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The Crudae Cult of the North was the worship of their merciless patron, the Plague Ridden. They are lead by their shamans who act as the middle men between the god and their people. They are easily seen compared to the rest of their people, as they often carry a spear or other long polearm as their symbol and often have various idols that represent their faith. Moreso, worship of the Plague Ridden comes with a side affect of being inflicted with various diseases that affect the worshiper, often leaving scars and boils and other signs of pain. This is seen as a sign of his favor, and so often the more signs of these and the age of the shaman plays directly into the seniority of the shaman. Those who have the most favor of the god often have otherworldly mutations, such as an extra eye or an extra appendage such as a tentacle. They are saved only for the champions of the god.
The rituals involved with communicating with the god include the ingesting of various plants and concoctions including special incenses used to induce various fever dreams and otherworldly moments where the shamans can listen to their patron lord. A common side affect of these are the decay of the sanity of those who journey often to this land, and madness and psychosis is common amongst the more seasoned shamans as well. The Minotaur, Ogre, Gigantes, Wildmen, and Dybukk follow this overall pattern but also have their own unique takes upon this. There are also those who live outside them and partake only in the Crudae Cult, named the Heralds for their goal is to spread the word of the Plague Ridden. They are his most trusted vestiges and can come from any race throughout the world, often having to hide from their civilization as they are shunned for their worship of the Plague Ridden. They often travel in secret, using disguises and unknown paths to spread his word across the world.
The Wildmen that live in the forests of the taiga are outcasts of the rest of the human race and find power in the Plague Ridden. Due to the relatively small numbers of the Beastmen, they are also the most numerous race that worships him. They are lead by the Nether Council, a group of powerful shamans that worship the Plague Ridden. They serve as the unifying force of the tribes of the Wildmen, meeting every few years to discuss matters both political and religious. As they are less physically resistant as the Beast races, however, their shamans often don't live as long as the others and they also are unable to travel to their fever dreams as often as others. Because of this, unlike the Beast men they often combine sacrifices and other ways of communicating with the god, in the hopes of discerning information or gifts. Because of this abnormal way of worshiping the Plague Ridden, they are often seen as junior to the Beast men shamans, and share an unequal relationship to the rest.
The Ogres and Gigantes, as they live and toil together, share their worship of the Plague Ridden. However, the ogres remain the only one of the two that is able to commune with their patron, and serve as the religious head. They serve separately of the chieftains of the clans, and often work alongside them. The ogres have a connection to the primal magics of the world, and often combine the elements into the worship of the Plague Ridden. They believe in the spirits of the elements and often use totems and other structures and idols to bring the spirits to them in order to strengthen their communing with the Plague Ridden. They form the Cult of Blight, and are not as important as they are in the other northern races. As ogre society respects and rewards physical prowess, shamans are often seen as second to those who can show those qualities. However, they are still treated as a respected members of society and are often important in leading important social functions such as funerals and are used to see omens for the future.
The Dybukk follow the Spectral Cult, as they focus on the afterlife and ancestor worship compared to the rest of the northern races. They believe all living things have a spirit, one that is tied to the Plague Ridden who serves as the deity in control of the spirit world. He rules over it as King, and the world that the shamans see in their fever dreams are the spirit world itself, glimpses into his land. As they have seen the land of V'khaj'laho, they see the undead as the spirits that have been refused by the Plague Ridden and have been forced to live on this land forever. This is why the undead have such a hatred for the living, for they are jealous of the spirits that live within them and will be able to live with the Plague Ridden. The Dybukk see this as reason for why combat and war is an important aspect of their society, for death is but a continuation of life in the spirit world. In a similar fashion to the ogres and gigantes, they also use idols and certain incense to bring the spirits to where they are attempting to commune with the spirit world, channeling the energy to increase the potency of their worship.
The Minotaur serve the Plague Ridden as well, and under the leadership of the Minotaur King and his Krysalis Crown they have a more unified system akin to the wildmen. There is the Brotherhood of the Nightmare, which is the collection of all the shamans in the Minotaur tribes that serve the Plague Ridden. They serve as a body of the religious members of Minotaur society, and often work alongside the political leaders of the tribes to lead them spiritually. The Minotaur vary the least from the Crudae Cult, believing the Plague Ridden to be a powerful and merciless deity who rewards those who sacrifice and take on pain for the tribe. Strength and power is rewarded while cowardice and frailty is punished. As they have faced the forces of the forest for an unknown period of time, they also see it as a powerful and destructive force that will one day overcome their foes and allow them to journey south and rule over as the ancient races of the north deserve. Their shamans are often seen alongside their armies not as seers but as warriors, using their gifts and favor with the Plague Ridden as a weapon to be honed against their enemies.
[M] Create Faith x5 for the races of the north
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