Nocticula
A woman’s empathic mind and bodily cycles hold the key to understanding the mysteries of the natural world. According to Nocticula, the sensual Princess of Moonlight, women alone possess the power to experience nature as it is meant to be experienced—a gloriously chaotic panorama so complete in its majesty that it cannot be fully appreciated by the mortal mind. Nocticula’s earthy cult, the so-called Sisterhood of Sensates, believes that the mind-altering properties of certain plants and fungi, coupled with the chemicals of a woman’s body, can grant higher understanding of the limitless possibilities presented by nature’s hidden landscapes. Members gather in secluded vales under the cover of moonlight to revel in erotic frolics enriched by the liberal ingestion of psychedelic drugs. To most, they represent harmless would-be faeries obsessed with self-indulgent pleasures. In fact they are members of a relentless, widespread cult whose deep perception of the natural world gives them a powerful advantage over their enemies.
Description
Nocticula frequently appears to her worshipers in dreams or hallucinogenic visions as a voluptuous wild woman with dried mud between her toes and a feral look in her deep brown eyes. The wry smile of her full lips reveals cunning intelligence and guile, and while she sometimes clothes herself in leather pants or a thick fur cloak, she prefers to travel as naked as the animals who inhabit her beloved wild spaces. She paints simple circles and lines upon her face, chest, and stomach, using natural dyes to accentuate her pale complexion. She resembles a mortal human more than nearly any other prince of The Abyss, but her form occasionally morphs slightly without warning, and a dim, rapidly fading trail of light follows her every movement. Nocticula loathes the devil queen Antaia, a powerful devil who inhabits the Fourth Circle of Hell and who passes herself off as a patron of witches on Eldarr. True, Antaia’s doctrine distances her followers from the gods and hence furthers the corruption of their souls, but the Princess of Moonlight finds the devil’s rigid teachings a betrayal of the primal, chaotic force of nature that motivates true witches. Her greatest ally is undoubtedly the demon prince Socothbenoth, who as patron of prostitution and eroticism shares her zest for sensual living. That he also happens to be her brother only serves to strengthen their powerful bond.Realm
A Sister Sensate in the full embrace of nature’s image-inducing powers sees a world in constant change. Such is the case with the Darklight, Nocticula’s forlorn, enchanting personal layer of The Abyss. There, in clearings ringed by autumnal trees, feminine demons and female souls join in common adulation of nature, painting their naked bodies with mud and dining upon psychedelic fungus a hundred times more potent than the most powerful drugs of Eldarr. The layer itself warps, quivers, and shakes as if controlled by a mad, narcotic dream. Succubi generally manage individual covens in the Abyssal layer, while the insidious alrunes serve as Nocticula’s personal agents of vengeance, a service that often takes them far from The Abyss.Worshipers
Nocticula’s cult is strongest in rural areas; many tribal or village wise women secretly honor her, and evil-aligned fey sometimes venerate the Princess of Moonlight over the queen of their own dark faerie court. Though the Sisterhood comprises females exclusively, the cult is far from dedicated to misandry. Nocticulans believe that men serve important roles in the wholeness of the natural world but that they cannot achieve complete understanding, with or without the aid of hallucinogens and dreams. Most of the order’s more sensual ceremonies require the presence of at least one man, however, and several sympathetic males assist the cult whenever possible. Though her female thaumaturges vastly outnumber males, Nocticula welcomes members of both sexes to swear their eternal souls to her in exchange for thaumaturgical powers. Should a Nocticulan learn of a man who has physically or sexually abused a woman or girl, however, she enlists the aid of her sisters to rain down merciless retribution upon him, often inviting the victim to join the Sisterhood after the man who has wronged her has been dealt with appropriately. What strikes a Nocticulan as “appropriate” often seems downright vicious to outsiders. The Sisterhood’s reliance on torture and mutilation tears a wide rift between it and other feminine nature cults, who view Nocticulans as drug-addled psychopaths whose propensity for whimsy makes them no less frightening and dangerous. A relatively new cult of Nocticula has emerged on Eldarr; the The Dreambringers led by Ledovis Quentin in Endrigia are a group of alchemists who have developed a new drug called The Dream. Nocticula couldn't be happier with how it is developing and the chaos that is growing around it.Obedience
Once per day, thaumaturges in service to Nocticula ingest a small quantity of psychedelic plants or fungi, seeing in the resulting hallucinations and dreams the blessed, unholy instruction of the Princess of Moonlight. Generally, thaumaturges can locate a suitable plant with a successful Profession (herbalist) check (DC 10). If walled within a city or otherwise unable to find the appropriate material, a thaumaturge may purchase a daily dose for 10 gp. At the end of the ritual trip, the thaumaturge’s daily spell allotment is replenished. Note: Nocticulan thaumaturges treat Profession (herbalist) as a class skill.
Divine Classification
Demon
Alignment
Chaotic evil
Current Location
Species
Realm
Church/Cult
Children
Current Residence
Aligned Organization
Comments