The Phytonic Priesthood
Half of all adult members of the Sulis Church are members of the Phytonic Priesthood, a heavenly calling that establishes its holder as the divine pillar around which a household can form. The priesthood is named after an ancient prophet, Phyton the Woodshaper, who was a tall, slender, youthful-looking Sula. Given the power by God to take the form of any forest creature, he single-handedly cleared forests to make room for crops, cut tracks through mountains to make roads, and dammed rivers to form fishing ponds, preaching all the while that “Nothing in nature is so beautiful as what people can make of it. Marvel as much at a field of crops, a garden of herbs, and a swamp drained to form fertile soil as much as thou wouldst marvel at the forest and mountains, for thou shouldst know that all are equally reflective of God. Domesticate those animals that should be domesticated, according to the inspiration of Lendor the Spirit and the Law of Wejas the Mother, but equally shouldst thou slay those as are dangerous to thee or thy works.” When Phyton is referenced in art, he is either depicted as above or referenced by means of a scimitar in front of an oak tree.
As mentioned above, only Phytonic Priesthood members can serve as the head of a traditional Sulis family or household, and they have all of the duties thereof. They are also expected to act as protectors of their communities and to look for ways to make use of any nearby unused land. Many choose a region to patrol and protect, typically a circle one day's walk in circumference. Patrolling of this sort is expected to happen regularly, but not often enough to become an obstacle for the Priesthood holder's domestic duties. How that translates into a schedule is left to the discretion of the Priesthood holder; this is why overlapping domains is considered a blessing. However, there is a point in which one Priesthood holder's domain is so similar to another's that the latter takes it as a challenge. They might use their powers to redirect a river to suit a town's needs or to cull a forest of its uglier plants to leave a more pleasant locale. Phytonic Priesthood holders without a household often wander the unsettled parts of the world, looking for destructive creatures to kill, abandoned sites of old civilizations, or wild places that might be useful to mankind.
The ceremonial garb of a Phytonic Priesthood holder is much the same as that holder's everyday wear. However, it will be predominantly brown, green, or both, and lighter in the autumn.
As a Phytonic Priesthood holder, one can find training in Ceremony, Climb, Heal, Hide, Knowledge (any–human, any–Sulir, any–world, nature), Move Silently, Perform (singing), Ride, Spot, and Survival; they can also gain Martial Weapon Proficiency (scimitar). Most Phytonic Priesthood holders have medium-high scores in Virtues such as Calm, Conservative, Loyal, and Spiritual. By taking the feat Phytonic Priesthood Holder, one can gain access to the following spirits: befuddle, countermagic, extinguish, mobility, protection, shimmer, and vigor. By taking the feat Elder in the Phytonic Priesthood (prerequisite: Phytonic Priesthood Holder), one can gain access to the following ceremonies: accelerate growth, bless crops, chameleon, cloud clear, comfort song, command (gnome), command (woodland creatures), restore health (Constitution), and tanglethicket.
The vast majority of people, the Church teaches, will receive a kingdom of glory after the Final Judgment, and enter into one of three degrees of glory after the resurrection: Celestial, Terrestrial, or Telestial Kingdoms. However, the sons of perdition will be cast into the Outer Darkness, where Scripture states that they “shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels.” The Sulir believe that free will is one of the greatest gifts to come out of Kord's sacrifice of himself, and that there are some who will completely reject Kord Christ and the Law. God will not force someone, including Perdition, to be saved if they do not desire to be saved. Therefore, the sons of perdition are allowed to remove themselves from the presence of God and live in whatever degree of darkness they desire. The Sulir refer to this as “denying Lendor the Spirit” and generally interpret it specifically as rejecting and denying Kord the Son after receiving a personal witness of him from Lendor the Spirit. It is frequently – though not universally – added that a son of perdition must have a “perfect knowledge” of Kord and that mere faith or belief in him is not enough. The term is also used to refer to those angels who followed Perdition into outlawry and rebellion against the Law set down by Wejas the Mother and were thus cast out of heaven.
Perdition
Perdition is the embodiment of evil to the Sulir, the Original Outlaw. She so desires to usurp God's divine place in and power over the world that she herself exists in a Trinity, being composed of Beltar (Perdition the Spirit), Pyr (Perdition the Father), and Syr (Perdition the Daughter). Her worshipers, should they exist, would be unlikely to find contentment in anything other than positions of leadership; those who can't find such would likely leave to seek out heathen tribes to infiltrate and convert to the worship of Perdition or to find new enemies to fight. They would also tend towards in-fighting and backbiting, preying upon each other, with the smarter members leaving to found a new cult around them. Despite this and the communication troubles inherent in a group dedicated to lies, legends say that these groups get along surprisingly well. It is said that most worshipers of Perdition (called deathseekers or forktongues in the stories) sell their services as assassins or are hired by leaders to confuse and misdirect spies and unwarranted foreign dignitaries; turnover among the clergy is high because of these internal feuds. Hot, dry days that cause fires are considered Perdition's, so many Sulir either refuse to go out on those days or spend all day in church, praying. The eleventh day of each month is also considered Perdition's, and it is said that her sons are not allowed to tell any truths on this day, though they must craft true-sounding lies and get others to believe them. The stories say that any forktongue speaking a truth on this day has his legs broken and reset askew as a warning.
The stories of worship services to Perdition include many sensationalist references to sacrifices conducted in caves or points of low ground. These sacrifices are said to ensure that devoted worshipers rise as undead within a year of their deaths to return and aid their cult or tribe and show proof of evil's true power. It is said that Perdition demands sacrifices most strongly at the beginning of winter, spring, and low summer; prisoners and slaves are poisoned with corrosive substances, stabbed in the back, and burned alive on great pyres. These stories also tell of worshipers exposing themselves to great heat to test their strength, plotting against those who hold things they want, building superior forges, exploring exotic locations to find rare plants and other substances from which poisons can be made, traveling to avoid persecution, traveling to find rumors to escalate, and exploiting the trust of greedy and foolish explorers. If these stories can be believed, worshipers are on constant vigilance, watching other people for weaknesses or openings in their defenses and using their ability to lie effectively in situations where they can cause the most trouble: markets, courtrooms, embassies, and fortunetellers' booths. Many, rumor says, are skilled actors, habitually performing in self-written plays that slander authority figures. They are said to engage in debate.
Black or dark grey cloaks embroidered with actual gold thread are said to be favored by the worshipers of Perdition; the inner lining of these cloaks ranges from medium-brown to near-black. They are worn over orange silk trousers and jerkins, with another layer of red silk between them, slitted to reveal the inner orange layer; one wearing such a costume appears to ripple with flame, hidden by shadow and adorned with wealth. A forked-tongue symbol is often displayed somewhere on their cloak or clothing, Heavy bracers made of brass adorn the wrists, and male and female alike shave their head. A forked-tongue amulet of red metal, preferably red gold or lacquered rusted iron, is worn over the robe. Ceremonial tools include a small sword made of brass, a fine leather whip braided with red gold, and an elaborate wooden staff that cleverly conceals an ornate dagger, and these are usually well-hidden by worshipers. Alternating colors of red and orange are the norm for adventuring followers of Perdition. This is normally accomplished with patches of one color sewn into clothes of the other color, strips of both colors tied into elaborate knots (clothing of loose nets of these strips can sometimes be a very easily hidden adventuring costume), or with vivid body paints. Over these they tend to wear golden-yellow robes with a red forked-tongue symbol; even when these robes become ragged or dirty, the tongue-symbol must remain recognizable.
Buildings of mortared stone (especially volcanic), with red and orange shapes enameled into the walls and covered in a glaze to catch the light are said to bear the touch of Perdition's twisted followers, and are often avoided by the Sulir if they should come across such a building. The Sulir also never set a fire burning near the center of a public room (the fire is always in a fireplace/hearth or otherwise to the side), because this too is seen as a sign of Perdition's influence. For this same reason, they avoid buildings with a large number of alcoves and blind corners, places where Perdition or his followers are said to lurk. According to the stories and rumors, if Perdition's influence grows strong on a building or on a builder or architect's mind, gnarled wood and tortured-looking stone joins the previous qualities, making the building a strange affair. Unusual paintings, according to the stories, would hang from the walls, such as two dark figures standing between a pair of trees which – if observed long enough – resolves into the image of a skull. Spinning wooden disks with pleasant and ugly images on either side hang from the ceiling.
Beltar, Perdition the Spirit, is often represented in Sulis iconography as an ugly old woman, a beholder, a red dragon, a marilith demon, or even just a set of monstrous fangs, closing to bite. Many nonhuman slaves in the ancient days of the Sulis Empire turned to the worship of Perdition through her Spirit, who is said to lurk in mines and other underground areas looking for mates. The stories always take a gory glee in describing how Beltar eats her mates after having her way with them. This Beltar-centric worship of Perdition is often rumored to continue among evil nonhumans and savage humans. Beltar is Perdition the Spirit, that which unites the Outlaw Trinity, both with itself and with its followers should they exist; she is that in the world which inspires hatred and which seeks to make examples of traitors or the weak-willed. The malice that is Perdition the Spirit is said to push the sons of Perdition to band together into armies and to ally with more powerful creatures, such as red dragons, beholders, demons, or greater undead. These armies are then driven by Beltar the Spirit to wage war on all of God's works and all of God's world.
Pyr, Perdition the Father, the Blazing Killer, the Hideous Assassin, is often depicted as a demonic face with ears like bat wings. When a more humanoid appearance is desired than a mere head, he is drawn as a worshiper of Perdition, carrying a longsword called Red Light in the legends and a whip called Viper. It is said that the biggest success of Perdition's revolt against God belonged to Pyr, who corrupted fire from the life-giving power it was meant to be into a destructive and hurtful element. He is the patron of assassins, and is worshiped, shockingly openly, outside of the direct Sulis sphere by the jermlaine and some nonhuman tribes.
Syr, Perdition the Daughter, the Forked Tongue, Night Hag, Oathbreaker, often appears in religious art as a dirty, smelly old hag in tattered clothing who is never without Small Lie (a dagger of venom made from an evil unicorn's horn) and Harsh Truth (a rod of withering made from a gold dragon's crystallized soul). She is often depicted riding a great nightmare called Flamedevil. Despite this, a forked tongue is enough to reference her in a piece of art.
From the Sulis Holy Writ
“Heed this warning: You will find those criminal angels who followed Perdition into outlawry exploring and mining caves. They seek foes and riches; be not like them. They accept not fear; be not like them. They allow only hatred into their hearts for everyone they meet; be not like them.”
“And I saw the world perishing in fire at Perdition's hands, for all that existed upon its surface that threatens her hatred of our God must be burned. Though her followers may kill you, do not let this happen! And then a great realization drew heavy sadness over my eyes, for even the greatest of us must sleep sometime. And I myself grew wroth with God and cried out in pain: 'Because we fall to such tactics, do we deserve our fate? Have You given this world unto Perdition and her sons, most crafty for exploiting our weaknesses?'”
“It is said, is it not, that the best way to protect what thou know is to shield it in a lie. I tell thee, this in itself is a lie spread by Perdition and all her sons. Speech is deadlier than any weapon; when Perdition whispers this in your ear, know that it is true, yet incomplete. The greatest and the smallest have fallen with a well-spoken untruth, but the masses have lived and have died on the stroke of a rumor uncontrolled. Be a fool, this is the message I bring thee, for Perdition will give her word to advance her cause and then break it when it is no longer of use. Trust, then, is for fools, but if this is so, then so shall bread and water be said to be for fools. Surrender not this foolishness when Perdition doth betray thee, for it is a gift and a lesson when they do so. Learn its secrets well and be not the dull-wit they believe thou to be for thy honesty and straightforwardness.”
“All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against Lendor the Spirit; for Kord will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive Lendor the Spirit, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against Lendor, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Kord Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it.”
“And the sons of perdition inhabit and shall inhabit a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.”
Game Mechanics
Worshipers of Perdition must be of chaotic good, chaotic neutral, neutral, chaotic evil, neutral evil, or lawful evil alignment. They may choose an unarmed strike, the spiked gauntlet, the longsword, the whip, or the dagger as their favored weapon, and summon either a +1 improved unarmed strike, a mighty cleaving spiked gauntlet, a longsword of venom, or a dagger of venom with their weapon of the deity spell. They may choose two domains from the following: Chaos, Destruction, Domination (Complete Divine), Earth, Evil, Fire, Knowledge, Madness (Complete Divine), Mind (Complete Divine), Mysticism (Complete Divine), Summoner (Complete Divine), Trickery, and War. They cannot cast spells with the cold descriptor; they are not restricted, however, from casting a spell that has been modified by an item or feat (like Energy Substitution) so that its cold descriptor is completely changed to another descriptor.
