The village of Godsrest is a relatively peaceful and prosperous farming community, nestled in the fertile land between Circle Lake Mountain and Silver River. Several hundred people make their homes in Godsrest and the surrounding countryside, mostly farmers, herdspeople or fisherfolk, with a smattering of trappers, small merchants and skilled crafters. The Governor family are the wealthiest and most respected members of the community, and have been looked to as the closest thing to a local aristocracy from time immemorial.
The people of Godsrest take a fairly pragmatic view towards religion. The Celestials (Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury) are all far away, and are believed to take little interest in the affairs of mortals. The five elemental spirits (Air, Water, Wood, Fire, and Stone) are far closer to human concerns, and they are often called upon. Their incarnations upon the world, the Five Great Dragons, are seldom spoken of in anything but whispers, it is better not to call the attention of such great powers upon oneself.
There is no priesthood in the village, although there is a temple to the elements that is used for worship occasionally, and that is maintained by volunteers. Once, long ago, it was also the home of a priest, but there has not been one for generations, and the villagers see no great loss in that lack. Benefice Governor, the head of the Governor family and most respected man in Godsrest, leads those community religious rituals that are still kept, such as the Ceremony of Planting and the Thanksgiving for the Harvest, and the Wisdom placates spirits such as the Spirit of the River and the Bringer of Good Harvest with the ancient rites that are their due.
Benefice led the people against local bandits in his youth, and taught them that Godsrest is more trouble than its slender pickings are worth. That, along with a bounty on wolves and lions and the distance of Godsrest from most other villages and from any great towns, have done a lot to make the village safe. As long as everyone stays out of the ancient ruins, said to date from the First Age of Mankind, and doesn’t anger the ghosts, the people of Godsrest are convinced that their peaceful lives will continue as they have in the past.
They are sadly mistaken.
