The Order of the Vine is an
infamous order, its origins unknown, its acts shrouded in a cloak of secrecy so
thick that even our order is ignorant of much of their doings. What we do know is conjecture and assumptions
based on minimal evidence, of their actions and of what is written in our
books.
The Order of the Vine is an
order that has always existed, probably even before the Hammerites came to
be. The adherents, known as Pagans,
worship the god of nature, the Trickster himself. They exalt nature, its achievements and its successes.
They most probably came into
being in the dark days of this land, when settlements were few and far between,
and those that existed built walls to guard against what lay in the night
beyond. It must have been an age of
fear, when men shivered in the cold and feared what hid in the darkness beyond
the feeble circles of light that their primitive torches and fires gave
out. From this age we have the tales of
the Woodsie Lord, as he is known in the distinctive language of the
Pagans. Myths have arisen of rats grown
into sword-wielding men, insects into great creatures that spat more insects,
of giant spiders that could trap a man in their web of magic. These wild tales, of cray creatures with
swords for arms and frogs that could explode when approached, are dismissed as
fantasies, but contain an element of truth.
We discovered this for ourselves when we placed the Elemental Talismans
in their final resting places.
To guard against these beasts,
the populace seems to have split into two opposing camps o opinion. Some tried to resist the Trickster, and grew
into the beginnings of the Hammerites.
Others tried to appease the Woodsie Lord, offering sacrifices at
temples, and revelling in the inherent chaos in nature. Eventually, the technological advances
offered by the early Hammerites resulted in support for them, and the Order of
the Vine was forced to hide to avoid being annihilated.
This much we know from the
ancient books we recovered in Karath-Din, the records kept by a few survivors
who hid underground. After a point,
however, the writings stop, and due to the presence of Fire Elementals in the
Lost City one can only assume they were overrun. This would certainly account for the apparent disappearance of
the scribes. Indeed, a Hammerite scroll
obtained during the evacuation of the Cathedral suggested that the Trickster’s
lair, the Maw of Chaos, is built within the remnants of the Lost City. However, this can be assumed to be false.
All mention of the Pagans ceases
after this, and one can only conjecture that they retreated underground. The next point at which they achieve mention
is during the construction of Wayside, so called for its proximity to a former
main thoroughfare through the City from the east. Wayside was designated a district, and the temporary slums sprang
up. The Hammers began work to install
the services, but then they were forced to perform a different task when they
were set upon and attacked by the followers of the Trickster. As has been explained the Pagan philosophy
is in direct opposition to that of the Hammerites.
The Hammerites reacted swiftly
to this, so swiftly that even the City Guard were caught unawares. They massed and marched into Wayside,
burning hovels and slaughtering Pagans when they found them. Eventually the Trickster’s followers
retreated into the central market of the district, where they fought a
desperate last action before being slaughtered by the Hammers. Legends say that some Hammers even glimpsed
an apparition there, of a man with horns and tail shooting magic at the
attackers, and a third eye that spat lightning. Needless to say, these Hammers were excommunicated, but the
legend persisted, and other legends imply that the Hammers took possession of
this eye as the apparition fled. The
Hammers have taken measures to halt the spread of these legends, and also
declared that they would no longer aid Wayside.
The results of this are well
known, and have been observed by most of our Order. The most interesting mention in this account is of the horned,
tailed man. Traditional images of the
Trickster are similar, with the exception of the third eye mentioned. If the Trickster was present then this is of
great importance, not in the least of which that it proves his existence. It might also indicate a failed attempt to
gain control of the City, and action which it has been predicted be will
repeat. The refusal of the Hammerites
to publicly accept the legend is mysterious, but it is an interesting fact that
soon after the event the Hammers painted their infamous painting of the Master
Builder defeating the Trickster in battle.
As a result of this incident,
the Pagans were driven further underground, by the hatred of both the
Hammerites and the populace of this City.
The Baron, upset that the fight had resulted in a reduction in business
profits, and thus personal gain, ordered a purge of suspected Pagans, an action
which the Hammerites carried out with unsurprising vigour.
Once the repercussions of this
action had abated, no more mention of the Order of the Vine can be found. One might imagine that the Trickster has
retreated to again raise an army with which to impose his nefarious schemes. Recently there have been reports of possible
Pagans, such as Constantine or Viktoria, entering the City. This does not bode well for the Hammerites,
or the City in general, but we are forced to wait until the situation is such
that our assistance is required to maintain the balance.