Editing The Sheltered Hand (section)

== A Brief History ==


The Sheltered Hand is a peninsula jutting off a larger continent. Called 'The Hand' originally as it separates into five smaller peninsulae.

It gains the name Sheltered in two ways.

First, the Suntoucher Mountains - a range of large mountains that blocks most travel to and from the peninsula. The Suntouchers extend into the ocean both to the North and South, making travel even by water treacherous.

Second, some three hundred years ago, the great prophet Carran, tired of the near constant war between the gods and their faithful, had the audacity and the courage to upbraid them.

While all know that the gods cannot - or at least, will not - slay mortals directly, as the saying goes, 'you'd be surprised what you can live through'. None doubt his courage.

Nor was his tongue lacking, either, as he convinced some of the gods - eighteen in all - to aid him. He took his followers and others as tired of the war as he, and removed to The Hand, home at the time to a long-isolated peoples - the Saram - who welcomed him and his followers.

The gods with him then put up The Shield. The passes between the mountains and even the water paths, could no longer be traversed by any armies, and no gods, nor their power, could operate from outside.

Several nations formed, but the people of the Sheltered Hand learned a lesson - the intervention of Gods wasn't needed for folk to fight, and fight they did.

The priests of the Gods and the followers of Carran strove mightily to stop the fighting, but all they managed was to limit it.

Until seventy years ago - give or take - when the followers of Carran, now calling themselves The Creed of Carran, showed their hand. In every nation then standing, The Creed had been building power, and they showed that power, stopping the wars and battles that were occurring. The Churches of the Gods, working with The Creed, helped to enforce that peace. Even the Gods, it seems place the Creed of Carran over worship to their own faiths, though they do still ask for worship.

Of course, no peace is perfect. There are still skirmishes, outlaws, and so on, but the Creed prepared for that, as well. They created an offshoot - the Carran Guild - which provides training and some support to the kind of outsiders who can act when others can't.