Jakirosz, the Chained One

Cover By Vlad Botos

"For whom have you love?"

"None," spoke the Chained One.

"For whom have you care?"

"None," he said once more.

"For whom do you have regard."

"Once again, none."

"How can this be?"

The Chained One stared upon the gate with nought upon his visage, and he did not weep.

"It is so," he said. "For you have taken my heart from me."

— The Book of Barbed Tongues, Chapter 3

Divine Domains

Pain, Adversity, Envy, Madness, Loss, Strength

Holy Books & Codes

by Michael Chang

The Book of Barbed Tongues, is the single religious tome of Jakirosz. In here are the tenets of his faith followed by his church, as well as the revelations of the faiths prophets. The book contains the faiths tenets, and contemplations of different kinds of negative emotions plagued by the mortal soul; how to identify them, and how to deal with them. Some versions of this tome also contain rituals and prayers to Jakirosz, often spoken of only by the highest ranking members of the temple, utilised to further the church's goals, or defend it from incoming attack.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Clergy of Jakirosz can be recognised by an iron or steel amulet of a hand with the ring finger cut off. The edges of the amulet are razor sharp, with nails filed into claws. It is made this way so that when clutched, it causes the person holding it to bleed. Their god asks that even for the smallest prayer and question, his faithful give something of themselves, and that few gifts are more precious than blood.

After the freeing of the Crying Prince's wife Hareth, the Church of Pain has taken to using the ethereal bloom as part of their own iconography. But unlike followers of the Prophetess, these folk keep these flowers in the constant state of wilting, feeding them only enough magical energy to keep the blooms barely alive. The only time the Nala Or'lonod are allowed to bloom in a Church of Pain is when a priestess of Hareth is visiting the temple.

Tenets of Faith

• Pain of the flesh is the release of the soul.
• The most cleansing pain is that which we do not expect.
• A mind broken and twisted is one beloved by the Crying Prince
• Battle bears no naive children. Know the pain you inflict on others.
• Your first blow should always be your best, you shouldn't ever need a second.

Holidays

by Morphym

• The Grey Wedding: On the Spring Equinox, which dalls on the 10th of Expansion, whilst Harethites send the Prophetess to the roots of Eana, followers of Jakirosz celebrate the wedding in a more literal sense. The temple celebrates the marriage between Hareth and Jakirosz with a collective wedding, divination and dance in the temple courtyard.

• Last Song:On the 1st of Calling, Jakiroszi followers believe Hareth leaves her husband and makes her way towards the Temple of a Thousand Mirrors. To the followers of the Lone Lord, this is a time of mourning and contemplation. Sacrifices are made to ease their gods pain with livestock and sometimes members of the faith. Someone putting themselves forward as a sacrifice is considered to be a good omen for the coming year. However, great lengths are taken to ensure the person putting themselves is of sound mind and reasoning. If all is well, the individual is pampered and serviced for a whole week before the Last Song. The clergy bathe in blood of the sacrifice and divine from it's innards.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Jakirosz wishes more than anything in this world to be reunited with his wife. His home, which blossomed into beauty with her presence, is once more wilting and disgusting, causing him no shortage of pain and sadness. He believes however, that with this pain and separation, his love may return to him of her own free will and they may forever be happy together as divine silence and darkness envelops the mortal plane.

The Lone Lord holds close to his heart all the disabled and the mentally unwell of the mortal plane. It is believed by his followers that madness of the mind is a result of one's soul getting to glimpse the Thorn Garden either within the womb or as a result of a traumatic event in their life. This then supposedly ties the soul to that plane, and to Jakirosz himself. His clergy believe that their patron is soothed by the suffering of others, easing his loneliness.

Divine Classification

Deity

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Realm

The Garden of Thorns

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Chained One, The Lone Lord, The Crying Prince,

Ruled Locations

• The Garden of Thorns

Favoured Weapon

Falchion

Cleric Alignment

Lawful Evil, Lawful Neutral, True Neutral

Sacred Colours

Red, Grey, White

Favoured Animal

Raven