The Gan Totem Pole

by Firefly

There is very little in Gan River Fort that hasn't been swept away at least once in the past century when the spring floods surge out of the mountains. Every year, the river swells and pushes against the homes built close to its edge. The crack of a timber is often the only warning the inhabitants have before their home collapses, to be carried away into the marsh.
But not everything has been destroyed by the relentless passage of the river, for at the heart of the small town is the Gan Totem Pole, a structure that outlasted a civilisation. At a yard across it wasn't made from the largest of trees but it is indestructible and has stood for at least two thousand years, withstanding fire, flood, man, and countless generations of bears that used to use it as a scratching post until the humans arrived and built a wall around it. At first it was just a few huts, but it soon grew into a sizable community with gods of their own. None remembered the magical names of the animals represented on the totem pole. They only knew them by their common names. Bear, trout, heron, and fox, to name a few.
Whilst most dismissed the totem pole as a relic of an animalistic tradition the Order of Liandra, sought to honour it and made it the central focus of their new temple, raising the roof over it and putting it indoors after an age in the elements. They didn't seek to co-opt the worship of the small gods represented on the totem pole, but shared their prayers with them. Having no tradition connected to the totem pole, the community of the faithful took it upon themselves to create them. Days were set aside in the year when offerings would be made to the animals, others where they would sing songs and dress up as the creatures of the marsh. One such tradition was to introduce a newborn to the fox that sat guard at the bottom of the pole. For the fox was the guardian of children and protector of the unborn.

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The fox is almost certainly a repressentation of Wulka, a Small God that lives in Smoo's Valley, not far to the west. Long ago, she had once been mortal, but after imbibing an unnatural amount of ether during a violent storm, she became an immortal being. Over thousands of years, she has grown to resemble to the forest that is her domain.

It went on this way for several hundred years until the red priests arrived with their edicts. 'No God but Roggon was to be worshipped, on pain of death.' At first the locals ignored the fanatical clerics with their painted faces and promises of cleansing fire, but then Father Aldwin arrived and they abandoned all hope. An orgy of violence swept through the town, with buildings being burned and everyone being forced to swear fealty to Roggon, lord of all the gods.
Ignoring the orders of Father Aldwin, a drunken soldier broke into the temple of Liandra and took an axe to the totem pole, in particular at the fox. But no matter how hard he swung, he couldn't make a dent. The blade bounced off every time until it eventually nicked his leg and he limped off, bleeding.

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Despite its obvious dedecation to gods other than Roggon, Father Aldwin ordered it to be left unharmed. He may not know its true purpose, but he can sense the magic infused within the wood and plans on investigating it at a later date. He contents himself by visiting the structure whenever he passes through the fort on his way to the North Wind Gate. Few humans are as attuned to the songs of magic as he is, but all can sense the power contained within such artifacts. After he has completed his plans at the gate, he intends to have the post raised from the ground and shipped to Arshen for further investigation.

History

During the early years of the empire clerics and academics were sent out across Nostvary to investigate every corner. With the blessing of the dwarves a group crossed through the Dwarven Kingdom and wandered down to the edge of the Gan River. It was there they encountered the post, already at the centre of a small fishing village. A cleric from The Unified Temple was able to tell it is magical but was unable to divine its purpose. The accepted theory is that the early humans built it as a way to honour their gods but some have pointed out the similatary of the images to those of the modern day Tur'bala/Marsh Elves.

The true creators were the Tur'bala/Marsh Elves, the ancient name for the marsh elves before they destroyed their civilasation. They were capable of manipulating the elements and used their power to build magnificent homes, some of which floated on the Gan. The post was there to absorb a portion of the flood waters as they surged down the valleys. It would store the water and slowly release it over the year. It still has the capabilty but lacks the power and the knowledge of the turberlain.

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic

Current Location

Gan River Fort

Dimensions

12' above ground

Raw materials & Components

The post is made from an enormous Wirral Tree, the likes of which used to grow on the flanks of The Zento, a ruined city of the turbalain. All the trees were destroyed during the apocalyptic last days of the Turbalain, when their civilisation collapsed.

Tools

Made using the Magic of the Tur'bala/Marsh Elves, an ancient civilisation capable of manipulating the elements. No tools were used in the bringing down of the tree, nor in the carving of the animals, or the erecting of the post, only the spells of the turbalain. The ability to do such things has long since been forgotten, but the high elves of The Black Mesa claim to share the secrets of the turbalain, although no humans have seen any evidence of such talents.