#Land of heresy — V: Cult of the Lamb

[multimusewonderland]

@allknowingfaith inquired:

DO YOU KNOW HOW FAR A BASEBALL CAN BE THROWN?

~

"... ... ..."

Though Licorice would otherwise give a crude response for what would otherwise be an incredibly silly question - why would he know the answer to something like that!?! - even the normally smug sorcerer could sense that, like Dark Enchantress herself, this was not someone he wanted to mess with.

...Not intentionally, anyways.

"Well, th-that depends on how hard you throw it! A-a yard?" he forced himself to guess, "Maybe? Two...? Two yards?"

[asmaroth]

Cult of the Lamb: All Hidden Lore

i've seen some folks in the tags talking about the lack of discussion of the newly added lore to the game. i figured it was because no one's collected and posted all of them all on tumblr yet, so i took the time to compile and transcribe all the Tablets and Notes into one post.

these are in order of Tablets I-X, Haro's/the meat room's note, Monch's room's note, and Lost Messages I-III. i have transcribed them exactly as they are written, special capitalizations and all. feel free to use as reference!

Ancient Tablets (Found on Crusades)

Ancient Tablet I

Writings from a time long passed.

"I meant only to survive, and yet she, feathered hand of Great Ones gone, has seen me to be worthy. Oh, First Gods, guide me! I devote myself to you, wholly, body and soul. I will strike down dissent. I will cull doubt. I will nourish this Crown and be worthy of this power. In blood, I swear."

Ancient Tablet II

Writings from a time long passed.

"Great Ones, I find fragments of your power across these vast lands. The blades once gripped by your mighty fists, the tears once fallen from your all-seeing eyes, the ichor that runs through the very veins of the earth... I seek your understanding. I prostrate myself before you. I vow that those who will not serve in their life will serve with their death instead."

Ancient Tablet III

Writings from a time long passed.

"Simple things... silly, almost... creatures seek protection in my shadow, pour faith into my soul and by their devotion I am changed. I was like them, once..."

Ancient Tablet IV

Writings from a time long passed.

"I used to think them strange, these three feathered beasts, unworn and unweathered by the passage of time. To be keepers of Godly tools, and yet not be tempted to Godliness themselves - do they not hunger as we do?

Now, wisened in age, I understand. Hatched beneath the First, they crave no power, seek no other fulfillment, for it is not in their nature. And it is by nature that we must abide."

Ancient Tablet V

Writings from a time long passed.

"My pilgrimage has lead me thus, to the caverns of a Godly skull, remnants of a Great One now decaying into earth. The air here smells sweet, the soil rich and dark... I hear whispers, I feel watched, yet there is naught around, just these strange, small mushrooms, their spots almost like eyes... but that's impossible...?"

Ancient Tablet VI

Writings from a time long passed.

"I had not seen her in some dozen years, perhaps a score, perhaps a hundred. She is changed, alarmingly so, the mutilation of her body naught compared to the madness taking root in her mind. Her kin were indifferent. 'Twas foreseen, the card reader said. I asked, what of her duty? What of the Crowns? What of her very nature?

And the smith answered: it is lost."

Ancient Tablet VII

Writings from a time long passed.

"I have lived long, too long for simple memory and so I must continue to chronicle these histories. Followers rise, bloom, and die, like so much clover on the ground, and my troublesome peers, Gods by a right no longer divine, rise and fall like tides cut free from the moon. One came to my temple, young and ambitious and thirsty for war. I dismissed them. I will not abide by such blasphemy."

Ancient Tablet VIII

Writings from a time long passed.

"Whispers reach my temple. Gods fallen, shrines crumbled, Followers taken, and Crowns simply gone. Our numbers are beginning to dwindle. I do not fear. I will swing my righteous axe, draw my zealous sword, and know that I walk with the blessing of the First at my brow. Heresy shall not be tolerated in these Lands."

Ancient Tablet IX

Writings from a time long passed.

"Yngya cannot be found, and the leaves change no more. 'Tis clear, now, that none shall survive this purging. The Owl has chosen a different tact, one I cannot condone; for regardless of what they threaten, I shall never relinquish my beliefs. They call me the greatest of fanatics, and perchance this is true: for I would rather perish than sacrifice my devotion. Great Ones, I am yours eternally."

Ancient Tablet X

Writings from a time long passed.

"He of havoc, he of blight; she of hunger, they of might. He that lays a soul to rest; five remain of hundreds blessed."

Haro/Meat Room's Note

Offering to the Owl

A prayer to the Hunter.

"Great Hunter, we write this prayer and leave this offering in the hopes you will grant us triumph in our hunt. We vow to take no more than we need, and leave the brooding and the young. May we be swift and silent as you, Hunter."

Monch's Room's Note

Ripped Note

Written in fear, covered in dirt.

"We've been hiding for days. I'm hungry, but I'm too scared to leave this place, though the earth no longer shakes. I didn't know the Bishops could bleed. The fifth... we dare not speak his name. Soon we won't remember it. But he waits. He will always wait."

Lost Messages (Found in Graveyards)

Lost Message I

A torn letter, stained with blood.

"Found a herd. Taken care of. Let the Worm know I seek the next."

Lost Message II

A torn letter, stained with blood.

"One fled my blade. I will find it. The Bishops need not concern themselves. I do as I am told, and only as I am told."

Lost Message III

A torn letter, stained with blood.

"I found the last, hidden deep in the Lands. It followed me, silent, to the ritual grounds. When my task is at last complete, I will bury it with the others."

this is all the lore for now until they possibly add more. enjoy!

[multimusewonderland]

"If you want to fight the ocean, I can always drum up the Licorice Sea again! Eheehee!!!"

Definitely not what they were fighting about, but he wasn't the biggest bone in the bunch.

[multimusewonderland]

Moved from (x) // @lambfated

Ah, how long it’d been since his presence was last met with anything but fear, indifference, or mockery... An honor to meet them, indeed. Though there was... one thing they said that grabbed his attention in particular. It stood out from the rest like blood scattered over fresh white snow.

Heretics.

What he'd faced in his time here - in Anura - had been nothing more than beasts, feral and screaming and bloodthirsty, yet The Lamb considered them heretics. Dark Choco took a sip from the soup he’d been given as he contemplated this. What could it be that they were doing wrong? What holy rule were they working against by hunting and being hunted? He could only assume that it was their nature...

With the warm taste of vegetables and broth still lingering in his mouth, he 'hmm'ed his acknowledgement.

"Your efforts are more than respectable. I come from a land with beasts large and concerned with little more than their next meal, but even they find time to rest and play. What I see here has been aggressive to the point of recklessness."

A pause. His head lifted slightly, peering out into the dark swamps as if he expected his words to bring danger charging into their little safe space. Skill would not matter in the face of surprise. Dark Choco continued on as nothing happened.

"Regardless, I can survive on my own..." He finally turned his gaze back towards them, expression terribly indifferent. "But I also know better than to continue that way- not if I have the choice. I accept your help."

Dark Choco was well aware that he didn't need to narrate the thought process aloud to them... Yet he found that doing so made it easier to justify in his head, too. Not to mention that it was an easy way to communication that he wasn't about to run off on The Lamb.

He did find himself with one more question, however.

"...Do you yourself wander? Are you going somewhere?"

It was only natural to wonder, seeing as they were to travel together, but he also found that he was genuinely curious about The Lamb. To wander about lands like these alone - not to mention with resources to spare - spoke of a hardiness that rivaled the warriors from his snow-drenched homeland.

Surely they had somewhere to be...

[multimusewonderland]

voila, cloak swap with my Hornet and @lambfated‘s Lamb just because i thought it’d be funny XD

+ an alt where they keep the Red Crown, considering what it is

[multimusewonderland]

Carefully, Dark Choco took the offered soup.

“Ah, it’s been ages since I’ve had soup. Thank you...”

@lambfated​

[multimusewonderland]

my brains not functioning right now but tldr if you dont wanna see C/ult of the L/amb shit from me interacting with the relevant character(s) block this tag:

⌦Become A Lamb To The Slaughter⚉V: C.OTL⌫

[multimusewonderland]

lambfated​:​

Ah, so he has accepted their offering of peace with little fuss…and it would seem as if he is thankful for the assistance, even! Such polite manners were rarely seen from the denizens of these lands…he must be yet another traveler, then, from a place far away from here. Tilting their head to the side, The Lamb watches the stranger with curious eyes, wondering to themselves what his own home must be like…

But before they can begin to ask such questions, there is still the matter of introductions to be had. It simply would not do to be an ungracious host, after all! With a short bow, The Lamb nods to the other, gesturing for him to make himself comfortable should he feel so inclined.

“Think nothing of it. It is our duty to make sure that those who travel throughout our lands are taken care of.”

“And, indeed…welcome stranger, to our holy lands. You may refer to us as The Lamb, should you have need of us. To whom do we owe the pleasure of meeting with, if we may ask?”

~

Even Dark Choco couldn’t help but smile a little bit, satisfied as the soup warmed his hands and distracted him from his injuries. The lamb standing in front of him - talking and introducing themselves as if they were a regular occurrence - did little to surprise him, the prince having long gotten used to the likes of Bear Jellies and Cookies with more animalistic traits. Even the giant mushrooms were something he’d seen back in the kingdom.

But this wasn’t home.

That much was obvious as creatures infinitely more vile than anything he’d seen before leaped from the brush just to attempt to have a piece of him, completely undeterred even as he fended them off over and over. It was only here, resting in this small clearing, that they ceased. Dark Choco supposed it was just his luck that the exception had turned out to be a rather friendly face.

“A difficult one, I imagine.” He mused, standing in order to return the bow. It looked practiced. “These lands are dangerous...”

The blood staining the otherwise clean greatsword at his side made it obvious that he knew that well. Even the cake and licorice monsters plaguing his homeland were less aggressive. To make things better, they were hardly a danger for those who understood their habits and strategies, though he wondered if these creatures were much the same. Perhaps he’d ask, if the moment presented itself...

In the meantime, the prince stood a little straighter and squared his shoulders.

“My name is Dark Choco. I set out into the forest in a sort of attempt at... finding myself, but I do not recognize this place. I have likely strayed too far.”

Not that he had anywhere he needed to be, anyway... But it was better to make it sound like he hadn’t meant to intrude.