The Saints and Heathens canon is an alternate history setting focusing on an anomalous version of the Viking invasions of the 9th century. While there are no Foundations or GOCs yet, certain analogues for those groups exist within the setting, all jockeying for different anomalies (called relics) that hold powers that could be used for their own purposes.
While there is a greater anomalous world out there, the setting focuses mainly on the struggle of the pagan Norse invaders against the Anglo-Saxon kings of the British Isles. As such, the setting is centered around two main characters: King Alfred of Wessex, the last Saxon king, and Halfdan Whiteshirt, the Northman king. From there, the canon is mainly divided into six sections, with four being concerned with the actual invasions and raids, and two focusing on the world before and during it.
As follows, these sections are:
The World Before (<793) - Everything before the raid at Lindisfarne that takes place in Britannia (i.e. Roman stuff, King Arthur).
The Time of Fire (793 - 860) - Norsemen and Danes begin to go on raids for relics and treasure, striking monasteries all over the Isles with increasing intensity.
The First Invasion (860 - 869) - Halfdan and Sigurd invade the Saxons, Ivar invades Ireland and Strathclyde. The Saxons answer, but are quickly routed and broken on the field of Ethandun. King Aethelred of Wessex and King Burghred of Mercia are slain, and the now King Alfred of Wessex goes back to Winchester in disgrace. Saint Cuthbert then rises, turning the tide of the war with Alfred at the second battle of Ethandun and bringing the first invasion to an end.
The Bloody Peace (869 - 875) - Danelaw is instituted between the Saxons and Halfdan. The Papal Inquisition arrives, dividing the Saxons as clergymen rally up peasant armies to seize relics from ealdormen. As Alfred begins to act, Cardinal Azio excommunicates the king with power granted by the Pope, which fractures the realm into a thousand pieces as lords reject the authority held by the King. Soon, anarchy reigns.
The Second Invasion (875>) - Halfdan invades again. The Inquisition is divided into three factions: The Keepers, the Peacemakers, and the Puritans. Saintmaking is revealed to the kings at large, bringing ever more Saints to aid the ambitions of the men they serve.
The World Without (N/A) - Everything outside of the Isles.
An in-depth explanation for these periods can be found in The Setting tab, which dives deeper into the lore of the canon at large. As far as casual readers go, however, I think this acutely sums up all that you need to know about the canon. If you want to contribute, however… read on!
Note: If you are planning to contribute to this canon, please do know that the setting is large in scope, and that not everything has to be about Alfred, Halfdan, Aethelwulf or other major characters. The lore described in the Setting tab is only a rough guide and description for everyone who wants to go deeper into the canon, and everyone's encouraged to fill in the blanks!
We'd love to hear of small-scale struggles as well as big ones, and a family feud between two minor ealdormen can be just as exciting as important events like the Battles of Ethandun!
Additionally, the Second Invasion section is for everyone to contribute to and decide. The war is now ever changing, and more saints and relics are being unearthed, summoned, and used. Just make sure to keep your stories within the section grounded within the current storyline of the setting, and please do make sure to read the previous tales of the canon in order to get a feel of where the characters are!
Basic Points
- If you want to contribute to this canon, log on to #SaintsandHeathens on synIRC or PM
Ekronak, 
chiifu and 
JaonHax on Wikidot to present your idea so that we can critique it and help you make it fit into the canon!
- Contributing requires knowledge of the tone, events, and factions of the canon. If you'd like to contribute, familiarize yourself with the section that you'd want to write for as well as any established characters that appear within them.
- Saints and Heathens has a very basic continuity, and aside from the major players like Alfred, Aethelwulf, Halfdan or the Inquisition leaders, one doesn't need to worry about how your tales fit into the canon as a whole. You are free to make your own characters and storylines, so long as they fit into the basic lore of each setting.
- If you wish to write for the existing characters in the setting, make sure to familiarize yourself with the tales that contain the character that you want to write for. [See the References tab for details.]
- Should a Saint or relic pop up in your stories, make sure to list them down in the appropriate tab under "The Saints" or "The Relics".
- When posting a tale on the Saints and Heathens canon, use the proper formats contained in the templates tab.
- Should you wish to create a character for others to use, put them in the References tab along with what tales they appear in.
Genre
The genre of Saints and Heathens could best be described as "historical medieval fantasy", with fantastical and magical elements being combined with actual historical settings and characters. From this, every relic and Saint must have some root in a legendary relic of Celtic, Norse, or Christian or other origin, and every character must have the same culture as their counterparts in history.
For a literary comparison, think the Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cromwell with a layer of magical items and super-powered Saints and vikings.
Tone
The tone of the canon is something along the lines of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series mixed with religious themes in a historical setting, which gives lots of thematic grimness to an uncertain time in history. Kings make their wars and their conflicts, leaving the people under their care vulnerable to the enemies that their leaders fight against. Vikings reave the coasts for plunder and relics, forcing the people of the Isles into a constant state of fear. People above are free to do what they will to the people under them, with no protection for the lowest of the low. Yet despite all this, hope still lives in everyone's hearts for the coming of peace and the reinstitution of order, and with the coming of the servants of God himself, people are called to fight against the heathen menace.
From this, one could say the overall tone of the canon is one of constant and grim warfare that affects everyone who are caught within them, with the only hope for peace resting in those who fight against those that seek to threaten their ambitions and their place in the world.
A Final Note on Historical Accuracy
While a contributor of this canon is not required to have extensive knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon period of England at large, they should at least be able to know of the basic cultural norms of the kingdom at the time as well as the early medieval tone at large. There are no knights and castles, but there are thegns and burhs. There are no counts or dukes, but there are ealdormen. Many Modern English names such as William or Henry date back to the Norman Conquest, two hundred years after the present setting, and as such is seldom used at all. Know these differences, and your work should be all the better for it. Good luck!
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The World Before
Back in the days of Britannia, the Romans used different anomalies to get a leg up over the Celtic tribes of what would be England. When the Romans began to weaken, abandoning the province, they also left some of their relics and anomalous weapons, which were scattered all over Britain by different competing chiefs and petty kings. Some of these relics would inevitably be destroyed by the ravaging nature of human use, others would simply be useless without the commands of a Roman commander, while even more would be hidden away and kept as trophies in a treasury. In the Migration Period, these Celts would soon be replaced by Saxons, though pretty much nothing else really changed.
When the British Isles were Christianized, many of these former Roman anomalies would be destroyed and thrown away—though some, like the Fisher King's Grail, would be given a new Christian meaning and kept as relics of the Catholic Church in monasteries. These monks would be given the express purpose of protecting and hiding away these relics out of respect for their significance as much as fear of their power.
For writers: This section is in the distant past, and so is not as in-focus as the later sections. Entries in here should primarily be related to relics or the people who used relics. Romans fit in here, as well as legendary characters like King Arthur (or their "actual" counterparts). With its wide scope, anything should fit in here. Go wild! Retellings of old legends are cool, as well as alternate versions of real history.
The Time of Fire
In 793, the Danes led the first raid of the Viking Age on Lindisfarne. They came in the night in one longship, and subsequently broke into the monastery and massacred the monks. Being the monastery of Saint Cuthbert, Lindisfarne contained many important anomalous relics, which helped in paving the way for the invasions of the later years. Some, like the body of Saint Cuthbert, were spirited away. Others, like the Fisher King's Lance, were taken by the Danes and immediately put into use.
The great bounty of relics and treasure that the Danes stole from Lindisfarne would be taken back to Scandinavia, which spurred ever greater raids under different leaders. Sigurd Ring, the father of Ragnar Lothbrok, would be one of these first leaders, raiding the coasts of Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia to achieve even greater power, wealth, and more relics. These would be passed down to Ragnar, who would kill and maim over the course of his life to gain five relics, elevating him to a state of power much like a demigod. Before he could use that power, however, Ragnar died of inexplicable causes, passing down the five relics that he had accrued during his lifetime to all five of his sons.
For writers: This section primarily focuses on the early raids of the Viking Age, and so is way more Norse-focused compared to the other sections. Examples of what could fit in here are vikings taking, fighting over, and killing each other for loot, as well as how local kings and ealdormen might react to them.
The viking raiders aren't that big of a problem yet, so you probably won't see that many big pitched battles or sieges. Everything in this section is small-scale, limited to only the Norse raiders and the people they're raiding. There's lots of potential here for blood despite that, though!
The First Invasion
The relics that Ragnar would leave behind would pave the way for his sons to invade different lands all over Europe, with Halfdan Whiteshirt, Ubbe and Ivar the Boneless in particular invading the Isles to settle the fertile lands of Britannia. While Ivar focused on creating a kingdom in Irland, Halfdan and Ubbe both invaded the kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia in 860, slaying their kings and opening the door for Norsemen to settle on the bountiful lands of the Saxons.
With Northumbria and East Anglia now firmly in the hands of the Norsemen, the two remaining Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex felt threatened by the encroaching invaders. With the relics in hand, the Norsemen were mighty beasts in battle, using the power of the legends of old to rout entire armies and destroy the hardest of walls. Halfdan's invasion of Mercia would bring these problems to the fore, with the Mercians losing much of their northern lands to the invaders in only three months.
Aethelred, the King of Wessex, would soon learn of the relics through a monk by his side who had once been in Lindisfarne. Fully aware of the power that these objects held, he called for the use of the Christian relics hidden within the monasteries, intending to wield the relics to fight the Norse on equal grounds. His use of one such relic effectively repelled an invasion by one of Halfdan's men that threatened his borders, showing ealdormen in both Wessex and Mercia of the power that such relics could hold.
Mercia, however, lost many of their relics to the Norse, and could not seize them in time before the Norsemen broke them at Northampton—leaving Wessex as the last Saxon kingdom.
With Mercia gone, Wessex now stood alone, with two of its greatest enemies at its door—the forces of Halfdan residing in Northumbria and Mercia under the Kingdom of Jorvik, and the kingdom of Ubbe in East Anglia. Wanting to liberate his fellow Christians, Aethelred gathered a new army at Lundene and began a new campaign to take back East Anglia. In a year of conquest, East Anglia had been fully liberated by King Aethelred, who claimed the retaken land as Wessex's own.
But as Aethelred and his brother Alfred took to bringing the Saxon peoples of East Anglia under Wessex influence, news of another invasion by Halfdan Whiteshirt reached them.
Unable to bear the thought of taking land from invaders one time and losing land the next, Aethelred (against the advice of his brother Alfred) leapt at the chance to repel the invaders at Ethandun, falling into the trap laid for him by Halfdan and Ubbe.
The Christian army was slaughtered and scattered on that field in the summer of 863, with Aethelred himself dying on the field and Alfred barely escaping with his life. As he led the routed fragments of the army back to Winchester in defeat, a specter came to him in the night, and when he came back to the capital, he was greeted with the divine form of St. Cuthbert, newly risen from the grave. As the Witan of Wessex began to convene on the subject of the new king, the vote began to turn to the king's son, the atheling Aethelhelm, until Cuthbert arrives accompanied by the fourteen year old Alfred and lends his support to the brother of the king instead. With the word of a true Saint backing his claim, Alfred rose to become King of Wessex, earning the hate of Aethelhelm and his brother Aethelwold in the process.
With a new King in Wessex and the resurrection of a true Saint, the people of Wessex began to rally around the cause of Alfred. Ealdormen everywhere began to raise what fyrds they still had, supplemented by a large number of peasants. As Halfdan and Sigurd marauded their way through the western part of Wessex, Alfred and Cuthbert met them again at Ethandun. Despite the copious use of the five relics the brothers and their lieutenants possessed, the rallying power of the saint and the demoralizing first appearance of his titanic form caused the Saxons to smash the Norsemen and the Danes.
With such a rousing victory at Ethandun, the combined forces of the brothers were broken and scattered. Halfdan went back to Jorvik to muster more forces, while Sigurd went back to his Kingdom in East Anglia.
Capitalizing on his momentum, Alfred and Cuthbert began to take back a large part of western Mercia, reconquering the lands of the independent Norse and Danish jarls who had broken off of the Kingdom of Jorvik. By 869, nine years after Halfdan's initial invasion, much of Mercia now lay back in the hands of the Saxons, with the remainder under numerous Norse and Dane jarls.
Cuthbert ascended on Easter Sunday a year after his summoning, leaving Alfred with a much larger kingdom and a tenuous peace. With Halfdan now contained in the north and fighting off internal insurrections, the 20 year old king set aside his sword and shield and began the administration of his new kingdom.
For writers: The First Invasion section is where shit starts to hit the fan! While Halfdan and Ubbe are doing their campaign south, don't forget that many more of their thegns and jarls are doing much the same thing everywhere else. Relics will start coming into use, as ealdormen begin to realize just what the vikings possess and if they could use them for themselves. There'll still be a very large stigma around the use of relics, as priests try to discourage their lords from using them- but with the impending doom that are the invaders bearing down on the Saxons, it will be hard not to use them.
Once it hits, Aethelred's declaration opens the floodgates for full-on relic war, causing people to harness the power of the relics in their possession for themselves. Large scale death and destruction will be the name of the game here, and you're free to go wild with your own storylines and tales!
The Bloody Peace
In 870, Halfdan would come to parlay with King Alfred to offer terms of peace: though the war between them was essentially over, ealdormen and jarls would occasionally ride into the lands of one and the other to set fire to crops and villages. It was because of this that the Norse king would propose the institution of what we now call to be the Danelaw. Within that agreement, Halfdan and his fellow Norse jarls would be given the rights to be left in peace on the land that they now owned in Northumbria and Mercia. Additionally, free trade would begin to be opened up to the people of both cultures, opening the avenue for peaceful coexistence between Northman and Saxon.
Alfred agreed, dividing the two nations of what we now call England into two parts, ruled by two opposing cultures. With peace against the Saxons now secured, Halfdan turned his attention to the Scots in the north, securing ever more relics in his quest for power.
With peace came more problems for the young King Alfred. Shortly after Danelaw was instituted, a delegation from the Pope in Rome arrived at Winchester, bearing the Pope's response to the reemergence of the powerful relics of both Norse and Christian origin. As laid out for the King of Wessex, the Pope's representatives demanded that relics of Christian origin must be sent back with them to Rome to be secreted away in the Papal Vault, while the relics of heathen origin must be destroyed at all costs. Alfred, though pious, knew of the consequences that the loss of the relics would bring. He denied the Pope's terms, instead suggesting that all relics of both Christian and Norse origin be secreted away in the vaults of Winchester to be used when the inevitable invasion of Halfdan came.
The Papal representatives, angered by the king's refusal, forbade him from leaving Winchester and formed the Papal Inquisition to enact their will instead, tasking priests, monks and Papal servants all over Wessex, Mercia, and East Anglia to seize relics from the ealdormen who possessed them. This stirred up a great deal of unrest and rebellion all over the Saxon lands, as peasants rose up to take the relics that they thought their noble leaders possessed. The first and most extreme of the Inquisition's targets, Odda of Kent, had his almost entire family killed and his holdfast burnt to the ground as peasants besieged and assaulted his home, tearing it apart for any sign of relics. Odda himself escaped the massacre with his eldest son Odda the Younger, and begged Alfred to take action before it was too late.
King Alfred, now unable to bear the anarchy breaking out across his lands, began leaving Winchester in secret as he rallied ealdormen and other noblemen to his cause in an effort to combat the Inquisition. But as these meetings commenced, the Inquisition and its leader, Cardinal Azio, learned of Alfred leaving Winchester through a traitor in his household, which prompted the Cardinal to punish Alfred with excommunication.
The excommunication shattered everything in the pious Alfred's resolve, prompting him to close himself in within his chambers in Winchester as the ealdormen who once served him cried out for action. But with no answer coming from the King, many chose to deal with the threat themselves, declaring themselves free of Alfred's authority in Winchester and shattering the realm into a hundred pieces.
As the open rebellions fuelled by the Inquisition roared on, the Saxon lands began to fall into anarchy once again, sparing no noble or peasant from its flames. Ealdormen start seizing the opportunity to sack monasteries and the burhs of other lords for the powerful items. As they do, the clergy and peasantry mandated by the Inquisition rally their forces to take it back, causing the lands of Wessex and Mercia to burn in the fighting.
Archive of the Church's Communications
A Letter from the Brother Jonathan to the Father James
Father James,
May the Grace of the Lord comfort thee. I write to thee this accursed morn with my Heart mourning for our Brothers. We Holy Servants of God Almighty guard such powerful relics as the Belt of Truth, the Sword of the Spirit, and the Breastplate of Righteousness from common use. These relics are good and right to be in the possession of the Body of Christ, as they are good and holy relics from God that are used by Men for righteous and just deeds, but truly do I tell thee, there are a great many sinful, demonic Artefacts corrupting our Brothers in Christ.
Brother Nicholas has been corrupted by one of those wretched Artefacts, baptising his followers in the waters of the Cistern, which has the ability to heal the Body and Soul if his blasphemy is to be believed. I, however, know of his lies, Father. The Cistern does not heal those that enter its waters. It destroys their Soul, and in their place it summons demons of the same appearance. These false Men are compelled to tell all with ears to hear of the waters' "healing power", though I am loath to use the word reference to them.
Father, I prithee heed my humble advice: these unholy Pagan Artefacts must be destroyed, by use of even the Holy Seven if the Holy Pope doth deem it necessary. I do concede that the regrettable use of the Holy Seven may have no precedent, but if the Body of Christ is not diligent in keeping even our own Brothers from the clutches of Sin, may we still call ourselves the Servants of the Lord? The Word of our Lord God Almighty directs us: [FIND RELEVANT BIBLE VERSE (taken out of context if possible)].
These sinful Artefacts corrupt the Soul and Mind and cannot be allowed to lead our fellow Man to ruin. The only way the Holy Church can proceed, therefore, is to rid the Earth of their accursed influence. We, the People of God, must destroy these ruinous relics by any means necessary to protect our fellow Man.
Now I am not mistaken into thinking I do not sound as though I am saying all relics should be destroyed. That could not be farther from the truth. There are many relics which are good and holy, and are therefore valuable to the Church in understanding the will of our Most High. These relics should therefore be protected at any cost. In order to ensure their protection, however, the Children of the Lord must destroy such sinful Artefacts as would wreak wanton destroy Man or lead him to Sin if so allowed.
I must apologize, Father, for I have told thee much of which thou dost know already. I send my faithful scribe unto thee carrying this message not with intent to inform thee, but instead that thou wouldst contemplate my words to thee and, by the Grace of God, act upon His wishes and destroy those Artefacts that would destroy us.
Go with Grace to love and serve the Lord,
Brother Jonathan
After a year of anarchy within the three Saxon kingdoms, a new faction came to the forefront: the rebel eoldermen, lead by Lord Aethelwulf of Tamworth. Tired of Papal meddling and the perceived neglect of Alfred, the discontented lords chose to form their own kingdom, seizing all of Saxon Mercia for themselves in open rebellion against Alfred. Using the relics of both heathen and Christian origin under their collective possession, the eoldermen began to quickly purge all Papist and loyalist elements within their lands, declaring themselves free from the tyranny of Alfred and the Pope.
This only added to the open fire of the chaos erupting within the Saxon kingdoms, as the many-sided struggle welcomed another faction to fan its flames. The Bloody Peace had begun, and it would not stop for another five years.
For writers: Bloody Peace is for those who crave full on Saxon-on-Saxon action. With the Inquisition in full-swing, Wessex and Mercia are in anarchy. There is a large amount of uncertainty about who is on whose side, and even as early as here we begin to see the different parts of the Inquisition disagree on how relics will be treated. You will see big peasant mobs lead by clergymen marching on the keeps of ealdormen, and those same ealdormen taking advantage of the chaos to get a leg up on the competition.
There are no clear sides in the Bloody Peace, and everything is fair game for everyone else. Expect to see relics being freely used and turned on fellow Saxons, people being killed wholesale, villages being burnt and wooden castles being burnt to the ground. There won't be much Norse stuff here, though a few raids may still happen here and there. All one needs to know about this section is that everything is a free-for-all, which poses a large problem for everyone to overcome. Have fun!
The Second Invasion
Finally seeing the opportunity being afforded to him by the anarchy in the Saxon kingdoms, Halfdan began his second invasion of Wessex and Aethelwulf's Mercia. Using new relics taken from his prior invasion of Scotland, the Norse king quickly began to make headway against the infighting Saxons.
Seeing the common enemy at his doorstep once again, King Alfred abandoned all pretense of negotiation with the Papal delegation, calling the fyrds of his loyal ealdormen and leading his new army north to beat back Halfdan with the use of the Christian relics at his command. With a large and present threat now present at the border, the united front of the Papal Inquisition began to splinter into three groups, all trying to obtain relics for their own purposes: The Keepers, led by Cardinal Azio, who strives to keep the relics under them hidden away in their monasteries at all costs; the Puritans, led by Archbishop Athelstan, who aims to destroy all non-Christian relics as prescribed by the Pope; and lastly, the Peacemakers, led by Father Athelbald, who seek to unite all Saxons under a single banner to beat back the heathens.
With the splinters of the Inquisition now pursuing their own goals, the Peacemakers chose to aid Alfred in his ongoing war by telling him of the secret of Saintmaking- the act of summoning a servant of God in the same way as Saint Cuthbert ten years earlier. With this, he summoned two more Saints to aid in his holy struggle- Saint Alban and Saint Boniface, evening the playing field as Alfred surrendered many of his relics to Father Athelbald.
In the meantime, the now-King Aethelwulf of Mercia has allied himself with the Puritans, giving away all of his relics to the clergy for safekeeping in return for Saints of his own, allowing him to summon Saint Peter himself with the help of his son Aelfric.
The Keepers, meanwhile, have summoned many of the remaining unaligned ealdormen to their cause, solidifying their power in the Isles. Unlike the Puritans or the Peacemakers, the Keepers have contented themselves with looking in from the sidelines, taking what relics they can into their custody for safekeeping. Lords under the Keepers are sworn to Cardinal Azio, scorning the authority of Alfred or Aethelwulf, inadvertently creating a new domain under the Keepers of the Papal Inquisition and the authority of the Pope, known simply as the Papal Kingdom.
With the unorganized strife between the Saxons now mostly resolved, a new age beckons. New kingdoms have formed under the Keepers, Aethelwulf, and Alfred, bringing the time of the Bloody Peace to an end. The King of Mercia now leads a campaign down to Wessex, seeking to break the kingdom of Alfred with the help of Saint Peter and the Puritans. The Keepers have sought to acquire more relics, spreading their influence across the entirety of the Saxon lands in their quest to reclaim what had been taken. Alfred now brings the might of the Saints to bear against Halfdan, bringing Saints against relics in an effort to repel the heathen threat. With the renewed invasion comes raiding, as vikings continue to strike the coasts of The Isles, with the Keepers being their main target. As raids heighten with the season, rumors now begin to stir of a new invasion in the east, as Ubbe rallies the Norsemen of East Anglia to his banner.
It is now a time of legends and warriors. A time of glory and death. An Age of Saints… and an Age of Heathens.
For writers: The glorious present of the setting, the Second Invasion section is the full Saints and Heathens setting. Saints are being summoned everywhere, as the secret of saintmaking is revealed to ever more people by the differing factions of the Inquisition. Conversely, relics will be seen less and less on the Saxon side as people begin to surrender what they have, instead using Saints in order to get a leg-up on the competition. Expect gigantic Saint fights as people begin to pit them against each other. Expect large scale battles of Saints against super-powered vikings. Expect large players to fall and new players rise in their place.
As the present of the setting, the Second Invasion is open-ended for everyone to write in, and everyone is encouraged to play with all the major and minor characters of the setting. It is truly a time of legends, and we'd be thrilled to see how people write it all.
Irland, Alba, Cornwalum, Cymru and the World Without
Irland, and all its kingdoms: Of all of the Isles in the invasion, the land of Eire has seen the most conquest. Ivar the Boneless, brother to Ubbe and Halfdan, has done much over the decades to bend it to his will, taking advantage of the strife between the Irish lords and conquering half of the island in twenty years. The southern half of Eire is currently banded together in the Pact of the Ériu, fighting back against the armies of the Boneless King with what relics they have managed to save. As of the start of the Second Invasion, saintmaking is still largely unknown to the Irish, and so they largely fight with only relics.
Alba: Aside from the western isles, the land of the Scots has largely seen none of the conquest and war that have plagued the Saxons or the Irish. Only Strathclyde has seen an invasion from a minor Norse jarl, though it repelled it after a few years.
Cornwalum: The home of the Cornish, Cornwalum has seen periodic raids by many a Dane and Norseman, and has lost many of their relics as a consequence. The Cornish have proven to be a hardy bunch, however, and have always rebuilt after every raid.
Cymru: Home to many fiercely independent Welsh kings, Cymru has stayed mostly away from the conflicts at their Mercian border, choosing instead to fight amongst themselves in an ever-churning struggle between the different kings. Some speculate that after Halfdan conquers the Saxons, the Welsh will be his next target, but with Alfred and the Saxons resisting with their Saints and relics, this thought may be a distant reality.
The World Without: A greater world rests outside the Isles, and as the relics and Saints are uncovered with the Viking Age, it echoes across Europe and the world beyond. Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye, son of Ragnar, King of Denmark and the wielder of many relics, goes southward to East Francia to make his kingdom. Bjorn Ironside, another son of Ragnar, sets sail for the Mediterranean to make his wealth and his legacy. The Pope is struggling to cover up the existence of relics and Saints as the situation on the Isles grows ever more out of his control, which begins to arouse the suspicion of the kings and lords of Europe at large about just what rests in the vaults of the Papacy and the Church. Feel free to write about all of these- everything is tied closely together, and the upheaval in the Isles is the first sign of the far greater things to come.
These are not an exhaustive list and those writing within this canon can feel free to add as many more relics and artifacts as they like. These are just what we used in our creation of this canon, so they are described here.
The nature and history of relics
The Saints and Heathens canon is one centered on an alternate history focused on the use of anomalous objects, called relics. These anomalies varied wildly from weapons to objects to even people, though they all shared one common similarity: when one is in possession of these objects, they begin to have powers of their own, becoming men of legend and near-deific power. Every Greek hero possessed a relic, going down in history as a warrior of immense power, speed, or genius. Every folk monster has its roots in relics, whether it be the banshee, the satyrs, the morrigan, or the Baba Yaga, who were all once people that were either corrupted by their power or driven insane by it. The Trojan War was a hotbed for relics, the pinnacle of the magical era of Classical Greece. The stories of Chu Chulainn and King Arthur were centered around the grain of truth that were the relics wielded by these heroes, taking fact and making it into legend.
The heroes of the classical and ancient era came to a close when the Romans began dominating Europe as they wielded relics to their full potential. As the eyes of the world were drawn to Rome, everything else became less than magical as the Romans began invading their homelands and taking their relics for themselves. This didn't exactly pan out well for Rome in the end, though—the constant crises and civil wars all throughout their history have been partially caused by the use, abuse, and want for more relics, alongside the usual human greed for power, fame and fortune. Some relics still ended up outside Rome, though, but not to the number that they had been present before.
Things remained about the same up until Christianity took over Europe. As the popes rose in power and status as the father of the Catholic Church, they began to call for the destruction of "unholy" relics, rewarding those who willingly gave up their treasures and excommunicating those who did not. As this secret war was waged over the centuries, the continent's bountiful number of relics went from the tens of thousands to only five thousand. These five thousand relics were taken and hidden away by monks and priests of the Church, concentrating many of Europe's objects of power in these places of worship.
Incidentally, the more relics the Church destroyed, the more powerful the remaining relics became. When one relic used to only give a man greater strength, that same relic now would give him superhuman genius and might, elevating normal men to the status of a Greek hero of old while only possessing one or two relics.
Now complacent in their monopoly over the legendary objects however, the Church was unaware of this fact. With much of Europe Christianized and with most of its relics located in monasteries and churches, the kings of the early medieval era could only fight with their wits and the power of their armies, relegating the demigods and superhuman heroes of old to the annals of history… until the time of the Vikings.
Relics of the Norse
Remnants of Odin
Odin's Eye
One of the three major parts of Odin which, when used for prolonged periods of time, will result in gradual emergence of his personality. This can be enhanced and have more of an effect when used alongside other parts of Odin. On its own, Odin's Eye is only usable when the user willingly rips their own eye out in replacement for the relic. The relic is capable of granting vision to any raven, regardless of amount used at once. However, usage of the relic will result in gradual eye strain, which can lead to the complete combustion of the wearer's normal eye if not used in moderation.
Gungnir
The second of Odin's remnants which, when used, will gradually give the user his strength (superhuman). On its own, however, Gungnir is capable of granting the user complete mastery of spear-wielding. Usage of the relic normally results in multiple muscle tears, bone fractures, and at worse, death. It is advised that Gungnir is used in moderation.
Draupnir
The last of Odin's remnants which, when used, will gradually give the wearer extreme intellect. Additionally, when paired with the other two relics of Odin, will result in the emergence of Odin himself, and knowledge of the runic language. On its own, Draupnir is capable of producing a doppelganger of the user for a few minutes. Similarly, every ninth day, one identical ring would "drip" from the first, but does not retain any of the qualities of the original. Usage of the relic will gradually result in severe brain damage of the wearer, until complete brain-death.
Muspelheim Surtr
A substantial item tied directly into Norse mythology; wherein it played a major role in the death of the god Freyr. Muspelheim Surtr is a flaming sword, which allows the manipulation of fire according to the user's will. Despite the overwhelming advantage the user can have with Muspelheim Surtr, the user will receive a major drawback, in which the arm used for wielding will become charred and completely incapacitated. The item was first recovered by Aethelfwulf, after the usage of Saint Peter to part a massive lake allowed for the discovery of the sword. It later came under the Norsemen after a major raid in Mercia.
Relics of the Saxons
The Ring of Eluned
One of the thirteen treasures of Britain, the Ring of Eluned is a ring that makes the wearer invisible as soon as they cover it with their hand. Before the second battle at Ethandun, the ring was in the possession of the Dane called Jarl Cnut. After Cnut was struck down in the fighting, the ring soon came into the possession of Aelfric, Ealdorman Aethelwulf's son, who uses it to aid the cause of the rebel ealdormen.
Relics of the Church
The Holy Seven
These relics are the ones used by the Church to neutralise or destroy the relics they consider "sinful". They are all prominent objects in Christian history, and each is a fairly powerful relic in its own right. I will simply list them here before a more technical description of how the Church goes about neutralising a "sinful" relic, then describe each of the Seven in greater detail in their own secondary passages.
The Holy Seven are
Purification
To "purify" or "exorcise" a relic, the Church's elite (the Pope and Archbishops) take the relic to the summit of Mount Sinai. If the object is animate, it is forced to carry the Crucifix into the Holiest of Holies (a small room within the Tabernacle), otherwise several Archbishops carry the Crucifix while the Pope carries the "sinful" relic. There it is placed on the intersection of the Crucifix next to one of the long sides of the Ark of the Covenant. The Holy Grail (filled with water blessed by each of the Church's elite in a ceremony beforehand, which has now turned into blood) is emptied over the relic, which is then covered with the Shroud of Turin. Abraham's Dagger is then taken by the Pope and stabbed downwards into the relic, which causes the relic to be consumed by fire from the Ark of the Covenant and either breaks the relic to pieces or destroys whatever part of the relic was anomalous. This process does not harm the Shroud of Turin in any way, despite the Shroud being stabbed with Abraham's Dagger and consumed by the flames from the Ark during it. The Pope and Archbishops then perform several "purifying rituals" over the remains of the relic (which realistically have no effect, but are performed nonetheless to "make sure the demons possessing the Artefact never return").
The Seven Apart
When apart, the Holy Seven are each still fairly powerful Abrahamic relics. Their effects differ greatly from each other in nature, but each effect is related to its relic's history with Christianity.
The Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is the cup Jesus Christ drank from at the [link_to_wikipedia_article Last Supper], which he said was filled with his blood. Any liquid this goblet is filled with turns into type AB blood matching that of a human male of middle eastern descent, presumed to be Jesus Christ, within an hour. This liquid has no other anomalous properties unless it is ingested by a human drinking from the Grail. Upon this happening, it appears to act like the metaphorical "Cup of God's Wrath" referenced in [* Revelation 14:10-11], causing the perpetrator to spontaneously combust and show signs of electrocution.
The Ark of the Covenant
The Tabernacle
The Crucifix
The Shroud of Turin
Abraham's Dagger
Mount Sinai
The History of Saints
Saints, as a general term, is used to describe a particular person who has shown exceptional holiness and devotion to God. Before the age of the vikings, saints were ordinary, with a few anomalous persons in particular performing extraordinary miracles or feats of devotion. The origin of their anomalous properties vary, from an inborn anomaly, to powers bequeathed upon them by the mysterious entity known as the Abrahamic God. After the start of the age of the vikings, however, and the reemergence of the use of relics in war and among kings, the word saint has been given an additional connotation: that of an extraordinarily powerful Christian devotee with anomalous properties.
The first true Saint to emerge was Saint Cuthbert, weeks after the crushing defeat that was the first battle of Ethandun. Conjured up by an ancient and secret saintmaking ritual by the monks of Lindisfarne, Saint Cuthbert was given new form and life, rising from the dead to smite the enemies of the Saxons. In the second battle of Ethandun, Saint Cuthbert proved himself to be a true vicar of God, assuming the titanic form of an Angel Saint, thirty meters tall. Using the giant form, he turned the tides of the battle, routing the Norsemen in a matter of minutes. When Alfred finally secured victory over the Norsemen and instituted the act of Danelaw, Saint Cuthbert ascended to heaven on Easter Sunday, marking the first and last time the world of men would see a Saint in ten years.
After the start of the second invasion of Halfdan Whiteshirt, the Peacemaker faction of the Papal Inquisition would allow the world of men to finally catch a glimpse of a Saint and its Angel form once again, telling Alfred the secret of saintmaking that the monks of Winchester had used fifteen years before. Why the Church has kept this process secret is unknown, yet the telling of this secret to the Saxon king has allowed the Saxons to beat back the heathen threat, countering their copious use of relics with holy warriors of their own.
The Nature of Saints
Saints are corporeal in form, usually coming into existence through the use of a first class relic (a piece of their body) and a specific ritual that emulates the life of that saint in particular. Once summoned, Saints are bound to follow the orders of those who have summoned them, doing whatever their summoner commands them to do.
Though powers between Saints vary, a common power between all of them is their ability to transform into an Angel Saint. These Angel Saints are tall titans made of metal, from bronze to tin to gold. Forms and sizes vary from Saint to Saint, and so do the powers that these Angel Saints possess. Saint Cuthbert, the first Saint, was able to summon fire from his eyes, scorching the battlefield of Ethandun as he moved across it. Others are be able to turn invisible, or summon hellfire or lightning from the skies. The powers of the Saints are limitless, and the sheer variety of their abilities leave a fascinating subject to study.
One thing that's constant between all Saints is their time for ascension, which always falls on Easter Sunday. In this event, the Saint will assume their Angel Saint form, spreading wings from their back as they ascend into the sky in a ball of light. The time between a Saint's summoning and their ascension varies according to their power, with an Apostle usually lasting three to seven years and other regular Saints lasting one to five.
Saintmaking
Saintmaking itself is a blanket term for a variety of rituals meant to summon different saints. Each ritual varies from the other, with each meant to summon a specific saint in a way that emulates their holy life.
An example of this is Saint Cuthbert, who needed the ritual suicide of all of the remaining monks from Lindisfarne to rise from the grave. This, people say, is because of his connection to the monastery, where he grew up and served his entire life. Additionally, the ritual also needs a first class relic of the Saint in question, which in Cuthbert's case was his body, which helps focus the ritual and give the Saint a form to manifest from.
Below is a list of the saints who have currently manifested within the canon, a history of their manifestations, their means of summoning, the first class relic that has been used to summon them, their demonstrated abilities and miracles, and when they ascended. If you've used a saint in your tales, please put them here!
The Saints
Saint Cuthbert
History: Summoned in 865 after the first battle of Ethandun. Proved instrumental in the second battle of Ethandun and the subsequent reconquest of Mercia.
Means of Summoning: The ritual suicide of all of the monks from the ruined monastery of Lindisfarne.
Relic of Summoning: The mummified body of Saint Cuthbert.
Demonstrated Abilities: Supernatural charisma, and the ability to project fire from his eyes when in his Angel Form.
Year of Ascension: 866
Saint Peter
History: Summoned in 875 by Aelfric Aethelwulfsson and his half-brother and servant Ecgberht. Used by King Aethelwulf to attack Winchester while King Alfred fights Halfdan.
Means of Summoning: The upside-down crucifixion of a priest with a piece of Saint Peter's bone embedded in his shoulder.
Relic of Summoning: A piece of Saint Peter's bones.
Demonstrated Abilities: Unknown.
Year of Ascension: N/A
Saint Alban
History: Summoned in 875 by King Alfred to beat back Halfdan Whiteshirt in the Second Invasion along with Saint Boniface.
Means of Summoning: The beheading of a willing and pious Anglo-Saxon man.
Relic of Summoning: The heart of Saint Alban.
Demonstrated Abilities: Unknown.
Year of Ascension: N/A
Saint Boniface
History: Summoned in 875 by King Alfred to beat back Halfdan Whiteshirt in the Second Invasion along with Saint Alban.
Means of Summoning: The death of a man of prominent Saxon and German descent fed with the blood of Saint Boniface.
Relic of Summoning: The blood of Saint Boniface.
Demonstrated Abilities: Unknown.
Year of Ascension: N/A
Characters
The major characters of the canon, listed with the corresponding tales that they appear in. If you wish to create characters for others to use, put them here!
| Character |
Description |
Tales |
| Aethelred |
King of Wessex before Alfred. Dies at the Battle of Ethandun. A great general and leader of men. Proud and zealous. |
N/A |
| Aethelhelm |
The atheling in King Aethelred's time, rejected in favor of Alfred. Brother to Aethelwold. Clever, patient, charismatic. |
N/A |
| Aethelwold |
The brother of Aethelhelm, openly covets the title of King of Wessex. Vindictive, decadent, sly. |
N/A |
| Alfred |
Brother to King Aethelred, becomes King of Wessex after his brother's death. Pious, patient, and scholarly, he is seen to be the main driving force against the heathen menace. |
The Danelaw of Jorvik |
| Aethelwulf |
Ealdorman of Mercia. Crowns himself King during the time of the Bloody Peace. Ruthless, pragmatic, ambitious. |
The Summoning of Saint Peter, A Servant to Greater Men |
| Aelfric |
Son of Aethelwulf, heir to Mercia as atheling after his father becomes king. Sadistic, clever, cunning, yet uncharacteristically bookish. |
The Vultures Feast, The Summoning of Saint Peter, A Servant to Greater Men |
| Ecgberht |
Half-brother to Aelfric through their noble mother. Servant to his brother after Aethelwulf takes him in. Smart, resourceful, and humble. |
The Vultures Feast, The Summoning of Saint Peter, A Servant to Greater Men |
| Azio |
Cardinal. Former leader of the Inquisition and leader of the Keepers. Cunning and clever, yet easy to anger. |
N/A |
| Aethelstan |
Archbishop. Leader of the Puritans. Given to strong convictions in faith, yet decadent in secret. |
The Summoning of Saint Peter |
| Aethelbald |
Priest. Leader of the Peacemakers. Patient, pious, a skilled diplomat. |
N/A |
| Halfdan |
King of Jorvik and son of Ragnar. The main adversary of Alfred. A legendary warrior, wroth, yet skilled in the rigors of command. |
The Danelaw of Jorvik |
| Ubbe |
Son of Ragnar and Jarl of much of East Anglia. Patient, kind, yet ruthless in battle. |
N/A |
| Cnut |
Jarl under Ubbe. Original wielder of the Ring of Eluned. Dies at the second battle of Ethandun. Much given to pleasures of the flesh and battle. |
The Vultures Feast |
| Wilfred |
King Halfdan's Thegn of Rimehart. Commander of King Halfdan's warriors. Subordinate of Halfdan, and maintains a friendly relationship. Kind, stern, and cunning in battle. |
The Danelaw of Jorvik |
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