Haasat
Haasat is the dreaded diety of the sun in some desert-dwelling mothfolk communities. Cruel, oppressive, dessicating, and scorching hot, but also important to the orderly function of the cosmos, Haasat is appeased primarily out of fear of his wrath, but also what might come in his place should he somehow disappear.
Divine Domains
Sun, Earth, Fire, Death; Sand, Endurance, Glory
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Objects and places dedicated to the cult of Haasat feature prominent eight-rayed sun motifs. To the extent that the mothfolk personify Haasat, only his four eyes appear within the disc, including two humanoid eye crescents in the center and two bulbous eyes partitioned from the upper sides. Altars, braziers, and dishware where rituals in propitiation of Haasat are to be carried out may only be carved from monolithic stone, copper, or bronze; priests to the sun god often have the contours of these implements burnt into their flesh from devotions at the midday zenith.
Tenets of Faith
Haasat requires that all places of worship in his name be elevated structures - often ziggurats, pyramids, or towers - separated from the premanent residence of non-priests by an expanse of open, sun-scorched terrain. The journey to this structure serves to remind the supplicants of their place in the cosmos beneath Haasat's oppressive gaze. Blood, sweat, and salt are the preferred sacrifices of Haasat, as these represent the exertion of toil and strive beneath the punishment of the desert sun, though libations of wine may also be poured upon his altar and allowed to evaporate in his name. The materials of which the implements of worship are constructed (see Divine Symbols & Sigils) are important because they gather heat from sunlight, allowing ritual substances to be more easily evaporated into the grasp of Haasat; though live-burnt sacrifices atop such altars are permissible within the full canon of the religion, few but the most decadent of sects have the stomach to engage in such torturous affairs.
Though the heat of the noon sun, especially during summer, is a lethal threat in the desert, Haasat is not altogether cruel to his followers and returns endurance exerted and respect given with the bounties of the isolated places, including precious gems, hidden oases full of fruit, and health for the loyal supplicants and their herds. Among worshipers of Haasat, an exchange of water and shelter is a sign of trust, as to do so with those who are unwilling to return the favor one day heaps only additional suffering upon oneself. Hassat allows his followers to suffer, but does not want them to die, and it is often the purpose of devotions to end droughts and heat waves by appeasing the sun spirit with libations and burnt offerings.
Upon death, the faithful of Haasat believe that the deity will suck the moisture from their mortal shells and spread it throughout the world to maintain the cycle of death and birth. The distant oceans are thought to be the pools where these souls go to and comingle to, eventually, give rise to new souls for new flesh. A devout practitioner of the faith will be reborn, shorn of suffering until the desert of advancing life bears down upon them once more. The Haasatite notion of hell is that the condemned, a sinner who did not respect the power of the sun or prepare wisely for its trials, is doomed to wander the earth as a dessicated undead shell until it can reach these spiritual pools on foot. For these unfortunate ghouls, the desert thirst is not slaked by crossing beyond the boundary of death, and any source of moisture - even the blood of victims - will entice consumption by any means necessary. Common undead monster tropes, such as mummies, ghouls, and vampires, have their inspirations among mothfolk in these beliefs.
Holidays
High noon at midsummer is the Feast of Haasat and is celebrated with burnt offerings upon the temple altars. The first full moon after midwinter is the Calling of Haasat, a celebration where supplicants make more burnt offerings light torches under the moon in an effort to drive it away and recall Haasat from his slumber on the other side of the world. When a child is born to Haasatite parents, a baptism of sorts is carried out wherein the broken eggshells are sprinkled over with salt in an attempt to evaporate off any residual, potentially harmful spirit energies that may have come from the distant seas alongside the new life.
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