The Watcher's Abbey

The Watcher’s Abbey, as it was once known, was a renowned site of worship of gods of vigilance and honor. Helm, Torm, Clangedden, and Tempus were the primary deities, however the practice was also extended to other gods fitting in a looser sense, such as Savras, Silvanus, and Kelemvor. Differences were set aside as far as the dogma of gods was concerned, at least as it pertained to the inhabitants of the abbey. Instead, a collective of faiths was established to hold vigil over the surrounding area, founding an order that would come to be known as “the Watchers.”   During its time, the abbey was established amidst hostile lands of roving warparties and raiders. When villages and even entire cities in the surrounding countryside couldn’t defend themselves, it was decided that an elite order of “warrior knights” was to be established, thus beginning construction of the abbey where these religious devout could gather, train, and worship. Petitioning the gods of vigilance, they soon achieved their intended function, and though living a monastic existence, proved to be fierce warriors in their own right, establishing peace in the realm through deadly retribution to their assailants. Training became as much a physical discipline as a spiritual one, the practice a grueling but effective lifestyle embodied by all residents of the abbey.   Admittance into the abbey was no simple task. Warrior priests were chosen in adolescence through a divining ritual to ascertain divine presence within the child’s very bloodline. All were welcome to submit their offspring for testing, many folk willing to do so in the hopes their child would be safer in the abbey and its arduous way of life than the dangerous realm they inhabited. As such, applicants were never in short supply.   Given their station, the “warrior knights” of the abbey never partook of region to region warfare unless it directly threatened the populace. Politics had no place in the affairs of the order, as was decided by divine decree. Mortals were fallible, but the will of gods was not. It was this conviction that would lead to the abbey’s eventual downfall.   After several hundred years of continued worship and guardianship over the surrounding area, a great war overtook the land, eventually coming to the abbey’s doorstep. As was their way, the Watcher’s declared their indifference to the separate factions, the act unifying several of the armies who feared the ramifications of the abbey’s involvement on one side or the other. Or worse, on whichever side remained when the war was over. Leaders of the different forces convened, setting aside their own hostilities to unite against the Watchers. A heroic defense was made at the abbey itself, each of the Watchers fighting to the last, unwilling to surrender, and each with a prayer to their respective gods within their dying breath. However, against such vast numbers, even their superior prowess could not prevail.   When the last of the Watchers had fallen, the united forces set about pillaging and razing the abbey. However, halfway through its destruction, a dreadful storm swept over the abbey, forcing both armies to shelter. The storm lasted for over a month, some suspecting the gods themselves had been incited to wrath by the actions of the attackers. When the gale had passed, former grudges resumed, and rather than continuing the destruction of the abbey, the battling armies resumed their war, leaving it to fade into memory.   The Watcher’s Abbey remains partially intact today, however, few dare to tread within its ruined halls. Rumors of the Watchers’ ghosts haunting those foolish enough to venture in keep most at bay, and fear of the gods is enough to keep the rest in check. Still, there are those that suspect the spirits of old and the gods themselves wait, ready to bestow their favor on another order worthy of the Watchers’ mantle.