Koka, Chazaq, Aniel, and the one who commanded the plan, Sariel, would give their own lives. With this ritual, which they would call the soul of the lambs, they would travel to where they were and cover the world with their suffering when the last lamb died. They created what is known as The Rot, using Yngya's heart as the medium for the ritual.

   However, the Bishops received a prophecy that a lamb would be the one who would free Narinder and kill them all. The bishops began sacrificing all the lambs in the land.

   Despite being in captivity, The One Who Waits began sending vessels with his Red Crown to kill the bishops and start a cult in his name, however, none of them could kill even a single bishop. The last and only living of these ineffective vessels was Ratau, who was kept alive after the Red Crown was taken from him. Ratau, commanded by The One Who Waits, went deep into the lands of the old faith where a lamb was going to be sacrificed.

   The Bishops had almost succeeded in their quest to slaughter all of the lambs, with there being only one lamb left to be sacrificed. And the initial execution of said final lamb was a success...

   But they sent that lamb right to Narinder's prison realm, where he gave them his Red Crown and ordered they start a cult in his name. Ordered they slaughter the Bishops in the order of Leshy in Darkwood, Heket in Anura, Kallamar in Anchordeep, and Shamura in Silk Cradle. The last lamb accepted, and was brought back to life with immortality to extract revenge and fulfilling the prophecy, simply going by "The Lamb" as a name to most they met. Regarding the cult, Ratau guided them through the process until it was properly established.

   The rest is history.

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