In his journal, found near a dark temple, Taja
Deskrov, a deceased explorer writes....

6:25 AM- I was awoken early this morning by a priest of a nearby church. Last night I was caught in a dreadful storm, and took shelter in a cave. The priest took me into his church, oddly named the Church of Shadows . I was shown to a room but told to stay away from a huge wooden bloodstained door near the north end of the church. I assume this Church of Shadows is some cult, but I will thank them for their hospitality and leave later today.

7:30 AM- The Church is a very nice structure, asside from its constant black theme. I am still unsure of the bloodied door, but they seem normal enough. When everyone awoke, I was taken to the arch-bishop, Saber. He treated me kindly and has decided to hold a banquet in my honor. Everyone is surprisingly cheerful and few of them are armed with a small sword, but that is all. As I walked back to my quarters, I caught a faint scent of what smelled of rotting corpses. These people do not seem capable of killing so this confuses me greatly.

9:00 AM- As I walked around the outside of the Church, I stumbled upon a very frightened villager. He warned me that I should not be around the Church upon the hours of darkness. I assume he was drunk, but the bloodied door still has its place in my mind as a matter of worry. I journied to the basement of the Church, where I saw the most intriguing dark mist. The priests around it are
kind, but say they watch the mist all day long for they know not what it is. How odd to build a structure around an unidentified mist.

1:00 PM- I was treated to a large feast. The best meal I have ever had. Saber and the Church journied to Kjeldoran with me and we bought many goods. They seem to want to stock for the night, as if noone was leaving. They mentioned locking the doors at 3:00 PM to enter their time of worship. I would not mind staying another night. The hospitality of the Church compares to the very hospitality of the Circle of Peace. It is wonderful.

4:00 PM- The doors have been locked, and the priests and bishops are all locked in their worship chambers. Speaking of strange tongues can be heard throughout the Church. I had not thought of the bloodied door all day since earlier until just a while ago. Everyone is worshipping, perhaps I should go see what lies within.

5:30 PM- I could not get the door open, but I found an interesting tome near the door. It read of an ancient race, that by day were kind to all, but at night they mercilessly killed all who came to pass. Perhaps one of the residents of this Church is a writer. It is very interesting. I passed by the entry hall to get a breath of fresh air, only to find the door was locked. No one is to be found, but odd tongues can still be heard.

6:45 PM- Darkness has fallen, and I just heard a huge rumbling outside my quarters. All the tongues have stopped and a somewhat thick black mist has entered my room. It is all very interesting. I am going to go see if the priests have emerged from their worship ceremonies. I shall write my findings very soon.

The next page is blotched with blood and written hastily.....

7:10 PM- I emerged from my quar-ers to find every d-or open, including th- bl-odied door. I have locked my chamber-. As I st-ep-ed into the ro-m that the do-r had earlier bl-cked my path to-, I saw corpse- of al- k-nds piled to the ce-ling on al- sides
of th- ro-m. I saw Sa-er and wen- to -sk the meaning of th-s and he drove me th-ough w-th a spe-r. I barely made it back. They are tryin- to bre-k my do-r down. I have no-here to go. I only hope
s-meone wil- be ab-e to f-nd this. T-e do-r.......the entry ends.

Written in blood slightly below that are the words,

"Darkness brings the evil out of us all,
Morning wipes the memories of destruction away,
The mist will destroy you if you oppose it,
Fear the Church of Shadows ."

The journal ends.

The word of the High Priest and Priestess is never to be refused. Church members believe fully in their Leaders, to disobey is to leave the Church in pieces fed to the Church hogs.

Secrets of the Church are never to be shared with non-members. The hogs are always looking for a meal and loose lips feed pigs.

Church of Shadows members are to be of a dark, evil and vicious nature. Ceremonies of blood are frequent and through them power is gained.

There is no leaving the Church of Shadows in any way other than in a bucket labeled Hog Food.

Church members who are stronger in physical prowess than their spellcasting brethren are expected to protect them at all costs. And
spellcasters are expected to use the full force of their faith-magics to protect a fellow Church member.

Church members must be active, those who do not show themselves for two weeks will be sold to Dominion as practise dummies.

To Join the Church:

Initiates must be Second Tier or above.

Initiates must first enquire verbally to a member of the Church and THEN leave a note to Shadow.

Initiates must have no NPK alts, you must be pure of dark heart and not a believer in the non-violent lifestyle.

Initiates must be religious in their beliefs. They will be shown the true Way but they must enter with a sense of faith.

Initiates must have a current member of the Church willing to stand up for them.

Initiates will undergo a meeting with Church members where they will be questioned on their faith and knowledge of the lands.

Upon completion of the meeting and location of a sponsor, Initiates will be taken for a night of ceremony that no non-member has lived to tell of. Shall they survive, they will be granted entrance.