The Grindorf Massacre is a bizarre incident in Reetland history that occurred in the year 226 and over which the scholars both
within and withoutside of the
Pelorean Church have long argued. Grindorf was a small village of about 60 people that had lost its priest
to illness the previous year and for whom replacement had yet been sent. As a result the population had to walk
three miles or more to the nearest church in Raas. After a while the attendance from the Grindorf population
declined alarmingly with the Pelorean priest ascribing this to demonic influence. Other views were that the
Pelorean priest tended to give long-winded sermons and to make unfavourable comparisons between the the two
villages which grew more pointed as the attendance from Grindorf dropped off.
Tensions between the priest and Grindorf grew. A woman was accused of witchcraft but the villagers
refused to give her up. A young girl running away from her parents said they had forced her to take part in
a ceremony with a goat although she stole from the Raas priest and continued running so she was never
questioned again. Strange lights were allegedly seen above the village. The priest spoke to the Lord of the Manor,
who being a retired military man arranged for a troop of soldiers to back up the priest if he wanted to 'investigate' the village. Then the evening they
arrived in Raas a boy travelling to see his uncle in Grindorf claimed he saw a wolf transform into a man
he recognised just outside the village. Also two of the troopers had gone missing and the boy had seen them
walking in the direction of Grindorf.
The priest, the Lord of the Manor and the troopers' captain took counsel and were joined by a mysterious fourth man,
a 'doctor of letters' who the Lord had just met and invited to dinner. The man claimed to be an expert
in demonology and gave them much advice about what he thought was happening in Grindorf. They agreed that it would
be too dangerous to attempt to rescue the troopers in the dark but they would proceed there at first light.
Whatever briefing was given to the troopers they were skittishly nervous as they approached the village, not
helped by an eerie mist that persisted throughout their journey. Suddenly there were screams from the village
which the troopers insisted sounded like they were from their missing comrades. That was the last detail that
any of the witnesses could agree on. The troopers say they were given the order to charge but the captain denied he
had given such an order. Each trooper then gave a different garbled account on what happened next. They were
assaulted by demons/beasts/reavers/fey with spells and claws.
They fought heroicly and bested their foes whilst
taking heavy casualties.
The priest and Lord of the Manor had ridden well behind the troop and in turn gave different accounts.
The priest saw demons and 'other foul things from Hell' but the Lord only saw troops attacking the villagers
and each other. He rode into the village but was forced to turn back when the troopers attacked him. He resorted
to bellowing at them to stop from the edge of the village. When they did stop a third of their number and the
entire village (including the children and most of the animals) was dead. The priest insisted the village be burnt to the ground along with all the bodies
and the Lord of the Manor reluctantly agreed. The two troopers were found alive tied up in the basement of the village inn
but could not remember anything that had happened.
For a long time the authorities, who held a secret inquiry, put about that the villagers had been the subject
of demonic possession. At the same time many doubted exactly what happened but much of the evidence
had been destroyed. The mysterious 'doctor of letters' was never found or identified.
The effect of the incident on Reetland society has reverberated down the centuries. The Church made the argument that
only they had the expertise to deal with such matters and that the priest should have called in the bishop
earlier but otherwise acted correctly. The King gave jurisdiction to the church on this matter and 'on all other matters relating to the supernatural' in the future. Since this might involve arcane magic the post of Arcane Inquisitor was created within
the church. Over time the church decided that investigating such phenomenon needed more specialist resources
and the
Inquisitors were formed.