The Blood Cult/Monsters
Author: Louis-Joseph Chénier
First Entry
It's hard to describe the monsters, as they come in various shapes and forms. Indeed, if such a vague and non-descriptive term is used, it's because they have the unexplainable tendency to work together, despite their differences. Old God lore tell that they were the masters of Beluaterra before the arrival of the colonists, and call them the Children [of the gods]. If indeed they are in continuous battle to regain the favour of the gods by defeating us, we can easily understand how they could work so well despite their great differences, considering how hopeless their fight has become.
Nonetheless, they made a reappearance in force during the third blueaterran invasion. Under the leadership of Big Fangs and other chieftains such as Wart Eater (each leader was said to have a speciality), they opposed the Undead and those who allied with them. Though they denied such claims, there were linked by some to the daimons, the undead conceding that these were, indeed, "very distant" cousins of the daimons. To reinforce this belief, the most prominent monster-allied realms were allied with the daimonic or later switched to accept daimons (Vlaaderen, Sint, Heen, though the latter was federated with the second without having had daimons thesmelves). Furthermore, since early on the Undead commanders accused the monsters of being the cause of the invasion, claiming that the "dumb beasts" had blitzed the undead guarding the portals as the result of a deal with the daimons.
Of the inhuman factions of the third invasion, they spoke the least, other than for the Lost Souls. As a result, there is limited first-hand knowledge on them, and some of it is contradictory.
If we consider their origins, we must take into consideration a few things. Firstly, we can find them on any continent, and not just Beluaterra. Indeed, the East Continent also saw ripples of the beluaterran invasion, and I think there was monsters among them. Secondly, Old Gods lore teaches that they reigned supreme on Beluaterra before the colonists arrived, so one most consider that Beluaterra was once a "monster island", the idea that there be others like that is valid and, indeed, this is what they claimed. Thirdly, however, is that the Undead claimed that the monsters allowed the daimons to break through. This last point is problematic. How did the monsters achieve this? The portals are said to be entities which the living, or at least humans, or unable to pass. They are invisible to the human eye and link us to what is called the Shadowlands, though it is suspected that they may, directly or indirectly, lead to other continents as well. Can the monsters cross portals? If they have an island, then what were they doing in the Shadowlands? The Undead claim they were manipulated by the daimons to do this, but what could convince them to do this? Of course, one could claim the undead simply lied, but this would be jumping to conclusion if you consider that this was said publicly and that neither the daimons nor the monsters denied these claims.
Their "end" brings some light, but not much, to their origins. Inexplicably and unexpectedly, the monsters started ravaging the North, claiming about how they had been betrayed by a human somewhere around there. Apparantly, they had an island somewhere North of Beluaterra, and after daimons flew there the monsters were not to be seen again, and the mysterious plague of Cazoatl hit northern Beluaterra, black smoke being reported from the North. What does this mean? They gave a map to some human showing them exactly where their island was? Considering the amount of monsters which came to Beluaterra, the island must have been fairly large, and considering how quickly the daimons found it, it couldn't have been that far off: surely no human was needed for the daimons to find the monsters' homes. Furthermore, the North? The northern realms weren't allied to the monsters. Indeed, those who hadn't preferred neutrality had preferred the undead. My memory fails me a little on this point, though, as it is possible Thalmarkin might have had more to do with the Monsters, but if so this came late, and I don't believe this was the case. So why would they have told a northerner the location of their isle? Why would they tell anyone at all, if they could not defend it at all? How could they have fallen in a day or so, considering the amount of monsters that we saw and how the amount of daimons did not fluctuate greatly to represent such an expedition. And finally, if they fought over there, why didn't the monsters fight the daimons on Beluaterra, then, instead of allying with the daimons' allies and targetting realms also targeted by daimons?
Many unanswered questions surround the monsters, and I shall finish with the beginning. At the very beginning, some strange people started asking for some rare and precious items. While the Undead had their messenger, the monsters sent their own kind. The Undead later claimed these would have been used to create a protective barrier to keep the daimons from capturing their master. How could an apparently random collection of objects be used to this purpose? I don't know, but what is even more odd is that they weren't alone: The monsters also wanted these very same items, and competed with the Necromancer's Servants for them. Apparently, some monsters were individually "tasked" to "bring home" certain special items, without knowing why they were doing so. If there's one thing that is for sure, it's that although the closest to us biologically, they are the ones we least understand.
Author:Guillaume Chénier
First Entry
The coming of the fourth invasion has far from answered our questions. Extra details and inconsistencies have brought us a clearer view of a much more complex drawing, for these monsters seem little like the ones from the last invasion.
First, the key differences. The monsters of the last invasion were led by similar-looking and aptly named creatures, with the kinds of Big Fangs commanding the likes of Wart Eater. This time, humanoids lead the monsters, and they respond to the title of a certain quality of the reported Great King Gilgamesh, of whom too little is known. In this manner, the Bow of Gilgamesh responds to the Epic of Gilgamesh who responds to none other than the Great King Gilgamesh. Considering the nature of the new monster leaders and the title he wields, one could reasonably assume that Gilgamesh is also a humanoid.
These facts have many implications. Though the definition of a monster is blurry, one could state that these new leaders have more in common with mortal men than those they command. They also seem to host, despite their odd naming conventions, complex emotional and intellectual relationships more fitting of men than beast. In light of the news of a certain human, Annaej of Alluran, having undergone a ritual to command the beasts, one could wonder if one is not born a monster leader, but becomes one. Cultist lore teaches us that all monsters stem from previous generations of men, but these leaders could be a much, much more recent batch. Who is this Gilgamesh? Is he the one that wields the power to turn men to beasts? Why and how did he acquire such power over the monsters? What does he seek?
That last question brings us to other interesting facts. The monsters claim to be here to liberate their kin, oppressed by the now-dominating human populations. Religious lore indicates that the monsters were once the masters of this land, and that without the blessings of the gods man made himself king of Beluaterra, angering some of them. The monsters were their children, it is said, and we were the invaders to them just as they are to us now. Now, in the last invasion, it was reported that the monsters had their new homeland, an island north of Beluaterra, scorched by the daimons as they were simultaneously driven off from here. Yet here they are once again, in ever so great numbers despite such a setback. One could assume that the gods did not wish to see them extinct, and so shielded them for all these years and... perhaps give them something to even the odds?
Facts always raise more questions than they answer, but hopefully with careful research more light shall be put into the matter.
