“And the rest
of both the living and the dead were shattered by the fierce strike of
a shard of the heavens that had come hurtling down to smite the earth.
With horror the living awoke to find that the dead had arisen from
their graves. Families were pulled from their beds by those hungry for
their warm breath, beating hearts, and pulsing blood. Human flesh was
the grisly feast for the awakened dead. Fear and blood flowed, but one
mortal moved with righteousness that dark night, commanding the dead to
return to their graves. When the mortals heard his prayers and
commands, they took heart; when the dead heard his cries, they returned
to their graves or raised their cold fists to attack the lone priest
that moved among them. And when they turned to destroy the lone priest,
his very touch lay them to rest. Thus it was that the peace returned to
Vilmorre through the miracles worked by Nicholas Vadnais the Priest of
Morr.”
From the Lives of
the Saints of Bretonnia by Karolus Arbogastiensis, 11th century IC.
St Vadnais’ cult is not particularly large, and is centred upon the city of Moussillon. As the ’Life’ of Vadnais written by Karolus Arbogastiensis tells, St Vadnais was a priest of Morr who saved the townspeople from undead assault.
St Vadnais has become an unofficial protector to the people of the
unfortunate city of Moussillon, and his name and symbol (a white or
silver skull) is invoked for protection against undead evils. It is
said that the soul of anyone who wears a talisman of St Vadnais cannot
be forced into the legions of undeath; for this reason, removing the
skull-charms carried by most of the people of Moussillon is seen as an
especially cruel and heinous crime.
Vadnais' cult is by far most popular amongst the destitute commoners
who live in the slums and ruins of Moussillon, but there are a few
priests of Morr and noblemen who venerate him; mostly those who live
near sites of unearthly activity in north-west Bretonnia.
Although St Vadnais is most popular in Moussillon, his home and main
shrine are located slightly east of that city, in the small mercantile
town of Vilmorre (which prides itself for its high-class preserved
meats). The largest temple in the town is dedicated to Morr and St
Vadnais, whose body is kept inside. The self-satisfied people of
Vilmorre are highly conservative and insular; they resent any untoward
influence from outside and dislike strangers. In particular they detest
the pious but disease-ridden pilgrims who often come from Moussillon;
there are sometimes so many pilgrims that they build their own shanty
town outside the gates of Vilmorre and squat there until the town
militia sees them off. There are several small, poverty-stricken
shrines and temples to St Vadnais in and around Moussillon, and one or
two in other settlements between there and Vilmorre.
St Vadnais' body is claimed by his temple in Vilmorre; an ornate
casket
contains the reliquiae, and despite the fact that the body has not been
seen for many years now, the devout swear that it is as fresh as the
day it was interred (whenever that was).
The largest temple to St Vadnais in Moussillon possesses a wizened
staff said to have belonged to the saint. Unlike the body of St
Vadnais, which has not been removed from its casket and shown to the
public for decades, the staff of St Vadnais in Moussillon is kept
almost permanently on show, and attracts many visitors to the temple.
It is claimed that on St Vadnais' day the staff is charged with his
power, and can cure any disease connected with the undead and the
powers of chaos.