Chestnut Lodge

Chestnut Lodge is the semi-mythical ancestral archetype and primary sacred site of the Clewgist Faith. Located, or believed to be hidden, within the Kingdom of Affaraon, it serves as the spiritual blueprint for the meeting places of the Yendorian sect of Clewgites. In late 774 AM, the site shifted from a point of theological debate to one of critical narrative importance when the divine manifestation of Clewg explicitly commanded Yngvild the Fierce to seek it out as the next stage of her heroic development.

The status of Chestnut Lodge is a point of significant friction between the two primary branches of the Clewgist faith.

• The Yendorian Branch: These adepts, who focus on working in harmony with nature and viewing reality as a “garment of illusion,” claim that their biennial meeting houses (such as the Willow Lodge) are modelled directly after the original Chestnut Lodge. They treat the Lodge as a physical gateway to the “secret masters” Adepts hope to reunite with.
• The Estreham Branch: Mainstream Clewgites, often drawn from military backgrounds and focused on martial discipline and practice, traditionally dismissed the Yendorian veneration of the Lodge as an idiosyncratic myth held by “hippie beatniks.”

The original Chestnut Lodge is believed to be a tangible destination requiring a pilgrimage, likely situated deep within the Old Forest near the fabled city of Yendor.

The Lodge is inextricably linked to the chestnut tree, which serves as the universal symbol for the Clewgist faith. While the exact coordinates are a closely guarded mystery of the highest grade adepts, the site is described in prophecies as being “in among the ghosts of fallen spear carriers” and associated with “bird filled trees.” It represents the ultimate site for the denial of exterior reality and the attainment of spiritual perfection.

• Yngvild the Fierce: The hero whose destiny was explicitly tied to the Lodge by the voice of the god.
• Clewg: The “prime mover” and deity whose holiness is centred upon this location.
• Wall: The inscrutable adept at Estreham who provided initial guidance regarding the Lodge’s teachings.
• Mukul: The legendary cartographer and philosopher whose maps may hold the key to locating the Lodge.

• Kingdom of Affaraon: The nation housing the Old Forest where the Lodge is said to reside.
• Estreham: The site of the ritual manifestation that confirmed the Lodge's existence.
• Yendor: The “City of Higher Powers” rumoured to be co-located with the Lodge.
• Old Forest: The vast, dangerous woodland that acts as a natural barrier to the site.

• Clewgism: The faith for which the Lodge serves as the primate sanctuary.
• The Mysteries: The secret teachings that Yngvild must master upon reaching the Lodge.