Thursday, September 3, 2015

Gods and Cults of Langushur

The languid swamps, volcanic mountains and stormy seas of the Langushur coast long held no attraction for the human race. Until about 800 years ago, the area was home to very few people, left mostly to those not quite human. When people did come, they hailed mainly from the south-eastern shores of Easrae. These were refugees and fugitives who choose to not live under the sway of the expanding Second Imperium and be forced to convert to the Church of the Three Virtues. As such, the gods and cults of Langushur reflect an older, polytheistic, and often crueler relationship between gods and men than is the norm in the lands around the Inner Sea. Many are the gods of the Far Shore, most to be appeased rather than worshiped. A selection is detailed below.

Ysridyl
The Lady of Storms, The Sea Witch, Crone of Wind and Destruction, 
Appearance: A woman dressed in a tattered dress of grey and blue, with four arms  and a demonic visage. 
Symbol: Four arms extending from a swirling storm cloud, like the spokes of a wheel.
Notes: The priests of Ysridyl will appease the goddess by sacrificing a youth at the height of the winter storm season, throwing him or her off the cliffs and into the sea

Brall
He Who Hides Secrets in the Depths, The Bloated One, The Drowned God
Appearance: A bloated, waterlogged corpse.
Symbol: Skull with seaweed in eye sockets
Notes: Initiation into the cult involves being ritually drowned three times; occasionally the ceremony goes amiss and the initiate goes immediately to join the Drowned God. 

Mon-Roth
The Mother Egg, The Ever Ovid, The Formless One 
Appearance: A spherical, pulsating mass of slime, with vaguely human head and appendages that appear and disappear seemingly at random. 
Symbol: A black egg
Notes: The initiates of Mon-Roth all have a colony of some type of slime or ooze grafted to their bodies, to better (and literally) spread to work of their goddess over the world. Only regular ingestion of specific drugs and herbs keep the guest protoplasm from taking over the initiates body.   

Anthor
Peacemaker, The Lord of War and Peace
Appearance: A ruddy, bearded giant with a flail in place of each arm.
Symbol: Olive branch and flail
Notes: Followers of Anthor are dedicated to peace, even if they have to shed much blood to achieve it. Cultists form roving gangs which enforce peace wherever they deem it necessary.

Garu Dar
Master of the Impenetrable Void, The Faceless Night
Appearance: A robed, emaciated and androgynous body, with a star filled void in place of a head.
Symbol: Three stars on a black field.
Notes: Initiates of Gaaru Dar imbibe yellow lotus on a massive scale, hoping to penetrate the Void in their visions and learn it's secrets. As a result, their physical appearance in this world leaves much to be desired.

Krug
He of a Thousand Eyes, The All-Seeing Master, Secret-Stealer
Appearance: A 30 foot tall giant in chain mail and open-face helm, inside which can be seen hundreds of eye-stalks in place of a head.
Symbol: A circle filled wilh a dozen smaller circles
Notes: The cult of Krug excels at brazen greed and unrestrained quest for power. No action is too dark in pursuit of these goals. Popular with bankers, spies and adventurers.

Shakrazil 
The Blood Drinker, The Power in the Rot, Lurker in Black Waters
Appearance: A giant black leach, hundreds of feet in length.
Symbol: Three leaches intertwined
Notes: Followers of Shakrazil feed the god with their own blood; the blood off an unwilling sacrifice is considered impure for their master. The cultists, on the other hand, have no such scruples when it comes to choosing their sacrament. Vampires and vivimancers abound in the worship of this deity.

The Leviathan
Watery Lord, World-Swallower,
Appearance: A great sperm whale, miles in length.
Symbol: Whale and globe
Notes: Cultists believe the world was spawned by their god, and ultimately will be consumed by him at the end of time. Rumor is they can summon the god's lessor kin to do their bidding, but only if they sacrifice themselves after the service has been rendered.

Xhusa the Radient
Goddess of Beauty, The Unblemished Lady, Beauty-Death
Appearance: A stunningly, otherworldly beautiful, human female.
Symbol: Golden Dagger
Notes: Devotes believe the quest for beauty is the goal of life. Priestess of Xhusa (there are no priests) will in fact take their own life rather than have their beauty marred. It's a small (and shrinking) cult.

Toi-Su
Decadent He, Somnolent Reveler, Writher
Appearance: A hairless bald man with the lower body of a slug
Symbol: Slug surrounded by a golden halo
Notes: Fat and shaved devotees demonstrate adherence to the faith in various carnal and dipsomaniac debaucheries. Philosophy of enlightened and over-enthusiastic hedonism. Quite harmless really.  

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