Gargul
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| Ethos | "Death is a part of the natural order. Embrace Death as the door to rebirth." |
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| Domains | Travel, Insight Domain, Mortality Domain, Shadow Domain |
| Prestige Classes | Undead Hunter, Grim, Soulseeker |
| Holy Days | Day of the Dead, Winter Solstice, Deliverance Day, Death of either moon, Execution Days, Mask Day |
| Sacrifices | Giving of an eye, fallen leaves, seeds, ashes of enemies, skulls, bone. keys, and life force |
| Favored Weapon | {{{weapon}}} |
Gargul collects all the souls and spirits of the dead and makes sure that they arrive at the proper plane of resting and do not roam the Wold at will. He also ensures that souls are born and in some cases even reborn in the proper time and place. He serves both Pantheons in these tasks. He strives against unnatural suffering and death in the Wold. He tracks down spirits that roam the Realm of Shadow and Wold itself without proper reasons -- to the consternation of some of the Gods. Gargul is totally dedicated to the elimination of undead from the Wold.
Contents
The God of Death and Life
Godly Powers
Gargul can kill or grant life with a thought. Much of his power, however, usually resides within Gimp the Imp. He can control, banish, and destroy undead through his followers as well as anything he deems "unnatural." He has power over the land of The Dead and the Living. He controls which lands are removed from the Wold into the land of Fey and which return to the Commonlands. No other God can control him or influence him against his will. He can banish any God from his presence except for Alemi and Marteaus.
Appearance
Mortal Form -- Gargul in natural form is a large muscled human with black hair. Some say he looks to be a "Civilized Barbarian of Noble Appearance." Others say he looks similar to Alemi, himself. He appears in dusty well-traveled black robes, with a strange smile that often is mistaken for a grimace. His bearing is once threatening and sad. He is always accompanied by the imp named Gimp.
Avatar Form -- In pictures, in ritual, or appearing before a group of believers, Gargul appears as a tall figure in a hooded black robe, carrying a book and a crooked staff. The staff glows with a white pure light. Under the robe, one can sometimes make out a crooked smile on his face, or perhaps it's a grimace.
Divine Form -- In dreams and legend, when his hand forces change upon the Wold, Gargul seems to be a massive shadowy figure or grey, or a grey lidless eye, or a grey hand that emerges from shadow.
Worship
The worship of Eyes is somber and fatalistic. It involves chanting, meditation, and contemplative prayerful movements and motions. Many services are conducted in the dark and at midnight. Services are held in the shadows between day and night. Prayers for joining occur at the crack of dawn, and prayers for the deceased are given at twilight.
Each temple has its own Chief Priest. All others are considered equal, but there is a pecking order according to power and reputation.
Holy Symbol
A Gray Lidless Eye, which is an almost exact replica of its High Woldian source.
Priests' Appearance
The priests of Gargul often seem cold to the touch. They may wear heavy perfume to mask a slight smell of blood that sometimes surrounds them. They wear grey cloaks, like Gargul, or some black or grey garment. When on missions of importance, a wispy fog may seem to creep from under their cloaks.
Clerics in Society
Known as Eyes of Gargul, these priests serve the mysterious purposes of their god in ways that common folk may not understand. They may command respect at funerals, where their tales of the afterlife comfort the grieving. They may be sought after by those hoping to conceive children, since the priests of Gargul are said to be able to bring a reincarnated soul to rest in a mother's womb (although after birth, new mothers tend to shun Eyes of Gargul like the plague!). These clerics view Death and Life as inherent and necessary parts of existence -- Death is not evil, nor Life good. This acceptance of death as part of the natural order frightens many common people.
Priests of Gargul, also known as Eyes of Gargul, often devote themselves to a philosophy of life and death balanced in a natural order. Therefore, they strive to preserve this balance by fighting unnatural forces that upset the balance. Natural forces move by happenstance, or karma, or the gods, or the mechanistic workings of the Wold itself. Unnatural forces are driven or imposed by a mortal will with deliberate intent. An earthquake is usually a natural force, however catastrophic -- unless unleashed unnaturally by a mortal mage intent on his own desires. A nation may go years without plague striking, but a mortal mage that seeks to wipe a disease off the face of the Wold commits an unnatural offense. Scale and magnitude also play a part in this philosophy: the deaths of individuals are trivial. The lives and deaths of thousands resound across the Wold. When mortals upset the balance of life and death, Gargul, through his Eyes, intervenes.
The priest must decide what is natural and what is not. Gargul believes in free will and therefore gives much choice over these matters to his faithful. However if the priest continually upsets the balance and ignores the ramifications of life and death, Gargul will get personally involved, and the Eye's soul may be forfeit."
Gargul also uses his followers to correct gross individual offenses against the balance of life and death. There are three major categories of these unnatural phenomena, each with a Prestige Class devoted to it. The Undead Hunter destroys undead, who cling to unnatural unlife through evil will. The Grim finds and releases souls trapped after death as ghosts or spirits, freeing them to go on to the afterlife. The Soulseeker destroys soulless constructs and magical creatures without souls -- and they also shepherd lost souls into rebirth. Some choose to remain pure Eyes, running temples and cemeteries, ministering to worshipers, striving to maintain balance, serving Gargul in ways mundane and otherwise.
Clerics of Gargul adventure to fight undead and constructs, which they hate; to search for lost or trapped souls; and to keep an eye on the Wold and report unusual spiritual activities to their brother and sister clerics.
History and Relationships
Ffloy in life as a mortal was a businessman. He made his fortune managing Alemi's treasure Horde in during the two years when Alemi remained in dragonform and mind after the battle against the Gods of Yore.
Ffloy manipulated the economies of several villages surrounding the lair of Alemtrovex, which was Alemi's full name when in dragonform, so that the investments he made with Alemtrovex's treasure became even greater.
Soon, if there was a need in any of these towns, Ffloy was fulfilling this need. He protected the towns from the Monster Invasions. In return they paid him for his services. If there was a need for entertainment, he booked the traveling minstrels and made a profit in the bargain for his trouble. If an adventuring group wanted to get a good start on their career, in Alemi's name he loaned the groups the money they needed to begin their careers at a reasonable amount of interest.
When Alemi was made the new Supreme God, Ffloy was made God of Thieves . There he prospered, but was unhappy. He constantly tried to show t hose who worshiped him that chance and luck was not the way. The Best Thieves' Guild was a guild that planned and did not take any large risks. Most thieves, however, were men of lucky opportunity and ruined their plans by going off on a hunch or by making a bet.
When the New Wold was created, Ffloy was finally put in the position which he craved: The God of Merchants.
Now his worshipers have the same heart as their god working hard and planning hard for the success of all!
