2025 Jun 24: The Flame of Khetesh

 In the lands of the Reptilians, in the city of Khetesh, there is a continual flame watched over by an order of clerics, which is said to have been going since the creation of the world. According to the clerics, it was lit by Hath-Ur, when she came down from the sky for a brief moment, and her heat lit a tarpit alight. After the tar was gone, the clerics kept feeding the holy flames and finally moved them to a temple built specifically to house it.

While there is some debate about the authenticity of this account, it is undeniable that the Flame of Khetesh is not an ordinary flame. It burns brighter than any other fire of its size, and its color is more washed out than normal fire. There have been accounts of little pieces of the Flame being taken to dangerous quests of unparalleled importance, and reportedly no demons were able to come into the area lit by the Flame, and those that found themselves there, were immediately paralyzed with pain. There is also a report that describes an undead touching the fire and quickly being reduced to ash, though there is some debate about whether this was a divine miracle, or just proof that the mummy in question was dried out, and covered in very flammable bandages.

Once a year the clerics take a piece of the Flame, and parade it around the city before returning it to the main fire. The rulers of Khetesh are acknowledged as such in a ceremony in the presence of the Flame, and public figures sometimes make public vows in its presence. It is said that anyone who breaks such a vow will wither away and die within a month, as if consumed by invisible flames.