The Cult of the Shard-Touched
The Cult of the Shard-Touched is a sizeable organization of Froslak zealots based in the south of Auchnavar. They worship Gudor, the ancient Froslak god of the earth, and practice ancient druidic magic and rituals. They originated with the rise in popularity of Craven Moorehead, a former collegiate student and self-proclaimed prophet, who began to preach the word of Gudor as provided to him by his supposed connection to the god. The cult's name comes from Craven's unique physical condition as a shard of Tiger's Eye, Gudor's symbolic stone, grows from his chest. While the cult had originated in the slums of Auchnavar's capital city of Malinkirk, the main territories under the cult's control are located in the southern provinces of the kingdom. Cities like Moorgate have fallen under the total control of the cult. In addition, King Seymour's son, Dakota, has been kidnapped by the cult according to those within the royal court, having been abducted from the palace not long ago.
The Cult of the Shard-Touched has been attributed to the spike of murders and kidnappings throughout the south of Auchnavar, supposedly abducting and killing locals for various rituals and druidic sacrifices. Due to the cult's large number of followers, many small towns, especially those in the territory of Clan Dusthammer, were overrun and are now under the control of the Shard-Touched. As a result, many have begun to instead to refer to the cult as a revolutionary movement of Froslak youth who wish to overthrow the current government structure and replace it with a more traditional people's government. Claiming the use of a somewhat forgotten god like Gudor who has ties to the old traditions of Froslak culture, many assume that the use of Gudor is more to represent the importance of tradition than true religious disagreement. Auchnavar, thousands of years ago, had been ruled by a popular government in which the vast majority of people had some say in its processes. Others claim that the Shard-Touched are primarily those who wish to see true religious equality and the resurgence of druidic magic in Auchnavar. The popular worship of Caragor and Renos has influenced legal decrees and legislation, which have begun to slowly affect worshippers of Gudor and their religious freedoms. Temples of Gudor and other sites of worship were destroyed or converted and many traditions associated with Gudor have been outlawed by the Auchnavaran government. However, the true motivations behind the cult's actions are known only to Craven and his closest circle.
Type
Religious, Cult
Leader
Deities
Location
Related Ethnicities
Comments