[Avatar of the Kaga] Dark Faiths of Exodus

Var Shaal

The Var Shaal is a religion that is almost exclusively followed by the gevet race. Deep in the Burning Lands of the Dominion, the Var Shaal (Cloud Seat in Qijomi) is the place from which all life began on Exodus. Within the Var Shaal lies the Gevet. The Gevet is a being of vast power that promotes growth and the prosperity of the gevet people. The Gevet’s rites are simple, crude and barbaric, blood spilled during childbirth is never washed from its shrines.The Gevet only takes female priestesses.

The Var Shaal – the name given to the faithful of the Gevet to differentiate the Gevet (being) from the gevet (race) – is judge heretical by the Sanguine Covenant. However, Var Shaal temples are located deep in the Burning Lands where the church’s people are few and the gevet many.

Prominent in the church is the presence of demons and devils. Both of these groups follow with great interest happenings on Exodus. These creatures are frequently found protecting gevet strongholds or other holy sites.

Xonism

Xonism, unlike all the other faith is more of a philosophy. The faith itself was first revealed by the necromancer Xon as he led his armies through Sametia during the Twilight War. The Black Notebooks of Xon is the unholiest text of the faith. It is where the thoughts and research into the secrets of lichdom are kept preach that everyone is dying and that one must accept and embrace undeath as the only way to survive the coming apocalypse.

However, the notebooks are separated and incomplete. Xonist priests scour the world to gather more fragments and pages, seeking to discover more about Xon and his work. Xonism is a major heresy to the Sanguine Covenant. In spite of this, the group has been making converts in Sametia and parts of Gavea.

Khayne

As I wrote this chronicle on the faiths of Exodus, none filled me with the dread that I now feel as I must write about the faith of the Murderous Lord Khayne. Khayne is a bloody, dark, vengeful, chthonic, primal entity that calls for blood. Whether the blood of allies, friends or enemies, Khayne demands his temples be drenched in it.

Khayne is not only the dark lord of death, conquest and destruction, he has many faces, faces that must be approached differently.

To the Brotherhood of Khayne on the mainland, he is the lord of vengeance and the founder of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood believes and teaches that Khayne sends envoy among them to test their faith and ensure they do not grow lazy in their duties.

On Unthara, where the Brotherhood enjoyed centuries of control, the Brotherhood’s teachings have changed and make Khayne the king of the gods, and the one who blesses ruthless rulers and conquerors.

The First Ones, whom I am told all worship the Dark Lord, each have their own version and myths about his past deeds and proper method of worship.

The one saving grace of these mad cults is that they rarely grow beyond the ability of their cult leader to organize them. By cutting the head of the snake, worshippers of Khayne generally turn on each other to find a new leader, each member thinking he is most suited. A Covenant purifier once told me that the most difficult thing was to take down the leaders who frequently survived through a number of assassination attempts.

Next time: Character options.

JP