Kalathis God of Diseases

Kalathis

Kal’tha’ras (Lumian), Kalthar RustBlood (Dwarf), Kaelthrax BlightBringer (Elf), Kalthrandraxis Joykiller (Gnome), Kalantha the NeverWelcome (Halfling), Kalathak PutridFace (Goblin), Kalath CowardDeath (Orc), Kalathan (Athila), The Rotting Whale (Rainbow Archipelago), Kalatai Senin of Sickness (Rokehara) Suffer-Herald (Kanata) Kaltchnyn (Tchzinitchya) Prince of Plagues, Archbishop of Ailment, Duke of Disease, Baron of Blight
Alignment: NE (True Neutral tendencies) Pantheon: Terrigoth Other Pantheons: Nearly all of them Areas of Concern: Disease,Culling, Decomposition, Outcasts, Toxin Domains: Death, Evil, Healing, Plant, Water
Favored Weapon: Shepards Crook (The Plague Shepards Staff) or Sickle (Life Harvester)
Symbol: A Bronze Lepers Mask with black tears staining the face
Sacred Animal(s): Rats, Vampire Bats, Fungus Monsters, Poisonous and toxic Animals
Sacred Color(s): Dark Brown and Yellow Green
Centers of Worship: None
Nationality: Godsborn
Anti/Paladin Code
-I am the vessel for the sacred plague, I will not shy from spreading my lords gift
-I allow the strong to suffer and grow stronger, let the weak end swiftly for they are unworthy
-I will accept that the new life springs from the corpse of the old and stagnation is a sign of weakness
-I will restrain myself from taking all, for in such stillness and quiet there lies only empty weakness.
God
Kalathis is an old god, one of Sindra’s sons; his father was said to have been an unknown deity from another plane. What is known is that he was often overshadowed by the deeds and actions of his more aggressive brothers Sal’zen and Ragnorsis. Kalathis was said to have found his brothers disdainful and preferred to tend his gardens watching plants grow, die, decay and new life spring from this cycle, occasionally he would hasten the plants deaths with blights learning how to careful use disease to harrow away the weak and allow only the strong to thrive. Kalathis often claimed disease was a simple fact of reality; he was simply the most knowledgeable being when it came to its uses, cures and nature. Ever an erudite intellectual he had more in common with his mother than his siblings. Much to his misfortune however he was born rather ugly for a god. Pale, hollow eyes and pock marks he often adorned himself in a leapers garb and it was not uncommon for the unwell god to be heard coughing or seen under the effects of some disease or venom he inflicted upon himself to learn of its secrets. When his brothers prepared to unleash a vile scheme upon the world in the dark days before the mage war erupted Kalathis refused their demands stating that his diseases were works of art and tools meant to cull the weak, not weapons of extinction. His refusal halted the evil gods' plans to eradicate the world's population of Asimar and in anger Kalthis and his small faith were targeted by his brothers until the last of his clerics were slain and Kalthis himself was weak enough that his brothers could strike him dead. Now Kalthis’s corpse floats in the astral sea dreaming the dreams of a dead god. Though there are rumours his corpse stirs and his mother herself might seek to return him as the first undead god.
The Church
His faith remained not as popular or wide spread among warlords and champions as his brothers but throughout his history Kalathis has been venerated by those who wish to avoid his diseased touch or that wish for him to painfully remove weakness and cull herds. Many farmers and druidic cults would pray to him to ensure disease did not overtake all or that from one season's decay the seeds for new growth would be left behind. In a strange way among evil gods he was also venerated as a god of healing for while he did spread disease he also taught that the strong and healthy may yet survive. His small number of clerics often offered cures and to remove their gods' influence for a price.
His Druidic cults are even more famous with their ranks carefully controlling diseases among animal populations and culling the population of any creatures they felt were a threat to the great balance. His faithful also included many disease carriers and survivors who felt that Kalathis had spared them, some lepers and other outcasts also found some solace with the bitter outcast evil god. His faith rarely faught internally as they were smallish and tended to operate in small like minded groups. Conflict that did erupt was typically settled with clandestine attempts to poison and infect each other until only the victor remained alive. This became increasingly more difficult as the more of his favor was given the more resistant his faithful would become resulting in many frustrating stalmates among his more ambitious followers.
Only a handful of his faithful remain with most turning to other powers, the largest number of his faithful are among the druid circles who did not lose their magics with their gods death and even now there are still secluded druidic groups that venerate the Baron of Blight. A few alchemists know of his faith through fragmented texts and some rumour that the poisoners guild retains at least one undead assassin/alchemist who still worships Kalathi and keeps the spark of the dead god from fully fading away.
Night of the Culling When Kalthis’s faith decide that a population of plants, animals or people are such that they will be a threat to their own wellbeing they would prepare for the Night of the Culling.His Neutral aligned priests would often warn people, inform them or work with them to ensure such nights would not be required but his evil clergy rarely gave such warnings. Prayers would be made and preparations discussed on the best way to target the offending population. Sometimes murder, sometimes posion or disease in other cases ritual sacrifice or a mass harvest were decided upon. What remained constant was that the Culling would happen so long as the population was deemed a threat.
The Toxic Embrace for the faith of Kalathis only those who had been close to death by their gods hand deserved to join the inner ranks of the faith and the Toxic Embrace was to weed out the weak and unready for such new stations. The person wishing to rise in rank would willingly infect themselves with poison or disease known to be extremely painful or fatal but survivable and they would be expected to survive by their own prowess and Kalathis magic alone. Needless to say it kept the weak and cowardly from advancing until they felt they were prepared.
The Rite of Rot The most important funerary rite of the faith is a strange one, the body of the dead is prepared and prayers said than partially buried and either magic or alchemy is used to accelerate the rot and decay of the flesh, the Skeleton would be sometimes animated to serve the faith but the rotted fleshy offal was buried and seeded with a tree or flowers allowing them grow and feed on the decaying remains of the corpses flesh. Such grave flowers were often believed to be a transitional period of the dead person's rebirth and when the flowers or tree were harvested or died it hastened their spirits to return to the next life.

Temples
The holy places of Kalathis tended to be small in size, often boasting gardens, labs and places where poison and disease could be experimented with, harvested or cured. Hospitals were not uncommon on his temple grounds and they often made a brisk side living from selling noxious supplies to assassins just as often as cures to the population at large. They were also sometimes sanitariums where they could study the ailments of the mind and a fair number were fronts for poisoners guilds. Many oddly became havens for lepers and the other outcasts of society deemed too ugly or strange to be acceptable.

A priests role
His clergy had a simple task, spread the gods word where it was needed and remind people to fear Kalathis should they not heed him or his domains. Many acted as healers and tended to communities either stricken by illness or where the cycle of decay and renewal was important. Some saw themselves as holy murderers culling the herd and removing chaff from the grain as it was. It was also common for his priests to offer their gods magic first and sometimes at a lesser price or even free to the dregs and outcasts as their own god in spite of his bitterness felt a kinship with the unloved and ugly. Those abusing such people often found themselves poisoned or infected with the very illnesses the people they oppressed had contracted, Kalathis’s clergy much like their god enjoyed bitter irony. Above all his clergy teach that patience is a virtue and it is better to watch and wait as one’s foes slowly perish and suffer than offer a swift death.

Adventurers
Tended to be uncommon with most working their gods will in small communities, wilderness areas and the like but it was not unheard of for them to make pilgrimages to blighted regions, poisonous places and plague ridden locations. They would on occasion actively act to oppose beings who overuse their gods gifts stating that many plagues would lose their potency if too many people survived them and the value of a rare poison is soon lost when it is used too often and its cure becomes readily available.

Clothing
For the most part Kalathis had few restrictions to his priest's attire though a bronze or wooden (for his more nature oriented faithful) lepers mask worn with a full hood and robes was worn for unholy rites and profane matters.

Holy Texts
The Libra Pestlanicia Penned in the days of the Old Kingdoms Era by the faithful of Kalathis, this book is rare and prescribed by most all nations. It is however invaluable to healers and doctors just as much as it is to assassins and plague bearers for in its pages is the most comprehensive list of poisons, diseases and their cures and symptoms. It is said that some of its more confusing entries and notes written in strange cyphers may be prophetic of plagues yet to come or that have disappeared from history. Sadly when his religion fell the best and earliest copy of his book was secreted away to an unknown safe location. Most of the current editions lack the extreme clarity and detail of the earlier reproductions.
The Scrolls of Suffering Polina Conteli was a Ziberian woman and a leper living during the later days of the empire who gave herself to the service of Kalathis as a powerful oracle who was discovered to be spreading sickness among the corrupt and wealthy feeling that her actions made her an equaliser of sorts. No walls would keep her out, no cures would last and sickness would begin anew until the rich suffered as acutely as the poor. She was also an avid journalist and wrote of her fever induced visions of Kalathis and feelings of faith.
The Disks of Demises Predating the Old Empires Era these ancient stone disks (Many have been copied onto other material) have been found at many sites dating back to days when the world was young and their writings all seem to be about the cycle of death and rebirth in nature and naming Kalathis as the hand that takes and the hand that gives. Many also paint the dark god in the light of a harsh but necessary nature deity. Holidays
Seasons Decay At the end of each season four times a year in total the faithful of Kalathis would gather to offer blessings to the faithful to avoid their gods interest or be able to endure his touch. This rather benign holiday for an evil god was often done in conjunction with local holidays and seasonal customs. After sun down however the same clergy of Kalathis would gather to discuss crops, herds and population growth and what or who had to be removed to ensure the health of the community or region. Ritual sacrifice of excess crops, livestock or people deemed necessary for the culling tended to follow soon after.
Outcasts Moon As Sunrest ends and the last days of summer are upon the world the last full moon of that month would see outcasts, mutants, deformed and the lost secretly gather in hidden glades and underground temples to celebrate Kalathis. There they would dance and rejoice in what others considered hideous and foul. Some few who truly gained the favour of their god would be blessed with new found vitality and physical beauty but become carriers of sickness and mutation spreading it among the people who had once cast them down. Many Wererats whose ancestors worshipped Kalathis still follow this holiday unknowingly celebrating and infecting skinwalkers on this night who earn the right to become true wererats.
The Weeping Night Only practised by the tiny number of worshipers of Kalathis yet alive this dark night commemorates the death of their god on the 27th of ChillWind. It is a night of wailing and weeping over the prince of plagues and prayers in the hopes the dead god might return to his outcast flock and visit horrifying sickness on the church of Sal’zen and Ragnorsis. Worshipers of Scarcon and Sindra are also known to engage in this holiday with both paying respects to the fallen prince of plagues and is one of the few times they interact peacefuly with each other.

Aphorisms
“Either it will die or it will not”
“Saviour the deaths of those who wrong you”
“Suffer no weakness of mind or body least of all your own, endure and overcome”

Relation with other religions
Kalathis never was fond of the rest of the evil pantheon with most sneering down their noses at him or disregarding him as a weakling lacking grand ambition. Few were his faith's enemies although they did often clash with the Horseman Death and Pestilence, often subtly but on occasion openly much to the faith's dismay. Many Neutral and Good aligned faiths found him disdainful and disgusting but few actively went out of their way to attack him unless his faith was up to no good. Strangely the god and his faithful found friendship with Scarcon, the god of death being his younger brother and having an understanding few others did of Kalathis art and the necessity of his evils. His faith also worked with Sindra’s some claiming that he was her favourite son due to his wit and cunning mind. The faith of Ragnorsis and Sal’zen often followed their gods' lead, bullying Kalathis’s faith into service or compliance. His religions relations with Nithor the god of murder were cool and semi co-operative though each religions unholy assassins would sometimes find themselves rivals and it was agreed that in such circumstances that to the last man standing go the spoils.
Bordona the goddess of nature and seasons also had a grudging acceptance of Kalthis and his kindred in her courts and circles and he felt she too was one of the few that understood him. Many of the other nature deities found his faith disgusting and refused to tolerate his faithful’s presence.

Realm
Kalthis once called the River Styx as his home, wandering the lower planes never content to settle into any one place. His home was a massive funeral barge called The Plague Bearer which was a demi plane in and of itself. Here there were rooms where his faithful could indulge in the lives many felt had been denied them and for those who angered him there were rooms where every kind of disease and poison known could be administered. Regardless if one was there to revel, suffer or study Kalathis promised all souls that would sail on his Barge would be renewed and many of his faithful ardently believed they would reincarnate with a fresh start and a new chance at life if they served Kalathis.

Planer Allies
The Bloated Boatman Of his unholy servants only two remain and one is he who tends to his master’s drifting and nearly empty boat and the few remaining souls that have not yet passed back into the land of the living. Once a deamon lord who betrayed Pestilence the Bloated Boatman was transformed by Kalathis after the creature swore to serve him. Death marked by the four horsemen, the Barge of Kalathis is now his prison and his salvation. He truly felt adoration and love for Kalathis emotions a deamon should never feel and thus was called a traitor by his kin. This unique creature longs for his beloved master’s return continuing to do his master's work hoping that Kalathis will be reborn much as he would grant others.
Magdra the Blightbearer When Ragnorsis and Sal’zen were bent on punishing Kalthis they brought evil magic and vile armies marching on the tangled woods of the Terrigoths Hinterlands it was a secret war unknown by many and at its heart stood the arch Druidess of Kalathis Magdra It was a losing battle as lower planer magic poisoned the land and the dark armies of Kalathis brothers burned with flame and hacked with metal blades. Knowing her order and the forest's taint was beyond salvation Magdra and her circle enacted a terrible rite that allowed her to absorb the taint that poisoned the land into her own body. The rite saw her entire circle die and her body transformed into that of a Siabrae. The undead druidess who now commanded the blight drew upon her new powers and called forth the dead beasts and corrupted creatures of the wood to turn back the tide of two evil gods armies. The last guardian of the Blightwood, this grim undead being has been one of the sole sources trying to resurrect the dead god with new followers but unable to travel from the Blightwood and hated for her nature as a Siabrae her progress is slow. Though some do note that she is the sole reason the Blightwood has seen any kind of healing or the lessening of the planer energy that scared it.