The Blood of Vol

Continuation of the Blood of Vol

My name is Strollen Svalgard and I have written this document in case I should one day disappear and someone must take my place as head of the community. The Blood of Vol is not a religion in the strictest sense. There are indeed rituals and practices that should be observed, but it is not a requirement for spirituality or holiness. Indeed, The Blood of Vol as practiced now is merely a culmination of all I have learned throughout the years and wish to spread to all my followers. I pray this document, should it ever be needed, can be helpful in ushering in a new leader and a new era.
  The first and most important task is to commune with the Heartwood Tree. This tree is the (figurative) center of the entire forest. It can sense when other trees are in danger or when something is out of balance. It can even create living propagations to defend its domain. You must bond with it. It has a heartbeat. There is a complicated ritual that has helped me in the past. I will include more detailed instructions in the following documents. However, the basic idea is that you first offer the tree a gift to show that you mean it no harm and that you intend to defend the forest and all its creatures. Material gifts will not do, instead you must think grander. You must gift it part of your lifeblood and give up control. No easy feat for myself. That step alone took me almost a hundred years. Next you must attune your body and senses to the tree's heartbeat. This step only took me 50 or so years to accomplish. I can't give you any more details, it must be unique for each individual. Lastly, there is a joining of minds. The tree can then speak with you from anywhere in the forest. It holds the the memories (at least that’s an approximation of how the tree ‘remembers’) of our community. It can tell you more about past rituals, past goals, and impress upon the luck and prosperity of living in the safety of the Heartwood Forest. It can also tell you about the history of past rituals and how they have evolved into what we practice today. Our current practices were not as enlightened as today.
  Long ago The Blood of Vol was not the peaceful practice it is today. Thousands of years ago, followers of old would use this religion as an excuse to commit atrocities. Whole regiments and caravans were slaughtered in the name of these rituals. Of course, none of those particular rituals exist in the doctrine today. Or if they do, they have been altered to the point of being nearly unrecognizable. None of the current rituals require vampirism, but may seem macabre to those outside our culture.