Menhir of Fomalhaut

(a.k.a. The Black Stone)

The Menhir of Fomalhaut is a floating, glossy black stone monolith, first discovered by Fomalhaut I in the distant past, when he was but a simple farmer. The Menhir is possessed of strange and esoteric powers, and an unfathomable divine intelligence. It was through the knowledge and gifts of the Menhir that the humble Fomalhaut was able to unite the scattered peoples of Vesarca into the Kingdom of Sacred Vesarca.
The Menhir communicates to the blessed few who can hear it - the Listeners -through the Whispers, a combination of visions and telepathic messages. The Menhir is the ultimate authority on Vesarca, above even the Kings & Queens Regnant, and its Whispers, collected and interpreted by the Listeners, are the law of the kingdom.
The Menhir is the deity of the Vesarcans, and its worship is the sole official religion of the kingdom, with all others considered heresy. The Black Stone has little in the way of doctrine, however. It comments little on ethics, but instead gives specific directives on the affairs of the Kingdom: who must die, who is permitted victory in war, where shrines will be raised, where cities will be built, and more. Any commandments laid down by the Listeners are derived not from specific commands, but from simple pattern recognition: marriage, for instance, is considered to be between only two individuals, because when the Menhir has shown marriage in its Whispers, it has always been so. But the Whispers on a given situation are always the final word: Arcturus XVIII took two wives, because the Menhir specifically sent a vision to the Listeners showing him with them. The Menhir does not justify itself when its commands are seemingly inexplicable; the generally well-regarded Fomalhaut LVI the Unlucky was deposed and executed by the Listeners at the will of the Menhir, with no explanation given for his proscription.
Where the Menhir does not speak - which is on most matters - the secular authorities of Vesarca hold sway. In the absence of a contradictory Whisper, for example, the royalty are free to issue edicts as they see fit. In general, the power of King Arcturus XXXVI is absolute, but the will of the Menhir of Fomalhaut supersedes it in specific. As such, the Listeners are sometimes colloquially referred to as "God's Scalpel."
The ultimate interpretation of the Menhir's will is the domain of the Supreme Exegete, who is consequently considered the most powerful man in the Kingdom.
The miracles of the Menhir of Fomalhaut are many and seemingly boundless. It has been known to create and destroy matter and energy at will without limit, as it creates the Habits Inviolable ex nihilo and as it once destroyed a Reaver Prince gunship hundreds of miles away. It is believed that many of Vesarca's natural wonders were crafted by the invisible hand of the Menhir.
The Menhir rests where it was found millennia ago by Fomalhaut I, in an unspoiled grove in the Grand Barony of Vegaf. The Sanctuary of Stone, the seat of the Listeners, circumnavigates and protects this wilderness, where only Listeners and monarchs (on their coronation day) are permitted.

Divine Classification

Deity

Religions

• Circle of Listeners
• Kingdom of Sacred Vesarca
• Lancers

Realm

Vesarca

Aligned Organization

Circle of Listeners