Tezcatlipoca, The Lunar Curse (Tez-cat-lee-POH-ka)
Tezcatlipoca, also known as The Lunar Curse, is a Greater Deity, of Blood, Bloodlust, Curses, and Illusions. He is the progenitor of curses, most associated with the moon and night as well as Lycanthropy, and Vampirism. However, before this, he was a lesser deity who's domain was simply Illusions. After an event that would come to be known as, The First Curse, Tezcatlipoca would become warped and his domains would change to include Blood, Bloodlust and Curses. He would also rise to become a greater deity in the world after spreading more curses throughout the world, most commonly Lycanthropy and Vampirism. As a result, many cultists have begun to follow his creed, often being tricked into his worship.
Kali Xolotl's main structures are made out of Moon Stone, taken from the moon itself. However, people do not often focus on this fact due to it constantly being covered in a thin (or thick) layer of blood. This is due to the many conflicts that take place on the ship. Though, that is not to say that there can't be a modicum of society there as well. There are indeed shops, and even a forest on the main deck of the ship. However, the majority of the inhabitants are fiendish in nature, and the deck often acts as a 'neutral' location in the Blood War, allowing demons and devils to be in the same location without too much conflict. However, the main reason such beings would even willfully interact in the same location, it is because of the many followers of Tezcatlipoca, who call this ship their afterlife and inevitably become apart of the soul trade.
Kali Xolotl is home to many night hags, though, there are three who stand above all others and each rule a section of the city. Haunting Crystal Stitchspitter(Lawful), Demonic Edna Bloodhand(Neutral), Dusty Cora Lightchewer(Chaotic). Each section of the ship is devout to a particular alignment and this coven of hags monopolize the trade in those districts.
Description
In the time before, Tezcatlipoca was a lesser deity of Illusions. During this time, his form was that of a man with a lunar disk helmet that was designed to reflect illusions in the shadows. His body was fair and beautiful, almost elf like in nature with beautiful midnight blue eyes. However, the only aspect of his body that was as bight as the beautiful Moon, was the helmet atop his head. His body, was pitch black, blending in with the night sky and representative of the dark side of the moon. However, due to his jealousy, he would decorate himself in beautiful ornamentations in an attempt to be seen more. This was originally, associated with the night sky as stars.. Today, as punishment for his crimes against the gods, Tezcatlipoca's form is that of a pale white corpse, still wreathed in jewels and ornamentation. His body is lanky and starved looking, and all of his limbs end in long clawed nails on both his hands and feet. His face looks like his lunar helmet had melded with his face and devoid of eye sockets. His mouth, remains large, filled with long fanged teeth and a receding gum line. Much like the heavenly beings he has cursed, he drapes himself in fine cloths and silks. Though, he is sure to also drape himself in furs along waist. When he wishes to interact with his followers, he often takes a form most pleasing to them, but still a similar variation to what they are familiar with. If he interacts with Lycans, he often takes the form of a beast, though, the beast's eyes are covered over and it remains blind. When interacting with vampires, he often keeps his corpse like appearance, simply dressed in more formal clothing.Diet
Tezcatlipoca only feeds on meat and blood. It is said that he requires blood to sustain the curse on the Solar and Lunar gods. Followers of this deity often sacrifice the living and eat them. It is said that the digested blood and meat then farther sustains Tezcatlipoca's decaying body, always looking to be on the brink of starvation.Personality
The Lunar Curse, Tezcatlipoca, is a jealous, spiteful, sadistic and vengeful deity. However, most think that this is all he is. While he can also be ruthless and merciless, he is also conniving and secretive. Originally, a minor deity of Illusions, Tezcatlipoca, was formed within the shadow of the Moon. alongside the true Lunar Deity, Lumine, The Sovereign of the Moon. Jealousy and anger at Lumine and Solarus, The Lord of the Sun's secret meetings had caused the once neutral deity to turn a new leaf. In the end, it resulted in the careful manipulation of the gods through carefully crafted illusions and conversations. As a result, Tezcatlipoca, killed and devoured Aphelion, The Dawn Charger, a lesser deity associated with Solarus, The Sun God. The murder/cannibalism resulted in an event known as The First Curse, an event that separated the Sun and Moon in the skies forever, only able to visit with one another at particular events, commonly referred to as an Eclipse. This also resulted in the creation of another deity, Stygia, The Slithering Void, as well as other gods punishing Tezcatlipoca for his transgressions which only seemed to make Tezcatlipoca more conniving and spiteful. To this day, Tezcatlipoca is known for his vengeful nature. His relationship with his followers is one where he expects his followers to obey him. He seem caring, though it it often a manipulative ploy to get them to do his bidding. Once you are in, the punishment for leaving is often death. His sadistic nature causes any of his followers to willfully accept a curse from him; often in the form of lycanthropy of some kind, or Vampirism. It's not uncommon for him to demand of his cultists that they bleed regularly for him.Abilities
Tezcatlipoca's abilities are barely understood by the common man. However, few things have been discovered about them. In the dawn times, Tezcatlipoca's main abilities involved his control over illusion magics, and his development of many of it's practices. this is farther assisted by an object in his possession known as The Lunar Helmet. This helmet seemingly amplified his ability to make illusions in the shadows of the moon. However, the item has been lost, now permanently bonded to the deities head. Such illusions were also not restricted completely to night time. Though, it is a common understanding that he is more powerful at night. It is also due to these illusions that it is almost impossible to locate Tezcatlipoca's domain through scrying magic. He often uses this to also hide his location from other gods who may seek to harm him in some way. He even has the power to restrict things like Devil Sight or True sight. His illusions are so powerful that to even see his domain itself, with true sight, you must be within 100ft of his domain, and without true sight, you must enter just within the cities borders, and pass through a barrier to even see his domain. However, not only is he gifted in the school of Illusion magic, being a deity of such a school of magic, he is also the originator of Blood Magic and curses. All practitioners of Blood Magic, have Tezcatlipoca to thank for such magics. It is also through such blood magics that he crafted the first curses. Some of his most favorite forms of curses are Lycanthropy and Vampirism, given their tie to night and their ties to his personality. Like Vampires, he is cunning and able to craft illusions and enthrall those around him. However, his ability to enthrall, while slightly derivative of enchantment magic, is actually a form of blood magic that forces the victim to do as he demands. While, on the other side, like a lycanthrope, Tezcatlipoca is a vicious combatant. He is gifted with spears and used to posses The Bloodmoon Spear, an artifact weapon that is said to be the one he used to strike down Aphelion, The Dawn Charger. However, he also utilizes his claws and teeth, often depicted as ripping mortals and gods limb from limb with his bare hands and drinking of their blood. The Bloodmoon Spear, is a powerful artifact, proven to have the power to kill a god. However, the spear has since been fragmented, and the only thing he maintains control over is the The Bloodmoon Spearhead. The spearhead, while broken from The Bloodmoon Spear Shaft, is still a powerful artifact, that he sometimes passes on to his followers or keeps in his possession. FINISH ME!!!!Activity
TBDDivine Realm
Tezcatlipoca's original Divine Realm was shared between himself and Lumine, a place known as The Lunar Palace, located, colloquially, on the moons surface, but planar speaking, it resides within the Astral Sea, near Mount Celestia. Now, Tezcatlipoca resides on a massive ship that travels the lower planes, along The River Styx, known as Kali Xolotl (Pronounced: Kah-lee SHO-lot), or Palace of the Fallen Star. The ship itself is a massive floating city filled with evils of all kind, hidden by illusions created by Tezcatlipoca himself. The illusion can not be dispelled by normal means, and can hide itself from anyone that Tezcatlipoca deems unworthy and it is impossible to scry upon. You must be within 100ft of Kali Xolotl to be able to even see it with True Sight, and must enter its boarders to be able to see it with normal vision. You are even blind to it's presence through means like Detect Magic, if you are a mundane, lesser being. This often causes travelers, both fiendish and mortal alike, to be surprised upon witnessing the ever moving fortress ship"We mark this our second day traveling through Avernus, though I know not where we are now. We had dodged the devilish hoards and slave masters. We have dodged the Watchtowers, and the Stygian Docks. Avoided the floating fortresses and hoards of devils and demons battling on the ground, but out focus was clear. We had to make it to the other side of the River Styx, but could not locate a ship to take us across. Our casters insisted on flying across, the other side in sight - but we were fools. We did not know. The moment we took flight, and made it part way across, those ahead of us vanished into thin air. We had no time to turn back. It's not easy for a druid to avert flight while at full speed, trying to avoid being spotted... A massive floating city, magically hidden from our sight is what we flew into. From my areal view, I could see alabaster towers, buildings, and one massive palace in the center, looming over all with a dark gloomy light emanating from it's top most structure. However, despite the stone being alabaster in nature, it all had a coating of blood, of which I know not the date of origin. It could be anything from hours, to over a millennia old and filled with monstrous, murderous beings, that skewered our druid out of the sky. I am alone. I am scared. I will die here."
~ Forgotten Adventurer's Journal, found on the bank of the River Styx. ~
Possessions
Lunar Helmet****** The Bloodmoon Spear***** Bloodmoon Spearhead**** The Bloodmoon Spear Shaft***** (Power to summon blood elementals)History
Beginning
Tezcatlipoca first manifest in the universe behind the Moon. There, he spoke with the Lunar God Lumine, and came to understand Illusions and magic. There, Tezcatlipoca would remain for a long period of time, alone and contemplative of his abilities. He would often use this magic, to scare mortals in the night, making the illusion of monsters in the shadows. This was often used to keep people away from danger, or simply to entertain the Lesser God. He would do this with his Lunar Helmet, a helmet that he often wore in representation of the Greater Deity he served. However, over time, Tezcatlipoca would notice something bright pass by the other side of the Moon often. This was Solarus, the God of the Sun, often coming to court Lumine. The two were lovers, often enjoying dancing across the sky and Lumine would also sneak away from the night sky to visit Solarus in the day, dragging Tezcatlipoca to join him. During these meetings Tezcatlipoca would come to meet a god by the name of Aphelion, The Dawn Charger, a massive ram like god, known for carrying the sun across the sky between its massive horns. Aphelion, would often escort Solarus to meet Lumine and then, the massive ram would remain behind with Tezcatlipoca as the two other gods galivanted across the sky together. This gave Tezcatlipoca time with the massive ram. It is during this time that Tezcatlipoca learned that Aphelion was a Lesser deity, much like himself. However, ram had an integral connection with the god he served. With a portfolio ranging across dawn, and natural disasters such as quakes. The ram constantly worked side by side with Solarus, where Tezcatlipoca hardly worked beside Lumine, only ever aiding with an illusion of dream. Resentful of this, yet ever interested in more ways to mess with the mortal beings Lumine adored so much, Tezcatlipoca tried to learn more about how to create natural disasters of his own, only to be reprimanded by the Lunar Monarch, publicly for a breech of portfolio; something that no god is aloud to do. Angered by this, Tezcatlipoca began to plot behind the backs of the other gods, seeking revenge on Lumine and, seeking a purpose, greater than that of a simple Illusion god. He vowed, if he could not bring about disasters to the mortals, he would bring about disaster to the gods.The First Curse
Over time, Tezcatlipoca began to study dark rituals. He would also interact with the material plane more often than not. Instead, he used his illusions to play with the minds of the mortal lives on the material plane. This often resulted in him causing the mortals to enter a blind rage and murder. This caused him to for fascinated with such actions and he became obsessed with it. He discovered that, he didn't need evocation magic to create the devastation and rivers of blood he secretly desired. However, as a result of finding his love of blood, it caused him to start to study in secret. What more could he do with this substance, blood? It lead him down a dark path of blood lust, and blood magic. This gained him many followers, which he would hide from the other deities with his illusions. By doing this, slowly, Tezcatlipoca gained more and more power as his followers became more and more devout and bloodthirsty. This all comes to a head when, on a particular visit from Solarus and Aphelion, just as Solarus and Lumine went to dance across the night sky again, Tezcatlipoca, seeking to enact his revenge on the other Lunar deity, tricked Aphelion into thinking he wished to make amends for past transgressions. Tezcatlipoca, would then trick Aphelion with illusory moonberry bushes. A beautiful, white berry with fantastic flavor. However, as the massive godly ram went to feast, it would find that the illusion hid behind it massive spears, held by the celestial followers of Tezcatlipoca. There, the followers, and Tezcatlipoca himself, descended upon the godly ram, murdering him quickly, and drenching what TRUE moonberries there were, with his blood - later resulting in the berries actually turning reddish purple in color. In a ravenous feast, Tezcatlipoca and his followers began to devour The Thunderous Inferno, painting the moon blood red in the process. This change in the surface of his domain caused Lumine and Solarus to look back at the celestial body and quickly rushed to see what was happening, but it was too late. As the Solar and Lunar deities returned, they bore witness to the blood soaked ritual of Tezcatlipoca's. Aphelion's body was reduced to mostly smoking embers on the ground, littered amongst the bones and horns left behind. The two deities, stunned in horror, watched on as Tezcatlipoca summoned forth a great serpent, Stygia, who would come to be known by many names, but was first known as, the Devouring Twilight. As the great serpent rose forth from the smoke, Solarus and Lumine in blinding rages, lashed out at Tezcatlipoca, both pinning the deity to the ground with a massive blast of solar and lunar light. This blast caused Tezcatlipoca's body to change. As punishment, the two gods transformed Tezcatlipoca's body to the ghastly visage of a corpse he is known for today. The light caused the traitorous deity to become blinded, as the Lunar Helm became permanently bonded to his head, and all life was seemingly drained from his body. He fell to the blood of Aphelion that still drenched the moons surface, as the other two deity turned to address the writhing snake. However, as the serpent god began to come to consciousness, Tezcatlipoca, rose from the blood, revealing himself to be the substances new master. Solarus and Lumine, unknowing of the now Greater Deity of Blood and Bloodlust's power, watched in horror as Tezcatlipoca began to control Stygia. The Winding Darkness, twisted around in agony before slamming into the solar god, devouring him, and slithering off into the void beyond. The only remain of the Solar god being his light that only poked through Stygia's misty body in small pockets, known as stars. Tezcatlipoca, would escape from the Lunar Palace as Lumine was left devastated in the wake of destruction. He would then flee to the lower planes and construct a massive ship. He named it Kali Xolotl, or Palace of the Fallen Star, a name he gave the ship as a constant reminder to the Solar and Lunar gods of his deeds in the crafting of the stars. To this day, a curse lays over the Solar and Lunar deities. They are cursed to forever be apart at night. Stygia, at dusk, shall always devour Solarus, keeping the two parted, while Lumine, is forced to watch over the massive snake goddess as she slithers away, only to regurgitate Solarus again by dawn. Only for the cycle to continue come dusk, and in the moment of twilight, Solarus is eaten again. The only days that they are aloud to meet again, are on days of an eclipse. Then, during a lunar eclipse, Solarus may travel across the sky and be one with Lumine again. However, the Lunar palace is once again, decorated in an illusion of Aphelion's blood. During a solar eclipse, Solarus makes an effort to watch the back of Lumine, ever worried that the lunar deities old associate will come back for more. Though, these events are few and far between, lasting only an hour or two tops before the two must part again.Today
Today, Tezcatlipoca sails his massive ship through the lower planes. He keeps constantly moving along the River Styx in an attempt to avoid the Bright Lords Wrath. He revels in the destruction of the blood war raging between devils and demons. One, as a more neutral illusions god, he would have been more disgusted by the bloodshed and death. Now, his blood lust has driven him mad enough to venture in close under the guise of powerful illusions, so that he could bare witness to some of the bloodshed up close.Relationships
TBDSymbol
Tezcatlipoca's symbol is something he is often depicted as seen wearing, his earrings. However, many do not know the true meaning behind the symbol. The circular disk represents his ties to the moon, and the Lunar Helmet that has now permanently bonded to his head since his punishment. The circle, along with the underlaying triangle, represents the palace in the center of Kali Xolotl, that emanates light, and illusion for the inhabitants of his domain. This location on Kali Xolotl, also serves as a reminder to all in the floating city, that Tezcatlipoca is always watching. That same sentiment, extends to the holy symbol as well. Lastly, there is another part of the holy symbol that has great importance. The triangle at the bottom of the symbol actually has a meaning as well. It is designed to take the shape of the Bloodmoon Spearhead, a priceless artifact of the religion, and the same Spearhead that once pierced The Dawn Charger. To this day, followers of Tezcatlipoca often sharpen this part of their holy symbol. This is much to the gods design, as it provides a knife with which to preform blood letting rituals, which is something The Lunar Curse enjoys.Worshippers
Tezcatlipoca is recognized by most, if not all people in the world. He is, for most, an ill omen, and warning to their children to avoid going out at night. For his followers, he is the one that gives them great gifts at the cost of bloodlust and a curse. Many hoards of cursed beings tend to follow him. Often, even people that are cursed try to seek his aid in the removal of said curse, not understanding that he enjoys people getting cursed and would never remove such a thing willingly.Death
When a follower of Tezcatlipoca dies, their soul traverses the planes and makes its way to Kali Xolotl, often forming a new life as a fiendish larva. Akin to the larva that form in Hades, these larva are often harvested by other fiends to use in dark rituals, or even recruit more to their ranks. These larva are often used by other fiendish beings in the something known as The Soul Trade, where the larva are then collected, often by night hags who commonly reside on Kali Xolotl, and are ether used in dark rituals or sold as food, and recruits - depending on how good the soul is - for ether the demon or devil ranks. Souls that don't form into Larva, often are the most devout, ruthless, and cunning of Tezcatlipoca's followers. To them, he allows them to maintain their true form, often being born again naked out of blood pits on the ship where the larva are often harvested. There, they are welcomed by Night Hags and often given a task on the ship. These tasks range from washing the ship (an impossible job), to watch guards, larva harvesters, or even flat out slaves - to name a few. Though, these tasks are often done during day time hours, as reflected by the sun on the material plane. By night, dark light emits from the palace in the center, and most souls are given free reign to do as they please. This often results in most souls forming small societies on the ship, often filled with traitorous backstabbing and death. It is also not uncommon for some souls to depart the ship on one of the lower planes. However, since they are technically dead, they can not return to the world of the living and must remain in the outer planes until their souls are destroyed, which happens more often than not.
Basic Information Title(s):
- The Lunar Curse
- Lord of Vampires
- Creator Of Lycanthropes
- The Great Illusion
- The Smoking Mirror
- Blind Vengeance
- Lunar Horror
- The Origin of Curses
- Lunar Shadow
- Lunar Cannibal
Type
Religious, Pantheon
5th Edition Statistics Alignment: Neutral evil Clerical Alignment:
Lawful Good |
Neutral Good |
Chaotic Good |
Lawful Neutral |
Chaotic Neutral |
|
Lawful Evil |
Neutral Evil |
Chaotic Evil |
Manifestations Favored Animal: Wolf, Bat Favored Plant: Bleeding Heart Favored Monster: Vampires, Lycanthropes Favored Mineral: Bloodstone(Heliotrope) Favored Color: White, Red Favored Weapon: Claws, Spears (The Bloodberry Spear) Favored Offerings: Blood, a Corpse, Virgins, A Revenge Kill Potential Artifacts: T/B/D
Spell Alterations Domain Spells: You may pick two per spell Level. Basic choices are in black. Alternative choices will be in another color.
