Vynelvale
Of all the Free Cities, none are as holy as the monastery city of Vynelvale. Located to the southeast of Riverwatch at the juncture of the Guardian Hills and the Great Plains, Vynelvale is the administrative and educational center devoted to Kellos, God of Life, Flame, and Justice. It is a popular pilgrimage site and houses the greatest library in Terrinoth outside of Greyhaven University.
According to the current Grand Hierophants of Kellos, soon after the Second Darkness there was once a vile necromancer near Vynelvale who sought to create an undead empire for himself. A band of heroes assembled to defeat this evil, but were struck down. The last survivor, then moments from a sorcerous death, called out for aid and swore eternal service to any who would come. His eyes clouded, and his body became wreathed in flame. Raising his hand, which shone with a light bright enough to make the sun seem but a flickering candle, the invigorated survivor smote the necromancer with one wave and banished his undead army forever. As his sight returned, he saw what had been done, and knew that a divine power had interceded.
He kept the promise, and began preaching of the intercession and the god’s power. Others who remembered tales of cleansing fire from the Second Darkness, and had lit an Eternal Fire here in remembrance, soon joined him. Together, they established a church to the being he believed had aided him: Kellos.
His followers named him the first Hierophant of Kellos and led the construction of what would become the Grand Cathedral of Kellos. Upon his death, he became canonized as the church’s first saint. Later hierophants added wings, halls, bastions, and other constructions, turning the cathedral into a structure to rival the greatest castles of the Daqan Lords. Behind its towering walls, hundreds of initiates silently tend gardens and fields, while the innumerable scribes spend the years copying holy texts and other rare documents.
It is here where the Priests and Knights of Kellos are trained in the greatest secrets of their god. Able to banish the taint of darkness with little more than a touch, they are beloved by the people. From the cathedral, they go out into the world to smite the undead with cleansing flames. The many pilgrims traveling to Vynelvale for healing loudly cheer them as the Priests and Knights pass, easily recognizing their distinctive red and gold colors and the burning hand of Kellos each wears on their armor.
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