Lawful Evil Dieties of the Land

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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:04 am by @Flamecrow

Lawful Evil Deities of the Lands

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Dolorian

Domains: Evil, Trickery

 

The god of pain and suffering is often feared and hated, which is a logical human response. However, it is also somewhat short-sighted as pain is not all bad. Without pain one would constantly hurt oneself without any chance to notice it. In fact was it not for feeling pain the entire nature of healing would be falling apart, as healers would have a very hard time to determine what is wrong with a patient if they cannot tell or indicate where they are hurting.

 

Dolorian himself doesn't care one bit for helping the healers of the land with pain, unless they manage to prologue the suffering of someone by trying to heal him. He quite enjoys the overconfidence of healers who then later fail to heal their patient and the mental pain this causes the healer.

 

Dolorian appears as a white skinned man with red eyes and pale white hair.

 

It is clear that Dolorian has a significant enjoyment from seeing people suffer and hurt. It goes to the point where the god is even capable of drawing power from people who are in pain. He will often actively strive to create suffering and pain for people, but will never directly harm someone in doing so. With the power that he controls this wouldn't be much of a suffering anyhow as death would be at your doorstep the moment Dolorian so much as strikes you.

To create pain Dollorian often uses his minions and followers. They can strive to cause physical pain, and the less intelligent ones will most certainly try this, but the true pain and suffering lies not in the body but in the mind and soul. Hurting the mind and soul often requires more cunning approaches and Dolorian does not mind to use deceit and illusions to reach his goals.

There have been rumours of his priests posing as healers even, healing small wounds and so winning the trust of the people. After they have that they slowly start to poison and create small discomforts for people. In time this worsens and plagues start to spread throughout the community. The people turn to the priest and are given partially beneficial treatments, in fact those only prologue the suffering. Important to note is that such a community is seldom allowed to be wiped out by the plague, often even the priest will cure a good deal of the people. This however will result in them being forced to burry friends and family, and live with the loss. A much greater suffering them simple death.

 

One of the more cunning gods, Dolorian will do anything to get people to hurt, however he seldom goes so far that the hurt would draw to much attention to him. As he is not all too loved within the realms of the gods as it is, drawing unwanted attention would be unwise. His followers often perform rituals to him that involve stabbing creatures with a knife in the joint. Most often they use sheep and boars for this practise, which suits Dolorian just fine.

There are however also more diabolical sects who do it to the members of their own temple, and worse to other people. Dolorian is not too fond of this practise, not because the pain and suffering is unsatisfying but more because it can lead to unwanted attention from a community and the other gods.

 

Dolorian has a very peculiar relationship with Ilmater, as he is her complete opposite. Where he brings pain, she bring relieve, where he brings suffering she brings comfort. Though vastly at odds with each other they never openly fight one another. Both seem to understand that they are two sides of the same coin, without suffering there can be no relief. And without relieve there would not be a place for suffering.

 

The Cult of the Shattered Hand

There is a story of a high priestess of Mielikki being kidnapped by such a sect. While on the offering table the door suddenly flew open and there stood a man, dressed in a black coat. His reddish eyes slowly drifted over the woman, as the priest was about to stab her, his hand was suddenly stopped mid air. The man’s white hair and white skin reflected in the moonlight as he stated with a voice that shook the very earth: “You are not my followers, you are imbeciles”.

After which all the bones in the priest’s hand could be heard shattering as the knife fell to the ground. The sound of shattering bones soon filled the room as each of the followers their right hands were crushed. The man smiled slightly at the screams of pain and took the priestess from the table. She was pale white and shaken by all the screams, yet she followed the man who softly spoke to her about being returned to her lady. While they walked out the door the screams echoed through the empty streets.

Days later the followers were found, raving mad, screaming how their god had blessed them with more suffering. Most of them were deported to an Asylum immediately. Some managed to escape this fate and have since started the Cult of the Shattered Hand. This cult consists of the most evil and twisted minds who enjoy their own suffering as much as the suffering of others. They work in secrecy and are often a tale to scare children in the alleys of Port City. The Cult of the Shattered Hand will come and take you in the dead of night if you aren’t good. Perhaps only a fairy tale, or perhaps not.

 

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Hecate

 

Symbol: Crescent Moon

 

Worshipers' Alignments: All evil alignments and neutrals who are working with magic.

 

Hecate is deity of the underworld and companion to Persephone. She is known as the queen of the night and the goddess of the crossroads. Those whom she favours can move safely in darkness. She can appear as a woman with three faces, turned in three directions. In addition, Hecate can appear with three heads; a long-maned horse, a furious hell hound, and a terrible serpent.

 

Followers know her as the goddess that gives and takes away. As a night wanderer she uses spells that can deprive creatures of wit. Some believe that she grants wealth, fortune, or glory to those she approves of. Just as easily she can take that wealth away. Believers see her as determining the outcome of war and games of victory.

 

Her magic power comes in the form of sorcery or witchcraft. She mixes magic herbs and poisons with skill. It is said that she can stop rivers in their courses and still the very stars in the sky.

 

Hecate's clerics offer a sacrifice of eggs, honey, milk, and blood to her on the night of the full moon. They have been known to stand at crossroads at midnight and cry her name in all directions. Her clerics have a special affinity for hell hounds.

 

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Set - God of Night

 

Set, like Ra, was worshipped solely on Alisha Island. His followers shared the Ra temples, holding night time vigils whilst Ra was in the underworld and then vanishing to their naturally secretive lives before Ra awoke with the dawn. Set, in turn, would retreat to the Underworld at this time and return at sunset.

Unlike Ra, the Set followers have always been secretive, thus their mysterious nature is not related to the vanishing of the Ra clergy.

 

He is/was an Alishan god of chaos who embodied the principle of hostility if not of outright evil. He was associated with foreign lands and was the adversary of the god Osiris. Seth was usually depicted in human form with a head of indeterminate origin, though said to resemble that of an aardvark. He had a curved snout, erect square- tipped ears and a long forked tail. Sometimes he was represented in entirely animal form with a body similar to that of a greyhound.

 

Due to their secretive nature, it is unknown if followers of Set still exist. Despite the opposing natures, Ra and Set were not in direct opposition. In fact, Set was the son of Ra, lending weight to the idea that Ra was perfectly aware of his temples being used by his son’s followers, and tolerant of the fact.

Sets main adversary was Osiris (his brother), and possibly this is the reason that Sets followers hide during daylight without their Gods protection. Set had killed Osiris, forcing him to remain in the Underworld, but Osiris escaped with the help of his wife Isis and declared Set his sworn enemy.

 

As you can imagine, little is actually known of the facts of Sets existence. However, he is reputably one of the most diverse of the ancient Alishan deities..... governing over not only the Night but also Foreign Lands, Storms and Chaos (which is surprising and a contradiction due to his lawful nature). In the Book of the Dead Set was referred to as the "lord of the northern sky" and held responsible for storms and cloudy weather. It is claimed that he can leave the Underworld under these conditions, regardless of whether the sun is high in the sky.

Due to this diversity, Set followers may choose from many of the clerical spheres...such as Air, Evil, Travel, Trickery, Death, Destruction (chaos) and Animal.

 

Some have laid claims that Set is not truly a god as his forked tail suggests he is actually demonic. This allegation is unfounded. Being that his father is Ra, that claim would suggest his mother was a demon and thus is not a rumour that Ra followers would entertain.

 

Set has no outright enemies other than Osiris, although there are strained relations between his followers and those of Mask. Nor does he have any allies, though it is understood that Sets followers hold a respect for the followers of Ra (and vice versa) despite their obvious differences.