The Temple of Pegana
The Precepts of the Faithful hold that MANA YOOD-SUSHAI is the
slumbering god whose cosmic dreams sustain reality. Lulled into slumber by the
divine drummer Skarl, when He finally awakens and rubs the sleep from his eyes this
world will vanish. The followers of the Temple of Pegana work to forestall this
day. To soothe his slumber they ceaselessly intone hymns, and utter gentle
prayers, and burn sweet incense. All dreams are sacred to the priests of Pegana
who record carefully in vast rolls of papyrus the most remarkable (and damning)
dreams of their followers. This strange faith is currently popular within the
City State of the Invincible Overlord. Its fortune has risen, owing to the
power of their High Priest Mung to summon the dread Beast of Slumber, and is beginning inroads in the provinces. Torkamedes, the envoy of the Grim Duke in Loktole has erected there a lavish Temple of Pegana. Among the services they offer for a fee is the interpretation dreams: 10gp for an acolyte (10% accuracy), 50gp for a
priest (20% accuracy), 250gp for the Canon himself (30% accuracy). Even when
accurate, the interpretations are perplexing.
The Cult of Man
The Cult of Man is a proscribed millennial lay religion. Its
original function was to celebrate and pass on the recorded history of the
struggle through which humanity freed itself from the yoke of oppression laid
on it by the entities calling themselves the Archivists. Through the centuries
this history has become perplexing myth and the rites of remembrances obscure
ritual. In its current form, the myth cycle teaches that the return of the Lords
from the skies is immanent. Man must prepare himself for the final war, the result
of which can only be ultimate liberation or unending servitude.
Although there is no official church hierarchy, there are some cultists who devote themselves entirely to the preparation of their fellow man. These are the fanatical Wayfarers, of whom there are two varieties. One kind holds that the Overlords, Emperors, Dukes and Chatelaines of this world are the bulwark of civilization, the principle of order through which alone humanity might marshal its forces effectively in the coming struggle. This faction seeks to uphold authority wherever it is found. The other faction holds that dominion is the way of the Archivist, and that if humanity is to triumph, it must relearn instead the ways of Man. These anarchical individuals work to undermine the harsh tyrannies that currently prevail in supposedly civilized lands. Whatever the doctrinal dispositions of its local adherents, the Cult of Man is resisted by authorities everywhere, owing to its imagery of revolution and liberation. It is openly practiced only in rural communities, outside the City States. Elsewhere the Cultists meets in secret, and recognize one another through a strange and ancient sign language that functions like a thieves cant.
Although there is no official church hierarchy, there are some cultists who devote themselves entirely to the preparation of their fellow man. These are the fanatical Wayfarers, of whom there are two varieties. One kind holds that the Overlords, Emperors, Dukes and Chatelaines of this world are the bulwark of civilization, the principle of order through which alone humanity might marshal its forces effectively in the coming struggle. This faction seeks to uphold authority wherever it is found. The other faction holds that dominion is the way of the Archivist, and that if humanity is to triumph, it must relearn instead the ways of Man. These anarchical individuals work to undermine the harsh tyrannies that currently prevail in supposedly civilized lands. Whatever the doctrinal dispositions of its local adherents, the Cult of Man is resisted by authorities everywhere, owing to its imagery of revolution and liberation. It is openly practiced only in rural communities, outside the City States. Elsewhere the Cultists meets in secret, and recognize one another through a strange and ancient sign language that functions like a thieves cant.
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