A veritable cornucopia of miniature delights and exotic vistas to delight the eye
Last year I posted a slightly insane "Twelve Days of Christophorus" narrative focusing on the "Gretch" tradition of Ophatran Secundus.
A frequent request was to compile it together into a PDF,
which I managed to do. I posted it up on DriveThruRPG as a free
download.
Lots of photographs of Imperial citizenry and how I
imagine a functioning out-of-the-way Imperial planet might be, without a
looming invasion at all times.
Excerpt from Esoteric Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias Laetorius.
"The twelfth day, as one might expect, is the culmination of the Festival
of Saint Christophorus. The relics, having been returned to the reliquaries,
indicate that all is well and that the safety of the Imperium is restored. All
that remains is to burn an effigy of the Gretch (a symbol for all hostile
xenoforms) before a image of Saint Christophorus. This occurs in nearly every
precinct, even outside the capitol city, and is quite a celebration. Relics and
religious trappings may be sold again, and the rare pilgrim that has any money
left sets out on the next stage of their journey through the Gothic Sector.”
Excerpt from Esoteric Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias Laetorius.
"On the Eve of the Feast Day of Saint Christophorus, each precinct enacts
the symbolic ritual of the ‘Gretch Who Stole Christophorus’. Sacred relics of
Christophorus are taken from their shrines and given over to the costumed actor
portraying the Gretch. The actor portraying the loathsome green monster makes a
traditional display of the stolen relics, and leaves to find a hiding place.
After thirty-nine and one half minutes pass, the precinct Ecclesiarch makes a show
of investigating the reliquary, loudly declaring “Saint Christophorus's Day is
ruined”. The eager children then race off to recover the 'stolen' relics."
"The children roam their district hunting for the hidden Gretch and his cache. Upon finding the nefarious character, they drive it away from the relics in a ferocious mock battle. The children are awarded special confections and printed tracts detailing the lives of Imperial Saints for their enthusiasm in recovering the relics. Although some claim that the Gretch tradition hails from ancient Terra, I have found through rigorous research that many millennia ago Ophatran Secundus was on the periphery of a large Orkish invasion, and it is my belief that the Gretch lives on as a cultural memory from that trying time.”
Excerpt from Esoteric Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias Laetorius.
"The tenth day of the Festival of Christophorus is the Procession of
Skulls. The Ecclesiastic Precinct is closed to all citizens other than
Ministorum, and Adeptus with special indulgence. The nobility of the capitol assemble,
bringing forth their ancient servo-skulls, which are tangible evidence of their
ancestors. Many of the skulls date from the colonization of the planet. By law,
the governor must be descended from the families of the original colonizers
brought by Saint Christophorus. As the nobility process into the Via Sancti,
citizens and pilgrims beseech the blessing of the luminaries, and children
dream of founding their own noble house some day.”
Excerpt from Esoteric
Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias
Laetorius.
"The eighth day of the Festival of Christophorus is ‘Dia Exsolutum’. Saint Christophorus’s fragmentary writings include a phrase- ‘may the cages be opened’.
On this day, the penitent cages across the planet are opened and the prisoners are redistributed. Contrite prisoners that commited minor crimes are released. The most egregious or unrepentant offenders are sentenced to arco-flagellation, or internment in a penitent engine. If there is an excess of penitents, the Imperial Navy is often on hand to take on ‘recruits’. Although the penitents are offenders of Ministorum laws, the Adeptus Arbites provide oversight of the potentially dangerous process.”
Excerpt from Esoteric
Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias
Laetorius.
"The sixth day of the Festival of Christophorus is ‘Steersman’s Honor’. On this day, Navis Nobilite display their chapterhouse’s relic in the primary forum. Their conveyance bears an image of Holy Terra, wrought from Terran metal. This symbolically shows their role in spreading humanity from humanity’s home planet. For the populace, this display is a fraught one. Navigators are feared by most humans- and particularly the Ophatrans, who believe warp spirits cling to void travellers. However, the chance to see the sculpture of Terra compels them to observe, and many pilgrims faint from the joy of being near a physical piece of Holy Terra.”
Excerpt from Esoteric
Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias
Laetorius.
"The fourth day of the Festival of Christophorus is devoted to Saint Lewinna. As the reader likely knows, Lewinna is the Patron of the planet Providentia Nova, as well as the Order of the Ivory Crown. She is well known through the subsector, as she was a devout pilgrim to the local shrine worlds.
Lewinna’s feast day features a parade usually including a delegation of Ivory Crown Sororitas and Ministorum officials. I was fortunate to attend such a parade, which included the Lance of Lewinna- a relic that very rarely leaves its shrine world. Due to her popularity among pilgrims, and the reverence directed toward the Sororitas, the crowds can be immense.”
Excerpt from Esoteric
Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias
Laetorius.
"The third day of the Festival of Christophorus is devoted to the Miracle of the Portals. Hagiographies of the saint state that Christophorus returned to Ophatran Secundus at the time of the Siege of Cassius Longinus, during the Age of Apostasy. When the planetary defense forces were about to fall, Christophorus miraculously delivered weapons, ammunition, and devotional tracts to dozens of garrisons- all in the same night. In some cases, he was able to enter the bunker complexes through small ventilation shafts. During the third night, citizens with travel permits endeavor to visit as many buildings as they can, and affix printed prayer tags and devotional images to the doors.”
Excerpt from Esoteric
Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias
Laetorius.
“Saint Christophorus's twelve-day festival commences with the appointment of a devout Imperial citizen, usually a discharged Imperial Guard veteran, to don the costume of ‘The Gretch’.
If the Gretch finds any relic unguarded, no matter how lofty or crude the shrine, the owners are chastised by Frateris Militia and often end up in the penitent cages. Consequently, the vast majority of relics are faithfully ‘guarded’ for the entire festival period.”
Excerpt from Esoteric
Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias
Laetorius.
“As Saint Christophorus’s Day approaches, the children of Ophatran
Secundus begin making their ersatz servo skulls. There is a commonly
held (and erroneous) belief that Saint Christophorus created the first
servo skull. The children’s versions are fashioned from paper strips and
a starch glue, painted, and attached to sticks so that the children may
simulate the hovering of the omnipresent skulls, which can be seen
flitting about any imperial planet”.
