2. Er, Could We Recap Just A Little?
The Tanaran Monks had once been a far larger faction in the lands; there was a time where they had held the ear of kings, kept the masses enthralled, and many times influenced the political and sociological climate of Cortela.
At least, this was how events had occurred according to the monks.
As this supposed reign of power had in fact been at least two centuries ago, there were few who believed that the (now much smaller) group of scholars and preachers were anything but fools; they continued to speak of old gods of whom there was no evidence of true existence.
Despite the ancient texts filled to the brim with tales of miracles and divine providence, there was no evidence of such influences in the present, and for this reason the monks had alternately been laughed at and threatened. Their only real allies were the Magi, but since the faction of spellcasters was also threatened (with much less laughter involved,) this alliance helped their cause very little, and sometimes even drew more trouble upon their heads.
With no young men showing interest in becoming a disciple of the Old Gods, and many of the existing preachers being ambushed by the odd group of ruffians, (though many of the monks knew enough self-defense to fend off such attackers,) the Tanaran Monks finally retreated from the world at large, taking up residence in the remote borderlands of Cortela.
The monastery of which Zaharan was leader was located on the north-western edge of Cortela; thirty miles out and one would encounter the wastelands. He had lived there for as long as he could remember, having been told he had been left in a basket outside the monastery door on a cold winter night.
“Whomever had left you,” Zaharan had noted cheerfully, more than once; “Had a taste for clichés, and a complete lack of any sense of responsibility whatsoever.”
The last time an outsider had gotten within ten miles of the monastery had been three years ago, and the last time there had been any sort of visitor was nearly a decade before that. Truth be told, that solitude tended to leave Zanten more than a little restless.
