The Bones of Korpa

In the catacombs under Elion slumbers a secret

The defeat of Korpa the necromancer is perhaps the most formative part of the wars of Ruy I, the first king of Aruël. During this time, the city of Elion was overrun by undead and only the death of Korpa cleared the region from this threat. Today, Elion is the religious centre of the kingdom and home to the great cathedral of the Trinity. Thousands of faithful take a pilgrimage to see the Bones of St. Elian, the founder of the faith, but hidden beneath the great cathedral is another set of remains that are unkown to the public.   When Korpa was slain, the victorious forces of Aruël quickly discovered, that their foe was beyond death himself. When his life gave out, unholy magic reformed the skeleton and flesh, even as it rotted away before their very eyes. And after the evil had been hewn apart, the limbs seemed to always seek to reattach themselves.   To prevent the rise of Korpa once more, drastic measures were taken. The flesh was stripped from the bones, who they could determine as the origin of this foul magic. The first bishops of the faith spent most of their lives covering the bones in etched holy symbols, to lessen the undead pull on the bones. Today, the Skull of Korpa is stored directly beneath the great cathedral, while other bones are stored in secret cellars the faith has maintained for centuries now. They are chained to walls and rock, locked away in boxes or even cast into metal blocks.
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Despite all these efforts, the clergy guarding the bone-sites report hearing thrumming pulls from the relics, and swear they can see entire constructions built to resist rams or catapullts occasionally jerk towards the centre of the city, where the great cathedral and the skull beneath it lies. Guardsmen need to be replaced regularily, for they begin to hear whispers in their minds, promising untold riches and fame beyond measure if they would just loosen the restraints on this clavicle, or unlock the box holding this jawbone.


Cover image: Wild meadow (via Midjourney)

Comments

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Jul 31, 2023 10:40 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

Aaaaaa! D: So creepy. I'm glad they pay attention and replace the guards regularly.

Emy x
Explore Etrea
Aug 16, 2023 22:41

Yeah, lets hope no one decides that this antiquated work can do with less funding >:)

Yours truly, Nino.
Its Worldember!I am building out a spooky world, which you can read about here! (psst, its a link)
To learn about my main world click on this link! (if you want to ;) )