From: Lawrence Whitaker <100520.3552@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: The Branch Wise
System: Elric!

The Branch Wise - A Cult for Elric! Characters in the Unknown East By Lawrence Whitaker

This cult write-up gives information on the cult of Ish'ish'a'maal, Changshai's Lady of the Trees. It is tailored to Unknown East adventurers, but could, with work, be adapted for use in the Young Kingdoms. Possession of, or access to, _The Unknown East_ supplement is therefore an advantage.

Cult Structure

The Lady of the Trees is worshipped almost exclusively in Changshai, in the continent of Menastree, although Her worship is also known in Eshmir, Nisvalni-Oss, and parts of Anakhazan. No temples exist to Ish'ish'a'maal, but shrines are many. These shrines take the form of particularly old trees which are revered by either individuals or whole communities who build their settlements around the chosen tree. No formal priesthood conducts worship: people worship Her in their own ways, but observe Her teachings and do nothing to unfairly harm the forests. In Changshai, worship of Ish'ish'a'maal is more or less confined to those who are still loyal to the Drei Myur; Kaleg Vogun's followers having forsaken Her for other, less benevolent Gods.

Why Ish'ish'a'maal Is

Grome needed to clothe the world, for it was naked. So he created the lady Ish'ish'a'maal and charged Her with creating the trees and plants that would cover the world's nakedness and protect its soils. Ish'ish'a'maal thus gave birth to the trees and plants, and foremost of these were the trees, for they followed Her form. The flowers and other plants she created so that the clothes of the world would know beauty and grace.

Ish'ish'a'maal continues to protect Her creations, for the world cannot be allowed to go naked. She communicates with the world through the whistling of the wind through the branches of the trees, and through the colours and scents of the flowers. In all these things can be seen Her beauty, and in understanding their forms, so one can divine Ish'ish'a'maal's will.

The Branch Wise

Despite its lack of a priesthood, Ish'ish'a'maal's cult has a small, particularly devout sect of worshippers. These are the Branch Wise, individuals who have dedicated their lives to the study of Ish'ish'a'maal's teachings and the way she communicates with the world. The Branch Wise do not preach or attempt to make converts. They protect the forest in Her name, and, in return for their devotion, receive particular gifts and knowledge. The Branch Wise do not  distinguish themselves from commoners for certain reasons (see "Perils of Being Branch Wise" below), but are marked by Ish'ish'a'maal as being true to her. If the fingernails of a Branch Wise are examined closely, the observer may notice a greenish-tinge to the skin beneath the nail. This tinge grows deeper the longer one has been Branch Wise. The eldest Branch Wise have fingernails that are the colour of
pale oak leaves.

Becoming Branch Wise

First, one must locate someone with Branch Wisdom. This is not always easy, but one possible way is described later. Then, one must persuade the Branch Wise of one's serious intentions to attain Branch Wisdom. This requires three successful Charisma rolls, or one Charisma roll with a critical success.

Before Branch Wisdom is taught, the individual must prove one's devotion to Ish'ish'a'maal. In game terms this is summarised as follows:

* 90% or greater in each of Climb, Natural World, and Scent/Taste skills

* APP + POW of at least 30

* To have lived exclusively within a forest for at least 1 year

* To have planted and protected a number of trees equal to APP during
the course of 1 year

* To have passed the initiation ceremony successfully. In games terms,
this means a successful roll of POW x2 or less if the previous
criteria have been met. If this roll fails, the prospective initiate
must complete a task set by an existing Branch Wise and may reapply
for initiation after 1 year.

Those accepted into the ranks of the Branch Wise receive the following gifts and knowledge.

* Increase of 30 percentiles in Natural World, 20 percentiles in
Scent/Taste, and 15 percentiles in Climb

* Teaching of the Bark Speech language, initially 15%, with a further
increase of 1D6% each year.

* Teaching of the Wind Song language, initially 10%, with a further
increase of 1D6% each year.

* Instruction in the magical teachings of Ish'ish'a'maal. In game
terms, this provides a Branch Wise character with a specialisation
in the Sphere of Flora, and any Rune. Branch Wise are forbidden to
learn any other Spheres, although because Ish'ishi'a'maal taught the
Sphere of Flora to Melnibone, any magic cast by Branch Wise does NOT
attract any Chaos points, although there are no other gains for the
other boxes. The casting of magic is exactly as described in the
Magic chapter of The Unknown East. This magical training takes a
full year of uninterrupted instruction in the company of a skilled
Branch Wise magician. If, through gains in INT, a Branch Wise
chooses to seek training in another Rune of Power, then a further 6
months of dedicated training is required to learn the new Rune.

* The 5 secrets of Ish'ish'a'maal are told to the Branch Wise.
Revealing these secrets to anyone without either Ish'ish'a'maal's
direct permission, or the unanimous agreement of all other Branch
Wise, is punishable by death.

The 5 Secrets of Ish'ish'a'maal

The trees, being long-lived, know many things. Through the winds, they can communicate over great distances, and the information they discover is given to Ish'ish'a'maal. So it is that Ish'ish'a'maal knows things forgotten by mankind, or known by only a very few. Of the things she knows, five secrets hold great importance for the world, and so that the Branch Wise might work on Her behalf, she teaches these secrets to them.

* The location of the Dragons of Menastree - When Melnibone left
Menastree, it did so in a hurry and was unable to wake several of
its dragons from their slumber. Melnibone has now forgotten these
dragons, who still slumber in caves beneath the Shenkh Mountains.
Ish'ish'a'maal knows their whereabouts, and how to wake them.

* The location of the Lost City of Spharain - Spharain was the
greatest of the Menastrai cities, but was besieged when Melnibone
conquered Menastree. Rather than surrender its secrets, of which it
has many, Yragael, last Prince of the Menastrai, hide the city using
complex magics. Many have sought in vain for Spharain, but
Ish'ish'a'maal knows where it is and how to reach it.

* The location of the four treasures of the Menastrai - Granted to the
Menastrai by the Balance, these are the Globe of Future Nations
(held by Anakhazan), the Greatsword of Yragael (in the lost city of
Spharain), the Crucible of Fate (in a deserted city at the bottom of
the Tears of the Land), and the Scales of Equity (held by the
Valederian senate, although they do not know the importance of this
treasure). The four treasures of the Menastrai, when brought
together into the hands of a Champion of the Balance, provide a
gateway to the world depicted by the Globe of Future Nations. It is
believed that, come the End of the World, those loyal to the Balance
(and Ish'ish'a'maal, for she too is loyal) can leave this world and
move safely into the next.

* The Calling of Ish'ish'a'maal - This song, which can only be used
once in a Branch Wise's lifetime, summons Ish'ish'a'maal to his or
her aid. The song itself is a low, hushed, series of sounds that
resembles the speeding wind through the trees of a forest. As the
song reaches its end (and it takes 5 combat rounds to sing),
Ish'ish'a'maal may appear, rising from the earth in all her glorious
splendour. A successful Wind Song roll is needed, along with a roll
of POW x3 or less on 1D100. If only one of the rolls succeeds,
Ish'ish'a'maal does not hear the song. If both rolls succeed,
Ish'ish'a'maal manifests and provides whatever aid the Branch Wise
requires before returning to the soil. If one of the rolls is a
critical success, not only does Ish'ish'a'maal manifest, but she
also gifts the Branch Wise with 1D3 points of POW. If both rolls are
a critical success, the POW gain is doubled (ie, 1D3 and multiply the
result by 2).

Ish'ish'a'maal's form is that of a huge, but incredibly beautiful woman with smooth skin the colour of silver birch, her hair formed from a vast mane of golden oak leaves, and her body covered in ivy, moss and clematis, which climbs around her in a shimmering girdle of orange and gold. Ish'ish'a'maal is, like most manifestations of Gods, immune to any physical attack, and can only be harmed or injured by either another elemental lord, lord of Law, lord of Chaos, or a demon with a POW characteristic numbering 20D8 or greater. Ish'ish'a'maal can destroy physical objects, but, not being a Goddess of destruction tries not to. Nor will she take any action that would offend Lord Grome, or aid either Lord Straasha or the
Lords of Chaos. If a Branch Wise attempts to invoke Ish'ish'a'maal to do any of these things, the summoning fails automatically.

Perils of the Branch Wise

The Tanghensi of Kaleg Vogun, Changshai's usurper, seek to capture the Branch Wise in order to learn the 5 secrets. So far they have failed, but many Branch Wise have died in Vogun's torture chambers. The Branch Wise can rely upon the Royalist forces of Drei Myur for protection, but they are not always around, and cannot devote considerable resources to protecting such a small sect.

The Branch Wise are also targets of the Knights of Tumbru, Phum's warrior-priests. They seek the 5 secrets too, but more importantly, the 4 treasures of the Menastrai. They seek to subvert these treasures to the ends of Chaos, and several Knights are known to be actively involved in this quest.

For these reasons, the Branch Wise rarely meet together, and spend much of their time engaged in their work either in the company of the non-Branch Wise or alone. Sometimes a Branch Wise will actively employ bodyguards if he or she believes there is a Tanghensi or Tumbru
threat, and this is one way that adventurers and potential Branch Wise initiates might come into contact with Branch Wisdom.

Duties of the Branch Wise

The Branch Wise must perform the following services:

* Never allow any tree to be wilfully harmed by any individual,
without good cause.

* Plant one sapling for every tree felled.

* Observe Ish'ish'a'maal's holy days (first day of Spring, first day
of winter) and fast on these days.

* Keep secret the 5 secrets of Ish'ish'a'maal.

* Dwell only in the forests and never within a town or city.

* Take part in any deed or service that aids directly the Lord Straasha.

* Never contradict the deeds or services conducted in either the name
of Ish'ish'a'maal or Lord Grome.

New Skills

Bark Speech (00%)

Taught only to the Branch Wise, this secret language is used whenever two or more Branch Wise meet. There is no written form of the language. Its sound is a complicated sequence of rasping consonants and emphasised vowels which is quite discordant when compared to pande. It is not a difficult language to learn, but can take a life time to master. It can only be improved through training, not by experience.

Wind Song (00%)

Taught, again, only to the Branch Wise, this is the language of the trees and plants as the wind flows through them. It has no written form. Those fluent in Wind Song may listen to what the trees say, and through this, hear the knowledge of Ish'ish'a'maal herself. Furthermore, Wind Song allows the speaker to understand the variations in colour and scents of other flora, which do not use the wind to communicate. Wind Song can be increased through experience.

Branch Wise Adventurers

There is nothing to prevent any Elric! Adventurers, either from Menastree or the Young Kingdoms, from attaining Branch Wisdom, as long as they have the necessary requisites, as described in the section "Becoming Branch Wise". If any adventurer who seeks Branch Wisdom has been loyal to another cult, then they must renounce it immediately. The initiation roll for such characters is POW/2 or less on 1D100. Any spells or magical knowledge they have is retained, but if it is used in any manner that might conflict with Ish'ish'a'maal's teachings, then they are automatically stripped of their Branch Wisdom.

Notes for Gamesmasters

The 5 secrets of Ish'ish'a'maal should be kept from your players unless one or more attains Branch Wisdom. May Grome and Ish'ish'a'maal curse you if they are revealed.

The secrets can be used as the basis for whole campaigns, either with Branch Wise adventurers or a Branch Wise NPC employing the adventurers to help. For this reason, the whereabouts of the Dragons of Menastree, Spharain, and the four treasures, have been left deliberately
vague. Place them where you will, and guard them as fiercely as you wish. Send hordes of Tanghensi and Knights of Tumbru after anyone who embarks on a quest to find any of the secrets.

Final Notes

When writing The Unknown East, it was my intention to include this level of detail for other Eastern cults: the Elithior, the beast cults of the Valni, etc. I encourage Elric! players and referees to develop these cults and either post them to the digest, or contact me so that I can compile such a codex for Menastree. Whatever you do, I hope the cult of Ish'ish'a'maal and the Branch Wise adds something to your Elric! campaigns.