From: Andrew Larsen (aelarsen@facstaff.wisc.edu)
Date: Mon 12 Jun 2000 - 23:30:03 EEST
I didn't much response to my questions about Ty Kora Tek, which suggests to
me, given the ususally vociferous nature of the list, that people haven'
done much with her cult. That said, I offer you the write-up that I'm going
to use for my campaign (if it ever becomes an issue). I haven't decided how
much of the HW system I'm going to use yet, so this is a mix of RQ2 and RQ3
cult features.
Ty Kora Tek
Queen of the Dead, Goddess of the Deep Dark Earth
Mythos and History
When the world was young, Gata gave birth to twin girls, Asrelia and Ty
Kora Tek. Asrelia was beautiful and friendly, but Ty Kora Tek was neither
of these things. While many came to win Asrelia's hand, none cast a second
glance at her, and she grew more angry and jealous. One day, however, she
was approaced by Kalimbros, a Darkness Spirit who cared little about her
looks or her personality. He knew of a prophecy that she would be a mighty
queen and he wanted her might for himself, and so he courted her with
promises of his realm deep below the earth. He promised her that should
would have all that he owned. Ty Kora Tek accepted and departed the surface
world forever.
When they arrived in the great empty place that was Kalimbros' kingdom,
Ty Kora Tek found neither riches nor subjects, but only a vast silence.
Furious for being lied to, she left him and searched the Underworld, until
she found the secrets of Death, hidden away where none other knew them.
Long before Humakt was born, Ty Kora Tek knew the power of Death. Returning
home, she slew Kalimbros on their own marriage bed, and then compelled him
to serve her as a subject. With his aid, she crafted a vast hall in the
Underworld.
When Humakt brought Death to the Inner World, the dead began to wander
the Underworld, looking for a place of peace. She took these lost souls to
her cavern and provided them with peace and safety, in return for their
obedience. When her sister Asrelia retreated forever from the upper world,
Ty Kora Tek promised to provide a refuge for all who served her sister and
her sister's children, and thus all who worship the earth ultimately come to
Ty Kora Tek.
Throughout the Godtime, she was a harsh and implacable ruler, moved
neither by pity nor blood ties nor love. When the grain goddess Esra
wnadered into her realm by mistake, even her neice Ernalda's pleas could not
win her back, until Ernalda pointed out that to keep the living among the
dead would surely disturb the orderly silence of her court. Even then she
demanded that Esra return periodically, to pay honor to her.
Since the Dawning, Ty Kora Tek's cult has done little of note.
Worshippers of Ty Kora Tek know that after death they will be taken down
to her kingdom, to help her rule over and tend the dead until their Queen
decided that the time has come forr them to be reborn.
In artwork, Ty Kora Tek is normally shown as a gaunt old woman, wrapped
close with a shroud, often with a crown on her head. Her face is often a
skull.
Cult Ecology
Ty Kora Tek is the Queen of the Dead. She guides, protects, and rules
over all those who have died, ensuring that they rest peacefully. Her
followers perform all the necessary funeral rites and supervise the mourning
process, thus helping ensure the emotional stability of the community. They
also act to separate the living from the dead, an invaluable service, since
the unquiet dead can pose a serious threat.
She is also the goddess of the end of things and is often propitiated in
order to make certain that something has come to an end. Thus people
sacrifice to her after a disaster or plague, and at the end of the year, to
keep evil influences from returning.
As the goddess of limits and boundaries, boundary stones are sacred to
her, and her spirits sometimes can be found protecting the borders of a
tula. She is an important spirit to invoke at the start of a heroquest
because she has the power to make the passage to the godplane easier or
harder.
As the goddess who controls the process of rebirth, Ty Kora Tek has a
powerful influence over what the life of a child will be like. Thus
pregnant mothers traditionally offer a sacrifice to her, hoping that their
child will receive a powerful spirit.
Ty Kora Tek is associated with the runes of Death, Malign Earth (or
Dust) and Fate. Her Holy Days are on Clayday of Illusion Week, with the
High Holy Day falling in Dark Season. God Day of Truth Week in Storm Season
is also sacred to her as the last day of the year before the Sacred Time.
The Cult in the World
The cult of Ty Kora Tek is small in most places, and she has few temples
devoted solely to her. But the cult is widespread, since all communities
which worship the earth have need of her services, and all earth temples
have a shrine to her. Her greatest temple is the Grand Necropolis in
Esrolia.
Her priestesses have very little political power, and they are likely to
be feared rather than respected, because of their connections to the dead.
Many people believe that it is dangerous to have too much contact with her
priestesses, because this may cause Death to take notice of them. It is
unwise to offend her cult, because the presence of a cultist at a birth,
wedding, or other undertaking is a dangerous omen. Thus her priestesses are
often given small gifts to keep them away from such ceremonies.
Lay Membership
All current members of any earth cult are automatically Lay members of
this cult. Those who are not Lay Members may join the cult for a season for
a fee of 50 Lunars. Lay members are promised a cult burial when they die,
including the use of the Sacred Shovel, and may ask a priestess for help if
they are troubled by a restless spirit.
Initiate Membership
Any adult woman may initiate into the cult simply by requesting it and
sacrificing a point of POW. However, it is rare for any woman to request
this before menopause, because it is generally thought to be dangerous to
her unborn child for a pregnant woman to prepare a dead body. Those few
fertile women who do initiate noramlly remain celibate.
Initiates must help prepare the bodies of the dead for the funeral and
must help mourn the dead at the wake. They are required to help tend the
burial places, and may be called upon to combat the restless dead, though
this is rare.
Initiates may learn Prepare Corpse, Move Quietly, and Read/Write Own
Language at half price. They may learn Detect Magic, Dispel Magic,
Extinguish, Second Sight, Silence, Spirit Block, and Visibility at half
price. They may sacrifice for the cult's special rune magic.
Prepare Corpse: This Craft skill allows the user to properly lay out a
corpse and prepare it for final rites. It allows the user to know what
rituals and spells are traditionally performed over the corpse. A success
with this spell reduces the chance that the deceased will return as a
restless spirit.
Rune Priestess Membership
In order to become a priestess of Ty Kora Tek, a woman must have reached
menopause, have a POW of 18, and must know Prepare Corpse and Read/Write Own
Language at 90%.
Priestesses of Ty Kora Tek are required to preside over all funerals
that occur in their vacinity, and are expected to devote 50% of their free
time to teaching initiates and helping those who are about to die.
Priestesses are allowed to take 1/10 of the grave goods as their fee for
performing a funeral, and their assistants may take 1/20. They may ally a
spirit, which is normally kept in a crypt or a sacred shovel.
Common Rune Magic: All 1 and 2 point spells. They may Summon Small Gnomes
and Dismiss small elementals.
Special Rune Magic:
One point spells:
Bless Grave: Duration 1 hour. Range touch. Stackable. Reusable.
This ritual summons a spirit of Ty Kora Tek to escort the soul of a dead
person to the Underworld. It ensures that the sould will not return as a
ghost. Extra points of the spell allow more than one grave to be affected.
It can also be used to bury the effigy of a worshipper of Vivamort, in
which case the spirit will seek out the Vivamorti and engage him in spirit
combat
Bless Shovel: Duration instantaneous. Range touch. Reusable.
This spell may only be cast on a specially prepared ritual shovel. This
shovel is normally used for the purpose of digging graves. When used this
way, the shovel will cut through even the hardest packed or most deeply
frozen ground.
However, the sacred shovel can also be used as a weapon. When wielded
thusly, it uses the Axe Attack and Parry percentages, inflicts 1d6 damage,
and has 10 hps. If the shovel successfully inflicts damage on a skeleton or
zombie, the target is destroyed. If the shovel successfully inflicts damage
on a vampire, the vampire will be unable to regenerate the damage and must
heal it with magic, at the rate of 1 point per day.
Two point spell:
Summon Dead: Duration 15 minutes. Range touch. Reusable.
This ritual must be performed over the corpse, grave, or other remains
of the individual to be summoned. The name of the individual must be known.
If the person being contacted currently resides within Ty Kora Tek's cavern
or the afterlife on any other Earth cult, his ghost rises from the earth.
The ghost may communicate with the caster of the spell, but may only be
compelled to tell the truth or perform a service if the caster can overcome
his POW.
Subcults
Spirit of Reprisal: The Restless Dead
If any initiate or priestess of Ty Kora Tek offends the goddess, perhaps
by desecrating a body, she will be hounded by the spirits of the dead until
she makes recompense for her crime. Any time she approaches a dead body or
a burial site, the spirit of the deceased will engage her in spirit combat
until she manages to break off and leave the area.
The Gray Sisters: A few followers of Ty Kora Tek dedicate themselves to
actively combatting the restless dead. When a Gray Sister dies, she
continues to serve Ty Kora Tek by escorting the souls of the dead to her
realm. Allied spirits are usually drawn from the Gray Sisters.
Kalimbros: Ty Kora Tek's husband provides her cult with Small Shades.
Associated Cults
Asrelia: Ty Kora Tek's sister grants her the spell of Hide Wealth.
Babeester Gor: The cult of the Avenging Daughter trains the Gray Sisters in
Axe Attack and Any Shield. It also grants the spell Great Parry.
Ernalda: The Earth Mother grants her aunt the spell of Restore CON.
Maran Gor: This grim goddess grants her aunt the spell of Blast Earth.
Voria: The goddess of New Beginnings is often worshipped with the goddess of
All Endings, and offers her the spell of Invigorate.
I kind of liked the suggestion that her husband was Grandfather Mortal,
Reactions? Thoughts? Villifications?
but the earth gods are supposed to be fairly old, so TKT's position ought to
be established before Death entered the world, and it makes sense to me that
the cult would claim to have known Death before Humakt was even born.
Just a couple of notes here. The GoG statement that only women over 50
join her cult seems problematic to me. The image of a bunch of old women
wielding Sacred Shovels to dig graves seems a little goofy to me, so it
makes sense that the cult has younger women to do the menial work while
learning how to perform the rituals (sort of like apprentic undertakers).
The Cult has Sacred Shovels useful against vampires (or so Cults of
Terror suggests), hence the Shovel spell. Since the cult has magic weapon
against the undead, it seemed logical that they would have a subcult that
used that weapon.
Andrew E. Larsen
------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Fri 13 Jun 2003 - 21:48:51 EEST