Religion - The Fallen Lords

The Fallen Lords

In opposition to the seven Avatra are seven fearsome Fallen Lords, an appellation given to the leaders of the celestial rebellion against the Pancreator that led to the War in Yesod. Before their rebellion, these seven were ranked as the greatest of the celestial host, and they carried their true names. They and their followers, the jotunar, were defeated by the Avatra and the other faithful angels due to the sacrifices offered by the Avatra, and the names of the Fallen Lords were taken from them, replaced with titles reflecting their villainy. While the Avatra and the orders devoted to them are united in their allegiance to Belin, and form a single Church, the Fallen Lords seem to have no common agenda other than a desire to overthrow the angelic host and replace Belin’s power with their own, and each seems to believe that he (or she, if such distinctions matter to these beings) is best suited to assume the celestial throne in Belin’s place. In truth, those who worship the dark power of one of the Fallen Lords tend to despise and oppose those who follow another, and many of these cults spend as much time battling each other as they do attempting to advance their causes against the forces faithful to Belin.

Deceiver: the Source of 500 Poisons. The Deceiver appears as an old, balding lecher dressed in black velvet. His tongue is his primary weapon, and his skill to obfuscate, deceive, and lie are paramount, and he always seems to be holding back a mocking comment. Self possessed, confident, and fond of intricate plots, though his schemes rarely achieve his desired result. He is regarded as a master of magic intended to confuse and mislead. In the War in Yesod, the Deceiver was matched by Hananiel, who, like the implacable tide, could not be turned, confused, or deceived. His symbol is a black mask.

Leveler: of Mighty Blows. Also called, “the Leg-Breaker”, renowned for his ability to smash almost anything to the ground, the Leveler appears as a massive beast of mighty proportions who exists only for war and destruction, with bloodlust matched only by his martial magnificence. Scripture speaks of swords and arrows bouncing off him as he annihilated entire armies with his crushing blows, but he was matched, strength for strength by Caphriel, whose mighty hammer crushed even the Leveler. His symbol is a broken thigh bone.

Lurker: Mistress of Catastrophe. The Lurker appears as a white-skinned maiden of immense beauty clad in white robes. Cowardly but vengeful by nature, she earned her name because of her preference for attacking when unseen and is a powerful bully. Her followers often specialize in weather magic, and soften up her enemies with natural disasters before revealing their presence and intentions, often leaving nothing but ruin and destruction in their wake. She was defeated by Uriel, whose power to preserve and defend outlasted the Lurker’s power to despoil and destroy. Her symbol is a trio of radiating lightning bolts.

Shiver: the Spawn of Hell’s Winter. Shiver is the mistress of winter, fear, and nightmares – her one weakness is her vanity. She has a cold and calculatingly cruel nature, and an icebound heart. Once she had a gauzy appearance at turns beautiful and bestial, but in the War in Yesod, she was struck by one of Malchidiel’s arrows, and is now withered and injured, a condition that causes her to remain in a constant shrieking rage. When she does appear, it is as a withered old crone with a scarred, tattooed face. Her symbol is a white snowflake on a gray diamond.

Soulblighter: Dark Enemy of the World. Plate armored and wielding a great curved sword, he is the perfect blend of war and magic. He is the lord of tyrants, usurpers, and slave-holders, his clergy believes that the strong should hold power over the weak. Soulblighter is petty, self-centered, and megalomaniacal, who holds himself above all other beings, even Belin. His visage is unknown, as he is depicted in a full suit of black, blood encrusted full plate. He was defeated in the War in Yesod by Imriel’s power. His symbol is a scimitar coated with blood.

Voiceless: the Loveless Child of Unwed Dawn. Always depicted in a black, hooded cloak with no visible face, the Voiceless is silent and deadly. The queen of assassins, her spirit slips through the night on secret missions known only to her. Everything that mortals fear about darkness is personified in this cruel entity. In the War in Yesod, she was defeated by Auriel, who brought light into the darkness, and drove the Voiceless away into hiding. Her symbol is a black female hand wearing silver rings.

Watcher: the Mad Goat of the Fens. Vain, selfish, petty, but canny, and consumed with vengeance, the Watcher appears as a one-armed, decayed corpse clad in red and purple robes bearing a skull-headed rod. In the War in Yesod, the Watcher was overcome by Jophiel, who used his mastery of the arcane arts to wither his right arm, put out his right eye, and temporarily steal the Watcher’s arcane power. Unhinged and insane as a result of the loss of his right arm and eye, he harbors special hatred of Jophiel, and especially hates the stars in the night sky that he believes are intended to mock and humiliate him. The Watcher is the master of necromancy and undeath, and his symbol is an eye in concentric purple and black circles.

Jotunar
When the Fallen Lords rebelled against Belin, they convinced many of the others in the celestial host to join in their uprising, deceiving them with promises of power and authority, or merely by appealing to their hidden evil natures. These fallen celestials form the infernal horde and are now known as the jotunar. Where these beings were once filled with supernatural beauty and grace, their vile and malevolent natures have left most of them now twisted and hideous mockeries of their former selves. Despite their vile nature, these beings are honored and venerated by many mortals, who gather in covens and dark temples to perform unspeakable rites to their evil masters. Those who honor the jotunar are far outnumbered by those who worship the Fallen Lords, and many of these beings have a following that can claim no more than a handful of devoted cultists. As there is no unified Church to account for the myriad of cults spawned by the jotunar, recording an accurate count of the number of jotunar who have followings is impossible. Some of the more notorious and infamous cults venerate Baal, the great serpent, Gangyn, the spider spirit, Halpas, patron of vile fury, Khil, patron of the evil below, Kivutar, mistress of plague, and Sirchade of the slime pit.

Accursed
Just as there are mortals whose holy demeanor, devotion, and piety have earned themselves an honored position among the Church of Belin, there are some cruel mortals whose vile depravity and infamy has gained them a following. These are the Accursed, the anti-Saints, whose cruelty and venom in life was so great in life that their memory stirs evil followers and demon-worshipping cultists to honor them after their death. As there is no organized Church to officially count the cults that form around these personalities, a full accounting of the number of Accursed is impossible (even though several minor orders of the Church of Belin endeavor to do so, that they may arm those who oppose these cults with knowledge of the foes they face). While the number of Accursed cults may number in the hundreds, few good-folk know of more than a handful, and most see no reason to change that situation. Among the more well-known Accursed are Sreng, accursed lord of murders, Surtan, accursed lord of fire giants, Tyrma, accursed lord of the frost giants, and Tuni, accursed lord of ghouls.

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