Cult of the Blue Sun

The Cult of the Blue Sun is one of the foremost institutions of Lathva, if not the foremost; almost all the Witch-Queens of Lathva are in some way, shape, or form involved with the Cult. Great circular pyramids of grey metal rise into the equally grey skies above the frozen north, surrounded by chanting parishioners as almost-naked priest-queens ascend the tiered steps, blood dripping from the hearts of their latest sacrifices.

Mythology & Lore

The Cult teaches that in ancient days, the Rune Giants of Thule were arrogant and indolent; they possessed great power, but with it they did nothing. The Blue Sun grew angry with them, for despite their wealth and power they offered it neither service nor sacrifice, and so it descended from the heavens, shouting curses and spells at the infidel kings who ruled Thule. Those who survived fled south in all directions, for it brought chill the likes of which the world never saw. The oceans froze solid, the trees cracked apart, and men and women were imprisoned in the frost of their breath. Only on the outskirts of the North, near the lands of the humans, did they find shelter, and they named this land of forests Lathva.

Some continued south, founding kingdoms of their own and bringing civilization to the fractious, savage human tribes. From them, such great empires as Ishtakar and Nefrekar came. Life in the south was easier, yes, and so many flocked there. But they forgot the Blue Sun, its sonorous call and its harsh lessons. They became weak, and bred with even weaker things; humans, elves, dwarves, even beast-races such as catfolk and kitsune. Others settled further west of Lathva, in Uthgart. These became savage and uncivilized, for they bred with the orcish races that had so long dwelt there. Worse, they not only feared the Blue Sun, they embraced it, and so they became barbarians themselves, corrupted by the unremitting cold.

Tenets of Faith

The Blue Sun hates fire, warmth, and heat, and the surest way to draw its wrath is the simple act of lighting a fire. It desires to replace all fire in the world with its own frozen ones, which provide a respite from the cold but no actual warmth. To this end, its priests and witches are given the ability to conjure this frostfire, and it is kept alight at all times within the villages of Lathva. If it goes out, there will be no respite from winter until the priestess arrives to relight it, which in the most remote regions can take weeks if not months.

Worship

The Lathvans are almost entirely devout followers of the Blue Sun, for its power is evident. The lands to their north, closer to its realm in Old Thule, are haunted by the frozen statues of those who thought they did not have to flee its wrath, and the Wendigo curse is a sure mark of its disfavor. They do not worship from love, but from fear. In many ways, Lathva is less a great kingdom and more like a scattered group of survivors huddled on the edge of a great disaster. That climatic disaster is their god, the Blue Sun. For all their talk of great power, unthinkable knowledge, and pure blood, they are nothing more than children hiding from their drunken, murderous father.

In older times, the religion was also widespread throughout the Great North; the Kernuzdaic people that dwelt in the northern reaches of the empire being particularly devoted to its worship.

The rituals of the Blue Sun are bloody affairs. Humanoid victims are often ritually disembowelled, their viscera draped from the branches of trees, the rafters of the meeting-place, or between the poles set around the great ziggurats of Lathva. The hymns to it are sung softly, almost as lullabies, or murmured, for the cultists are fearful of its power.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Permeated Organizations