Chapter VIII: Religion & Belief
seven feet tall with raven hair and a meticulously trimmed beard. He is the founder of the Order of Mysteries, and he has spent several years working to create ties between the cult and the Light Order of Wizards in Altdorf. The Hierophants have been receptive, agreeing to share their library and research resources with the cult. High Priest Archibald frequently dines with the Hierophants and is rumored to dabble in the arcane arts himself. Holy Days Verena’s main festival is on the first day of each year, when her followers pray that the coming year may be blessed with her enlightenment and reason and free of bigotry and injustice. Minor holy days are observed at the beginning of each month and the beginning of each week. Hoeth, God of Knowledge, Learning, and Wisdom: He is the patron of Elven mages and all learned Elves. Vaul, Smith of the Gods: Vaul lost the War in Heaven to Khaine, and was both crippled and lashed to his anvil as a result. Vaul forged the mightiest artefacts of the Elven race, including the dread Sword of Khaine. Lileath the Maiden, Goddess of Dreams and Fortune: She is worshipped in concert with Isha and Morai-heg. She is a patron to prophets and seers. Morai-heg the Crone, Goddess of Fate : She is said to hold the fate of mortals inside a skin rune pouch. Mathlann, God of Storms: He is the Elven God of the sea, the great patron of the sailors and explorers of Ulthuan. d warfs and The g ods Dwarfs seldom speak of their faith. Humans are aware of a few Dwarf Gods, but most remain a mystery. Some Scholars report that the Dwarf Gods are their ancestors, whilst others say that they were carved by time from the rocks of the first mountains. Whatever the case, Dwarfs maintain that these Gods watch over them, not only guiding their actions, but also judging their achievements and determining if they are worthy. • Grungni, God of Mines and Artisans: The most important of all Dwarf Gods, it is he who first delved into rock, mined ores and melted them into metal. He invented iron and steel. Grimnir the Fearless: The Warrior God of the Dwarfs, he personifies the undaunted courage and fearlessness of the Dwarf Race. Slayers particularly venerate Grimnir, painting his rune on their flesh. Valaya: The greatest Dwarf Goddess, she is said to be the founder of the greatest Dwarf stronghold, Karaz-a-Karak. She is the protectoress of the homeland and the clan. h alflIngs and The g ods The Halflings seem an irreligious race. They keep few holy days and seldom seem to pray. They claim to honour Esmerelda, a Rhya-like figure of hearth and home, but this seems to be a thin excuse for the debauched excesses of Pie Week (see page 174). Some have been seen making the sign of Ranald, but he does not look to be a common choice of God. Empire scholars have attempted to discover the Halfling pantheon, but have mostly been misled and mocked for their troubles. • • • • • • •
Church Skills and Talents Initiates of Verena start with the Perception skill in addition to their normal career skills. Since the Initiate career already has the Perception skill, this means Initiates of Verena get it twice, giving them a +10% bonus (see Skill Mastery in Chapter 4: Skills and Talents ). Priests of Verena can, at their option, learn the following skills and talents as part of their careers: Academic Knowledge (any two), Hypnotism,
Secret Language (any one). Prominent Figures
One of the cult’s luminaries is Manfred Archibald, High Priest of the great temple in Altdorf. He is a towering, bespectacled man,
— n on -h uman g ods —
T he folk of the Empire are suspicious of any Gods that are not their own, but they don’t actively persecute the other races for their worship of their strange deities. Most people are ignorant and uncaring of these religions, choosing to “borrow” any festivals that involve drinking and feasting, whilst missing any subtleties the rite may possess. e lVes and The g ods The Elves worship their own pantheon of Gods, as they have done for time immemorial. Elves have a rich mythic cycle that is so central to their society that it is embedded in their very language. Elven culture is suffused with mysticism and magic to the extent that Priests are unknown amongst the elves. They honour their Gods, and hold the appropriate ceremonies, but do not feel the need for a formalized structure to interact with them—each Elf holds his own communion with the Gods. The Elves also have a much greater understanding of magic than do the other races and they realize that all spell craft ultimately comes from the Aethyr. Thus Elven mages tend to be more mystical than their human counterparts, who often look at arcane magic as a scientific process. It is no coincidence that the centre of Elven wizardry, the Tower of Hoeth on the distant isle of Ulthuan, is dedicated to the God of Wisdom. Many of the Elven Gods have strong similarities to those of the Old World pantheon. Human theologians tend to think that the Gods are the same, but simply worshipped under different names. The Elves consider the Old World pantheon but a distorted reflection of the true Gods. The major Gods and Goddesses of the Elves include: • Asuryan, Father of the Gods: He is the oldest and greatest of the Elven Gods and is said to be the ancestor of all living things. Khaine, God of War and Murder: The “bloody-handed God” has been both a blessing and the curse. He is said to have imprisoned and tortured Isha and Kurnous, but he also fought against the Chaos God Slaanesh. The power of Khaine always comes with a price. The Dark Elves of Naggaroth have elevated Khaine to be their patron God, and make bloody sacrifices to him each day. Isha, Goddess of the Fertility: Isha is honoured as the mother of the Elven race and the protector of the natural world. Kurnous the Hunter, God of Nature: Although he is the father of the Elven race, he is not honoured to the extent that Isha is in Ulthuan anymore. On the other hand, he remains one of the most important Gods of the Wood Elves and is known as the leader of the Wild Hunt. • • •
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