On the island nation of Rholos in the Great Solfari Sea, every person holds strong religious beliefs. This is not surprising to anyone who has visited the world of Solfari. The gods worshipped in many places are distant, and there is a great deal of faith involved. Here, a god waylaid me as I traveled the ways into the world and sat me down for tea. Most people here have had similar experiences, and this is in part due to the Oracles of Rholos.

There is no sorcery on Solfari, at least not the way we think of it on other worlds. All mystical power here comes directly from those gods. Every tradition interacts with them differently, but the most direct are the Oracles. If anyone living on the Isle of Rholos shows an unusual affinity for the traits associated with a god, they quickly draw celestial attention. Small markings will start to appear on their arms. These are fairly common, I personally picked up a small yellow ring on my wrist while researching this report. As you increase your devotion to the tenants laid down by that god, the markings will grow up your arms. The markings can continue to grow until they cover the whole body, but this is rare. When they reach your shoulder, you are considered an Oracle, though the distinction matters more to the people than the gods.

The markings come with power. Axilos, god of strength and storms, marks the brave and the strong. His markings bring superhuman bravery and strength. I was present for the raising of a temple to Axilos, where one of his oracles set stone blocks the size of carriages to form the walls. Though she is friendly and well loved, the people tell whispered stories of her past as a soldier. I can only imagine the carnage her abilities could bring to a battlefield.

Many people, both native and foreign, seek these blessings for the power they bring. However, the power is not nearly the most significant factor of this bond with the divinities. The markings are a link that allows direct contact from the divine. It begins as faint sensations, grows to whispers, and then to full conversations. The link with the Oracles is so strong that the gods manifest entire bodies in their presence. Their minds seem to be greater than ours, it is my understanding that they can easily hold separate lines of conversation with each one of their marked.

This is the reason the oracles are so culturally central to the island. If you visit one, there is a good chance an ageless, intelligent, and powerful being will be there with them. They vary wildly in temperament, but they all seemed to me to be, for lack of a better term, decent people. Velior, god of grace and knowledge, makes her oracles travel around so she can teach people skills they wish to learn. Axilos acts like an old friend at the bar, he is loud and boisterous, and may begin to wrestle you when bored, but he is a wise councilor for anyone who comes to him with their problems.

The divine influence is not without cost. The gods are very open about the fact that their ability to influence the world is limited by certain agreements they’ve made amongst themselves, but this has not limited their ambitions. They regularly make demands of people, especially those they’ve marked. They claim each task is important in preventing disaster, in plans that can take thousands of years to come to fruition. They will not or cannot speak of the future, and so can’t fully explain to what end they work towards. It is easy to trust them, but it is impossible to know if selfishness and deceit are traits in gods as they are in men. Worse yet if they tell the truth, because it implies some foe that must be worked against.

We Travelers would be wise to spend more time here. These gods are among the oldest and furthest seeing beings I have encountered personally and may have even deeper troves of knowledge they are willing to share with us. Just be cautious about being bent to their will.

Compiled by the Astral Cartographer Vek