Chapter Two: The Gods of Aeliode of healing an illness Most worshipers are not long-term practitioners Typically Syn’s favor is sought in the hopes of solving a particular problem After Syn has aided or ignored the practitioner, the practitioner tends to cease their devotions Those who engage in a continual worship of the god either find themselves called to the priesthood of Syn or they die as Syn’s corruption manifests Tulhesa Titles: The Deep Mother, The Trembling Earth, The Bones of Foundation Portfolio: destruction, land and ocean, cities Typical Worshipers: all who live on the Issian Peninsula; high city officials; those in search of power of any kind; the vengeful Typical Worshiper Alignment: Any Alignment (most devoted are NE) Domains: Destruction, Evil, Madness, Water, Weather Subdomains: Catastrophe, Demon, Nightmare, Oceans, Rage, Storms Favored Weapon: Heavy flail Minor Ritual: Rubbing a mixture of course sand and ash across ones face and scalp (causes HP damage) while keening Sample Blessing: “Thy sacrifice quells the fire in Her blood, may Her everlasting storm encompass another” Symbol of Tulhesa Tulhesa was once the lover of Crepus before he became the husband of Mahte Before she was slain by the hero of old, Naxos of Pihriah, her form was that of a two-headed dragon Her avatar still appears as such when she wishes It is said she was slain earlier, in the time before the world, by her own spoiled and bitter children Created from her, the spawn of Tulhesa were cruel, vicious, and filled with hate and envy Her children fed Palatine’s pride and tricked him into hunting the Great Hind While he was gone, the children united and overpowered Tulhesa and killed her Tulhesa’s bones became the land and the mountains, her blood became the sea, and her scales the stars in the skies The price they paid for this treachery was to never find peace with one another again To this day, her spawn live lonely lives counting their hordes and protecting themselves from each other Priests: Priests of Tulhesa are among the most socially and politically influential individuals in the southern Avitian Empire, much to the rest of the Empire’s dismay Even low-level acolytes are highly respected by their community and are often given the best the community has to offer for their service to their terrible goddess Most priests have come to expect a certain degree of deference being paid to them by those around them There are four major sects within the Temple of Tulhesa There is no official hierarchy in regards to these sects and each temple is the final authority in the area where is it located Most priests chose membership in one of these four sects: The Gilded, the political arm whose goal is to marry into every politically influential family; The Star Readers, the prophetic arm which deciphers the will of Tulhesa and perform divinations; The Keening, the teachers of the faith who guide the wrath of the goddess and unleash vengeance upon the deserving; and The Culling, the guardians of the faith who purify the world of those who act against Tulhesa Worshipers: Most inhabitants in the Issian Peninsula are, at the very least, reluctant worshipers of the Deep Mother Prayers of placation are offered up to her on a daily basis by her followers in the hopes that she will turn her insatiable anger away from them Very few worshipers come to Tulhesa motivated by anything but fear; however, there are some notable exceptions As temples to the Gods of the Watchful Storm hold great political power across the southern portion of the Avitian Empire, all those who wish to hold political office have a close relationship with the nearest temple honoring Tulhesa While these political hopefuls are not necessarily clerics, 37