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The pilgrimage of the Shallyans

I had some trouble figuring out how and where Shallya the Healer and her cult could fit in. This is partially because there's little information on what her and her followers did in ancient times. On the one hand, the Goddess of Mercy definitely has a considerable following in modern-day Bretonnia. "However, by far the most important God for most peasants is Shallya. The life of a Bretonnian peasant is extremely hard, and the relief brought by Shallyans is very welcome. No village is more than a day's walk from a substantial temple, and Shallyan priests are as sacrosanct as Damsels of the Lady [of the Lake]."[14] If you would then consider that the main temple of the Goddess of Mercy resides in the city of Couronne, it would be easy to say that the Bretonni prayed to her much like their descendants do today. On the other hand, there's the niggling detail that Shallya is a Goddess from the south of the Old World. This begs an interesting question: why and how did the main temple of the Cult of Shallya become located in Couronne, a city far-up in the north of Bretonnia?

I think the answer to this question is that the clergy of the Goddess of Mercy decided on their own to establish their new headquarters in Couronne, at some point in time - before Gilles le Breton and Unification came along - when there were little to no devout Shallyans among the Bretonni. My reasons for that are as follows:

1.      While there's no account of there ever being another main temple of Shallya, it seems safe to assume that Couronne wasn't always the seat for the leadership of the cult. It would be silly for the almost universally loved priesthood of this Classical Goddess to have no base of operations until they encountered the Bretonni and entered their lands. Especially since the city of Couronne resides in the northern-most Dukedom of Couronne, which shares a border with the Empire. The Shallyans wouldn't only have to struggle against the Church of Nature and Nurture and the priests of other Gods, but also the Cult of Sigmar and other Imperial creeds and customs. Add to this that Shallya is still well regarded and loved in Estalia and Tilea, and it's clear that there needs to be a reason for the main temple of Shallya to be in a place so far removed from the cult's original habitat.

2.      There are a few sentences in the novel Sacred Flesh that provide a solid reason for why the leaders of the Cult of Shallya would establish a temple in a region where there are few followers and many dangers. The book is about a dangerous pilgrimage to Heiligerberg, a mountain in the Border Princes atop of which there's a temple sacred to Shallya. "...and my understanding is that it is a mountain as jagged and treacherous as any in this awful pass. (...) I have pondered the point, and at first it seems a peculiar irony, that the Goddess of Mercy would enjoin her most fervent devotees to clamber up a sharp and treacherous slope to receive her blessing. But then, on further reflection, any person of sense will realize that the difficulty of the climb is the very nub of the point - it is the profoundest test of faith and determination."[15] A similar argument can be found in Tome of Salvation. "Most Shallyans spend some time travelling the Old World early in their careers, relieving distress as they find it. Almost all temples encourage this, both because it grants a wider understanding of the world, and because travelling is generally a hardship and a sacrifice, and thus appropriate to followers of the Goddess."[16] The Shallyans would set up their most holy of holy places in the north of early Bretonnia precisely because it wasn't safe for them - or for the resident tribesmen for that matter. The Bretonni were fighting foes left and right, and could make great use of skilled and devoted healers. "These [Bretonni] tribes faced centuries of constant warfare with the Greenskins who overran the land, but the tribes slowly established themselves, driving the Orcs and Goblins back. (...) The number of Bretonni tribes fell over time, as the stronger took over the lands of weaker, and isolated tribes fell to the predations of Orcs, Chaos, and Undead."[17] As I've mentioned before, Shallyans tend to disregard their own problems and instead focus on relieving the suffering of others. They don't found new temples for political reasons or to gain new funds or followers; they do so because it helps them to help other people. The Shallyans would be a sight for sore eyes for the Bretonni. This brings me to my next point.

3.      This self-imposed relocation of the cult's leadership could be the beginning of the long-lasting respect that the people of Bretonnia have for Shallya and her priests. The many obstacles that the Shallyans would encounter and passively overcome would be an inspiration for the beleaguered tribesmen. Add to this the apolitical nature of the cultists, their willingness to help and their skill at healing, and it's easy to see why the Cult of Shallya would be embraced by the Bretonni and their descendants.

4.      Perhaps a negligible notion, but still interesting: it would give greater importance to the Road to Couronne, an important pilgrimage route to the main temple of the Goddess of Mercy. "The pilgrimage to the temple of Shallya at Couronne is one of the most popular pilgrimage routes in the Old World."[18] According to Tome of Salvation the Road to Couronne is popular simply because those who manage to arrive at the main temple are almost assured to be healed from any injury or sickness. But with this theory of mine, the pilgrimage route gains more weight. For Shallyan pilgrims this voyage wouldn't just be a holy mission for their own souls, it would be homage to the journey the priesthood of the Goddess of Mercy made in ancient times to get to Couronne.

So there we have my theory for the Cult of Shallya in early Bretonnia. I see the result of this self-imposed relocation being that worship of Shallya became important to the tribesmen, to the point of eclipsing that of her sister Myrmiddia. Especially with the northern tribes, since they would have not as much contact with Estalians and Tileans as those in the south.

I see little evidence or reason for there to be any significant change in how the Cult of Shallya handled her affairs or temples in pre-Unification Bretonnia. Outside of early Bretonnia would be a different matter. Think about it; how would the southern nations respond to the Shallyans placing their new headquarters in a primitive land where the local barbarians are unenlightened about the glory of Myrmiddia? Therefore I think that there would be some friction between the ruling priesthood of the Goddess of Mercy and the ruling class of Estalia and Tilea. Since Myrmiddia and Shallya are sisters it seems unlikely the various priests would let it escalate into violence, but it would be enough for the Shallyans to lose much of the political influence they had in the southern nations. This would probably suit the followers of the Goddess of Mercy just fine, since it lets them focus on healing people.

The wandering prophets of Morr

The God of the Dead and Dreams is vitally important for the people of the Old World. Aside from guiding every soul to the afterlife, even those who don't believe in the Gods, he guards the deceased from the predations of Daemons, evil deities and the masters of the Undead. Furthermore, he sends prophetic dreams to those in need of them, especially to his own priests. "Dreams and portents are typically seen as Morr's way of warning the living of grave threats. Death itself, of course, is not such a threat; prophecies of one's own death merely provide the chance to get your affairs in order first. Portents are rarely absolutely clear, and Morr relies on the intelligence of Humans to unravel their mysteries."[19] Without Morr, the Old World would be a far darker place than it already is. Despite all of this, I believe the Bretonni would devote little time and effort to him, and that the priests of the God of the Death would spend most of their time roaming the countryside, with little to no temples dedicated in Morr's name. Here's why:

1.      Much like his daughter Myrmiddia, the lack of influence and importance of Morr and his cult in early Bretonnia is inevitable. There are various mentions of the country being filled with ancient graves. The lost region of Glanborielle has haunted hill-forts, in the land of Quenelles you can find both the Grave and the Barrows of Cuileux and even the Dukedom of Couronne, wherein the capital of Bretonnia is situated and the King resides, is blighted by the restless dead thanks to the Landrel Barrow[20]. What's important about these graves is that they're not just haunted; they're haunted even after 1500 years have passed. While we don't know when exactly the Landrel Barrow was created, the lands of Cuileux and Glanborielle were destroyed in I.C. 930 and I.C. 974 respectively, all some time before Unification in I.C. 978. Then there are the Farulin's Brothers, enchanted monoliths who protect a vast grave of a Bretonni warlord whose power rivaled that of Gilles le Breton. But this barrow in Mousillon is not protected by prayers to Morr, but magical incantations. "Long dead before Gilles was ever born, this chieftain must have been a powerful warlord with many skilled sorcerers at his beck and call for the spell on Farulin's Brothers to remain after all this time. His barrow still stands at the centre of the monolith fields, undisturbed even by the curse of the restless dead that hangs over Mousillon."[21]Then there are the various mentions of druids as the architects of the barrows in early Bretonnia in the aforementioned Return of the Lichemaster campaign and the novel The Red Duke. From this we can imply that the Cult of Morr was either unwilling or unable to bury the dead of the Bretonni and that some other priests laid them to rest (or at least before the Unification of Bretonnia occurred). As Morr often sends messages to his priests in the form of dreams so they know where they're needed, I think it's safe to assume that in early Bretonnia the Cult of Morr just didn't have the numbers or the influence necessary for them to give the proper rites for every deceased soul.

2.      While we divide the Old World pantheon in the Elder Gods and the Classical Gods, this was not always the case. Before the publication of the Liber Chaotica they were divided into the country gods and the town gods[22]. It's not a major difference, but it does signify what the Classical Gods are; deities for people who live in towns, who are safe from the predations of beasts and the capricious moods of nature. The Bretonni were (and the Bretonnians are, to a certain extent) a rural people, and have to deal with rural problems. They don't have the luxury to give meaningful devotion to a God who only helps them when they die. One could say that by that same logic the other Classical Gods should be unimportant as well, but they all have something to contribute. Verena and her cult have wisdom and the written word, Myrmiddian priests can teach strategic warfare and the Shallyans provide healing and promote peace and charity. But the priesthood of Morr spends most of its efforts on the dead. True, Morr is also the God of Dreams, and people do pray to him to have their future explained. In this however he's not alone. "But Myrmiddia's cult also has its own oracles."[23] To add insult to injury, there's the fact that while Morr is the God of the Dead, he isn't the only deity in whose name people can be buried. "The friar [of Shallya] stepped up to speak words in aid of the slain. It would have been better to have a devotee of the death-god, Morr, do the honours, but Gerhold's prayers would have to suffice."[24] Then there's the story Wolfshead, where we see a priestess of Rhya administering a funeral. "The nearest priest of Morr is three hundred miles from here", Dietrich said. "It is imprudent to wait for him to visit us, so we consign the dead to Morr's gardens in the old way."[25] A throwaway mention, but it is more than plausible that the priests of other Gods, especially those of more primeval faiths far removed from the southern Cult of Morr, would have some own rituals concerning death. With the Church of Nature and Nurture firmly in power among the Bretonni tribes, the worship of Morr would be less of a necessity and more of a luxury, an added sense of security since the best deity who could protect you and your afterlife was on the job. Taking this all into account, the worship of the God of the Dead and Dreams seems somewhat unnecessary for people from a (pre-)feudal society like the Bretonni.

3.      Although the cult doesn't care about their own importance (or lack thereof) in the Old World, it does care about guarding the deceased. This doesn't just translate into giving the dead their proper rites, but also in hunting down Vampires, Necromancers, ghosts of all stripes and other Undead. Furthermore, Morr sends portents of warning to those in need of them. As such, while I don't see the cult having many followers in early Bretonnia, I do see priests of Morr going on quests deemed righteous by their God, regardless of how many friends or enemies there are in their path. Besides, the cult already accepts that some of their clergy wander about, guided by divine messages. "Other [priests of Morr], however, travel across the Old World, often following their dreams."[26] They provide the last rites and portents of warning for those who need them. True, it's mentioned that the temple priests don't much like their wandering counterparts, but since the Cult of Morr would have few temples or authority in early Bretonnia I don't see how they would be in a position to object to them.

4.      We've already seen a single priestess of Morr helping to form an entire nation with no discernible help from other cult members. In The Legend of Sigmar trilogy written by Graham McNeill, one of the most crucial characters is the Hag-Mother of the Brackenwalsch, a holy oracle of Morr. She manipulates the men and events around Sigmar Heldenhammer so that he would unite the Great Tribes and create the Empire, with few people ever noticing it. "A man is the sum of his experiences, Björn", said the hag woman. "All his loves, fears, joys and pain combine like the metals in a good sword. In some men these qualities are in balance and they become servants of the light, while in others they are out of balance and fall to darkness. To become the man he needs to be, [Sigmar] must suffer pain and loss like no other."[27]At some points in the books she seems to be more wizard than priestess, and apparently there were indeed other priests of Morr around in what would become the Empire[28], but the impact she has on Sigmar and therefore the Empire can't be understated or ignored.

There's a good chance that the Cult of Morr would have a few traditional temples in the south, but otherwise I see the presence of the cult in early Bretonnia being restrained to wandering priests who go where their God guides them. The priesthood of Morr would gain a dreaded reputation with the Bretonni; on the hand they only provide funeral services or cryptic and doom-laden warnings, but on the other hand they give assistance to the bereaved, warn of danger and are blessed by their God. I must place emphasis on that last part, for while the Bretonni would see that other faiths would - and does - have followers, lay-members and monks who have no divine power, from the Cult of Morr they would almost exclusively meet priests who have a direct link with their deity. As such, even if the God of the Dead and Dreams would receive little devotion, he and his priests would be treated with fear and respect by the Bretonni.