Ksarul

Ksarul is the Tsolyani god of secrets, mysteries and magic. Like all Tsolyani deities his religion is a complex business with 62 different recognised aspects (plus a few local ones), a close relation ship with his 'cohort' Gruganu and his 27 aspects.

Ksarul goes by numerous epithets; the most common is 'The Doomed Prince of the Blue Room', alluding to his aeons long imprisonment in a room hung with deep blue curtains, permnanently asleep, surrounded by ten impregnable magical walls. Even in this comatose state Ksarul is a mighty god.

Philosophy

The keynote of the religion is mystery. Believers accept that the 'Outer Doctrines' as taught to lay members are essentially false, and that as a priest rises within the temple more and more of the true 'Inner Doctrines' are revealed to him. What consitutes real promotion in the temple is complicated by the presence of three major mutally mistrustful sects and the presence of the secret 'Inner Sphere', the membership of which is unknown and which directs the actions of the temple through secret meetings and subtle pressures.

The Temple of Ksarul operates on a paradox - everyone is expected to behave with utter faith and sincerity, doing what their higher ups tell them is the will of the Doomed Prince at all times and without question, while at the same time making it perfectly clear members of it's clergy are not only expected to tell lies to those below them in the hierarchy, it is their religious duty to do so.

This is Zen Stalinism, deliberate belief in a dictatorship that you know is lying to you, in order to gain sufficient knoweldge and power to become a liar yourself. Add to that the fact that there are several different interpretations of what the will of the Doomed Prince actually is, and that it is difficult to know precisely who your superiors are when the most important ones - the Inner Sphere - lurk within the temple as spies on their own people.

Never, ever question whether a superior is telling you the truth. He is probably lying and certainly keeping various salient facts from you, possibly for your own good, possibly not, but never come right out and say it to their face, or even subtly imply that you do not trust the smilling goon as far as you can throw him/her. However Ksarulites are not gullible, far from it, the religion values intelligence (as opposed to wisdom, the domain of Thumis). And thus it is common practice among Ksarulites to steal from each other, use spying and blackmail and any number of underhand tricks to ensure they are as fully informed as they can be and are on the inside of any conspiratorial cabal pissing out, rather than being one of the duped.

Of course all temples are like this to some extent (even those snivelling Thumis wimps) but with the Ksarulites it is tacitly accepted, and a follower caught in the act of any number of petty treacheries and misdemeanours will get off comparatively lightly - and might even be marked for promotion as being a person with a bit of flair and ambition and a suitably change deity attitude to stuffy stablity-favoured things like precedent and hierarchy.

Ksarulite Worship

Ksarul is very much a deity of night and darkness; his daily worship begins with The Ceremony of the Opening of the Dark which occurs at sunset. Processionals and the sounding of Tunkul-gongs announce the onset of Ksarul's Dominion of the Night.

Once full dark has occurred, The Awakening in Azure is observed.

At midnight, Victory of the Master of the Planets celebrates the full victory of Lord Ksarul over the whole universe, which will occur at the End of Time

Just before dawn, The End of the Rule of Night announces the temporary retreat before the light of Lord Hnalla, but also affirms the inevitable return of Ksarul's might, just as night follows day.

(See Mitlanyal Vol 2)

The result is that most of the temple staff are effectively nocturnal; only a shift of temple guards and those priests responsible for teaching lay members' children are awake during much of the day.

Priests of Ksarul wear black robes with silver masks depicting the balndly smiling and freindly face of their deity, and sqaure mortarboard like head-dresses, female priests have black wooden masks of the same kind. This kit is stiflingly hot, and unless they are attending a ceremony most priests will just wear the hat with a black and deep blue collar and a black kilt with a silver belt. Unlike priests of other religions Ksarulites do not wear insignia depicitng their Circle rank; you often have no idea if you are talking to a junior clerk or a temple commandant, and given the vagaries of the Inner Sphere system the junior clerk may in fact have more authority.

Sects of Ksarul

There are three major sects within the temple; the reasonably open Society of the Blue Light, the ultra secretive Refulgent Blue Curtain Society which dominates in Tumissa and the Chakan provinces and the feared Ndalu society which conspires to gain greater political power for the temple. (See the Temple of Ksarul netbook and Mitlanyal Vol 2 for furtehr details.)

There are numerous lesser sects, two of which are detailed below.

Cartographers of the Luminous Pylon

This is a group of two dozen adherents of Ksarul and Gruganu (and one of Dlamelish) based in Tumissa who are trying to map the many alternative demon planes. They are seeking to do this noit through visting these mostly lethal places, but through visions and scrying. They are of the opinion that it ought to be possible to use psychic methods to look into te other planes just as it is possible to use clairvoyance and telepathy; it is just a matter of getting your mind into the appropriate state of consciousness. They mostly do this through immoderate use of drugs. They communicate their findings through pictures and poetry, trying to capture the true otherwordly essence of the places they have seen in bizarre abstract paintings and incantations that appear to be gibberish.

Serious magicians regard them as dangerous loonies and disdain their methods and loathe the provocative and ungrammatical way they express their ideas, but the Cartographers are sure that they are onto something, perhaps the biggest revolution in magical theory and practice since Llyani times. The temple hierarchy wil not stamp them out however; perhaps they secretly think the Cartographers will produce something useful, perhaps they are useful to the temple as a fertile source of false and confusing doctrines to baffle the uninitiated as to what Ksarul worship is really about.

The Cartographers have no hierarchy as such, just a charismatic leader Zuthau hiTlekku of the Dark Fear clan, who pays for much of the 'work' out of his own pocket. Meetings of the Cartographers at Aubshoi's alchemist shop often start out like poetry readings or art exhibitions, proceed into drugged and drunken debauches and fairly frequently end in fist fights over disputed aspects of transplanar theory. Once in a while they will try an experimental incantation, which even more rarely will, after a fashion, work. They were banished from the temple proper when a particularly annoying plague of demonic teleporting crickets spewed forth from one of their nexus gates and infested the temple for weeks.

Other members: Qapehel, Cadha'atla, Atqipal, Opu

Stalkers of the Indigo Night

A secret organisation dedicated to protecting Ksarul and Hru'u pilgrims on the road to the shrines at the ruined city of Hmakuyal. Most people are well aware of the shrines, but the official line is that they are secret, and certainly no non-worshipper is allowed into the underground complex beneath the city, and access for most lower order clergy and lay members is seriously restricted. The Stalkers are made up of members of the Temple guard from Ksarul, Gruganu and Hru'u, and given the sinister nature of these cults are likely to have other functions as well as policing.

Creating a Ksarulite Character

All members of the Temple of Ksarul must take Secret 1 as one of their defects - they must do their best to conceal their true circle number and be careful as to who they reveal their true sect to. It is not unknown for a person to profess alleigance to one sect while really being allied to another.

All members of the Temple must have at least a familiarity with the Deception skill. Telling lies to conceal the truth of their deities secret tenets is a religious duty to Ksarulites.

All Administrative priests must have Admin 1, Scholars at least one Scholar skill and Ritual priests Ritual of Ksarul 1. At least a familiarity with the Theology of Ksarul is also a requirement.

Temple Guards are also expected to be at least partially literate with a familiarity in reading, Tsolyani: Written; certainly no one will be promoted beyond changadesha (private) without this skill, Ksarul is a god of knowledge after all. Ksarul favours the chidok and the crossbow as weapons, the former for its utility in enclosed spaces such as the Underworld, the latter for defending the often fortress-like temples from assault by the fearful and ignorant. Ksarulite soldiers are also often well schooled in the subtle arts of military engineering, artillery and seige warfare rather than in full frontal assault and set-piece battle.

Adherents may also learn the skill Scholar:Cryptography 1, but the Tongue of the Priests of Ksarul is limited to members of the Inner Sphere. The GM will decide who starts the game as members of this august and subtle organisation.

Also available is the skill Knowledge: Creatures of Ksarul, which allows people to interact with servitor beasts such as Hra, Mrur, Qol, Thunru'u and Vorodla without fear.

There are several specializms of the Theology of Ksarul; Outer Doctrines, Secrets of the Refulgent Blue Curtain, Path of the Blue Light, Ndalu Clan Secrets. The Inner Doctrines are only available to persons of 7th or higher circle, and the True Doctrines can only be learned by Inner Sphere members who know the Tongue of the Priests of Ksarul.

Higher circle scholars (12th+) may be able to learn Language: Sunuz and Scholar: Pariah Gods at the GMs discretion, but will not reveal such knowledge to those outside the temple, and to precious few within it if they value their lives!

Aspects of Ksarul

Uthi'in, Spirit of the Mind's Eye

Uthi'in is patron of psychic magic and scryer of secrets. His talismans help with perception spells, and he requires the sacrifice of hallucinogenic incense. Uthi'in is depicted as a great deep blue eye.

Mentutékka, Lord of Blue Shadow

Mentutekka is lord of the deep forest night, friend of hunters and of burrowing animals. His talismans bring luck in hunting and sneaking up on game.

Kettek, Prophet of the Dark Old One

The Dark Old One is the Pe Choi god of change. He was rediscovered some 1300 years ago by the Pe Choi Ksarul priest Kettek who was led in his explorations and visions of the past and of the outer planes by Ksarul himself. Kettek is depicted as an elderly male Pe Choi with a deformed carapace.

Kettek lived during the reign of Nriqa Gachike (984-1010). At the time conflict between Thumis and Ksarul was intense and spilled over into civil war soon after his reign; Kettek was a civil servant in the Palace of the priesthoods and was reviled as he had been a Thumis priest before he converted to Ksarul and began his researches on other planes. In 991 he announced the discovery of The Black Old One, an ancient deity of the Pe Choi whose worship had been suppressed. Kettek was physically distorted by his work - those hostile to him say he was not Kettek at all after his trip, but a demonic impersonator.

During the civil war of 1010-26, Pe Choi converts to the Dark Old One opposed forces loyal to the Ito when they gained control of Do Chaka, while those loyal to the Father of Nests aided the Ito but later betrayed them, only the Ito's old wild Pe Choi allies who worshipped their own form of Sarku remained loyal. War between these Pe Choi groups was especially bitter and savage. There was even conflict within the dark Trinity; at first Ksarul claimed The Dark Old One was an avatar of their deity, but he was eventually recognised as Hru'u. Some Pe Choi refused to accept this subordination and there were riots in Butrus over the issue. Kettek is still a divisive figure, and his theological status is a matter of debate.

Guruash of the Nine Eyes

A demonic servant of Ksarul rather than a true aspect, Guruash has nine eyes arranged at equal distances around his head and keep watch against other demons. Invoked whenever supernatural attack is expected and to dispel unwanted other planar influences.

Ey'un, Knower of Skills

A very popular aspect of Ksarul among the laity. Ey'un taught men the many crafts and arts that improve life; masonry, glassmaking, alchemy etc. and told those most faithful to him the inner secrets of these crafts that mark a man out as a master craftsman.

Ghulggr, Wise One of the Pachi Lei

Considered an aspect of both A'lsh and Ksarul, the Pachi Lei say Ghulggr 'reads the knots in the Ebzal tree of reality' and liken the planes Ghulggr travels to as being homes created in the great Ebzal tree of the multiverse by A'lsh and their other deity N'rg. Depicted as a typical Pachi Lei totem in their own 'Low Temples' and as a silver masked Pachi Lei bearing four wands pointing at the four mystical directions of the universe in Ksarul temples.

Other Aspects

Chópruna - The Dweller in Shadow

Te'ekúna - The Wanderer Below

The Finder of the Way Below

Ntk’kt-khík – The Pé Chói

Héssa - The Little One

Master of the Nineteenth Circle

He Who Is Ever Present