Cult of Achaekek
Achaekek does not actively seek worshipers, but as long as faith has existed, there have been those who see much to venerate and fear in the Mantis God’s actions.
His only actively organized church on Golarion serves a dual role: the Red Mantis assassins are as much his holy servants as they are the most-feared guild of assassins in the Inner Sea region. Just as Achaekek does not directly strike against the gods, so do the Red Mantis assassins avoid contracts on the leaders of the mortal realm, seeing rightfully appointed monarchs as divinely appointed. All others are fair game.
The church of Achaekek, and thus the Red Mantis assassins’ blades, are responsible for many famous slayings over the years. The deaths of those who aspired to divinity are perhaps the most well known, such as Arrogant Marsis, said to have been the most beautiful man in the world during the early years of the Age of Enthronement, or Yazanova, the murderous queen of the Tusk Mountains who sought to become the Goddess of the North. Yet the Red Mantis assassins were not always eager for such fame.
Achaekek’s cult worked in secret for centuries in their homeland of Rahadoum. But in 2559 AR, on the eve of when the Laws of Mortality were to be enacted, the priestess Ximena received a vision from Achaekek. She led the Red Mantis to flee the Rahadoumi religious persecution, though the cultists were forced to give up most of their wealth in the flight. From that point on, necessity forced the Red Mantis to operate more openly, for the funds to remain hidden no longer existed. After centuries of piracy, the Red Mantis built up enough wealth to construct a city on Mediogalti Island; however, they did not wholly return to their secret ways. Today, their assassinations may be plotted in the shadows, but the results are left for all to see and fear.
Being home to the Red Mantis, Mediogalti Island is the center of Achaekek’s organized worship. The cult is led by a group of deadly assassins known collectively as the Vernai, or “High Killers.” Traditionally, there are 13 Vernai, mostly women; there are no restrictions against men in positions of power, but it is exceptionally unusual for a man to achieve the rank of Vernai.
The Vernai oversee all Red Mantis operations, approving every contract and organizing reprisals against traitors as needed, while simultaneously ruling the city of Ilizmagorti and managing its affairs. The Vernai themselves are ruled by one woman, the Blood Mistress, who is considered the ultimate authority on Achaekek’s will. This role is for life, and has never been held by a man. The current leader is Blood Mistress Jakalyn, an ageless and passionate killer who supposedly has ruled the church and Mediogalti Island alike since the time of Aroden’s death.
Not all of Achaekek’s places of worship are so fleeting. In cruel societies, or nations where other lawful evil religions hold great power, smaller shrines exist openly, doubling as places the desperate or vengeful can go to contract assassinations. Achaekek’s faithful have arranged special permissions to operate in such a manner in Geb and Nidal. In other nations, such as Katapesh or the River Kingdoms, shrines to the god of assassins are usually hidden in plain sight under the cover of other operations, even where no strict law against the church’s operation exists. The cult is not well tolerated in Cheliax, for the Red Mantis’s support of piracy along the western coast of Garund has long vexed House Thrune, but the church nonetheless maintains numerous secret temples throughout Cheliax.
The church’s greatest temples are found on Mediogalti Island. In Ilizmagorti, the grand Pagoda of the Mantis stands proudly as one of the cult’s cornerstones of worship, but the infamous Crimson Citadel, located deep in the isle’s jungle interior, serves as the true house of power for the Red Mantis. The heart of the god’s faith and the home of the Vernai, the Crimson Citadel is rumored to contain a mortal paradise, a collection of all the weapons and traps humanity has ever devised, the largest library in the Inner Sea region, and the deepest dungeons human hands have ever carved.
The assassins brutally hunt down any other than their own who wears the holy armor and mask of a Red Mantis assassin, but Achaekek’s worshipers place no such bounties on those who train and master the use of the sawtooth sabre. This is perhaps because the wider these blades spread and the more they are associated with pain and death, the more notorious they become.
All priests of Achaekek are expected to serve as assassins should they have the opportunity to do so, regardless of their actual skills. As a result, most priests of Achaekek take either levels in the Red Mantis assassin prestige class or levels in another class that provides proficiency in such murderous pursuits. Strangely, those who worship the Mantis God rarely take levels in the standard assassin prestige class—the church doesn’t strictly forbid such a choice, but it is looked down upon by most worshipers and usually marks someone who came to worship Achaekek later in life. Worshipers of Achaekek never ask for coin to defend or avenge themselves or their allies, but they believe fervently that assassins who kill for reasons divorced from personal interest deserve compensation for their services in recognition of their skills, and consider it an insult to be asked or told to kill someone without proper recompense.
Of special note are the rare heretics of Achaekek. These strange few worship Achaekek, but have openly disavowed the Red Mantis assassin guild, believing the assassins to have used the Mantis God to bolster their own mystique and reputation rather than advance the god’s interests. The Vernai view these heretics as among the greatest of the church’s enemies; however, the fact that Achaekek still grants magic to these unorthodox clerics implies there may be a kernel of truth to their beliefs.
These believers lead quiet lives and abandon the classic dress of the cult, yet continue to train with sawtooth sabres as they work to kill those who they believe deserve death. The heretics rarely accept payment for their deeds, believing that their actions keep fate on its proper course. These beliefs are not so different from those who worship Norgorber as Father Skinsaw. However, openly commenting on this similarity draws swift punishment from heretical Red Mantis worshipers and Skinsaw cultists alike. Neither group admits any connection between their faiths, and in cases where they encounter one another, death is sure to follow.
His only actively organized church on Golarion serves a dual role: the Red Mantis assassins are as much his holy servants as they are the most-feared guild of assassins in the Inner Sea region. Just as Achaekek does not directly strike against the gods, so do the Red Mantis assassins avoid contracts on the leaders of the mortal realm, seeing rightfully appointed monarchs as divinely appointed. All others are fair game.
The church of Achaekek, and thus the Red Mantis assassins’ blades, are responsible for many famous slayings over the years. The deaths of those who aspired to divinity are perhaps the most well known, such as Arrogant Marsis, said to have been the most beautiful man in the world during the early years of the Age of Enthronement, or Yazanova, the murderous queen of the Tusk Mountains who sought to become the Goddess of the North. Yet the Red Mantis assassins were not always eager for such fame.
Achaekek’s cult worked in secret for centuries in their homeland of Rahadoum. But in 2559 AR, on the eve of when the Laws of Mortality were to be enacted, the priestess Ximena received a vision from Achaekek. She led the Red Mantis to flee the Rahadoumi religious persecution, though the cultists were forced to give up most of their wealth in the flight. From that point on, necessity forced the Red Mantis to operate more openly, for the funds to remain hidden no longer existed. After centuries of piracy, the Red Mantis built up enough wealth to construct a city on Mediogalti Island; however, they did not wholly return to their secret ways. Today, their assassinations may be plotted in the shadows, but the results are left for all to see and fear.
Being home to the Red Mantis, Mediogalti Island is the center of Achaekek’s organized worship. The cult is led by a group of deadly assassins known collectively as the Vernai, or “High Killers.” Traditionally, there are 13 Vernai, mostly women; there are no restrictions against men in positions of power, but it is exceptionally unusual for a man to achieve the rank of Vernai.
The Vernai oversee all Red Mantis operations, approving every contract and organizing reprisals against traitors as needed, while simultaneously ruling the city of Ilizmagorti and managing its affairs. The Vernai themselves are ruled by one woman, the Blood Mistress, who is considered the ultimate authority on Achaekek’s will. This role is for life, and has never been held by a man. The current leader is Blood Mistress Jakalyn, an ageless and passionate killer who supposedly has ruled the church and Mediogalti Island alike since the time of Aroden’s death.
Temples & Shrines
Most of Achaekek’s worshipers are content to pray at secret shrines or improvised altars; these are often little more than alcoves marked with the god’s symbol, or small structures housing trophies and broken emblems of faith taken from slain targets.Not all of Achaekek’s places of worship are so fleeting. In cruel societies, or nations where other lawful evil religions hold great power, smaller shrines exist openly, doubling as places the desperate or vengeful can go to contract assassinations. Achaekek’s faithful have arranged special permissions to operate in such a manner in Geb and Nidal. In other nations, such as Katapesh or the River Kingdoms, shrines to the god of assassins are usually hidden in plain sight under the cover of other operations, even where no strict law against the church’s operation exists. The cult is not well tolerated in Cheliax, for the Red Mantis’s support of piracy along the western coast of Garund has long vexed House Thrune, but the church nonetheless maintains numerous secret temples throughout Cheliax.
The church’s greatest temples are found on Mediogalti Island. In Ilizmagorti, the grand Pagoda of the Mantis stands proudly as one of the cult’s cornerstones of worship, but the infamous Crimson Citadel, located deep in the isle’s jungle interior, serves as the true house of power for the Red Mantis. The heart of the god’s faith and the home of the Vernai, the Crimson Citadel is rumored to contain a mortal paradise, a collection of all the weapons and traps humanity has ever devised, the largest library in the Inner Sea region, and the deepest dungeons human hands have ever carved.
Clothing
Achaekek’s Red Mantis assassins employ distinctive armor and weapons. While their striking black-and-crimson leather armor of choice, when matched with their fearsome mantis masks, makes them unmistakable, it is the cult’s signature weapon, the sawtooth sabre, that evokes the most fear. Even those who are unfamiliar with the ways of the Red Mantis find it difficult to mistake the curved, serrated blade of such a sabre for anything other than an instrument of swift death.The assassins brutally hunt down any other than their own who wears the holy armor and mask of a Red Mantis assassin, but Achaekek’s worshipers place no such bounties on those who train and master the use of the sawtooth sabre. This is perhaps because the wider these blades spread and the more they are associated with pain and death, the more notorious they become.
A Priest’s Role
While clerics of Achaekek certainly exist, many of the Mantis God’s priests are not divine spellcasters. A priest of Achaekek who lives on Mediogalti Island is expected to perform some sort of public duty to protect or enhance the city, be it as a city guard, an architect, an artist who devotes her talents to the beautification of public works, or otherwise.All priests of Achaekek are expected to serve as assassins should they have the opportunity to do so, regardless of their actual skills. As a result, most priests of Achaekek take either levels in the Red Mantis assassin prestige class or levels in another class that provides proficiency in such murderous pursuits. Strangely, those who worship the Mantis God rarely take levels in the standard assassin prestige class—the church doesn’t strictly forbid such a choice, but it is looked down upon by most worshipers and usually marks someone who came to worship Achaekek later in life. Worshipers of Achaekek never ask for coin to defend or avenge themselves or their allies, but they believe fervently that assassins who kill for reasons divorced from personal interest deserve compensation for their services in recognition of their skills, and consider it an insult to be asked or told to kill someone without proper recompense.
Adventurers
While the sawtooth sabre is not an uncommon weapon among adventuring and mercenary companies, the participation of an actual worshiper of Achaekek in such a group is rare. Most of those who join such groups generally do so for personal reasons, and they tend to keep those reasons—and often their true faith—private. A worshiper of Achaekek, despite her adoration of murder and skill at killing, will never knowingly betray her adventuring companions. To do so is to invite the most terrible punishment in the afterlife, akin to that earned by slaying a rightful monarch.Of special note are the rare heretics of Achaekek. These strange few worship Achaekek, but have openly disavowed the Red Mantis assassin guild, believing the assassins to have used the Mantis God to bolster their own mystique and reputation rather than advance the god’s interests. The Vernai view these heretics as among the greatest of the church’s enemies; however, the fact that Achaekek still grants magic to these unorthodox clerics implies there may be a kernel of truth to their beliefs.
These believers lead quiet lives and abandon the classic dress of the cult, yet continue to train with sawtooth sabres as they work to kill those who they believe deserve death. The heretics rarely accept payment for their deeds, believing that their actions keep fate on its proper course. These beliefs are not so different from those who worship Norgorber as Father Skinsaw. However, openly commenting on this similarity draws swift punishment from heretical Red Mantis worshipers and Skinsaw cultists alike. Neither group admits any connection between their faiths, and in cases where they encounter one another, death is sure to follow.
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