I'm actually really impressed by the saints. While the stories are "wonderful", in the literal sense, I think they are a part fo the Christian tradition I have always neglected. Tomorrow I may look at Margaret of Antioch, long a favorite of mine.
cj x
Great work cj,
I dont suppose you could stat the craft patrons from C&G?
K.
Oh, you're the author who did the Devotion rules? Congratulations, I frankly love that subsystem. Oh, granted, I'm thinking about House-ruling in a Favor and a Displeasure rating for characters who catch the conscious attention of the Saint in question, but really that's just minor tinkering with something already brilliant.
-Albert
[size=150] Day 6 [/size]
As Janus suggested, the first of the Craft Guild Saint's mentioned in City & Gild. Hope useful!
[size=150]Saint Dunstan[/size]
Patron Saint: Blacksmiths, those with the Flaw: Magical Air.
Divine Might 25
Feast: 19th May
Area of Veneration: Stonehenge Tribunal, Loch Leglean Tribunal, Glastonbury Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral
Personality Traits: Pious +6, Industrious +3, Forceful +3.
Powers: Apparition, Resist Temptation, Seize the Devil, Smite the Devil, The Laborer's Boon.
Dunstan lived in 10th century England, and was born in Somerset. One Candlemas Day all the candles in a church blew out, save that of a young woman named Cynethryth, from which all the other candles had to be re-lit. She heard a voice proclaim she was with a child that would be a great light to England; and that child, by her husband the Saxon noble Heorstan was Dunstan.
Dunstan grew up near Glastonbury Abbey, where Irish monks maintained divine service and observed the liturgical hours though the monastery had fallen in to ruin. The monks educated young Dunstan, who became a great scholar. One day Dunstan prophesied that the abbey would one day be rebuilt.
Taking minor orders, his reputation as a scholar was so great that his uncle the Archbishop of Canterbury called him to his service, and soon he was heavily involved in affairs of state at the court of the King of Wessex, Aethelstan. However he made enemies quickly, jealous of his talents, and they accused him of sorcery and black magic. Exiled by the king on the basis of these rumours, Dunstan left but his enemies soon overtook him, beat him, bound him and threw him to drown in a cesspit. Miraculously he escaped drowning, and managed to flee to the protection of another uncle, this one the Bishop of Winchester.
His uncle suggested he should become a monk, but Dunstan did not find the idea of the celibate life appealing. Then his body became horribly swollen, and he became very sick, though his recent immersion in the cesspit may have been involved in that. He took full vows as a monk, and set off back to Glastonbury where he built his cell in the ruins of the abbey and began to live his life as a hermit.
It was at this time that he was troubled by a visit from the Devil. At first the Devil was content to merely make a noise, and distract Dunstan from his work as he worked as a blacksmith at his forge, making himself useful. Dunstan enjoyed physical labour, but he devil set up and almighty crashing and banging and knocking all around. Occasionally Dunstan would catch a glimpse of the deveil and punch him, sending him scurrying off to recover and giving the saint a little peace for a while, but the devil kept coming back.
Then one day the Devil showed himself; and some say Dunstan siezed the opportunity, and grabbed the devil by his nose with his red hot blacksmith's tongs straight from the fire. What is known is that the devil in question (whether he was the Devil himself we know not) had cloven hoofs, and Dunstan seized one and roughly shod the imp with iron nails, causing the devil terrible pain. After this the Devil left Dunstan well alone.
Dunstan was very popular with the townsfolk of Glastonbury, and one of them, a niece of the king named Æthelflaed, left Dunstan a great fortune in her will. He used it to rebuild Glastonbury Abbey, and to endow many more monasteries. Then Heorstan his father died, and he inherited more money and estates, and again he used these to build churches and monasteries to the glory of God.
When King Athelstand died, he was succeeded by King Edmund. Edmund held court at Cheddar in Somerset, and summoned Dunstan back to court to act as an adviser, but again his enemies accused him of sorcery and treachery, and plotted against him. King Edmund decreed that he was again banished, and must leave Wessex, and he took the chance to flee with a party of East Anglian nobles who had been visiting, deciding to seek safety from his deadly foes in that kingdom.
Yet that day King Edmund was chasing a stag when he his horse almost fell from a precipice, and he felt his death was imminent. He declared that if he was spared he would reinstate Dunstan, and God spared him. His horse recovered its footing, and moved away from the cliff edge, and deeply grateful to have avoided death, Edmund sent fast riders to catch up with Dunstan and summon him back to court. The King and Dunstan met at Glastonbury, and there exchanged the kiss of peace.
With royal favour Dunstan continued ot rebuild Glastonbury Abbey, set up a school for boys, and di much for town and the region, draining many of the foul marshes that surrounded the abbey with carefully cut irrigation ditches. Appointing his brother Wulfric as Prior, he established Glastonbury as a Benedictine House. Under King Edmund and his successor King Eadred Glastonbury flourished.
When King Eadwig succeeded to the throne disaster struck. After the coronation a gathering of the nobles waited the new king, but he did not appear. Dunsatn set off to find him, and found the king lewdly enjoying his time with a beautiful but wicked maiden named Ælfgifu; even worse her mother was there too! Dunstan grabbed Eadwig by his ear, and hauled him back to his duties and the waiting Royal Council, and on the way he told the lad that Ælfgifu was a strumpet and he should have no more to do with her, reinforcing the message with firm blows and hefty kicks on the royal backside.
King Eadwig married Ælfgifu the very next day, and finding Dunstan had wisely fled, he set off hs with his men in pursuit. When they arrived at Glastonbury Dunstan had made his way out across the marshes, so they burned the abbey and stole all they could, and cast out the monks in revenge for Dunstan's insult of the royal person, and the new queen.
Dunstan fled to Flanders a third time exiled. Soon a rebellion placed Northern Wessex in the hands of Edgar, Eadwig's brother, and Dunstan was again called back from exile, and this time made Bishop of Worcester, then also Bishop of London, and finally Archbishop of Canterbury. He now was the King's most trusted adviser, and devised the coronation ceremony that all English kings now use. He reformed the church, settled law suits wisely, and created more monasteries. Renowned for his personal generosity, chastity and rather forthright way of expressing himself (often physically, using his immense strength) Dunstan threw his vast energy in to ending corruption in the Church and establishing even more monasteries.
After Edgar died King Edward ascended to the throne, but the monks came under increasing attacks by the Mercian nobility, who opposed Dunstan's reforms. During a meeting of the royal council in an upper room the floor collapsed under the weight of the armoured men, and many fell to their deaths, but Dunstan grabbed hold of a beam and with his great strength held himself hanging there until rescued.
Edward was assassinated, and Aethelred the Unready became king. As Aethelred's poarty had been involved in the assassination of Edward, Dunstan openly denounced the king to his face for his involvement in the act, proclaimed Edward a martyr, and retired to Canterbury. On the 16th May 988 he had a vision of angels, and heard from them he would die in three days. He woke on his last day, preached mass three times, and said farewell to his friends before retiring to his bed where he died peacefully.
He was a great craftsman, blacksmith, scholar and tutor. He is one of the great patrons of the blacksmith guilds of England.
New Powers
Seize the Devil, 4 points, Init +1 Vim. A demon of up to Might 15 physically seized by the petitioner is warded with 15 penetration, and can not use its powers or do anything but try and physically free itself. Tongs are optional. The effect lasts until the end of the combat.
Smite the Devil, 4 points, Init +2, Vim. The petitioner permanently lowers the Might Score of any demon struck with the tools of their trade or their fists, to the same amount as any physical damage done by the attack. The effect has a penetration of 20. The effect lasts until the end of the combat.
A petitioner who is threatened by a demon may well be granted both powers by Dunstan, who heartily approves of the physical chastisement of demons.
cj x
[size=150]Day 7[/size]
[size=150]Saint Valentine [/size]
Patron Saint: True Lovers, Courting Couples, the Happily Married, Bee Keepers, Travelers, Epileptics.
Divine Might 25
Feast: 14th February
Area of Veneration: Rome Tribunal, Provence Tribunal, Iberian Tribunal, Normandy Tribunal, Greater Alps Tribunal, Rhine Tribunal, Stonehenge Tribunal, Loch Leglean Tribunal, Hibernian Tribunal. (Western Church only), b[/b] Sancti Valentini de Balneo Miccine or de Piscina in Rome, S. Valentini extra Portam outside the Flaminian Gate Rome, by the Porta S. Valentini (gate of St Valentine, two miles from the city centre.), Roquemaure near Avignon, St. Stephen's Cathedral Vienna, Malta.
Personality Traits: Pious +6, Romantic +3, Protective +3.
Powers: Apparition, Cure Blindness, Resist Temptation, Speak With Birds & the Bees, True Love Found.
There are several saints called Valentine, but the one we are concerned with was a priest in Rome when Christians suffered persecution under the Emperor Claudius. He sheltered many of the faithful, but was arrested, taken to a prison and ordered by Claudius to renounce his faith. He took an especial joy in conducting marriage ceremonies, and this was the act that finally drew him to the attention of the Imperial authorities.
Constantine was impressed by the young man, and allowed him to live, but Valentine tired him with endless requests for the persecution to end and for Claudius to become a Christian. Finally Constantine gave him an ultimatum; give up his faith, or be executed. Refusing, he was beaten with clubs and then beheaded on February 14th , 270 by the Flaminian Gate
The night before his death he restored the sight of his gaoler's blind daughter, and it is said he left a note for the girl signed “from your Valentine.”
It is important to note that Valentine's Day is not celebrated as a romantic festival in 1220, that practice still being a century in the future. Valentine himself is however linked with romance. He is particularly associated with birds and flowers, and there is a tradition that the birds mate on his Feast Day, February 14th.
New Powers
Speak With Birds & the Bees, 4 points, Init +1, Animal. Until sunrise or sunset the blessed person can freely converse with both the birds and the bees. An additional minor effect is that no bee (even magical or faerie bees) will sting them while protected by this power.
True Love Found, 5 points, Init 0, Mentem. Allows the petitioner to discover if a person is secretly in love with them, and sense their emotions for two minutes. Very useful in courtship, as it grants an additional +3 bonus to a romantic proposal, but only if a resulting marriage would be lawful in the eyes of the Church. The same power can be invoked to simply give a month of happiness to an existing marriage.
Day 8
Saint Mungo (Saint Kentigern)
Patron Saint: Glasgow, Those Accused of Infidelity, Against Bullies, Salmon.
Divine Might 25
Feast: 13th January (14th January Eastern Church)
Area of Veneration: Stonehenge and Loch Leglean Tribunals, Scotland, Wales, Northern England; (relics) Glasgow Cathedral; shrine at St. Asaph's Llanelwy, Wales.
Personality Traits: Pious +6, Strong-Willed +3, Humble +3.
Powers: Apparition, Blisters of Humility, Find Lost Treasure, Ignite the Failed Fire, Restore Life to Animal.
Son of St. Thaney, this Scottish saint was born out of wedlock after his mother was seduced by Owain mab Urien. Her father King Leudonus of Strathclyde discovering she was pregnant had her thrown off the ramparts of the hillfort of Traprain Law in disgust, but she miraculously survived. She was then taken and -placed in a coracle, which was set adrift, but it landed safely on the far side of the Firth of Forth in Fife, and there she gave birth to Kentigern.
Saint Serf found her, and raised the child, and gave him the nickname Mungo by which he is still known in Scotland. While he was being taught by Serf some of his classmates bullied him, jealous of his talents. One day killed Serf's pet robin, and tried to blame Mungo. Mungo was very upset, and prayed fervently, and the bird was miraculously restored to life, the bullies shown to be just that by the miracle.
He was not perfect however. One day Serf left him in charge of the fire, but he fell asleep and the fire went out. He quickly gathered some green branches and piled them up, prayed, and the fire miraculously re-lit itself.
Saint Ninian had already began the conversion of the Scots, and Mungo made his way to what is today Glasgow, preaching and converting the natives. He built a hermit's cell by the Molendinar Burn, where the cathedral now stands, and preached there for thirteen years until the wicked King Morken expelled him during a great persecution of the Scottish Christians.
He traveled to Wales, where he lived a while with Saint David, before moving to Gwynedd and founding a church, now St. Asaph's at Llanelwy. When King Riderch Hael replaced Morken in Strathclyde, he appointed Asaph as Bishop in Llanelwy and returned home, having first made a strenuous pilgrimage to Rome. When he returned from Rome he brought back a holy bell, that hangs in Glasgow Cathedral and has the power to drive away evil spirits.
He returned to Scotland, evangelizing the natives of Galloway, and meeting St. Columba, before returning to Glasgow which was named after his disciples and many friends, from the words Clas-gu, meaning “dear family.” One day King Riderch Hael accused his Queen, Queen Languoreth, of adultery, and demanded to see her marriage ring, believing she had given it to a lover. In fact the King had grown so jealous that he himself had taken the ring while she slept, and thrown it in the River Clyde. When Queen Languoreth could not produce the ring Riderch ordered her execution, but Mungo, realising what had happened, when to the banks of the Clyde and prayed.
Immediately a fisherman caught a great salmon, and when the fish was opened inside it was the queen's ring. Mungo presented it, and the queen was forgiven and spared on account of the miracle, and Riderch was contrite.
Now elderly he was very frail and his jaw was held in place by a bandage, and he died peacefully in the bath on January 13th, 614.
His miracles are remembered by the rhyme –
New Powers
Restore Life to Animal, 5 points, Init -5, Animal. Raises a slain animal of Size -2 or less from the dead. This includes Magical Animal Companions, Divine Animal Companions and familiars. The animal must have been a pet or close companion to be raised, and the body or ashes must be present. The effect must be invoked within three days of the death, which must not have been caused by the petitioner herself.
Ignite the Failed Fire, 1 point, Init +4, Ignem. Lights a fire instantly; suitable fuel such as wood must be present, but even if the fuel is wet or the wood green it burns well. The fire is mundane once lit and blazing.
Find Lost Treasure, 4 points, Init -3, Terram. Allows the petitioner to find a valuable item recently lost in a river, by having a fish caught and cut open. The item must be made of metal, base or precious, and must be small enough to fit in the fish however!
[size=150]Day 9 [/size]
For David Curtin...
[size=150]Saint Bega (Saint Bee)[/size]
Patron Saint: Cumbrians, Virgins, Prisoners. St. Mary's St. Bee's Head, Cumbria, Against Pirates, Against Rune Wizards, Against Cheats, Against Theives.
Divine Might 25
Feast: 7th November.
Area of Veneration: Stonehenge and Loch Leglean Tribunals, (Relics) Monastery At St. Bee's Head, Cumbria, England; York Cathedral ; churches at Kilbucho in Peeblesshire Scotland, throughout Cumbria and Northumberland, convent at Hartlepool.
Powers: Apparition, Curse of Saint Bega, The Chains Fall Off, The Miracle of the Snow, Unerring Arrow.
Bega was an Irish princess promised in marriage by her father to a pagan Viking prince, the son of the King of Norway. She chose to flee one night and remain a holy virgin, and taking a tiny boat drifted across the sea to land at St. Bee's Head on the coast of Cumbria, England. She lived there as a holy hermit, in the deep woods, her life of piety inspiring many, until the Viking raids became too frequent and in a vision she was told to move to Northumberland, also in England, where she once again settled, this time founding a nunnery at Hartlepool.
One day some nearby monks told her that they were about to be cheated from lands that had been left them by a knight, in a boundary dispute. The holy Bega prayed, and in the morning when it was time for the bounds of the monastery to be processed around, snow had fallen everywhere, apart from within the correct monastery lands, and so the border was clear and settled for all time, and the monks were not cheated.
After her death many miracles were performed at her intercession. A robber stole a horse on her lands, and made off, but an archer invoked St. Bega as he shot and the man racing away, his arse high in the air as he huddled over the stolen mount, received a painful and humiliating wound as the arrow pierced him deep in the anus. Needless to say he was quickly captured.
On another occasion, horses of a local lord that had strayed in to the pastures of St. Bee's abbey miraculously refused to leave, and by this divine sign became the property of the monastery. After that people were careful not to let their animals trespass on St. Bega's holy grounds.
Saint Bega also freed captives. Three bothers from Working had become ferociously drunk, and had been involved in a brawl. Captured they were taken to Egremont castle, and when one of their victims died seemed likely to be hanged for murder. They prayed to St. Bega and their chains fell off, and they fled to her monastery to seek sanctuary and praise the holy saint.
St. Bega's bracelet is a particularly potent relic, with a long history of harming those who break oaths sworn upon it. It is a large chunky arm-band of silver, decorated in the ancient Norse style but inscribed with a Saint Andrew';s cross. It is kept in a reliquary with an elaborate covering. This is the relic most choose to swear oaths on, and given her sense of justice St. Bega curses those who break their oaths made here.
New Powers
Unerring Arrow 1 points, Init +4, Herbam. An arrow fired at a sinner in the act of the sin, or attempting to escape, automatically hits its target, usually in a particularly painful and humiliating way. Roll the attack as normal, with +6 to attack roll. If it would have missed it hits with an Attack advantage of 0; otherwise use the attack advantage as normal, but in either case ignore any Soak from armour worn.
The Miracle of the Snow, 5 points, Init -5, Auram (Terram). Snow falls all around, save in a specially designated area, which must be established by law, custom or tradition. This will effectively end boundary disputes and settle law suits, as failure to comply will earn the anger of the saint.
The Chains Fall Off, 3 points, Init +2, Terram. Up to ten prisoners languishing in a dungeon have their chains fall off, the ground and walls shake and the gaol doors burst open. Guards (if any) will usually run in terror at this supernatural sight, unless they make Brave checks of 9+.
Curse of Saint Bega, 3 points, Init +2, Corpus. Invoked against those who swore an oath upon her 'bracelet', and then intentionally broke it. (Those unintentionally breaking their oath may just receive a visit from her with the Apparition power to admonish them.) The penetration on this curse is 25; the act of swearing on the relics creates an AC between the saint and the oath-taker, which increases the penetration of the effect. The afflicted suffers a sudden pain throughout the body, and their heart thumps, they are paralyzed, then suffer an incapacitating wound.
cj x
CJ, you are tearing it up! Well done! Keep up the good work.
Well, trying to keep up. Anyone got any more requests? 
cj x
I'm not up to par on my "I'll take 'Patron Saints' for 400, Alex!", but I'd think some of their spheres of influence make some more intriguing than others.
Brendan and/or Erasmus, Patron saint of sailors. (Probable there are others as well)
Cecilia - patron saint of music/singing. She could be interesting.
If there's a PS of beggars? Of lepers? (Dare we hope... of alchemists?)
St Giles is the patron of lepers. Not sure about beggers and alchemists....
Well in 1220 the patron saint of alchemists is probably St. James the Greater, as he covers chemists and apothecaries. (Saint Roseline is not born yet). And I really should cover Saint Cyprian and St Justina too! OK, I'll have a look tomorrow.
cj x
Make up a patron saint of familiars, CJ!
Seriously cool work, though. My project doesn't have stats, so it's a lot easier.
I agree with Timothy, "seriously cool work".
Thanks for sharing Metropollywog's faeries on your The Facebook page, too!
Look forward to today's entry!
[size=150]Day 10 [/size]
Been a little unwell, but feeling better so playing catch up.. Here is the very gory story of Saint Elmo, patron saint of sailors....
[size=150]Saint Elmo (Saint Erasmus of Formia)[/size]
Patron Saint: Sailors, Women In Labour, Ravens, invoked against stomach ailments and against cattle diseases.
Divine Might 50
Feast: 2nd June
Area of Veneration: All Tribunals, especially Rome. Relics at Gaeta, Italy, patron of Gaeta and Formia, Italy.
Powers: Apparition, Celestial Immunity, Grant of Serenity, Scourging of Snakes, The Faithful Made Whole, The Incombustible Shroud, The Leap of the Faithful, Smiting of the Lord.
Erasmus, known as Elmo, was a young Roman Christian who was immensely brave. Once when preaching, lightning struck the ground near him but he just kept on preaching. He suffered a martyr's death for his beliefs during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. His martyrdom was spectacularly horrific; for his refusal to renounce Christ he was beaten, spat upon, and covered with excrement, but the humiliation did nothing to break his spirit. He was then beaten with heavy lead sledgehammers, and thrown in to a pit, which was then filled with boiling oil and sulphur, but he was miraculously preserved and suffered no harm, but simply praised God to the fury of his tormentors. Then there was a tremendous strike of lightning, and the executioners were killed, but Elmo just stepped out of the pit and walked away unharmed.
He was soon arrested again, and this time thrown in a pit of venomous snakes. The snakes died, and Elmo walked away safely.
In the reign of the Emperor Maximinian, Christians were again persecuted. Elmo was this time placed in a cauldron of boiling oil, and had lead poured in his mouth, but to no avail. He continued to praise God and was unharmed. The executioners tried to wrap in him in red hot metal, but he was able to escape harm with the help of angels. Taken before the pagan idols and told he must make sacrifice, he refused and the idols broke apart, destroyed by his faith.
The Emperor ordered he should be placed in a barrel with spikes pointing in, and be rolled down a hill. He was supposed to be pierced through and through, but climbed out unharmed. So they took him, bound him to a post, flayed his skin off and pulled out his teeth with red hot pincers, before roasting him on a grid iron. When that failed to kill him the executioners pulled out his eyes, and then had four horses pull him apart to rend him limb from limb. He continued to praise God and rejoice.
He managed to escape and fled to the mountains, where he was fed by wild ravens. On his recapture it was decided to coat him with pitch and set fire to him, but as he did not burn the decision was made to place him in a dungeon and let him starve to death. This too failed, as he escaped the dungeon.
Finally recaptured he decided the time had come to accept a martyrs crown, and his stomach was cut open and his guts pulled out by a windlass, and the saint died, cheerfully praising God.
cj x
OK, will catch up today if I can. I like this one a lot... Rather than have a patron of Familiars as Timothy suggests, I think the Saints patronage would cover the animal type. So St. Gilles could be patron to a ram, deer or horse for example, and St. Mungo a salmon or robin. St. Valentine is apt for any bird. Dunno, does that work? Anyway for Cuchulhainshound...
[size=150]Day 11[/size]
[size=150]
Saint Gilles (Saint Giles)[/size]
Patron Saint: Edinburgh, Blacksmiths, Spur Makers, Lepers, Beggars, Outcasts, The Disabled, The Mentally Ill, Vegetarians, Hermits, Epileptics, Forests, Deer, Horses, Rams.
Divine Might 50
Feast: September 1st
Area of Veneration: Provence Tribunal, Normandy Tribunal, Stonehenge Tribunal, Loch Leglean Tribunal, Rhine Tribunal, Iberian Tribunal, Transylvanian Tribunal, Novgorod Tribunal, Rome Tribunal, Levant Tribunal (crusaders). b[/b] St. Gilles du Gard, Provence, Toulouse Provence, Edinburgh Scotland (St. Giles Cathedral), especially venerated throughout France, also Antwerp, Bruges, Tournai, Cologne, Bamberg, Rome, Bologna, Esztergom, Prague.
Personality Traits: Pious +6, Generous +3, Gentle +3.
Powers: Apparition, Calm Tempest, Expel Demons, Grant of Serenity, Raise the Dead, Secrets of the Heart, Straighten the Crippled, The Faithful Made Whole.
Giles was born in Athens, the son of King Theodore and Queen Pelagia, in the seventh century. A sickly child, he went to church one day and found a beggar sitting outside, and gave the man his cloak, and was from that time on healed of his sickness. Another man was bitten by a poisonous snake, but Giles healed him; a third had a madness which caused him to shout obscenities, but Giles prayed over him and the man regained his senses.
On his parents death he renounced his titles and inheritance, and left the court to become a holy hermit. Walking by the coast a storm blew up, and a ship was in great distress. Giles prayed and the storm calmed, and the sailors were so grateful they gave him a free passage on their vessel. He traveled to Arles in the Provencal Tribunal, where he chose to begin his life of solitude.
Soon finding too many people were attracted to his hermitage, he moved deep in to the forests near Nimes. There he lived with only a Red Deer for companionship, and shed fed him upon her milk so tame was she.
One day the doe was in the forest when the King's hunters saw her and gave chase. She ran home to the hermitage, and the hounds dare not approach the holy man. The next day the King and the hunters went in search of the missing game, and spotting the deer gave chase again. She turned and ran home once more, and she burst in to the clearing, Giles threw himself in the way of an arrow aimed at the deer. The deer was saved, but from that day onwards Giles was disabled, and he is the patron of the disabled for that reason. The King wished to make amends, and granted the area the doe could run round in a day to Giles, who founded the monastery of Saint Gilles-du-Gard here. The Benedictine monastery is important in politics in the region to this day, and an important town has grown up around it.
Giles became a confessor to royalty, and one day he was hearing the confession of the Emperor Charlemagne an angel appeared and dropped a letter on the altar, detailing a sin so terrible that Charlemagne had been too embarrassed to reveal it.
After being granted his monastery Giles traveled to Rome on pilgrimage and to see the Pope, and on the way raised the son of a Prince who had died that day. On arrival in Rome the Pope was very pleased with Giles, and granted him two splendid doors made of cypress wood for his monastery, one carved with the likeness of St. Peter, one with the likeness of St. Paul. Giles took them, but then cast them in to the River Tiber, and prayed to God he would direct them as he will. On returning home he found they had as he had expected washed up in a river near the monastery, and they were installed, and pilgrims can see them as they enter the Abbey Church to this day.
New Powers
Calm Tempest 5 points, Init +0, Auram. Calms a storm around a single ship within sight range until sundown or sunrise, allowing it o make it safely to shore. The storm continues, but the ship is completely unaffected, the waves calm under it, the winds fair.
Secrets of the Heart,3 points, Init +2 Mentem. This intercession only ever applies to clergy receiving a confession voluntarily. If the confession omits details, or fails to reveal serious sin, the clergyman is prompted as to the nature of the sin that is being concealed, and they may gently and tactfully attempt to draw it out of the penitent.
As a slightly tangential question for the religious scholars - why do animals need patron saints? 
It works. Better than a saint of familars, I think.
The mundane answer: Hunters and Farmers need them for their cattle ...
The religious answer: All animals are Gods creatures!
Salve
Widewitt
Four days unexpectedly without internet means I'm now far behind where I should be. 
Still I wrote up several saints a day on a couple of days, so I guess I can catch up. Anyway when I wrote this Lisa was visiting Oslo, so it seemed a natural choice... Great saint, rather different to Saint Gilles though!
[size=150]Day 12
[/size]
[size=150]Saint Olav of Norway (Saint Olaf)[/size]
Patron Saint: Woodcarvers, Norway, Faeroe Islands, Kings, Norwegians, Naval Commanders, Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Emperors, axes.
Divine Might 50
Feast: July 29th. (also celebrated: Feast of Translation August 3rd)
Area of Veneration: Stonehenge Tribunal, Loch Leglean Tribunal, Hibernian Tribunal, Thebes Tribunal (Varangian Guard), Novgorod Tribunal, Roman Tribunal. Norway, Sweden, Faeroe Isles, Orkney Isles, Iceland; Nidaros Cathedral (now Trondheim Norway) Selsey England, St. Olaves York, St. Olaf's London., St. Olaf's Constantinople. Relics: Trondheim, Norway.
Personality Traits: Pious +6, Royal +3, Martial +3.
Powers: Apparition, Axe of Righteous Wrath, Cure Blindness,Men of Norway Be of Good Courage, Rebuke the Unfaithful, Terrify the Unbeliever, The Blessed Fleet, The Faithful Made Whole.
Born in Norway, Olaf was the son of Åsta Gudbrandsdatter and Harald Grenske, King of Vestfold. As a young man he dreamed of unifying Norway under one king. He travelled in the Baltic States, fighting a battle in the island of Osilia, and then to Denmark and across to England and then to Normandy. The Duke of Normandy, an ardent Christian, converted Olaf from paganism and he was baptized at Rouen.
On his return to Norway he waged a successful war against the petty kings of the south, doing much to unify the country, but forcing many to choose exile as they would not submit to his rule. On Palm Sunday 1016 he won the great sea battle of Nesjar, forcing his main rival Earl Sweyn in to exile in Sweden where he soon fell sick and died.
Olaf was able to assert his High-Kingship, and immediately ordered the conversion of Norway to Christianity. More exiles left for Sweden, Iceland and the Faeroes, and Olaf attacked and took the Orkneys as he fought to bring the faith and his rule to all Norwegians. He made peace with Sweden, and while he raided Denmark he did not pursue a conquest there, despite the fact King Canute was in England at the time.
In 1029 he attacked the English and Danish fleets at the Battle of the Helgeå. The river on the coast of Sweden was a good port, but Olaf's men and their Swedish allies dammed the river, and when the Anglo-Danish fleet sailed in broke the dam, causing a huge deluge of water which sunk many of Canute's ships. Canute's navy rallied however, and Olaf's fleet was defeated, and Canute invaded Sweden, then aided by the rebellious Norwegian nobles attacked Norway. Olaf was defeated, and forced in to exile in first Sweden, then Kiev.
When in 1030 Canute's vassal king Hakon drowned at sea, Olaf returned from exile, and fought a final battle for control of his country. He marched across Norway until he arrived at Stiklestad north of Trondheim, where he met the army of farmers that had been raised to face him. As he marched by the farmstead at Stiklestad the peasant army gave a great shout and fell on Olaf's men, and he was cut down in terrible fighting with three great wounds, the last through the heart. As he died, the sun went in to eclipse, with a blood red corona. As his body fell,a blind man rubbed his eyes with the blood from his wounds, and his sight was miraculously restored.
His followers carried the body away, and secretly buried him. On the 3rd August 1031 his relics were translated and reburied at Nidaros Cathedral (Trondheim). The body was found to bear the odour of sanctity and his hair and nails had grown since death,m the corpse appearing lifelike, a sure sign of a saint. The shrine of St Olaf at Nidaros Cathedral is the most popular pilgrimage site in Scandinavia, but pilgrims come from far beyond. His missionary Bishop Grimkell who had traveled with him since his time in England founded a church to him at Selsey, England, and his cultus is popular in England.
In death Olaf achieved what he had failed to do in life, as Norway united against the foreigners, and St. Olav became the national saint of that proud nation.
New Powers
Men of Norway Be of Good Courage, 5 points, Init +0, Mentem. This effect instils up to 10,000 men with tremendous courage and boosts morale if they are fighting for a good and holy cause and for Norway, within Norway. As such it is somewhat limited in application! The army ignores wound penalties until the battle ends, whereupon they suffer all penalties immediately as they collapse exhausted. The raising of the standard of Saint Olav and presence of the Norwegian king both add +3 to rolls to invoke the effect, cumulative.
The Blessed Fleet, 1 point, Init +4, Mentem. The commander of a Norwegian or allied naval fleet engaging in battle receives a bonus of +3 to their Territorial Advantage for the battle ahead. (See Lords of Men, p. 104).
Axe of Righteous Wrath, 5 points, Init +0, Terram. A single axe being used as a weapon for righteous violence against the unholy adds +5 to attack rolls until the next Sabbath. (Based on the ROP: The Divine Blessing Guidelines, p. 51).