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INTRODUCTION:
Aghorrit is both respected and, in some ways, despised by the other religions, for though he and his arts are very useful, his lore also brings forth destruction, death, and famine. Aghorrit was the child of Mergurr, who tricked Mustiglior into union. Mustiglior, when she found out that the child within her carried the stench of death, took a piece of metal and tried to abort the infant god. Aghorrit persevered, grabbed the metal implement, and cut his way out of his mother's womb. He then fled from his mother, who soon realized that a part of her loved her child and she constantly pined for, and yet abhorred, her offspring.
Aghorrit took the metal implement and fashioned from it the first sword, with the help of Malaktum. He then, to revenge his mother's rape, plunged the sword into Mergurr. The god of death could not die, of course, but the sword became imbued with death's power, and through it Aghorrit gained his powers.
Aghorrit was very pleased with his newfound power, and he spent untold aeons perfecting his craft. When he finally emerged amongst the gods and goddesses, he was full grown, and he bragged about and made awesome displays of his prowess. Some gods saw the usefulness of the new lore, for they coveted the work of others. And they convinced Aghorrit to boast about his powers, and thereby reveal their secrets. Thus did the other gods learn the power of war and thus did the Gods' War begin.
Although others bastardized Aghorrit's powers, none mastered them like he did, for his use and interest in the power was pure, and had no motive but its own self. Finally, when the Deceiver proposed an end to the war, Aghorrit came forth, distraught at what his arts had wrought, and he used his martial arts to cower the gods into peace. In this way, Aghorrit stopped the Gods' War but allowed the Deceiver to work his evils.
Since the Slumber, Aghorrit's lore has been learned by the mortal races through worship and prayer to him. It is certain that the Deceiver learnt much of Aghorrit's lore before ever daring to pull off his grand scheme, and this lore he taught to his minions the Maug and the various demons and devils that plague the universe. Amorany, who gained courage through Meredros, also gained warcraft from Aghorrit. His prayers and meditations to Aghorrit did not go unanswered, and slowly the lore of Aghorrit was revealed to mortals, to fight the lore of the Deceiver.
Humans proved most adept at the new lore, for they were the most numerous and most adaptable, and could carry war into any terrain with some proficiency. But the dwarves also too up the art with a fervor unmatched by the other races, for they already had much of the lore of Malaktum, from whom Aghorrit himself had learned much of his craft.
Now, despite Aghorrit's responsibility for much of the world's ills, he is regarded as necessary and, in fact, is revered for having a part, through the actions of the hero Korvar and his band of Aghorriti worshippers, in defeating the Deceiver. Aghorrit's past failures are now regarded, even by his own religion, as an object lesson against arrogance and the double edged nature of warfare and combat, which can be used for weal or for woe.
ORGANIZATION:
The Church of War is by nature decentralized, organized to conform along secular lines so that it parallels the armies of each great nation or state. In general, each nation has its own Highest Warpriest, who supports the king, lord, or general of the land. The highest temple of each nation is generally contained in the capital city of that nation. Even the Isle of Onlor has temples to Aghorrit, although these were imported by later waves of humans after the Mordanti were subsumed. The great temple to Aghorrit in the Kingdom of Slumber is presided over by Korvar. one of the great heroes of the War of the Gem, and many priests of Aghorrit make pilgrimage to that temple to revel in its splendor and the martial trophies that are displayed therein.
In each nation, other smaller temples can be found in every major city, and in many towns or villages where there is a frontier that requires fighting. This includes not only frontiers with other nations, but also with dangerous geographical features, like swamps.
The Church of War gets along with the Church of Meredros in many respects, especially if the Aghorrit priest happens to be Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good, and both religions often share watch duties against strongholds of evil and combine to make war upon the scattered minions of the Deceiver. In other cases, where the nation is less good-inclined or when the Warpriesthood is less good or less lawful, the Church of War more closely aligns with Mergurr, Aghorrit's deadly father. The cult of Mustiglior both loves and hates Aghorrit, for they bear a motherly love for soldiers, and desire to comfort their hard lives, but they also hate the killing and bloodshed.
It is a fact of life that various factions of the Church of War fight against one another. Aghorrit, it is said, would have it no other way, for in combat is found cleansing purity and in combat are the week culled from the strong so that the strongest may perpetuate. However, it is also true that Warpriests will always obey the conventions of war, even if on opposing sides of the war, and it is often the case that even evil Warpriests will urge their liege lord to spare those opposing warriors who fought well and with courage.
The individual Warpriest owes allegiance to his superior, that usually being a high priest of his particular temple. That priest, in turn, owes allegiance to the nearby regional temple given a command over the region (usually situated in a major city or strategic fortification). And that priesthood owes allegiance to the Highest Warpriest of the nation. Although the temple in the Kingdom of Slumber is revered by the religion as a whole, no other temples outside of that kingdom owe any formal feality to the temple in Slumber.
Temple positions are generally gained I one of two ways:
A superior can give a promotion to a worthy clergy member, or
A challenger can challenge the current position-holder to single combat, with the winner taking the prize
The preferred method depends on the alignment of the priesthood and its nation.
Most army units of 50-100 men try to have a single warpriest with them (usually of 1st or 2nd level). A large army will generally have a high priest of 9th level or greater accompanying them.
PRIESTS:
Warpriests are a strange lot as viewed by others. To Aghorrit priests, combat is not just a means to an end, but is a pure and cleansing experience in and of itself. Combat is worthy simply for its own sake. This does not mean all (or even a good portion) of Warpriests are berserk troublemakers always killing everything that moves (although there are known to be a few Chaotic Evil insane warpriests who do just that - such priests do not live long or must flee to the wilderness after each depredation). But it does mean that Warpriests train for and savour good, hard-fought, honest fighting. War, they believe, culls the weak from the strong (the chaff from the wheat, as they are fond of saying), and, as the Aghorritian saying goes:
There is new lore to be learnt from every sword swing.
To a Warpriest, the best and most common solution to most problems is combat, unless is can be proved to him that other methods are more expedient.
A Warpriest begins his career generally in one of two ways. First, young men are often given over to the clergy to learn a trade or career. If they are strong and show natural courage, the priesthood will train the young lad and pay the father an apprentice's price. If the young man shows devotion and aptitude, he is eventually ordained. Most young men of talent are ordained after about 5-7 years of service. During this time, they will act as seconds or camp guards, learning how to forage for an army, scout for an army, cook, heal, and all of the other "house-keeping" chores that must be performed for a well-heeled army.
The other way the priesthood is entered is by retired soldiers. These often retire to the priesthood, where their wisdom and experience is of great value to the efforts of the religion and their armies. Such a person is generally tested for a year or two and then, if found worthy, is entered into the priesthood.
A priest is generally assigned directly to a unit. In fact, he gains the colours of that unit and the unit is entitled to then place a special insignia on its banner (usually that of a golden sword with a skull for the pommel) to show it is supported by the warpriesthood.
A few priests of Aghorrit leave the unit structure and seek to wander the lands. The religion allows and values these sellswords because they keep a tenuous link of communication and consistency between the various factions and nations of the religion, and because they often are the innovators of the religion, learning new techniques and uncovering lost lore in their travels and adventures. Such wanderers are known as Swordpriests (even if they do not use a sword) and are often the leaders of mercenary bands or lone drifters seeking conflict and fortune.
Attached Warpriests are expected to minister to their units and train them in the art and the spiritual mindset of war. They prepare soldiers' burials, offer council to officers, help forge and maintain weapons and armour, and often keep the logistical records and paperwork of the units.
Swordpriests, on the other hand, have few duties. They are expected to wear, somewhere on their person, a golden pendent or buckle or some other ornament in the shape of a skull with a sword through its mouth and out its left eye. This ornament shows that they are unattached to a military unit. Swordpriests are expected to minister to whatever group they happen to support or be in charge of. Loners have no ministerial duties but are to uphold the ideals of the cult.
DEVOTEES:
Devotees of this religion are generally soldiers or mercenaries. They also generally serve under a single priest. Those that serve under a priest for a long period of time can be recommended to a Warpriest of at least 6th level. Such a priest may consecrate a proven warrior as a devotee. This devotee may wear a special insignia of Aghorrit, denoting his status, and there is a 1% chance per year of being a devotee that any Bless spell cast by a Warpriest upon this person will be at double effectiveness. For example, a devotee who has been such for 5 years has a 5% chance of gaining a +2 to hit and a +2 to save vs fear when subject to a bless spell cast by a Warpriest.
DWARVES:
Some dwarves also worship Aghorrit. This affinity is the result of the association between Malaktum and Aghorrit, and dwarves have combined the lore of Aghorrit with the lore of Malaktum and Neengrum to create a variety of awesome and destructive weapons. Many an orc of the Deceiver's armies has beheld the terror of such dwarven war artifacts as the Skullthrower, the Juggernaut Flayer, the Black Bombard, the Metal Terror, and the Cubemaker.
SECTS:
There are six sects to the religion. Each corresponds to one of the domains of the god.
The Way of the Warrior:
This sect emphasizes pure combat in its organized and mass form from the perspective of the soldier. This is the way of the average foot soldier and the priesthood of this sect emphasizes use of their powers in a coordinated fashion amid the din of the battlefield. Drilling and obedience to command are emphasized.
The Sect of Flesh:
This aspect of the religion emphasizes strength as the greatest of all physical virtues. While wit and cleverness are necessary, when the time for battle has come and the plans are made, it is strength that guides the blade home. This sect emphasizes, also, adversity and pain as necessary to succeed and adherents are great followers of the adage "that which does not kill me makes me stronger". Followers of the Sect of Flesh tend to be stoical in the face of adversity and try to show no reaction to pain.
The Strategist Sect:
This sect emphasizes the need for planning and tactics in battle. It takes the opposite view of the Sect of Flesh in that all the muscle in the world will not save a bad battle plan. This sect is the province of generals and leaders of men and, as such, tends to attract the more powerful members of the religion. As such, it has a reputation (deserved or not) amongst the rest of the religion of arrogance and superiority.
The Sect of the Blade:
This sect emphasizes individual combat, and they are wont to decide even trivial matters by some form of combat, whether ritualized or actual. Constant mastery of weapons and personal prowess in combat are emphasized over tactics and strategy and performance on the large-scale battlefield.
The Destroyers:
This sect emphasizes the ravenous and ferocious aspects of warfare and tends towards evil alignments and/or chaotic alignments. They revel in blood and destruction that accompanies warfare, with little thought to its victims.
The Stronghearts:
This sect emphasizes deeds of valour on the field of battle. While in no way beserks, the Stronghearts seek out dangerous missions and engage in actions that put their lives at great risk as long as these actions benefit the side for whom they fight. Members of this sect wear the dried heart of a bear or lion around their necks.