Way of the Warrior Saints/Saint Valmyre
Saint Valmyre has long been considered the patron saint of the lands of Eston. His dedication to chivalry and courtly behaviour has made him a favourite saint of Knights as well.
Traditionally, Saint Valmyre is portrayed as wearing a full suit of gilded plate armor, an ermine cloak, and a wielding a greatsword. He carries three blue spears on his back.
History
Hearken, all ye Eston, as I tell you of Saint Valmyre of Eston and of his courage and dedication to his land and his King!
For Valmyre was a cavalier and a great horsemen of Hawrthune, which would one day settle the city of Hawthorne. Valmyre was fabled for having never been unseated in a joust, and his bravery inspired many songs and deeds.
There came a time in the land, when wicked rebels, and foreigners from afar conspired to unseat the King. Valmyre was offered the throne, if only he would betray his liege. He refused, and armed only with three spears and his steed, he slew the traitors and rebels and their henchmen, and protected the honour of the throne. In gratitude for his faithfulness and loyalty, the King gilded Sir Valmyre's armor, and honored him with a grand quest as Eston's Champion.
His task was to locate and make a pilgramage to the Mountain where the Father of Earth and Stones slumbered, and protect it on a vigil. Valmyre traveled for many years before locating the Holy Mountain at World's End, and had many adventures along the way. When at last he arrived, he set upon his vigil, and prayed and meditated for ten, then twenty years.
Many fell beasts tried to disturb his watch, and many fair maidens sought him out to disuade him from mission, but his purity of purpose defeated them. When at last his vigil was complete, he arose. Rather than the elderly man he should have been, he had been born anew, vibrant and bathed in holy radiance, armed with the wisdom of the Earth and Stones.
He returned to Eston, galloping on a mighty steed with hooves of golden fire, and presented his King with earth from the Holy Mountain. The King rejoiced and wept tears of joy, and died a proud sovereign. Saint Valmyre buried him in Hawrthune, and covered him with the blessed soil.
It is said that the fabled king still rests under Hawthorne, returned to the earth in the most righteous way, and Saint Valmyre still rides the fields and forests of Eston, a Warrior Saint until the Father awakens again.
Go now in faith, and may Saint Valmyre guide your hearts and your steps as you go about your day and fufil your duty!
Valmyre's Travels
Hearken to me, ye of Barad Lacirith and beyond, as I tell ye of Saint Valmyre of Eston, and the great deeds and glory he earned for our nation while embarking on his holy quest to stand vigil at the mountain at the end of the world!
Now Valmyre had many adventures across Atamara that spread legends of the golden knight and his homeland of Eston. And while travelling through the bitter north, tired and cold, having gone without food for 40, nay 50 days, Valmyre heard the shrieks of women and screams of pain, and he galloped over a rise to see a walled village under attack by an unholy alliance of bandits, monsters and knaves, some 200, nay 300 in number.
Great was Valmyre’s outrage as he hurtled into the fray, and great was the fear of the enemy as they saw the Golden Knight Errant and his gleaming blade cut a swathe of righteous, bloody retribution. And as they watched behind the wall the village maidens swooned, for Valmyre was at the peak of manhood, and the men yearned for the courage to assist the champion in the battle outside the walls. The enemy swarmed over and sought to overpower Valmyre again and again but were denied, and after much time the will of the enemy was broken and what left fled, and a great cheer arose from the village folk, but then there was a bestial bellow from the forest and the sound of a gigantic beast lumbering through the trees, and all felt despair.
A hideous stench became apparent, and then an gruesome monster burst from the forest. 60, nay 70 feet tall it was, black as night and heavily muscled, with glowing eyes of red and arms as thick as tree trunks, wielding a club of blackest night that cast the area into near darkness. The villagers quailed, for they had never seen such a beast, even in their darkest nightmares, and Valmyre’s loyal steed sweated and eyes bulged and mouth frothed as it fought every urge to bolt and take his exhausted master away from this unholy monstrosity.
Yet Valmyre did not flinch, and Valmyre did not budge, but instead he called out. “Hear me monster, if thee can, for I am Valmyre of the Hawthrune, of Eston. Go now to whence thee came, never to return.”
“I know not of Eston, but I will have fresh MEAT!” the beast bellowed deafeningly as all gasped in surprise, for a mouth so hideous and misbegotten should not have been able to utter speech.
“Then I shall give thee fresh meat, then thee will go, never to trouble man, woman or child until the world ends, agreed!” Valmyre offered, as he felt his strength ebb as his wounds bled, for he had fought without rest nor respite.
As the monster paused to consider this unexpected offer, it salivated greedily at the thought of the many lean men, soft women and tender children in the village that Valmyre had offered and it nodded its assent and its truce. And the villagers huddled together in despair and bravely resigned themselves to becoming a culinary sacrifice for the greater good.
“Then take thy meat from the ground before thee!” Valmyre shouted, and the monster looked down in puzzlement and the villagers paused with surprise. Then with the last of his strength, Valmyre cast his blade at the beast’s left arm, and did cleave it clean off the monster’s body below its shoulder, and the monster screamed in pain and betrayal. Yet Valmyre had fulfilled his part of the deal and the monster lamented as it picked up its severed arm in full satisfaction of the contract and gnawed on it in bitter consolation, making haste to hide and live out its days far away from men and their bargains.
And the people cheered and made Valmyre welcome, for he had saved their bacon. And after recovering from his wounds and exhaustion Valmyre set off again in search of the Holy Mountain.
Go now, all ye of faith, and may the Saints bless all your endeavours if they be honourable and true!
(The teachings of Saint Valmyre are still being researched in the libraries at Hawthorne.)
Rituals
Many oaths are taken "under the Rite of Valmyre." This Rite covers secret vows made by one or two individuals at a time; it was originally used for sacred vows but, over the years, the acolytes of Saint Valmyre have sometimes become local secret-keepers and, more crucially for the funding of the temples, contract-keepers and contract-enforcers. As such, "Rites of Valmyre" often cover long-term business contracts. The acolytes of Valmyre have "Twelve Penalties" which are highly secretive that they inflict on any who break Valmyrian Oaths.
Notable Scriptures
"Thou shalt not deny proper reward for justly accomplished feats; verily, should a man be wealthy, and builds he a castle, shall not there be rejoicing in all his lands?" (The Quill and The Axe, On the Subjugation of the Baradians, verse 179)
"Be not overmuch afraid of the desert, for it shall come against you, and you shall overcome it." (The Quill and The Axe, On the Neighbors of the Kingdom, verse 14)
"Trust not what comes in the name of the Desert, nor bends not a knee to the Father, nor by its deeds may merit Love– but find it out and put it to the torch. For ever has the desert been barren and worthless, and ever ignorance of the Father fatal, and ever the deedless deadly to the Righteous." (The Quill and The Axe, On the Neighbors of the Kingdom, verse 29)
"Thrice over a devil may cough, and thrice a spear be thrown before in sunders, and thrice a horn be blown before help arrives: but at the last, but once a man may give his oath, but once live under it, and but once a life has a man such a moment as this– when all is laid before him, that man shall bite the wind."(The Quill and The Axe, On Bad Weather for a Witch-Burning, verse 66)
