The Great Atherton

Roughly 120 years ago, a great wave of destruction passed across the northern reaches of Orbius. Known as the Grey Mist, this pestilence destroyed large swaths of the population. As happens in times of such stress, many waves of healers and charlatans followed in the wake of the disease through the affected regions. One of these semi-mystical beings was a druidic priest named Atherton who operated among the farms and small towns of the upper plains below Waynesburg and Farmington. Given the upheaval of the time, little reliable record of his passing remains to history, however, the rural people of the plains region still hold strongly to their beliefs of him, and his influence is still strong among them. Most reports agree that he came from the south of Orbius, perhaps even from the Kingdom. He wandered for many years across the waste of the farmlands east of the river, bringing healing to the farmers struggling from the effects of the Grey Mist. As his followers grew, his name began to cross the lips of individuals in the towns along the river, and soon he was known throughout the north. Atherton was seen as a great prophet to many of the farmers of the great plains, offering wisdom as well as healing in the words he spoke. They began to quote him and attribute nuggets of wisdom to him that spread quickly from town to town. It began to be common to hear "the great Atherton says…" or "like great Atherton used to say…" before some pearl of homespun gold. Many of these sayings were little more than common sense, though it was not unusual for them to be twisted in some rustic, quirky way. Among these gems can be heard, "the endearing wonderment of the ascendant mind" when someone is struck with a sudden thought, or "tread softly in the darkness, lest the light bite." It is uncertain what exactly this refers to - it can be invoked as a suggestion for caution in the darkness of the night, or as a vague rejoinder against the unknown. These are good examples of the kind of saying attributed to Atherton, sounding witty in a rustic way, without offering any specific details. Atherton was always seen as a kind of roving prophet or shaman. His followers speak his words with a reverence that reminds you of the most ancient and organized of religions, but there don't seem to be any actual temples or monastic schools dedicated to him. He is acknowledged among the rural workers along the river and across the plains as a helpful elder who had a way of phrasing life that demonstrated its grandness and order at the same time.