Fårløgfålk

Background

As far as Townsfolks are concerned, the only people who live in The Wilds are Nomads, however, they are misinformed. One of the other groups who call The Wilds home are the mysterious Fårløgfålk.

Reputation

The Verse of the Fårløgfålk

Deep down in the dark Candid depths,
Fårløgfålk foresee the future,
With withered leaves and wispy words,
Blood, bugs and runeencrusted bones. 
As damned dreams for those Summoned dance,
The red rash is the rawest mark
Turned deathly dark when time is done.
  Eerie endless is this earth call.

Deep down in the dark Candid depths,
Fårløgfålk foretell the future,
Each enriched in equal measure,
With godlike gifts worth more than gold. 
Watchers work with eyes wide, waiting,
Speakers seldom slow their slick tongues,
As guileless Guides gather the truths,
So Scribes may select their verses.

Don’t dally down to Candid depths,
Where futures feed the Fårløgfålk.
Knowing the not known draws may draw you nigh,
Stone shields shrewd and sharpminded folk.
Beware begotten home of bones, 
Here wily words make wise men fools,
Those who should seek to see their truths,
May mayhem find and, mourning, fall.

The Fårløgfålk have a reputation which stretchs across The Wilds. Songs and poems, like 'The Verse of the Fårløgfålk' shown on the left, are common and often sung Around the Campfire.
There is a lot of mystery and uncertainty around them and, as such, stories about them grow. This means that many of the songs and poems which are so well known, are filled with misinformation and rumour. It is very difficult to tell what is based in fact, what's based on rumour and what started as hyperbole and became common knowledge.
The contents of this article will focus what is accepted as fact, even though there is no way to be certain.

Purpose

Exactly what the Fårløgfålk do is known only by them. They are believed to have powers to see and interpret the future. It's not clear how they do this, and what they do with this information isn't clear either.

Location

The Fårløgfålk live deep within the Candid Mountains on the eastern side of The Wilds, near the Lost Forest and the Forest in The Beyond. The exact locations of the entrances into their home are not known, and only those who pass a test are able to find them. The nature of the test is not clear, as those who pass it do not speak of it, and those who do not pass no longer have the breath to speak.

Summons

People are not born into the Fårløgfålk, they are Summoned. Why someone is Summoned is not understood, but it is seen as a blessing. There are two signs that someone has been Summoned.

Dreams

On the night that someone is Summoned, they have a dream in which they are told they are invited to join the Fårløgfålk. These dreams are described by some as dark, others as manic, some as blissful and others as miserable. Some describe being visited by a deceased loved one, others are visited by a creature of myth like an imp or a troll. Some are chased by screams while others are whispered to by trees.
The one thing they all have in common, is that they awake with a visceral certainty that they have been summoned to become one of the Fårløgfålk.

Mark

After a restless night of strange and sometimes terrifying dreams, the Summoned awakes with an itchy red mark somewhere on their person.
This mark appears bloody and sore and continues to cause increasing levels of pain and frustration until they reach the Candid Mountains to join the Fårløgfålk.
If they pass the initiation, the mark changes from blood red to black as pitch, and takes the form of the symbol for the role they will play within the group.

Once someone enters the Candid Mountains as a Summoned, they are not seen again. There is an initiation process, which is a closely guarded secret. All that's known of it is that those who pass become full fledged Fårløgfålk and take on one of the desinated roles. Those who don't pass, die.

Roles

Scribes

Scribes are responsible for recording the future. Scribes are extremely few and far between and are considered some of the most important people among the Fårløgfålk,

Guides

Guides are effectively interpreters. They gather information from Speakers and translate it, looking for meaning and nuance in the words that are spoken. They're a rarity.

Speakers

Speakers speak the future, although it is often garbled and unclear. They are known for succombing to fits which cause them to spout out streams of words which need to be interpreted.

Watchers

Watchers are by far the most common of the roles within the Fårløgfålk. They do not speak. Their job is to witness the works of the rest of the Fårløgfålk and support them in whatever way they can.

Summoned

The Summoned are not yet Fårløgfålk. They are in training, following the Watchers and others and learning everything they will need to pass the initiation and survive.

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