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tails, usually performed with whips made from leathery
snakeskins or rattles from snake bones.
Arvaritos, the Spider
“Only one who has been captured, enveloped in Her
webs, and devoured to naught but a husk can understand the Spider God’s true purpose.” So claim the
chain-bearing priests who devote themselves to the
savage consumer Arvaritos.
Arvaritos is a deity of patience and power, the ultimate
winner, the heartless victor, the gatherer, one who despises waste and weakness. The faithful say Arvaritos
fashioned the universe from another ruined universe
long dead, stringing its remnants together into Her web
of life (and death). Even Khitus is the shriveled husk of
some vast being the Spider once captured and sucked
dry. Depictions of Arvaritos show a massive, hairy wolf
spider perched deep within a seemingly infinite web
stretched across the stars.
Clergy of Arvaritos
Her Shadazim practice absolute submission to their
god, and demand the same of their worshipers, to be
demonstrated continuously. The faithful say Her webs
connect every aspect of the physical world. Her tugging
and plucking on Her web causes all things, from the
mundane to the colossal, to happen.
Her adherents believe that only the body’s fluids carry
life and all other matter— bones, chitin, hair, etc.—is already dead. Zealots discard these where possible, making
a sacrifice like this at each major change of rank among
the clergy to become more alive and more akin to Arvaritos. Acolytes shave their heads; Shadams sacrifice a
ring finger; Deshadiz pull between four and six teeth; and
Cheldar are toothless or have a missing limb (or both).
Religious gatherings of the Spider God are bizarre
rituals where the faithful allow themselves to be bound,
chained, and gagged—like victims caught in a web—
and their body fluids drained by cruel barbs into glass
vials. The priests move among them, whispering in an
ancient language only they understand, taking each
worshiper to the brink of death before turning them
loose and back into the world. Invariably, some of the
faithful do not survive. Arvarites hide the punctures on
their hands and feet beneath rags and make all manner
of excuses for their unhealthy state between rituals.
Baynar, the Wolf
“Fools from the south, know we never lost touch with our
gods in the north. The howls of the Great Wolf have never
158
Reviving a Clergy
The greatest challenge for all Shadazim remains turning worship and study into a consistent connection
with the long-absent gods. Centuries of inattention
have hardened the fabric of the universe in and around
Khitus. What used to be commonplace is rare and now
more difficult. The redistribution of energy among a
god and its worshipers is hampered by the desires of all
parties. Shadizar desire magical power in return for their
worship, but some would rather grow in strength than
redistribute this magical energy among their clergy.
Some gods and pantheons understand that mortal
needs can serve godly needs, supplying more power
to their clergy to thus amplify their own presence on
Khitus. A Shadazim priest’s credibility suffers when she
cannot consistently call up the energies and powers
she attributes to her deity. Priestly magic is yet erratic,
but sometimes available in unexpected gluts that temporarily amplify the cleric’s magical powers, making
them a marvel to behold (and thus sparking a surge in
interest and power in her god and her religion). Until
more gods realize or remember that the status and
power of their proxies directly affects how much their
local power can regrow, priestly magic shall remain unpredictable at best.
stilled among our trees . . . and his hunger for weaker prey
has never abated, be that meat mundane or divine.”
The Wolf embraces speed and endurance as well as
cunning and determination. Baynar claims mastery over
the wild lands, but does so with all the trappings of a sophisticated creature, armored beneath iron and steel, bejeweled with all manner of magical baubles. All canines
are his to command, and those who follow him slowly
grow to embrace their more wild lupine attributes.
Baynar’s legend explains how he maneuvered quietly
to prove canine mastery over all things. The lead dog of
a royal pack, Baynar unexpectedly turned on his master, biting out his throat, and leading the pack to slay all
but Dathan, the master of hounds, who became the first
priest of Baynar. The Wolf adopts any trappings or devices of other races that he finds useful, discarding the
rest. The canine mind is superior, adaptable, and easily
organized beneath a series of alphas.
Clergy of Baynar
The Wolf’s priests assert their hierarchy among the
worshipers, appointing themselves alpha status more
often than not. Pack position must constantly be de-
