The Falling Fire

The Followers of the Falling Fire are a religious sect of the Sacred Flame who believe the meteor that struck Drakkenheim signaled a heavenly prophecy, and consider Delerium a holy sacrament. Called to pilgrimage by the prescient testament of their leader, Lucretia Mathias, zealous masses of devout commonfolk now journey to the crater’s edge to take their place in a divine plan. Lucretia Mathias was once a prominent High Flamekeeper who read omens in the night sky, and was regarded as one of the most learned and wise amongst the clergy. She channeled immense divine power, and invoked miracles which have not been witnessed in a generation. A decade before the meteor destroyed Drakkenheim, she beheld a vision of a falling star which would arrive on earth and signal a great upheaval for the faithful. Despite her reputation, her visions were dismissed as an apocalyptic fantasy and largely suppressed at the time.

Following the assassination of Divine Matriarch Courage IX twenty years ago, many considered Lucretia Mathias to be her most likely replacement. Already one of the most senior High Flamekeepers at the age of seventy, her appointment seemed inevitable when she was nominated alongside the relatively unknown and much younger Esmeralda Poe. However, Lucretia Mathias lacked any connection to the Elyrian nobility, and her open proclamations and criticisms of them had rendered her extremely unpopular. In an unexpected upset, the Circle of Flame elected Esmeralda Poe, who became Divine Matriarch Mercy V, the youngest Flamekeeper to assume the position.

Afterwards, Lucretia Mathias retreated from public life to contemplate the cosmos and await the falling star. Her visions proved true; right down to the hour. However, even Lucretia did not expect the actual destruction the meteor would cause, nor did she anticipate it would strike her birthplace, Drakkenheim.

She spent several years after the meteor struck contemplat ing the heavens and several strange stones recovered from the city. Her conclusion was dire indeed: the world stands on the precipice of darkness unending. Yet, within delerium, she saw the spark of salvation. Though the stones are the stuff of chaos, black charcoal and midnight oil may fuel a great flame. Perhaps if taken up by righteous souls, the crystals might become an earthly vessel for the Sacred Flame itself. Rather than fall to all-consuming shadows, she prophesied a New Age of Heroes which could meet the coming night. Lucretia spoke widely about her beliefs and discoveries, and her fiery sermons galvanized a throng of loyal supporters who proselytized her new creed across Elyria, Westemär, and Caspia. As her support grew, she resolved to make a pilgrimage to the crater itself to confirm her revelations.

Meanwhile, the mainstream clergy reacted to delerium with disgust and horror. When Lucretia returned from her pilgrim age bearing a delerium crystal embedded in her body, Mercy V declared her a heretic. Lucretia was defrocked and excommu nicated. However, she refused to be silenced. Escaping Elyria, she expanded her original writings and published them as the Testament of the Falling Fire. This religious essay proclaimed a radical new doctrine for the faith, and called upon all devout believers to make pilgrimage to the Crater in Drakkenheim.

Only a handful of devoted acolytes made the difficult journey at first. The numbers have grown recently, and in the last year, hundreds have traveled to Drakkenheim to heed Lucretia Mathias’s call. Those who finish their pilgrimage partake in a controversial rite known as the Sacrament of the Falling Fire. They take refuge in Saint Selina’s Abbey, guiding new arrivals to the crater. Meanwhile, they collect delerium. They do so not for greed or power, but a supposed holy purpose, for they regard the strange stones as “sacred charcoal” from which the light of the Sacred Flame may take earthly spark.

Most Followers of the Falling Fire are devout commoners who have given up their homes and former livelihoods to make pilgrimage to Drakkenheim. Others are former clergy who have broken from the mainstream faith. Lucretia Mathias’s proclamations are dramatic, but underscoring her writing is a scathing criticism of the religious ministry itself which promises a return to the core values of the religion. Even before the meteor struck, many faithful in Westemär were developing suspicions and contempt for the Elyrian-dominated priesthood, which they increasingly saw as decadent and dimmed by political ambition.