empire-approved worship of stealth and destruction
| fighter | clergy | artisan | farmer | merchant |
| Making | Phoenix | Brilliance | ||
| Grey Lord | Traveller | |||
| Darkness | Deathgod | M. Knives | ||
| Deity | Sphere | Alignment | Telesterion | High Holy One | Race |
| Mother of Knives | Destruction Theft Greed |
Chaotic Evil | Kalkutta | Dreadfiend | Lios Elfar |
The Mother of Knives’ most popular avatar is a four-armed elf animated from black obsidian.
She weilds various instruments of destruction, the most popular being a pair of black mithril
knives linked by a chain, a stick with a skull on its end, a red silk strangling cord, and a
pinwheel that screams painfully when spinning.
She wears the skulls of her victims on a belt around her waist, with their souls bound within.
It is said even the other gods fear the cost for releasing a victim from Saint Kalia’s belt.
While the Deathgod is responsible for taking the soul when it
departs this mortal realm, the Mother of Knives enjoys planning the departure, and more
importantly, divying up the loot afterwards.
Some of her followers prefer the departure, others prefer the loot. Most don't prefer to plan
ahead.
A special order of Paladin Crusaders, known as thuggees, murders transgressors from
any of the Pantheon churches. Necrodemian law treats a killing in the night by red silk
cord as theft of life, as opposed to assassination, which requires harsh punishment.
The followers of the mother of knives tend to be chaotic and evil. There is only the loosest of
church organization, for those who collect power in this religion must hold against those who
would kill to acquire it.
Imagine a mountain above port city with mile-wide steps carved into the stone: The Steps of Kalia.
Imagine that a priestess of the Mother of Knives must ascend this stairway to receive the blessings
of the high altar. Imagine some sort of ritual that involves priestesses killing each other as they
ascend the Steps of Kalia to the high temple at the summit.
No man has ascended the stairway, save one. Even the chief thuggee of the church, the blessed
Roland, has neverf ascended this stair. Only Mola Ran.
There is a city of squalor below the mountain. This is Kalkutta. Don't drink the water.
Dreadfiend enjoys political connections at such levels that the previous highest priestess,
Hse Ponn, stepped down to serve as Dreadfiend’s left hands.
The dark elf faction known as the helenes pray to an 8-limbed incarnation of the Mother of
Knives, the Spider Queen. Helen the Dark often is heard calling this Spider Queen incarnation
her “sister”, and yet remains alive.
| fighter | clergy | artisan | farmer | merchant |
and should not be mis-construed as a reality-based organization.
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