Tavross, The Iron Emperor
The Saint of Steel, Savior of Numiastra, Lord of the Iron Empire, and Major God of Humanity, Anti-Magic, Light, Industry, and Fear
His people no longer remember his visage, yet feel his gaze always; They know longer remember his voice, yet sing his praises in the steel they forge; They no longer remember his touch, yet feel it in their powderpipes and dieselstacks; They yearn for a life beyond his chain, yet welcome the links and the protection they offer; Praise the Iron Emperor, and Humanity shall prevail.Title(s): The Iron Emperor, Lord of the Hunter Clans, The Extinguisher, The Arch-Inquisitor, Our Burning Father, The Stakelord, The Inverted Sun, The Iron Luminary Alignment: Lawful Neutral Favored Weapon: The Stake Driver Obedience: Spend an hour soaking in pure sunlight(Or the brightest and purest light available) while slowly mixing blackpowder into a mixture of two parts water and four parts human blood. Once finished, offer up a prayer to the Iron Emperor and consume the mixture in a single gulp. Effect: The burning Iron halo of The Iron Emperor forms behind your head, allowing you to shed light as the light spell at-will. For one round per HD you possess per day, you may count this light as sunlight. Add 1d4 untyped damage to all melee attacks you make, as the imbibed gunpowder detonates with every strike.
Divine Domains
Sun, Repose, War, Magic, Artifice, Protection, Community, Evil(Fear Subdomain Only)
Artifacts
There are untold artefacts of The Iron Emperor in circulation amongst his faithful ranging from the notable blackpowder steelsuits of the Iron Hunters to the Burning Iron Suns that hang above the cities and fortresses of the Empire, but none so feared as the infamous Atmospheric Incineration Lance developed in the bowels of Numiastra's most advanced factories and tested in the seas outside the Fortress-Port of Praxes Secundus - a weapon of unsurpassed destructive potential that stands as the mightiest weapon available to The Iron Emperor: a purely technological weapon that, when fired on the orders of the Iron Emperor himself, is said to be capable of burning away the entire biosphere of the entire Planet of Ea if its power is not checked properly with guidance systems and enormous shielding walls to contain the blast.
While only fired once during the legendary siege of the Hive City of Damnadon in retaliation against the Vrykus Throne invasion, the Lance's power instantly obliterated the biosphere of a nearly 50 mile radius patch of land by way of a wildcat ignition of all free-floating oxygen in the atmosphere, triggering a cataclysmic thermonuclear reaction that, if left unchecked, would ignite the entire planet's atmosphere in mere minutes.
However, the lance is not without its critics - even the notoriously zealous Lords of the Hunter Clans, typically fanatically loyal only to the Emperor, expressed concerns over the weapon's repeated usage; as such, it has not seen use since its legendary initial trial run.
Holy Books & Codes
The Codex Luminarion
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A downwards-facing stake emblazoned with a diamond beneath a stylized sun
Tenets of Faith
Purge the inhuman and the alien. Give the enemies of humanity no quarter unless they can fall properly into line.
Snuff out the light of Magic at all costs. Magic fosters self-interest and corrupts the foundation of the whole with its dangerous lies. Magic and those who practice it can never be trusted nor allowed to commit their selfish atrocities.
No quarter to the damned. Undeath in any form is to be obliterated, given no quarter, and wiped from the face of this world.
Industry at any cost. We must civilize if we are to survive the coming apocalypse. Further and expand the fetters of industry until the world is shackled beneath its yoke.
Community and Law above all. An empire divided against itself cannot stand if it is to endure the darkness - stand with your community and obey the laws of the land.
Sow fear and stoke suspicion. Trust no one and suspect everyone - Heresy must be caught before it can spread.
Holidays
Iron's Rise - a holiday celebrating the founding day of the empire. A rare day of rest for the Empire and its citizens.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
To destroy the Vrykus Throne and their empire of the dead and damned.
To further the industries of Man until the entire planet is covered in mechanized gears and steel.
To destroy Kali and end her reign of terror.
???
Followers and Priesthood
The priesthood of Tavross is by far the most feared and easily recognizable group on the face of Numiastra - most widely known as The Iron Inquisitors despite the appellation being a specific reference to a single sect of the Priesthood, this simple fact speaks volumes of the Priesthood itself and its perception in the eyes of the populace they serve. Typically drawn from predominantly human and human-centric ethnicities and races(With half-humans typically facing prejudice but appreciation for their abilities), the Priesthood of The Iron Emperor are recruited from all across the Iron Empire and often even beyond for the singular purpose of serving the Iron Emperor and safeguarding the lands and peoples of Humanity and all who ascribe themselves to the Emperor's rule. The reason for this recruitment, however, can vary wildly - while generic recruitment methods such as propaganda and recruitment centers make up a large chunk of membership into the faith(as all citizens of the Empire pay homage to Tavross in one way or another, mostly), other methods such as taking in and raising children(either by being offered them by poor families or by recovering them from Inquisitorius raids) are not uncommon; though slavery typically is almost non-existent in the faith as slaves are typically assigned to work the lowest pits of the Empire's Hive Cities before they would ever be assigned to serve the faith in a more direct way, barring exceptional circumstances. Aside from basic recruitment, members of the faith can come from any walks of life and even other races(though the faith's official stance on inhumans is notoriously strict, they are known to make common but secretive exceptions for talent and exceptional abilities(Most notably goblinkind, who serve the Inquisitorius branch of the faith commonly and are sometimes more feared than their human counterparts). The faith and its priesthood are almost exclusively based in population centers, as one might expect of the followers of a god of industry - and they are broadly divided into three branches or "disciplines" of the faith: The Ecclesiarchy, The Militant Chambers, and The Inquisitorius, which represent the more traditional priesthood and clerics, the warriors and defenders of the faith, and the heretic-hunters and inquisitors which carry out the secret and terror-inspiring operations against the empire's enemies both internal and external, respectively. Typically organized into extremely structured hierarchies based on length of service, merit, and competence rather than genealogy or familial ties, the faith follow a one-part religious hierarchy and one-part militant command structure, where the names of the faith's leaders are derived from Ecclesiastical Names such as "Father", "Priest", and such and blended with militant ranks, creating strange titles such as "Father First Class", or "Sacrament Sargeant, Third Class". Operating out of specialized areas equipped with the machinery and tools to allow them to forge the weapons and armor and tools of their grisly trade typically known as Hunter Houses or Hunter Sanctums, these buildings are almost universally found in central areas of a township or cityscape to allow for ease of access to main roads in case the need for emergency policing or martial law arises. The Faith typically adorns themselves appropriately to the branch they ascribe themselves to - the Ecclesiarchy tends to dress conservatively in long flowing robes of grey and black with golden filigree and sun motifs, with a few steam and blackpowder-based apparatuses adorning the inside of their robes to assist with protection such as breathers, blast jackets, and such. Members of the Militant Chambers tend to be better equipped, sporting massive Steelsuits with exhaust vents that generate a thick cloud of smog wherever they go, though more espionage-based Chamber Members tend to adorn themselves in tight robes and form-fitting garments of grey and black suited to nighttime wetwork. In either case, the aesthetic of the Militant Chambers is typically brutalistic and favoring shows of force, with holy symbols displayed prominently on the chestplates for ease of sight. Finally, the Inquisitorius is the best equipped, and tends to have the most comprehensive protection and most advanced weaponry as they are most commonly selected by the Empire's techpriests to test prototype technologies before they see mass production. Typically these members of the Inquisitorius are unmistakable, with advanced eye and head gear, thick but sleek suits of smog-choking steelsuits and highly advanced Stake Drivers and Blackpowder Armor and Weaponry with which to seek out the enemies of the faith. The average member of the faith in the Empire often wears necklaces of the Iron Emperor's holy symbol, but otherwise are free to dress however they wish.Ethics
The ethics of the faith are, in a word, "tyrannical" - they are suspicious and paranoid as a rule of thumb, but will never be seen openly accusing or discussing issues they have with their fellows in public, instead preferring to quietly and quickly inform the proper authorities and let those they percieve as the "proper authorities" such as the Inquisitorius sort out those they possess such suspicions of - in this way, members of the faith believe that they are preserving the integrity of their community and the rule of law in the face of encroaching threats. They tend to not trust anything that isn't a human barring extremely rare exceptions and see all inhumans as untrustworthy or alien monsters, and distrust and even outright hate mages and practitioners of magic as a matter of course - because of the very NATURE of magecraft on Numiastra which requires mages to hide their true names and often cause intense collateral damage when spellcasting because of the broken nature of magic throughout the land, the followers of Tavross and indeed most of Numiastra tend to distrust any they find to practice magecraft on principle alone. In truth, the ethics of the Tavrossian faith are one of deep suspicion and deep community, who place the greatest importance on the collective "good" and the advancement of the "whole" over individual gain - seeing those who operate out of excessive self-interest or outside of the norm as weird at best and enemies of society at worst to be hunted. Because of the extreme lethality of the land of Numiastra and the brutalistic regime and doctrines of The Iron Emperor, the greatest emphasis is placed on the methods and means by which they can survive in the face of overwhelming adversity - trust will get them killed, acceptance will destroy their civilization, and laxity will let the most damnable enemy of all in: the undead, whom followers of Tavross hate above all.History
The history of the Iron Emperor is murky at best - emerging from the aftermath of Skyfall which saw the continent of Numiastra fracture and crack into countless shards as the head of the Hunter Clans, it was his initial steps to rally and unify the scattered peoples of the ash plains of the continent's northern cliffs which would in time found what would, in time, become the Iron Empire. Deified during his lifetime as the first of the Iron Empire's cities, Lumisterra, was erected even as the ash of a burned continent was still falling some thirty years after Skyfall, the Iron Emperor formed the Iron Empire to protect the people of his lands against the unstoppable threat of the Mage-Tyrants who dominated the landscape after Skyfall, the seething undead hordes which sought to slaughter the living and create an empire of the damned, and the rampant beasts empowered by the ruined leylines that were spiraling out of control in the aftermath of Skyfall in countless tiny ways. The defeat of which was only said to be possible thanks to the innovations that came forth from the Iron Emperor himself - the prototypes of what would in time become the basis for all modern technologies of the Empire, created and innovated by a singular man in one generation using the Black Desert and its Blackpowder as a chief resource: blasting weapons to combat the darkness, Steelsuits to endure the worst threats in the night, Blackpowder Rifles to deliver the Emperor's Wrath to his enemies at extreme range, and countless more innovations - all tracing their roots back to the Iron Emperor himself. It is in all these ways and more that The Iron Emperor rose to power in the first place - and in the centuries since he has become so far removed from his people where once he happily strode among them that his deification has only grown in the intervening centuries and millennia as he has ruled from his Burning Sunthrone in his capital of Lumisterra until now, he is both the seemingly eternal ruler of the Iron Empire and its eternal God. There are many who yearn to uncover the secrets of The Iron Emperor's past, but the amount of such seekers who not only survive the search for such dangerous information, hiding within the walls of the Empire's Hive Cities, but who also return from such searches with any useful or relevant - making the history of The Iron Emperor only that much more tantalizing...though the efforts of the Inquisitorius to stymie and even crush efforts of those who try hinders most prospective historians.
Through fear lies the subjugation of the spirit. A weapon to snuff out entire populations without shedding so much as a single drop of blood.
Divine Classification
Major God
Alignment
Lawful Neutral
Children
Owned Vehicles
Ruled Locations
Lord of the Hunter Clans
While the Iron Emperor has ruled his namesake of The Iron Empire for as long as any can remember save the eldest and most bitter of Elvenkind, his rule is cemented in a multitude of ways but most notably through his rulership over the elusive and mysterious Hunter Clans of the lands of the Empire - the initial founding clans whose unification is said to have formed the initial bedrock of the Empire long ago, shortly after the Skyfall Calamity which created the Black Desert and nearly cracked the planet of Ea in twain. These clans are fanatically loyal to their Iron Emperor, and form the bulk of his military power - while some are more loyal to him than others, his absolute rule over the mightiest and most feared Death Commandos of the Mortegorn, the Unseen Assassins of the Mostullat, and the unknowable horrors of the Al Solalim alone makes him absolutely untouchable to his followers and enemies alike - none of whom are eager to oppose the Iron Emperor and recieve a visit from his legendary Terror Troops who have made countless family lines vanish almost overnight over the centuries. While his power also runs deep through the other aspects of Numiastran Society, none so firmly cement the power of the Iron Emperor and his burning Sunthrone more than these Hunter Clans, the mightiest three of which mentioned above that are the most fanatically loyal to him and him alone are so mysterious that their locations, home territories, and even basic informations such as troop strengths and Clan Leadership remain unknown to all but the Iron Emperor himself...ensuring that none who wish to challenge his rule do so openly, lest they earn his ire.
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