The Nimbus Monks
Far to the North, on the slope of a mountain sits the Cloud Monastery. Here can be found the Monks of the Heavenly Nimbus. The tenants of their belief include austerity, separation from material and interpersonal attachments, patience, and balance through meditation. The monks believe when truly detached from the material world, one will float through life as a feather upon the wind, that this is true peace. Those seeking reform, renewal, or other change in their life may decide to journey to the Monastery and become a monk. While people do make the pilgrimage of their own accord, it is generally seen as an unpleasant or undesirable fate. For this reason it is common to hear parents warn their unruly children that if they are not careful they will get shipped off to live with the Nimbus Monks and eat nothing but salted fish and mashed turnips for the rest of their life. It is also a somewhat common destination for people who find themselves buried in debt or defeated enemy nobles to get sent to the clouds. It is much easier to forfeit all one’s worldly possessions when you already lost them to your debtors. Similarly, the choice between living out a quiet life at the end of the world or losing one’s head is hardly a choice at all for many. The monks have also managed to earn the respect and protection of the surrounding barbarian tribes, making assaulting the already remote and defensible monastery incredibly dangerous. So some come seeking asylum from whatever facet of life they might be fleeing.
These factors coalesce into the Nimbus Monks being an odd mix of people genuinely looking for enlightenment, people looking for a second chance, and people who absolutely do not want to be there, but have nowhere else to go.
“Let go of your earthly tether. Enter the void: empty and become wind.” -Cloud Mantra
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