5001-HârnWorld/3rd Edition/32

“Lord of the Four Horsemen, Master of the V’hir, Immortal Warlord of Balgashang, Breeder of Plague, Squalor and Decay, The Reasonless Reaper, Tyrant of the Foul Chamber, Knower of the Ten Thousand Ways.”

Agrik is the principal deity of warriors who enjoy the dark side of war: pillage, cruelty, and destruction. It is said that a pious adherent of Agrik will learn as many of the “Ten Thousand Ways” of inflicting pain as possible. The church practices human sacrifice, often through ritual combat with a champion of a fighting order.

Agrik dwells in his great flame-shrouded fortress of Balgashang with his demonic servants, the V’hir. Within the castle is Ak-Syt, the dreaded chamber of tortures where unspeakable demons torment the hapless, unlamented dead. Agrik usually appears as a great V’hir with two claws missing from his left hand, bearing Gashang, his flaming mace, and Sycanus, his ichordripping sickle. Agrik’s missing claws have caused him constant pain and anger since the goddess Larani severed them. He has never forgotten this ancient indignity and only the terms of the Concordat of the Illimitable Tome deter him from seeking revenge. There is certainly no love lost between the fighting orders of the two deities.

The worship of Agrik on Hârn is concentrated in the Thardic Republic and the Kingdom of Rethem but there are a few followers in Orbaal and elsewhere. The faith is proscribed in Chybisa, Kaldor, Kanday, and Melderyn.

On Hârn, seven clerical orders are devoted to Agrik; each sponsors a fighting order. Despite few dogmatic differences, the orders clash constantly, often with fatal consequences for innocent bystanders. Although he has great difficulty maintaining his authority, the current primate of Agrik for Hârn is the grandmaster of the Order of Mamaka Master of Steel, whose seat is in Golotha. The Amanasurif (pontiff) dwells in Lysara in Azeryan, where he is also a powerful secular lord. The ritual garb of Agrik’s clergy is orange and black.

HALEA
“The Empress of Opulence, Maker of Bargains, Guardian of the Treasure Hordes, Queen of Pleasures, Enslaver of Hearts and Loins, Unchaste Lady of Ten Forgotten Acts, Temptress of the Crimson Chamber.”

Halea is the amoral goddess of wealth and pleasure. Often regarded as the most beautiful creature of Kelestia, one whose true form would drive men mad with passion, she will usually appear to mortals in the guise of an

“ordinarily” beautiful young woman. Halea is the goddess of those who would live moment by moment and those who crave wealth and the pleasures that it can bring. She is not shallow or empty-headed but a shrewd schemer renowned for her ability to seduce the reason of lesser beings with her silken voice and subtle arts.

Halea’s residence is the Crimson Chamber, where those chosen by the immortal lady enjoy an afterlife filled with sexual, culinary, and other pleasures until they presumably go mad and are replaced by new chosen.

Halea requires no particular morality of her adherents but demands unswerving devotion and loves elaborate rituals and flattery of all kinds. Many followers donate as much as half their incomes to her church. Halea is reckoned an easy deity to worship; she is the Maker of Bargains, willing to negotiate for her favors. The goddess prefers to bargain from a position of strength with those in great need of her aid. She always keeps the pacts she makes, although not always in the way anticipated. Those who would bargain with the Unchaste Lady had best hasten to fulfill their part, for Halea is a jealous mistress and quick to anger.

Although many scholars do not credit Halea’s clerics or adherents with much intellectual depth, her priestesses may be found in high administrative posts in the government of Tharda. The Order of the Silken Voice is the only clerical order; the church has no fighting orders. The Salara (primate) for Hârn is the High Priestess of the Shiran temple. The Hilenea (pontiff) is headquartered in the city of Helas in the eastern Venarian Sea.

Halea’s priesthood is composed entirely of women of pleasant appearance. Their ritual garb is diaphanous and of all the hues of the rainbow, but the colors purple, crimson, and gold dominate. Various symbols are used, among them stylized bells, coins, and genitalia. A priestess conducting a ceremony improvises or composes the service as she proceeds. Monthly high masses invariably end with an orgy and are well attended.

ILVIR
“Master of Araka-Kalai, Brooder in the Blasted Plains, Serpent that Dwells Below, Accursed Lord of the Barren Cycle, Prince of the Fatherless Multitude, Craven Lord of Sterile Lands.”

Ilvir is the only deity who dwells permanently on Hârn. He is best known as the lord-creator of the Ivashu. Ilvir is also known as the Craven Lord because he seldom ventures from his home at Araka-Kalai. He is symbolized by a sundered claw, representing the severed claws of Agrik that Ilvir picked up to make his creatures. His colors are yellow and brown.

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