The Occitanian Compendium; Dread Saints and their Worship

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Quote :: There are only two stages in which the evil powers of Occitanian worship can be identified. The first, and lesser of the two is 'Judge', meaning that it was once a Saint, before being corrupted. In death they now serve their masters in eternal darkness, and are twisted and shaped by the void in which they are trapped. As such, they are ferocious and wild, and untamed. In life they were downtrodden citizens of the Empire, shunned by the powerful and feared by the weak. In death, they are absolute, with otherworldly malice that reaches upwards to corrupt the mortal world.

The second, and more powerful tier is 'Dread Saint', meaning one greatly revered Saint who has fallen into the Void below, or has fallen out of worship. Most Saints eventually die out and join the ranks of the Dread Saints, their minds twisted and confused. These powers thrive off the sins of mortals, greed, fear, anger, pain, hatred and lust to name a few. Although many masquerade as revered Saints of Occitan, most who have fallen do not wish to be summoned from their resting places. They can be worshipped, though this is condemned throughout Occitan ever since the Fauerzeit Convention. These Dread Saints have the ability to reach out to choice mortals.

The Occitanian Compendium; Dread Saints and their Worship Saints1-1

HARNOST - The Emperor of the Void and the male Dread Saint of REVENGE

Quote :: The tales of Wilhelm Harnost and his family are mostly lost to simple rumors and bedtime stories used to frighten small Occitanian children of his pledge against all of Occitan and its people. Most, if not all, documents of the Harnost’s were destroyed upon their removal of power and the death of the dynasty upon the desecration of Wilhelm’s body.

The Harnost family was previously established as noble merchants within modern day Vinberg and rose shortly after Anjaar Stolz was named the first Kaiser. Wilhelm Harnost himself was a person of note during the Second Civil War as a general of some renown and power because of his family’s ties to politics and other merchants. People flocked to Wilhelm’s banner to finally end the succession war that had plagued the land of Occitan for so long.

Wilhelm held a more secret ambition than to overthrow the Kaiser and end the succession war. Many of the first Saint’s bodies were desecrated by Harnost in his attempt to create a new religion solely around him and his family. Stolz and a few other Saints were secured before Harnost could defile their corpses and send them into the void as a Dread Saint. This would be only the first of Harnost’s failures despite landing himself on the Occitanian throne as the named Kaiser after winning the war and ending the succession war.

Even though many knew about the desecration of the Saint’s bodies by Harnost, few actually argued against him, fearing his oppressive regime that claimed the lives of all who would not bow to the new Kaiser. Only four more years would pass before Harnost died of a mysterious cause. Upon his deathbed, Harnost was declared the patron saint of Occitan itself. Though recognized as a Saint, he was not truly worshiped by anyone other than the Harnost dynasty.

As his son, Conrad Wilhelm, ascended to the throne and swore his duties to the people a group of insurgents stormed the palace with little warning and took the young Conrad to the center plaza. It is here that Conrad would be murdered, drawn and quartered by the very people he swore to protect. Almost simultaneously, Wilhelm’s body was taken and desecrated. It is said that both Conrad and his father Wilhelm are buried together under an unknown grave.

HILDEGARD - The female Judge of LUST.

Quote :: Hildegard Kassen is the judge of lust and the sister of Lora. She fell into the void early in the days of the Occitanian Empire after worship of Lora began to become popular at the expense of her own. Her past is not fully recorded, and we do not know what she followed in her beliefs as a patron saint. We do know that she modlled herself in her sisters image in an attempt to rekindle her worship, but the attempt failed, causing her jealousy to manifest itself as a heavy doubt on her heart. She fell not long after. Her arrival in the void was unnanounced, and upon arrival she started to sow the seeds for her powerbase. Cursing her sister and blaming her for her personal failures, she formed a new persona for herself in a twisted mockery her sister's image, and still lies in wait for her chance to rise.

JOSEPH - The male Judge of DREAD, FEAR and TERROR.

Quote :: Joseph Blutcher was once regarded as one of the greatest warriors to rise in the Occitanian Order during the reign of the Empire and its war with the Kazuth. As he fought on the front lines, shoulder to shoulder to the very soldiers that served under his command, Joseph would become to be considered the idolized symbol of anti-Kazuth sentiment. Most of the battles won by the Occitanians would be through Joseph’s astounding leadership, resulting in the knight’s numerous awards handed down to him by Kaizer Friedrich lll himself during ceremonies in the White Palace.

Though many victories were to be had, the knight was wounded on the battlefields by a gunshot to his lower torso. Despite his injuries, the knight continued to fight and led his troops to his last victory against the Kazuth before falling as a true knight of the Order should at the time: the banner of the Occitanian Empire and many Kazuth fallen before him.

Upon his death, the knight’s body was outfitted with ceremonial armor of white plate and golden trimmings. Joseph Blutcher became canonized as the patron saint of honor and duty because of his actions against the Kazuth. Joseph would become the face of the war for the soldiers of Occitan as well as the Occitanian Order, which would see many more citizens join its rank because of Joseph.

Despite his tales of heroism, the Kazuth at the Fauerzeit Convention saw that Joseph would be stripped and banned of worship on accusations of genocide and other crimes against the rebels. Nationalist organizations like the Vinberg Order still look highly upon Joseph for his actions, while the Kazuth despise the knight and regard him as a devil of sorts - ever looking to lash out at the Kazuth for the desecration of his body.

UBEL - The male Judge of LIES and DECEPTION.

Quote :: Records of Karl Ubel's early life have long been sought out and destroyed by the Order of the White Palace, but somehow his legend and worship have persisted. Legend has it that he was one of the first to be canonized, and one of the first to experience true power as a Saint. For a time, he was benevolent and kind and was worshipped by many across Occitan. However, as more and more Saints began to be canonized on their death beds, he felt neglected and jealous. He slowly sowed seeds of lies and deceit amongst his peers and fell into the void not long after. We do not know what conflict his lies caused, but we do know that he is no longer worshipped, except only by small cabals and witch groups, hoping to channel his power for illusion magicks.

VARELM - The male Judge of COWARDICE.

Quote :: Farengar von Varelm was a reputable mage within the Occitanian Empire. Rumour has it he was the first man to come up with the idea for the Occitanian Kreuze, a device used to torture heretics over 200 years ago. Upon his death he was canonized as the patron saint of innovation and craftsmanship. However, after growing tired of sitting idly, he put his mind to deep thought and devised a new weapon capable of harvesting dead souls to feed his urge for power. Striving for eternal knowledge, he fled to the deepest recesses, hiding away from his fellow Saints, whom he feared would seek him out and destroy him. He feel soon after, taking his tool of siphoning with him. We do not know where he has gone.

ZURIEL - The female Judge of DEATH.

Quote :: Astrid Zuriel was another quite reputable inventor inside the Occitanian Empire, which greatly benefited from devices that mainly attributed to everyday life within the Empire. Zuriel became a household name for her contributions. However, Astrid’s inventions became rather dated as more and more innovations of the arms and armor of the Empire were brought into the spotlight rather than Astrid’s common items.

It would not be until a few years into the Occitanian Heresy that Zuriel became once again remembered with her creation of many devices that told if a person was a heretic or not. Many officials and citizens were targeted by these devices, sentencing thousands to death for heresy. These inventions would later be combined to make a more mobile version.

Though Astrid passed on only a few months after the creation of the single device version, she became canonized as the patron saint of judgement. The true purpose of the device was found after the public testing of it to the Kaiser, who was found to he a heretic. At his order, the body of Zuriel was stricken by the Vinberg Order and most documents of Astrid were burned.

CARPUS - The male Judge of GREED.

NAGEL - The male Judge of GLUTTONY.

LANDAU - The female Judge of TYRANNY.