Jancassis
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| Ethos | "All the old knives / That have rusted in my back / I drive in yours." - Adrienne Rich |
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| Domains | Hunting, Trickery, Venom |
| Prestige Classes | Avenger, Stinger |
| Holy Days | Days of total eclipse |
| Sacrifices | A venomous creature is consumed, its body broken to release its poison, bringing further stillness to the body. Time spent in sensory deprivation, or learning. |
| Favored Weapon | {{{weapon}}} |
The power and allure of Jancassis is built on that all-powerful desire for vindication -- Revenge -- fire and ice, forged like tempered steel. Heat, born of outrage and anger, rises to meet the winter chill of conviction, planning and execution. What begins as a polite dance, ends in a tight lovers' embrace -- two extremes, intertwined like a double helix -- strong, powerful, and usually deadly.
Jancassis brings forth revenge on those who deserve it, punishes those who break their oaths, along with those who forswear themselves. She rights wrongs that are too controversial or mundane for Pantheon to deal with, and represents the right of both good and evil beings to have vengeance. She avenges those who cannot avenge themselves. She strikes fear and terror into wrongdoers. She is a deterrent to those who would cause -- by choice, and with pleasure -- pain and suffering to others. She is the wielder, as some see it -- of the ultimate "wild" justice.
Jancassis is worshipped by the majority of evil Drow societies throughout the Wold. Those who worship her give her total reverence, and her tenets dominate their lives.
Contents
The God of Revenge
Godly Powers
Jancassis has the ability to inspire resoluteness in any task of retribution, so that a wavering hand becomes steady, a doubtful mind becomes strong and immune to any distraction.
Appearance
Mortal Form -- Tall, long limbed and curvaceous, Jancassis appears imposingly clad in black leather, her black hair tightly braided, her expression always solemn, her eyes cold. A sharp snap in the air, followed by a sudden, painful sting on the flesh, announces the presence of the invisible whip she always carries.
Avatar Form -- An eight-limbed female, her face as white as snow, her body as black as night and as smooth as a snake. A red hourglass adorns her torso, a long scorpion-like tail curves behind her, its sting dripping with venom. Her expression is always that of a hunter, alert with deadly menace. Her limbs and tail are usually arched, ready, waiting to pounce.
Divine Form -- An elegant, deadly creature -- matte-black, part spider, part snake, part scorpion. One limb clutches an hourglass filled with red sand. On closer inspection, each grain of sand becomes the head of a wrong-doer, whose time is quickly running out.
Worship
Worship is intensively meditative, as clerics seek to become one with their Goddess -- able to deliver her will, strike without pause or regret, and never falter or succumb to forgiveness and second thoughts. This is done in secretive, quiet gatherings amongst a few of Jancassis's worshippers, or solely, in a quiet, dark place. The decision to become a follower of Jancassis should not be taken lightly, and often cruel initiations are invoked to weed out those not able to cope with all it entails.
Holy Symbol
Black and red spider, scorpion, or snake -- or a black and red double helix.
Priests' Appearance
Clerics of Jancassis dress in dark colours, predominantly black with a touch of red. Regardless of their physical shape, they move with an uncanny and elegant grace. Their demeanor is dependant on how they have chosen to serve their goddess, but there is always an underlying seriousness to them, for they are enactors of revenge, their deeds sending a solemn message to those who would plan to do wrong. Some of them wear tattoos -- a black and red venomous creature of their own choice, or a black and red double helix. Some clerics choose to dye their hair black, and wear it tightly braided in homage to their goddess.
Clerics in Society
Clerics of Jancassis tend to keep a low profile. They watch, and they wait. They will often be present at gatherings, but never at the center of things -- always at the edge, observing, judging, using the will and teachings of their goddess for guidance. They are aware that the need for revenge arrives along many paths, and delivery of it can take many forms. From widows and orphans, bullied victims, aggrieved lovers, cheated merchants, dethroned Kings, do flowers of revenge grow -- tit for tat, eye for an eye, tattered reputations, blood spilled, cruel, prolonged torture, a long, cleverly planned vendetta, a spur of the moment backlash. Clerics of Jancassis can embrace all of these -- they act, they incite, empowering victims, delivering death.
Some clerics advise and teach those who would call on Jancassis, to stand and look -- at future consequence, the fruits of their actions, and know that once the path of vengeance has been taken, it is usually irrevocable, and always involves loss. Their Goddess should never be invoked lightly, on a whim. Other clerics fan the flames, encourage those who might well have thought to leave their enemies unpunished. In political and economic matters, they can often provide guidance, warning of actions that might provoke wrath from other parties -- or, they may know a rival's weakest spot -- where to hit hardest, enabling the aggrieved bring him to his knees.
Stingers are the most socially accepted, often bringing laughter and relief from minor oppressions, nipping things in the bud with a little humiliation to a bully, or petty thief. Avengers are the most feared -- often delivering the worst vengeance imaginable.
Clerics of Jancassis are rarely seen in large groups, more likely in ones and twos, and often in the form of a master/mistress and an apprentice. There is no formal arrangement in this relationship, although the apprentice will always defer to the Master. It exists so that information and teachings can be passed from one to another, for there is indeed a lot to learn -- for some, martial arts, stealth, methods of pain, torture; for others, politics, law, economics, and statesmanship; and for the Stingers -- every little trick in the book.
History and Relationships
There are rumors of Jancassis's origins, but that is all. Most of her recorded history was lost during the Cataclysms, although one perpetuates -- that she was one of the original Serenbeth Sisters along with Serenbeth, Jantierri and Karinthis. It appears that she is the only one to survive the latest Cataclysm to befall the Wold. How and why has been speculated upon constantly. Perhaps she found a safe place to hide, a place to watch and bide her time, as she is wont to do. Or perhaps she was reborn along with the virtue of vengeance, a requirement, an indelible part of the fabric of the Wold, a necessary part of its structure. In this new order, she has found the perfect niche, punishing those who sneak through the nets of conscience and forgiveness, only to fall into her web.
