Wilven Sanctuary Monks
The Wilven Sanctuary Monks served at the Sanctuary of the Cloud Temple in Asulon. Like the monks in Aegis and Anthos they had many responsibilities, including saving those badly injured or knocked unconscious and bringing them back to the Temple, tending the library and guiding newcomers to the land of Asulon. The monks tried to keep the Cloud Temple peaceful and independent of the squabbles of other nations. They were swift to deal with those who caused trouble within the Cloud Temple boundaries.
Ancient History
Keldrith, Lord of the Sun, began his story like any of the rest of us mortals. He was the son of a king, king Celetiman of Celestiran, a kingdom in what is now known as Asulon, the current city of Arethor, and thereby prince and heir to the throne. At the time the story begins, Keldrith was but a thirteen year old boy. Thousands of villagers dwelled in the kingdom, and all of them loved Keldrith, for he was simply a kind and charismatic person. As time went on, despite his young age, Keldrith fell in love with a princess.
Keldrith’s love was the princess Rellenia of a small city-state outside of the kingdom’s borders. He noticed her one day when she was not at a political debate, like his father was most hours, but out at the markets, purchasing some wheat from a poor farmer and paying him twice its worth. He was enthralled by a maiden that could be so beautiful, yet so kind. He would go on and on about her, and strangely, King Celetiman noticed this, despite his ignorance of informal matters. He went to the king of the city-state, Taron, and offered an arranged marriage between the two. Taron approved his proposition, and a marriage was planned between Rellenia and Keldrith. Now one might think that Rellenia would be unhappy about an arranged marriage, but quite the contrary, she had loved Keldrith from the moment she met him. They were happily wed, and when Celetiman passed on, Keldrith took over as king. When time saw fit, they went out into the world, leaving the general of the military in charge of the kingdom.
Time went on, and Keldrith, twenty-six, and Rellenia, twenty-four, arrived at a small hamlet known as Flowershire. In Flowershire lived a young man known as Tariel, a kind farmer who the two liked instantly. Keldrith, Relenia, and Tariel became the greatest of friends, and when they left the hamlet, Tariel came with them. They explored all of Asulon, cherishing each others’ friendship, and having many adventures.
Sadly, their joy could not last. It was said that they came to a wasteland in Asulon, nothing was there except for scorched rocky mountains. Not much is known about what occurred within the valley, except a farmer a few leagues away said he saw a bright flash of light from that direction soon after they entered. In truth, they were murdered in this place. Their bodies faded into the earth, as death does, and their belongings vanished as well, all except for one each.
It was said that, upon their deaths, the Creator took pity upon their souls and bound them to three minerals, Rellenia, a diamond, Keldrith, a bar of gold, and Tariel, a gem of Lapis Lazuli. He then waited, for he knew what would happen to the three friends. The stones stayed upon the ground for centuries, and all around them, the wasteland transformed into a paradise, water flowing from the mountain peaks reformed the land into a valley of grass, forming a pool in the center, the stones laying on the shore. Such a paradise could not go uninhabited, so the Creator chose a single woman and a single man to discover it.
The man, William Alerus, and the woman, Vera Alerus, set up a home their, not knowing the stones the lied upon the shore, until one day, their child went down and explored. Amanda Alerus, their child, discovered the stones, and called her parents. They admired them, but something prevented both William and Vera from touching the stones, so Amanda went up and gathered them in her arms. The second she touched them, bright lights shot out, the colors of the stones, and they flew into the sky, the gold to the sun, the lapis to the stars, and the diamond to the moon.
The Creator admired the friendship of the original three, and left knowledge upon the new three mortals living upon the shore. He told them the story of the stones, and instructed them to build a Temple in their honor. They trained a messenger bird, sending him home to their friends and extended family, speaking of the paradise and the small price to pay. They brought with them all the materials they could carry and departed for the soon-to-be Temple of the Triumvirate. Work progressed quickly, an immense library going up and the Temple itself a sight to behold. These were the original Monks of the Triumvirate.
The Celestial Triumvirate, as Keldrith, Rellenia, and Tariel came to be called, became deities in their own right, demigods of the sun, moon, and stars. They granted their followers the ability to heal those who needed it by invoking their name in prayer, but the most powerful monks were able to do it through sheer mental focus upon them. They blessed the Temple when it was complete, that it would be forever void of any illnesses or disease of the outside world, and that it would ever be a safe haven.
As time went on, the monks forgot the old ways, becoming lazy and not helping those other than themselves. The Triumvirate saw this and were angry, so angry in fact that they banished the monks from the Temple, magical wards preventing any from entering the paradise as long as they lived, and longer. In fact, they did not allow anyone through until the adventurer Wilven Adonan.
Modern History
Wilven Adonan, a young Human adventurer, was among the first to originally came to the land through the portal. Upon seeing the people become afflicted with the devastating curse, Wilven set out to find some way to cure or dispel it. He traveled long through swamps, mountains, and forests and eventually came to a grand mountain range. At the base of the mountains, he found a partially collapsed tunnel that seemed to cut through the mountain, so he made his way through it. On the other side, he discovered a marvelous sight.
This place that he had found was not like the world outside it. It seemed the curse did not affect this place. Lush trees and vibrant grass covered the place and clear waterfalls streamed down the sides of the mountains. The structures, although collapsed in some places, were beautiful as well. Another strange thing Wilven noticed about this place is that he felt healthier while inside the valley. Exploring some more, Wilven came upon a large structure with several arches. He made his way inside and eventually came upon a hidden tunnel back behind a collapsed wall.
He made his way through hallways and down staircases and found himself inside a large library. Amazingly, the library was intact and untouched by nature. After looking over several tomes and manuscripts, Wilven was able to discover that this place was built long ago in order to serve as a place of worship for Lord Tariel of the Stars. The tomes also mentioned that two other places like this one were built as well some distance away to serve as places of worship for Lady Rellenia of the Moon and Lord Keldrith of the Sun. Together, these three beings formed the Triumvirate which watched over the sky and all below. Wilven wished to discover more, but he first had to bring others to this sacred place where the curse did not reside.
By the time he returned to the humans, many of them had fallen to the effects of the curse. He collected those whom were still well enough to travel and brought them back to the sacred valley. Once they recovered enough, Wilven sent three messengers to send word to the Orcs, Elves, and Dwarves that there was a place free from the taint of the curse. When the messengers returned, however, they brought with them only a hand full of people. Unfortunately, many of the other races’ people had fallen to either the curse or other unfortunate circumstances. Feeling reinvigorated by the day, the few remaining people set to work making for themselves a new home in this sacred place.
For many years, the survivors worked hard to restore the sacred valley to its original form. When Wilven was very old, he called the people together and told them all that he had learned of the Celestial Triumvirate. Recognizing that the Creator and his servants were unable to protect them from the curse, the people consecrated themselves to the Celestial Triumvirate and constructed a shrine to allow worship to all three beings. They formed themselves into monastic order and cloistered themselves from the rest of the world. They chose Wilven as their Abbott and, together, the monks continued to live on in peace taking care of the sacred valley, giving praise to the Triumvirate, and praying for the curse to be cleansed from all the land. Upon Abbott Wilven’s death, the monks wished to pay honor to his life by naming the sacred valley after him. From that day forward, the place was known as Wilven Sanctuary.
The fashion in which the temple is built denotes to which deity it was built to give praise to. Lapis Lazuli represents Lord Tariel. Diamonds represent Lady Rellenia. Gold represents Lord Keldrith. This also denotes to which sect a monk belongs to. Gold trimmed robes denotes a monk who is dedicated to serving Lord Keldrith. Light Blue trimmed robes denotes a monk who is dedicated to serving Lady Rellenia. Dark Blue trimmed robes denotes a monk who is dedicated to serving Lord Tariel.
