>>6104551“Mmmm…” Cassius groans, rubbing his temples. “Not everyone in our kingdom adheres to the rule of the Princess and the College. There are those who live out in the remote parts of the desert, away from Morfis and her reach. Mostly these sorts are exiles. Outlaws, or those who were expelled from the city for researching topics that were deemed forbidden. But a good chunk of them are adherents of Leviathan, the Great Serpent. You can think of them as a fringe religion of sorts.”
>“They worship a snake?”“Something like that.” Cassius says. “The Sorcerer King founded the City of Morfis over 2000 years ago. Legend has it he appeared one day in the desert, at the helm of a ship that could soar through the air. He united the various tribes of the desert under his rule, and taught them a great many things. Not just how to survive in this hostile environment, but how to flourish. Under his rule, we built the City of Morfis, and things were good for a while. But then the Great Serpent appeared. No one knows its origins, but what is known is that it flew here from the direction of Fodlan.”
>“Is that why you people call it the ‘Dark Continent’?“One of several reasons.” Cassius concludes. “The Serpent managed to deceive many to his side. A great war was fought, and eventually, the Serpent was vanquished, though it cost the Sorcerer King his life. Those who had fought for the Serpent and were taken in by his lies were banished to the deepest reaches of the desert, where their descendants remain to this day, hiding out of sight. They are the Cult, and they believe that one day, their Leviathan will return to destroy Morfis. It is commonly believed that the Terrors that appear in the desert are their work.”
An interesting story, and one that you didn’t know what to make of. You’d never heard of this Sorcerer King before. Just as how information on Fodlan here was scant, so too was the opposite. Barely anyone back home knew anything about Morfis. Like most of your countrymen, you were an adherent of the Goddess Sothis, whom you believed was the progenitor of the world. How this “Sorcerer King” and “Leviathan” fit into that narrative, you had no clue.
“No more questions for me.” Cassius groans. “I don’t believe I have the fortitude to learn anything else at this juncture. But here, a gift.” Cassius unhooks a small pouch the size of your palm from his hip. He begins rifling through it, seemingly looking for something inside the tiny bag. Suddenly though, he pulls out a book that should have never been able to fit inside that thing.
“Woah!” May exclaims. “How did you do that?!”
“Do you like it?” Cassius beams with pride. “It’s a holding bag. A common magical item here in Morfis. I keep my entire life packed away in it, right at my hip.”
