The Legend of St Martinius

The most common version of the story is outlined below.   Martinius was born to the daughter of a minor noble. His mother died in childbirth. Without any chance of inheritance, Martinius sought work as a stable hand. At the onset of adulthood, Martinius was contacted by God in dreams who called him to pursue a quest to vanquish a great beast or demon depending on the retelling. The story in usually divided into eight acts.   In the first act, Martinius is established a quiet stable hand working in a rural town. His grandfather who is the lord of the town keep Martinius a secret because he does not want people to know that his daughter had a child unmarried. Martinius begins to hear the call of God at the end of the chapter but does not pursue the call. Instead, he takes up a position as a knight of the realm when his uncle passes the stable one day and sees Martinius' strength and see potential in him.   In the second act, Martinius comes to collect taxes from a farmstead where he discovered a woman whose husband and son died of starvation as a direct result of Martinius extorting them on their previous tax bill. The woman is packing her belonging and leaving the farmstead to return to the home of her father. Martinius is filled with regret and remorse and pleads to God to offer him salvation. God guides Martinius to a clearing in the forest where Martinius sees an apparition of lord at a banquet who teaches Martinius the importance of joy and justice and sends Martinius on a quest to slay a great beast. The apparition gives Martinius a crystal chalice and departs.    In the third act, Martinius sets off from his village. At the edge of the village, beyond the forest, is a great open grassland where a tribal shaman taunts Martinius, warning him that he will never survive the crossing of the grassland with no supplies but a crystal chalice. Martinius makes the crossing, nourished by the nectar from the chalice however and the shaman, in awe at this, pledges himself to Martinius service. The shaman is named Saint Bellanon.   In the fourth act, Martinius comes to a lake. He feels God calling him to the centre of the lake but a serpent in the lake refuses to let him pass to the centre. The serpent insists that Martinius is insufficiently compassionate to travel to the sacred cave at the lakes heart and sends him away. Martinius and Bellanon then travel to all the towns around the lake, using their wits and the crystal chalice to solve problems in each town. In the final town, Martinius gives the chalice to a violent warlord who is attempting a raid. The warlord is poisoned by the chalice's nectar and the town is freed. It arises that the town is the new home of the woman who Martinius had extorted in his home town. She forgives him, seeing his virtue and that he was chosen by God and asked to follow him on his journey. She is named Saint Estana. Martinius returns to the lake and the serpent carries him to the sacred cave at its centre. In the cave, Martinius meets a second apparition who appears as a vast woman reaching out to Martinius and crying immense tears. She teaches Martinius the importance of compassion and mercy and gives him a coat of silver thread before vanishing.   In the fifth act, Martinius, Estana and Bellanon come to a great citadel. They are taken to the palace to appear before the Queen. The Queen, fascinated by their story, insists that they stay and the three live in luxury at the palace for a time. One night, Martinius hears a call from God drawing him to an alleyway behind the palace but Martinius ignores it because he does not want to leave the luxury he has grown used to. The call becomes louder and louder until Martinius cannot hear anything else and so he goes to the alleyway. When he gets there he sees another apparition though he is unable to approach until he removes his jewels and finery. The apparation is an ancient man meditating peacefully who teaches Martinius the importance of focus and humility and gives him a strong wooden staff. When Martinius realises that he must leave the palace, the Queen insists that she should follow him. She is named Saint Sirinelle.   In the sixth act, Martinius comes across a great mountain. He feels god call to him from the peak but the townspeople at the mountain's base warn him that the mountain is plagues by bandit raiders. Martinius ascends anyway though and when the raiders attack him, he finds that their weapons cannot pierce his silver coat. He walks up the mountain with impunity and when he reaches the peak every raider drops dead. At the peak is another apparition who takes the form of a great warrior in armour of impossible proportions. The warrior teaches Martinius the importance of bravery and passion and sends gives him a spear tipped with unquenchable fire. When Martinius returns to the village at the base of the Mountain, the people praise him and God and the elder of the village implores Martinius to allow him to travel on with his saviour. Martinius allows this and the elder is named St Vostamos.   In the seventh act, Martinius and his four companion fight the great beast which is usually a sea monster of epic proportions. They use the divine artefacts to help in the battle: the chalice poisons the beast, the coat is impervious armour, the staff calms the seas and skies allowing them so fight in the moon light and the spear must strike the killing blow. Despite their efforts, it appears they cannot win until, in their final moment of desperation and final apparition appears: a hooded figure who faces away from Martinius and teaches him the secrets of the universe. When the apparition vanished, Martinius is filled with immense strength and wisdom. He is able to pin down the beast while his four companions together force the spear through its eye.   In the eighth act, Martinius, victory returns home, teaching on his way. People come from far and wide to hear his teachings but shortly after he returns home, he vanishes. His four companions then go out on their own journeys to spread the stories of what they saw.

The historicity of the story of Saint Martinius is hotly contested. The story is foundational to the Vekirati Pentarchist movement and establishes the liturgical basis for their five-godhead system. In some sects, such as the Ancient Voyage of Bi'tsng'ot Delta, the text is entirely rejected as a fabrication. In others, a modified version is told, more consistent with the theology of that group.   Alternatives often include different apparitions or a monster of a different nature. In some versions there are additional companions although four tends to be the minimum.    The locations for the setting are not obviously clear. Various routes have been suggested but the most popular have Martinius begin in the lowlands of central Nangkap and end somewhere is the far east or west of there.   The divine artefacts are sort after by many Polyarchist groups. There are many temples which claim to have one or more of the artefacts but even the High Temple in Vekirai does not recognise and these claims. There are tombs in Nangkap of each of the four companions which are places of pilgrimage. The nature of St Martinius' disappearance from the world is contested though and there is no consensus on the location of his tomb if such a place even exists.