Hex Crawl 23 # 96: Lore Dump 1, Gods of Urighem

One hex north, five northeast of Alakran.

 

Time enough in this empty place for some tales - tales of the ancient gods of Urighem, the empire seated in the river-city Tabirri far to the west, the elder nexus of power and lore which once ruled over Dulsharna and Wahattu.

The seven Dead Gods from the seven wandering stars are said to be entombed in deep mazy crypts underneath the aeons-old cellars of Tabirri. Secret and dangerous catacombs lead from the seven temples on either side of the Zi-id to these sepulchres, the ultimate holy places of the state religion. They are always spoken of in the past tense or that curious grammatical mode of the priestly Na'akhal language known as the miserational, best translated as "would have done, alas!" Each of them is associated with a metal and wandering star, a symbolic tool, and a sacred animal.

• Anpu (lawful neutral) was the judge and protector of the dead, justice bringer to the living, stern but fair. His star is stannous Cykranosh, his implement the scales, his beast the hound or jackal.
• Wasir (also called Oannes in his role as culture-giver; lawful neutral) was the lord of the river, of all that grows from, seeks to control, or is drowned by it. His star is coppery Xiccarph, his implement the ceremonial oar, his beast the fish.
  
• Eset (lawful good) was the patron of the God-Kings, bringer and protecter of life, stabilizer of houses. Her star is leaden Ylidiomph, her beast the long-horned cattle, her implement the crooked stick.
  
• Nebethet (neutral) was the comforter of the bereaved, the embalmers' patron, queen of night and wasteland, she who casts and intercepts curses. Her star is hydrargine Xoth, her beast the hawk, her implement the lotus-headed staff.
  
• Sutekh (neutral evil) was the lord of disruption and decay, master of perils and opportunities in and from foreign lands, he who invents and causes to be uninvented. His star is stibnous Yuggoth, his beast the shapeless amorph (doubtless an ooze or pudding), his implement the double-ended flail.
  
• Wajet (neutral good) was the lady of dawn and light, wisdom and knowledge well-used. Her star was golden Antanoch which no longer shines in the sky, her beast the heron, her implement the scroll wrapping a bundle of reeds.
  
• Hurru (true neutral) was the master of bravery and war, of debate and decision, he who exchanges one thing for another and thus, a patron of unregulated trade. His star is ferrous Aihai, his implement the hooked khopesh sword, his animal the scorpion.
  

Being dead (except, perhaps, for Sutekh) the gods of Urighem have no influence and grant no spells, so that their priests develop other skills than clerical magic -- wizardry, combat, scholarship, music, embalming, or intrigue. Nonetheless, their influence is felt in a myriad of superstitions and reverences that must be followed lest dire calamity befall. Civil ritual of life and death in the Empire revolves around them and a pantheon of lesser divine figures who regulate every aspect of life but who, if not dead, are certainly on compassionate leave. In the vassal kingdoms the Urig pantheon are acknowledged as cultural figures, but it is considered pretentious to take them as seriously as an Urig does.