Notes on Abbey Isle

The Isle of the Abbey

The Isle of the Abbey (aka Abbey Isle, Friendship Isle, Island of the Gods, Benefactor Isle) was colonised over 400 years ago by a group of five acolytes who came from different denominations, but in the spirit of friendship and collaboration they travelled the land to spread all their various ‘words’ and religions, allowing the recipient populations to choose which, if any, religion they wished to adopt. The travelling group made a name for themselves as a symbol of hope, friendship and tolerance in times of war and dispute. They did not give themselves a name, as they felt that would be a symbol of pride, but their supporters and followers became known as the Cyan Revolution, due to their propensity to wear clothing of a pastel blue shade. The original friends were simply referred to as The Five (though their original names were Gothron Minedelve, a dwarf, Eledar Gesharin, an elf, Charin Thomasin, a half-elf, Gisk, a gnome and Harold Greatheart, a human)

The Cyan Revolution grew in number, and strength, though strength was not a measure they would themselves use. Many religious groups came together under the banner of the Revolution, and tolerance between religions grew in many areas of the Realms, all initiated by these 5 friends. Things were starting to look quite positive, especially when even some more extreme and less benevolent religions started to temper their more severe, and ‘evil’ practices, and to show signs of wanting to join, and work with, this tolerant movement.

All this good work was destroyed, however, in the Great Orc Invasion. When Orcs and their allies swept down from the Northern realms, taking all in their path, destroying all that stood in their way, the warriors and armies of the Southern realms did indeed band together with the dwarves and gnomes of the frozen lands in the north to eventually drive the Orc and Goblin armies back from where they came, but unfortunately many of the religious leaders of the Southern lands did not follow suit. They bickered and argued about the cause of the war, and the best way to deal with it, and how to punish the invaders, and, over time, any thoughts of tolerance and community between religions were forgotten.

Whilst the Cyan Revolution did live on beyond the Great Orc Invasion, it was much reduced in influence and membership. When the last of The Five died – murdered in her sleep by a member of a radical group seeking martyrdom, the Revolution petered out and was consigned to history, though the murder of the last of the original friends was enough to shock the lawful religions of the south to reconcile their differences and to live once again in harmony, though never again achieving the closeness that was aimed for, and sometimes achieved, during the Cyan Revolution.

The primary lasting physical achievement of the Cyan Revolution was the Isle of the Abbey. It was founded a little before the Great Orc Invasion, escaped invasion due to its remote location and lack of any military or financial benefits, and was originally called Friendship Isle by The Five. It was a place where any and all religions were welcome, provided they showed tolerance of other beliefs, and where multiple groups came to worship, to learn and to share.

Different religions were allowed, and indeed encouraged, to set up their own ‘temples’ for their own worship. The only requirement for this was that all temples must be located within the same Abbey, in order to avoid the risk of forming different ‘enclaves’ on the island. In addition, each ‘temple’ was forbidden from having a physical door – all would be welcome into any temple, to learn from other teachers, and to avoid any risk of ‘echo chamber’ opinions growing into factions.

In this way, Friendship Isle, which later acquired different names in folk lore and re-telling of stories, helped bind religions together and maintain tolerance across the different beliefs. Even those who had never been to the Isle, or even knew much about it, knew that such a place existed where many religions could co-exist peacefully, and that knowledge alone helped to maintain a level of harmony amongst many peoples in the Realms.

The Isle became more of a myth to many people, but it still continued, and still received visitors and travellers alike, for many centuries. Until, that is, a few decades ago.

Sixty years ago, the Temple of Shar applied to become the newest member on Friendship Isle. Despite having the basis of their religion in necromancy, and worshipping an evil deity (Velsharoon), the Cult of the Crystal Heart were allowed on the Island – they obviously somehow managed to convince the Cyan Friends, as the elected leaders of the Isle were known, of their commitment to tolerance of other religions.

But it was all a hoax. The Cult of the Crystal Heart were interested in the island due to it being a source of Chinz – a rare form of clear crystal which most people believe to be inert and generally pretty useless – it isn’t even all that pretty. The cult built up their presence, and their own temple, over 10 years. Once they were well established on the Island, the clerics of Shar overthrew the other religions on the Island – killing or enslaving all the other representatives and taking over the whole abbey. They set to work creating a mine to quarry the crystal.

Despite the rest of the religious world being in shock over the invasion, very little was done about it. The myth of Friendship Isle was strong, but many believed the myth could easily continue without the need for an actual Island to exist. Some attempts were made to take back the Isle, but it was naturally protected by a band of cliffs, limiting the landing stage for any boats to a single shore at the southern tip of the island, and by the time any attempt was made to reclaim the Isle, the clerics of Shar had managed to install their own defences, which were good enough to repel any recovery attempts. Their slaves mined the Chinz – suffering terrible conditions in the process – the crystal shards were incredibly sharp, and mining them caused deep cuts – all suffered deep underground where the crystals could be found. The slaves were treated very poorly by the clerics, and the mortality rate amongst the slaves was high.