The holy St. Barnabas, the Heart of Terra Ankor

So hear then the story of Saint Haydain, who is called the Sustainer. You all know the defiant walls of our beloved hometown of Terra Ankor.

Long ago, when the city received the blessing of her Holiness the Bone Queen, Terra cursed the stronghold that bravely defied her with envy and vain anger.

And her grovellers said: „This land belongs to the followers of Terra. Let not your unnatural ways defile this land! For life is a cycle: what is born of Terra must return to her. This is how it was from the beginning, this is how it will always be. These desecrated walls shall be erased from the face of Terra. May Terra herself devour them!“ So say the enviers of eternal life. And in their self-importance they performed a ritual such as had never been seen before.

Terra's followers sacrificed innumerable to deliver their power to their mistress. The righteous Ecclesiastes sacrificed their bodies and their souls, and many were irretrievably lost. But they could not prevent the ground beneath their feet, soaked with the blood of the blinded, from beginning to soften.

When their horrible work in the name of Terra was finished, the arrogant envious people left, leaving the whole city to perish. Every effort was made to restore the soil. But no matter how hard they tried, the city sank slowly but steadily. Barnabas, a young Ecclesiast, who was inspired by faith in the Queen beyond all measure, stepped into this despair.

He was of the Order of the Apothecarii and of outstanding skill in handling herbs. It had often been observed how he could heal and rejuvenate skin with his tears. He had already worked many miracles in his faith in the Queen. He stepped forward and said: „With blood this curse was brought upon us, with blood it will be ended.“

And he instructed the masons to lock him in the walls of Terra Ankor. And a network of veins was laid out through which the Apothecarii would pour their mixtures. Before the last stone was laid around Barnabas, he spoke to his brothers once more.

„ So says Barnabas, the heart of Terra Ankor. No longer shall I be called Apothecary. I will forever run my blood through the veins of our city. A living thing she will be and have the strength to resist Terra. My body and soul are but servants. So it will always be.“

And so the last stone was set and Barnabas was from now on walled into the capital itself, became the heart of the city and still fights against the curse of Terra, the eternal corruption.