Shaurlocha (4e Deity)

Shaurlocha

She is identified by a vertical aurloch hunting spear with dried shimmering black priestesses' blood covering and dripping down its serrated tip.

Unaligned
Domains: Darkness, Earth
Warpriest Domain: Earth

Shaurlocha is the patron deity of the Aurloch people. Shaurlocha is revered as the queen of midnight, the mother of the black woods, the death-blooded, and the mother of all aurloch. She watches over the night, the darkness, blood, and the aurloch people.

Any Aurloch who is suspected of not worshiping her, or of worshiping another deity, is immediately apprehended and promptly executed for heresy. These heretics are then thrown into a deep, open pit referred to as "The Pit of Eternal Shame" and left there to rot, unburied, and unmourned. Shaurlocha is revered by the Aurloch as being the very first of their race, and therefore, the Mother of all Aurloch. She is said to have been a great and powerful Druid, whose connection to the Feywild was so strong that she ascended to that plane of existence upon her death. There is a certain, small branch of the Aurloch, however, that preach a slightly different version of her ascent to godhood. These few claim that she was actually Warlock who made a pact with a powerful Fey creature, and served her master so faithfully, that she was welcomed into that world by her master.

Aurloch revere Shaurlocha. Every aurloch individual is expected to recite their daily prayer to Shaurlocha at midnight, either alone, or sometimes in small groups. The priestesses leads the tribe in communal prayers, such as the prayer of high silver, which is performed on the night of a full moon. Her commandments are:

• Slay the creatures of your forests for food or shelter only, never for sport.
• Protect the forests in which you make your homes.
• Show no mercy to those who intrude upon your territory, for they would show you none.
• Be as guardians to the native wildlife of your homeland.
• Honor the plants and animals whose lives you take by the Rite of Fulfillment.
• Those who break these commandments are to be punished with a traitor's death.

Shaurlocha associates with the Feywild. The temples of Shaurlocha are not elaborate or fancy buildings, but simple structures of wood, located directly within the center of a village. They are cone-shaped and roughly 200 square feet in area. The interior is mostly empty, with only a small, elevated platform on which the priestesses stand when leading communal prayers, as well as a small altar on which certain rituals are performed. The temples are topped with the symbol of Shaurlocha: a vertical aurloch hunting spear with dried shimmering black priestesses' blood covering and dripping down its serrated tip. The priestesses renew the blood on the spear once every few days by slitting their left palm open and squeezing their blood over the spear. The rites performed by the priestesses of Shaurlocha are few, but of vital importance to the religion. The most important rites are the rite of fulfillment, which is performed after a plant or beast of the forest is slain to be used for food or shelter, and the rite of ascent, which is performed after the death of a tribesman. The purpose of each of these rites is to guide the spirit of the slain being to the Feywild, where they may dwell eternally with their goddess.

Cleric Training

The Priestesses of Shaurlocha make the choice to devote their lives to her worship at a very young age, and from then on, they spend nearly every hour of every day performing rituals, rites, and prayers to her. Her Priestesses also must take the following responsibilities: they must be the executioner of tribesman convicted of heresy, they must lead the the communal prayers and rites for their entire tribe, they must fast for one full day out of every lunar cycle, and they must stay awake through the daytime as a mourning rite for any member of the tribe that dies.

Quests

• Killing groups of outsiders who who seek to intrude upon Aurloch territory.
• Eliminating poachers and loggers who violate the forest for their profit.
• Burning the villages of outsiders who they perceive as a threat to their homeland.

Heralds and Allies

Shaurlocha has no allies, as she is the one and only goddess of the Aurloch people. Her herald is known as the Supreme Priestess, and she is the highest ranking cleric in all Aurloch society.

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