Khoras - Religion - Gods of the Ogres

Alternate Names	The Crone
Type of Religion	Polytheistic
Domain	Revenge, Hatred, Ugliness, Bitterness, Envy, Poison, Murder and Fire
Ethos	Loathing is powerful. Hate makes you strong. Let hate fester in your soul. Feed your power.
Worshipers	Outcasts, Criminals, The Diseased, The Unwanted and any who seek revenge. Particularly popular among ogres.
Number of Worshipers	250,000
Primary Location(s)	Eastern Ithria, very popular in Duthelm and the Coalition
Allied Faiths	Kael, Draxorith
Opposed Faiths	Barrinor
Depiction	Agethos appears as a very old, withered woman, diseased and deformed. Her race lies somewhere between human, orcish and ogrish. She is dressed in simple garments, ragged and muddy.
Symbol	A shattered hand mirror.

The Deity

Agethos is the ultimate incarnation of hatred. She is the patron deity of all those who seek revenge. She is the champion of the unwanted, the outcast, the imprisoned and the vengeful. She embodies ugliness, bitterness and spite. Agethos and her worshipers wage endless war against the privileged and the beautiful. Although hideously ugly, she is clever, wise and deceitful. She often tricks her enemies with crafty ploys.

The faithful of Agethos believe that she will aid them in their quest for vengeance. They firmly believe that she walks the mortal world in various disguises to aid the faithful and further her wicked ends.

Agethos is said to be a powerful witch. She brews magical potions and uses these often in her plots.

There are many myths about Agethos. Tales about her exploits often describe the ways she works against the privileged or elite of the world. She is a crafty one and subtle in her ways. One popular tale tells of how she tempted a young human duchess to indulge in her love of rich foods and, in this way, took from her both beauty and love. Another tale portrays Agethos’ vengeful side and tells of how she captured a young elven maiden, renowned far and wide for her beauty, and poured acid on her face, condemning her to a life of ugliness. In another tale, she was given a gift of a hand mirror by a young noble who mocked her ugliness. She shattered the mirror and, with the glass shards, maimed the man. From this legend came the symbol of Agethos.

The Church

The church of Agethos is not a particularly organized faith. It is practiced loosely by individuals and small groups on a personal basis. The size of this church is difficult to say. Estimates put it at around a quarter of a million adherents scattered around eastern Ithria. However, there are many more who mutter an oath to her or offer up a prayer when engaging in an act of vengeance. While this is not a particularly powerful or widespread faith, the followers or Agethos are likely responsible for many murders and other crimes in the cities of Ithria.

The worship of Agethos is widespread throughout much of Ithria, particularly eastern Ithria. Agethos is worshiped openly in Duthelm, Ormek and the Coalition where she is quite popular in some areas. In those lands, grand temples to her can be found. The worship of Agethos in other, more civilized, lands is frowned upon or outlawed completely. Yet, even in the most civilized lands there are those faithful who keep secret shrines to her in hidden places.

Various tales tell of the life of Agethos. There are legends that state she was a witch that lived ages ago, long before the Sundering. She was diseased and outcast from many villages. Eventually, a beautiful young princess ordered her captured, tortured and executed. It is said she rose from the grave by sheer force of will and used her magic to elevate herself to godhood. There are many variations on this tale and some of them conflict. The tale of Agethos bears some similarities to a Thullian legend of an outcast witch who sought revenge on a king.

In any case, the myths and legends slowly merged during the Age of Sorrow. Tales of Agethos were written down and began to form the first scriptures. Some groups who sought revenge together began to take Agethos as their patron deity and invoke her name in their work.

The first temple was erected in the Coalition in 2319 CY. It was built by a trio of ogre witches, named Ugrith, Malak and Curela, who formed a small cult based on the tales of the Crone. The faith has spread slowly across the lands over the centuries and other shrines and churches have appeared.

As a whole, the Church has no focused goals. Only to help the faithful with their own personal quests of vengeance. In a broader sense, the various groups of followers work to bring down and punish the wealthy and privileged.

There are major temples to Agethos in Stovikar, Tyrrenkor and the Citadel. Minor temples can be found scattered throughout Ormek, the Coalition and Duthelm. There is no formal organization between the churches and temples of Agethos. Each operates independently. There are countless hidden shrines throughout eastern Ithria – in the basements of homes, in backrooms of shady taverns and in secret lairs outside the cities. Often, the followers of Agethos connect through temples and churches and sometimes unite to pull off grand plots and schemes that they might otherwise not have been able to do.

Many mutter an oath to the Crone or ask her favor when engaging in an act of vengeance. She is favored by criminals and thieves, outcasts and prisoners, witches and sorcerers, the diseased, the unwanted, the abandoned. She accepts all who the world has rejected. Anyone who has felt betrayed or rejected or wronged may follow her path for awhile. Many rejected lovers have taken to the worship of Agethos. Agethos is particularly popular among the ogres. Especially ogre women who pursue magic.

While Agethos is opposed to many religions and groups in the world, she is most diametrically opposed to the Church of Kythira. Abject loathing exists between Agethos and Kythira and their two churches make war upon each other constantly. There can be no peace between them.

The church of Agethos has no strong ties with any other religion or group. For the most part, the faithful of Agethos are fiercely independent and trust only each other.

Dogma

Hate is the most powerful weapon to the faithful of Agethos. Hate makes them strong and with it, they strike out at beauty and passion, hope and goodness.

For any injustice or insult, revenge is the answer. Revenge above all. Patience is also a valuable tool. Only through hard work and endless patience can true revenge be invoked. There is no greater joy in life than revenge fulfilled. Mercy and pity are for the weak. Revenge belongs to the strong.

Those who follow Agethos are expected to take what they are owed by the world. By force or stealth or deception, one must take what one wants. Her followers have a disdain for morality or civility or law. The world has rejected them, and so they reject the laws of the world.

There is only one holy book of Agethos. Known as The Way of the Crone, this volume is a collection of tales about Agethos, mixed with prayers, recitations and bits of lore. It is attributed to the three ogre witches who built the temple in the Coalition.

The symbol of Agethos is a shattered hand mirror. It is taken from one of the oldest tales of Agethos. It represents not only the ugliness of the Crone and her hatred of beauty, but is also a symbolic rejection of the world and desire to take action and revenge. The faithful of Agethos keep no mirrors themselves and shatter the mirrors of those they fight against.

Worshipers gather in small groups of 10-20 per shrine and meet in the dead of night. Raids, assassinations and other acts of evil are carried out often. Such acts are usually aimed at striking back at the world at large, but also to aid the faithful in their lives. Services sometimes involve the sacrifice of a beautiful, wealthy or successful man and woman, often a couple. Beautifully crafted objects are sometimes also sacrificed. At such rituals, a mirror is shattered.

The faithful of Agethos give a small portion of their wealth to their shrine or temple with each full moon. Raw wealth, such as gold or jewels, is stolen from sacrificial victims to further the cause. Beautiful objects and art are destroyed and sacrificed to the glory of Agethos.

The worshipers of Agethos gather once a month on the night when Mektor, the blood red moon, is full. Some gather at the temples. Others simply pray under the full moon or in their own personal shrine that night. The most holy day of this religion is the seventh day of the seventh month. It comes from one of the tales of Agethos and is supposedly the date of her execution. On this night, the faithful make sacrifices to the Crone, either alone or in groups at the temples. Many work to have various plots and schemes reach culmination on this night. It is known as an evil night in many lands. Murders and assassinations, often attributed to the followers of Agethos, occur on this night.

The original copy of The Way of the Crone is an ancient tome and is considered a holy artifact by those who worship at the Coalition temple.

The Hand Mirror of Agethos is said to be the most treasured object of this religion. Supposedly once held by Agethos herself in ages past, this simple hand mirror, now broken, is said to show the future. Many followers of Agethos claim that this mirror was stolen many centuries ago and believe it will one day be found. Others claim that this mirror is a legend and metaphor only.

The Priests of Agethos

Those who choose to devote their lives to Agethos become priests of her. Most serve at the temples or churches of Agethos. Others choose to wander the world seeking their revenge. Priests of Agethos vary considerably. Most study magic on their own, as she did. Many learn alchemy to brew poisons and sleep potions and other useful tools.

The temple priests organize the rituals and aid the faithful in their plots. The priests guide followers and serve as examples. Often priests of Agethos will aid fellow worshipers in their plots of revenge. Sometimes priests will call upon followers to aid one another. A follower called upon in this manner is expected to do what he can and such assistance will gain favor with Agethos.

The worshipers of Agethos are the outcasts of society. The old, the diseased, the insane, the ugly, the unwanted, the unlucky, the abandoned, the betrayed and the criminal. In the church of Agethos, they find a home and some measure of acceptance among others of similar ilk. All are welcome to come and worship. Above the worshipers there are three ranks: acolyte, priest and great priest.

Acolytes are taught basic spells. Priests have a much larger compliment of spells granted them by Agethos. In addition to spells, great priests have the ability to wither flesh with a mere touch of their hand. The stronger the great priest is, the more times per week he or she can perform this feat. This can be used to punish underlings or used as an attack against an enemy. Often, it is used to wound and scar victims before they are sacrificed. In withering the flesh, the great priest absorbs strength and vitality from the victim.

The priests of Agethos wear black robes and white porcelain masks during ceremonies. The masks are in the likeness of a humanoid face, but often show ugly bestial traits. The mask of the great priests are elaborate and made in the likeness of great and terrible beasts.

Priests of Agethos are forbidden to bathe, or perfume themselves or use mirrors.

The World Of Khoras - Religion - Gods of the Ogres

Agethos

The Deity

The Church

Dogma

The Priests of Agethos