Sunder the Raucous
Saint of Drink, Passion, Bravery, and Battle
Titles: Saint Sunder the Raucous, Patron Saint of Narixia, Narix'ana the Conquerer, He of Hearth and Heat, The Flameking, Lord Vhudsing, Brewboiler
Favored Weapon: Longsword
Alignment: Fire
Elemental Lord: Nisrithan, Queen of the Inferno
Obedience: Spend an hour maintaining your armor and weapons, and carving the names of any recently fallen friends or kinsmen onto your armor. Bolt any scraps of their gear onto yours as remembrance.
Effect: You can expel your body heat in a burst of steam to jet to another square within a distance equal to twice your base land speed as a full-round action. This is akin to a jetboost, and can reach higher areas with ease. You cannot use this ability again once you use it until you land back on solid ground.
Divine Domains
Fire, Glory, War, Strength, Community
Holy Books & Codes
The Soulsunder Scriptures
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A throwing axe imposed over a full mug of ale
Tenets of Faith
Be brave and be bold - never back down or give into your fear. If you must die, give your enemy the courtesy of following you.
Give respect to all who earn it. Community is held in the hearts of all who join the cause and contribute to the common good.
Always strive for glory greatest. Never settle for anonymity and revel in fame to let your name and your clan ring eternal.
Fight for the sake of the fight. Seek battle to test oneself and one's abilities, and always give respect to a worthy foe.
Treasure each moment and hold the family you've made close. Live your life to die without regrets.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
To ensure no creature dies with regrets or with goals unfinished.
To teach all the ways of the good war.
To oversee and protect the Narixian Empire.
Followers & Priesthood
The followers of Sunder are, knowingly or not, heavily rooted in Narixian culture - as a Saint born from the days of the early Narixian Empire, Saint Sunder carries with him the culture of the Narixian people, and thus has spread it to all who follow him, knowingly or not. Sunder's followers are, true to his title, a raucous bunch who have little in the way of ranking - when they band together, they do so beneath the banner of a communal 'Chieftain' in a tribe or clan that work together to accept mercenary contracts, jobs, and more if they are freelance, or who work together in the wars of their homeland if they are affiliated with any one nation. This 'chieftain' position is not especially crucial to their ranking - typically it is a position held by the strongest among them, who rules communally through respect and feats of arms. Each of these chieftains is responsible for being a loose guide to the disparate followers beneath him, and is less of a solidified head of state and more of a figurehead in whom real leadership power resides - others follow them out of respect, not out of any special loyalty to them in particular. Sunder's priests and followers are, much like Narixians, obsessed with and adorn themselves with armor - they decorate and color their armor to represent the different stages of their life's journey, and often have multiple parts from other armor sets bolted or welded or forged onto their own, gathering mementos from slain allies to adorn their own armor with as decoration. Though not universal, many followers of Sunder, especially those close to or with close ties to Narixia, adorn themselves with the traditional helmets of Narixia, with T shaped slits in the full-plate like helms that give them a fearsome mien on par with the terror that the traditional Narixian Warriors inspire as they ride into battle atop their basilisk war mounts. Sunder's followers are typically an open and accepting bunch - they care little for bloodlines or blood relations, and will typically welcome any into their fold so long as they obey the handful of simple rules their church abides by. They care little for defined gender roles or race or anything else - all are welcome if they can be of use. They are usually easily identified - either due to their trademark T-shaped slit helmets, their raucous, boisterous partying or celebration, or their violent and sometimes drunken bouts with each other and others - they tend to party the loudest, laugh the loudest, and live each day like it is their last so as that if they were die to tomorrow, they would do so without regrets. Oftentimes, they will recruit more of their number from the ranks of their defeated foes - offering a hand in alliance and a spot in their camp if they but swear to uphold the communal good, and thus giving new purpose to the defeated.Ethics
As those who trace their cultural roots back to the warrior-nomads of Narixia, followers of Saint Sunder hold battle in the highest regard - but they do not do so out of a violent desire to kill. To them, battle is a place to prove one's worth, and they believe in fighting for the simple reason of because they can - they need no other reason than to throw themselves at worthy opponents, and believe that to throw oneself into battle for any other reason is a sin of the highest order - battle, they believe, should not be corrupted by negative emotions such as hatred or spite or malice. They fight because they can and because there are enemies to fight, and will almost never hold grudges against those they fight - even those they butcher and defeat, so long as they fight well to their dying breaths none need fear being disliked by followers of Sunder. A defeated foe that fought well is a thing to be respected and cherished, not hated, and when questioned followers of Sunder will rarely deny this - though few understand it. They also believe heavily in protecting one's family - but only the family one finds for themselves. This typically takes the form of their fellow faithful and any other creatures they develop a close bond with - these creatures, they believe, are their true family...not any related by blood(Though blood relatives can earn a spot in this family). They take nothing for granted - neither their lives, family, or anything - and thus they ensure that they work to protect it all with their lives and relish it while they have it. For good reason, followers of Sunder are likened to fearsome gladiators, for they are some of the most fearsome warriors in all the world - their own code demands that if they are to die, they must at least take their killer with them or, failing that, two or more enemies near them - they revel in glory and relish being cheered, and many of them end up being natural crowed pleasers. In defiance of what many assume of them, followers of Sunder are also rigorous followers of hospitality laws - they are unlikely to turn away those who ask for shelter or assistance so long as they are given the proper respect and those who seek their assistance speak their mind plainly with no trickery or hidden intentions. They admire straightforwardness and find it customary to share food with guests, no matter one's state of living - and while they have more hospitality rules that vary from location to location and clan to clan, these few rules can give all a good idea of the uniqueness that are his followers.History
There are few creatures in all the world who do not know the tale of Saint Sunder - better known in the Narixian Empire as Narix'ana the Conqueror. It was he who laid the foundations of what would become the Narixian Empire, and it is said that during his life he never once knew defeat - his legions of Neo-Narixians descended from the Great Vhudsing Mountain Range like a swarm, destroying and conquering all in their path with a fury unmatched. They conquered land after land and city after city, expanding their armies by accepting their defeated foes into their ranks in a unique upheaval of the commonly accepted rules of warfare. They gave respect and honor to their defeated foes and those that fought them well, and under his excellent guidance they conquered dozens of peoples and territories, each bigger and more impressive a conquest than the last. His life was one many warriors today still idealize as the life of a proper hero, full of drinks, love, power, and battle - so powerful was he that even his death was legendary, as he is said to have had a heart attack during the midst of a siege of the last great kingdom they faced before forming the Narixian Homeland. So powerful was he, it is said, that the great Saint Sunder fended off even an attack of his own heart, slaying his foes even as his heart beat like a war drum within his chest - and by the time the siege was over, his heart was shredded and in tatters, held together by his sheer force of will long enough to see his people stand atop the battlements of the city, steel shining and voices thundering - before dying on his feet with a smile on his face at the age of 85. Venerated as the first great Narix'ana of the Narixian Empire and the founder of the country, Sunder, a lifelong follower of Nisrithan, Queen of the Inferno, was inducted into the ranks of her saints and was hailed as a hero by his people, who embraced his sainthood and spread it far and wide across the lands.
You don't get it. None of you do. We don't hate those who beat us, or those we conquer and destroy - if they fought well, we respect them. More than once we've welcomed a defeated foe into our ranks...if they fight well and swear themselves to the cause, what else matters? Today's enemy is tomorrow's ally. So why not relax and have a drink, already?
Divine Classification
Elemental Saint
Alignment
Children
Example Divine Oaths
Oath of the Hero-King: Never run from your problems or fights. Seek strength as a path to greatness, but remember greatness is the best use of strength. Seek glory for not just yourself, but for the glory of all who stand with you. Be the leader, guide, or whatever figure others need of you and be there in their hour of need.
Oath of the Narixian: Never hold a grudge against a foe or seek revenge against another. Give hospitality to all who request it and who give you respect in turn. Live a life devoid of moderation and enjoy each day to the fullest, but honor each bounty or job you recieve to the letter.
Comments