Nieri-Jou the Shackler
Saint of Slavery, Subjugation, Toil, and Tyranny
Titles: The Shackler, Ladies of the Scales, The Absolute, The Two above All, The Societal Mechanist, The Twin Justices, The Maids of Machination
Favored Weapon: Flambard
Alignment: Fire
Elemental Lord: Nazzon, The Godflame Duke
Obedience: Spend an hour carving the most important and/or relevant laws or codes you adhere to onto a metal collar inscribed with the symbol of The Twin Justices. Once the hour is done and the carvings finished, secure the collar around your neck, wrist, or otherwise somewhere on your body(It does not need to be locked shut, just adorning your person).
Effect: Gain DR 5/Chaos OR add Chaos to what is required to overcome existing DR(Chosen when this obedience is accepted). Creatures take a -4 penalty on all checks to escape from all restrictions you place on their movement such as grapples, shackles, hold person or similar spells, etc(GM Discretion). This penalty is haved on saving throws for spells.
1st Boon: Keep Watch 3/day, Shackle 2/day, or Suggestion 1/day
2nd Boon: You no longer need to sleep and become immune to fatigue. You may touch another creature 1/day and grant them this ability for 24 hours. You can use this power on one additional creature per day at 12 and 16HD.
3rd Boon: You may, as a standard action that does not provoke AoO's, negate a given target's immunities to grapples and bindings(Such as through freedom of movement or other means), or alternatively tighten the restraints around a given creature, increasing the DC to escape them by 10. Once used on a given restraint, it cannot be used again until it is disengaged and re-applied. The range of this ability is 60ft, and the duration for the negation is 1hr. The buff to restraint DCs is permanent until the restraints are disengaged.
Divine Domains
Law, Evil, Fire, Rune, Strength, Artifice(Industry and Toil Subdomains Only)
Holy Books & Codes
The Twoshackle Codex
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Two Iron Collars locked together with chains dangling off them, humanoids hanging from the chain ends
Tenets of Faith
Law is absolute. Uphold and enforce the law absolutely, and ensure all fit into place within those laws. Let there be no aspect of life law does not govern - its control must be supreme.
A weak whip engenders lazy service. A creature free of harsh penalty and strict oversight is one bound to falter. They who falter, disobey, or fail are to be made examples of.
Subjugation without annihilation. The dead, broken, and hopeless serve no purpose. Unwilling or not, all things have a use - see them used efficiently.
All life must serve or be served. A life free of service is a life of benefit to no one - press those without purpose nor service into both.
Toil is truth. He who works hard shall be rewarded, while he who falters shall be punished. Let none live free of toil.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
To spread, uphold, and enforce absolute law.
To create the perfect ordered society and control every aspect of life itself.
To drag all life into service and toil.
Followers & Priesthood
Rather uniquely for a saint of such dark and typically vile dominions as slavery, subjugation, and the like, Nieri-Jou's followers run the gamut across all peoples, walks of life, and even professions and cultures - due to the uniquely 'Zheng-Kitaran' nature of the Saintess, her followers can be found in a variety of roles, though they typically can be found most commonly in places close to law or civilization. They are often servants, workers, and laborers - but just as easily, they can be lords, businessmen, merchants, and the like, and even Town Guards and similar enforces of law and justice can easily and commonly be found following the Nieran creed, as it is a creed easy to fathom and easier to take up the mantle of. Those of the Nieran creed and followers of Nieri-Jou tend to have at least one major cathedral or place of worship in each at least moderately sized town or city - as an enormously widespread and popular faith, they are almost omnipresent in most civilization centers(though moreso in some areas compared to others), though their places of worship tend to be combined with other buildings and structures to serve multiple purposes and functions for the sake of efficiency. Though the exact combination can vary from location to location and group to group, they tend to form their centers of worship around places that also can serve as recruitment, slaver, or training centers(to help integrate those currently providing no benefit to society into it, willing or not), though seeing a "cathedral" to Nieri-Jou doubling as a place of business, courthouse, place of law, or even a barracks or guard center is not uncommon, and are all typically places where the faithful can ply their trade and uphold their creed in the society they serve. Oftentimes, the centers of the Nieran faith are incredibly well-equipped and organized, if not a bit dystopian - as places where all kinds of slavery, re-education, training, and willing job placement can happen, they are often fully equipped to handle both those willingly being retrained or educated for a job or role in society or those captured and in training before being shipped off to the spot they will be most useful in the local area. Followers of Nieri-Jou tend to dress professionally and often have strict dress codes - though often, these codes relate more to their profession or desired lifestyle than the faith itself. They believe in professional, tidy appearances and part of their faith is the upkeeping of such an appearance, wearing symbology clearly on their persons in visible areas, as well as keeping their gear and attire polished, ironed, and clean - as such, while they often lack 'uniforms', they are nonetheless easily recognizable by the superb, well-kempt nature of their appearance as well as the clear and obvious signs of their faith that all members of the Nieran creed wear: The Shackles. "The Shackles", as they are referred to, take a few forms depending on where exactly in the world one is located as well as the local culture, but are often iron clasps or entire collars worn around the wrists or sometimes around the neck as a choker, though in more professional or higher-standing members of the faith such as lords or wealthy merchants cufflinks or fancy metallic bangles serve similar purposes. Regardless of the form they take, "The Shackles" are always found in pairs, typically one on each hand of the faithful in question - this is done to symbolize the weight of one's duties to uphold the law, carry out their duties proudly and with perfection, and the overall task of fostering a more perfect and 'ordered' world. As for organization, the faithful tend to decide their hierarchy independently of their own personal or societal ranking, and function much like a company in this way - typically promoting or demoting others based on their work ethic, devotion to the faith, potential, and such with more favorable promotions going towards who work in and serve the faith full time as a reward for their dedication(Rather than those attending gatherings in addition to their duties as a lord, merchant, or such). Their rankings tend to be signified by badges, pins, or other items able to be worn over existing articles of clothing or armor.Ethics
Compared to Yema gods such as the Lord of the Nine Hells Asmodeus and similar deities of slavery, Nieri-Jou's followers rarely engage in true 'slavery' as it is commonly known - while a creature might be captured and 'enslaved', rare is the creature who stays in such a role, as most are often kept as slaves only so long as is needed to re-educate them and/or train them for the job or role the faith decides for them based on their experiences, efficiency, and where best a given 'slave' would be most useful. Once decided, that 'slave' is often released from slavery and put to work in whatever job or role they are forced into(With the full benefits, compensation, and status that would come with such a position)...though their own compliance in the matter is rarely taken into account, and treated more as a nice side benefit if they do go willingly since they are often punished and given harsh penalties for attempting to flee their new position, job, etc - and in extreme cases, forced back into slavery until they can be made to understand that their new role is in their best interests. The basis of this strange practice of 'slavery' long enough to place a given slave into the position, job, role, or such where it will most completely and genuinely benefit society is based in the Nieri-Jou belief in "Absolute Law" and the "Perfect Machine" - that is to say, a society where each creature works in the position they are most well-equipped for, and where absolute law governs every aspect of life. However, while this belief in "Absolute Law" means they are commonly mistaken for tyrants, they despise and hate the notion of being likened to oppressors - for while the Nieran faith, left unchecked, will likely develop into Autocracies and Tyranny, it will rarely lead to 'oppression', as Nierans believe heavily in the notion that labor is, in itself, truth - meaning that those who work hard, honestly, and do their best are inherently more just and truthful than those who abuse their positions or power, slack off, waste time, or otherwise avoid true and honest labor. So while a tyrant who uses his people and works them to the bone but ensures they are adequately rewarded, fed, and watered might be hated by his people, it is only those who unfairly work their subjects to the bone with little pay, poor condtions, and the like that followers of Nieri-Jou will come down on like furious spirits of vengeance and destroy without mercy. Followers of Nieri-Jou also believe heavily that all creatures, regardless of their status or standing, exist to "serve" something - most commonly, that "something" is the greater good of Society. To this end, they despise those who exist without 'serving' this good, or who manage to leech off societies as homeless, outcasts, exiles, or the like...making them somewhat natural enemies of the faith of Soo-min the Sorrowborn, whose entire followerbase of downtrodden, outcast, exile, and the otherwise unserving stand out as ugly warts beneath the skin of civilization(Though more goodly gatherings of Nierans can in fact be close allies of such people, as they provide an easy and quick way for such outcasts to re-enter society in a way based entirely on merit). They thus seek to find and correct those who live their lives free of 'service', and hold absolutely no qualms with collaring such peoples and dragging them back to their cathedrals to force them into employment, work, or find them otherwise useful roles in society(With outright true 'slavery' typically being a last resort only for those who cannot find a use elsewhere)...though, if possible, they will attempt to convince them before they resort to outright capture and re-education. After all, a willing workforce is preferable to one that must be taught obedience. For good reason, are they mocked only somewhat incorrectly as "The Worlds most serious bosses" - they believe in reward good, hard, and honest work and can serve as excellent unbiases bosses to a workforce...but, they also believe heavily in corporal punishment and "carrot and stick" methodologies, meaning that while they reward good behavior and work, they similarly give out extreme punishments for failure, falterings, or even just disobedience that are some of the harshest in the world. They tend to see this method of 'making an example' of those who stick out and/or fail as a neccesary sacrifice to instill the notion of obedience and the fear of failure into the rest - as, to those who follow Nieri-Jou, no Society can function without a notion of 'punishment', or the promise that consequences will follow one's actions. In contrast to this belief though(Or possibly in accordance with it), they are also extremely avid recyclers and re-users - they are ardent believers in keeping both people and objects alive, unbroken, and at least somewhat happy or hopeful as long as possible to extract as much possible value from them as can be extracted...and oftentimes getting annoyed or infuriated at the sight of objects or people being wasted, discarded, or otherwise misused - all are things that get on their nerves generally, and are seen as affronts to society itself. So, while they are rarely truly 'benevolent', they can sometimes easily be mistaken for such thanks to their businesslike interest in preserving their labor and belongings as long and possible...after all, killing someone for disobedience is nothing but waste - the dead are nothing but useless.History
The faith of Nieri-Jou is one of the oldest in Zheng-Kitar, and possibly the oldest as least as far as the Saint of Nazzon, The Godflame Duke are concerned - the story of Nieri-Jou is one over four thousand years old, and thus only partially still recorded and is now at least half myth. So the tale goes that, at the end of the Age of Desolation and as The Six Great Ancestors gave their very lives to bring about the Advent of the Spirit Kings, the Elemental Lords arrived beside their masters to follow them into the Material, acting as honored generals and assistants to help achieve their goals during the time they had been given.And, it is said, it was precisely during this time after the Advent of the Spirit Kings that Nazzon, The Godflame Duke came to encounter a woman who would, in time, come to be his right-hand and most trusted advisor...though it has become clear due to the passing of time whether it was one woman or two identical twins, as the texts that remain are unclear in this regard - either this woman was singular but supernatural and able to be in multiple places through magical means, or was more than one in number, though identical in appearance. Whatever the case, Nazzon, The Godflame Duke encountered the woman or women that would in time come to be Nieri-Jou as he walked the shattered, lifeless lands of what is now modern day Narixia to visit the homeland of the Great Ancestor known as Kaede Shimabukuro who gave her life to summon his Spirit King master Huofeng, and pay respects to what remained of her people. Striding through the land that had been rendered barren, lifeless, and incapable of supporting even the smallest amounts of vegetation after the calamities of the Age of Desolation all but ruined the continent thanks to the damnable destructions wrought by the Yema(Foreign Gods), Nazzon, The Godflame Duke was said to find Nieri-Jou as a burned, barely alive husk of a woman buried beneath several inches of soot, volcanic ash, and fragments of wood and stone. Impressed at the fortitude of such a strong creature who possessed such as mighty flame of spirit to endure the end of all things, Nazzon dug the woman out of her tomb and restored her to life...and found that in her hands, she clutched a scorched but intact tome of laws that contained the written legalities and history of the kingdom she had come from before the Yema had destroyed it. Doubly impressed that such a mighty spirit would go so far for the written word of Law, Nazzon saved the woman and let her walk by his side - on the condition she would be given no 'free rides', and expect no help from him. So, walking beside The Godflame Duke, the woman proved more resilient than even the mighty Huofeng could have assumed, and endured for decades at the side of her master Nazzon, The Godflame Duke, desperately helping him and his master Huofeng restore the word of law to the land of Zheng-Kitar...using the laws codified in the book she had saved as the basis for it. And so, as thanks and as a reward for her decades of loyal service at his side, Nazzon was said to make her the first of his and possibly the first Saint to be formed after the Advent of the Spirit Kings - inducting her into the annals of his court as his chief assistant and advisor and leaving behind the book she rescued from the ashes of her former kingdom to spread the teachings of who he saw as one of the strongest mortal souls to ever exist - one worthy of spreading throughout time. To this day, that very book which spawned the Nieran faith is said to be ensconced in the faith's main cathedral in the capital of The Narixian Empire, as living proof of their Saint's dedication to law and life.
Tyranny is naught but absolute control wielded absolutely - and in our experience, the masses who cry out in defiance of 'Tyranny' are often those who are in need of it the most. They need to be controlled - just as is the wont of the masses, they yearn for something they do not need. What they define as Tyranny, we call incompetence - a failure of service, law, and toil. Nothing More, Nothing Less. And failure can be rectified with punishment, and corrected. Tyranny does not equate to suffering - it is absolute law. And society is nothing without law. Without control.
Divine Classification
Elemental Saint
Alignment
Children
Example Divine Oaths
Oath of the Bloodletter: End one life of no less than 1/2 your HD or CR each day. Never stop the bleeding of another creature and never heal them unless they are at 50% health or below.
Oath of the Ambitious Tyrant: Never let an insult or slight against you or your loyal servants or trusted allies go unpunished. Ruin the reputation and lives of every figure of authority that stands in the way of attaining your goals or ambitions. Never leave a foe or potential enemy capable of doing you harm later on once you have encountered them or defeated them.
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