Church of Churg

Churg

Healing, Madness, Slavery

The first of his kind, Churg is the primordial Kuo-Toa, though his creation was entirely unnatural. He is the source from which all Kuo-Toa life stems, all afflicted with a tiny bit of the madness that eventually filled the god of the men-fish. The Primogens forged Churg from their arcane and otherworldly experiments, though no records survive to truly know why he was brought into existence. Perhaps he was to be proof that they could fabricate life on their own, or like so many other creations, a weapon to be used against their enemies.
Regardless of his true purpose, he still found himself enslaved by his creators. For centuries he was the object of torment and further experimentation. The constant poking and prodding warped the Kuo-Toa’s body, with his masters returning everyday to mend the damage they had done. Only to repeat it once more the next dawn. While they might have been able to heal the body, Churg’s mind was fractured beyond repair. He was unsure if the body he found himself in was even his own, rarely recognizing it without the scars and blood. Each day questioning reality and his place in it.
The cruelty Churg learned from his masters, he would eventually unleash on his brethren. Created from his own flesh, the Primogens spawned more Kuo-Toa only for Churg to repay the fledglings with the same kindness he had received. He would maul them, mend them, and then repeat it day after day. He sought to inflict the same maddening cycle that he had experienced for centuries, but few survived his unhinged attacks. The Primogens, through their torturous methods, had spawned something far worse than themselves.
None truly know what Churg desired in the end, if it was freedom from his masters or to spread the suffering he had endured. Whatever it was, he disappeared suddenly from captivity and supposedly found a new home in the Elemental Plane of Water. From there he has poured his malice, madness, and malady into the minds of the Kuo-Toa that also survived their captivity under the Primogens. Filling all those spawned from his flesh and their descendants with distrust and madness, of those that are different and even of each other. Such paranoia has even caused doubt in Churg’s origins, and that perhaps his whole history is a fabricated tale to make sense of the misgivings in all their minds.
Domains: Celebration, Chaos, Darkness, Life, Madness, and Tyranny
Oaths: Conquest, Oathbreaker, Vengeance
Sanction Orders: Apostate, Witch Hunter
Alignments: Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil

Symbols of Churg

The holy symbol of Churg is a medallion made of hardened, black resin with a bulging fish-like eye carved in the middle.
Churg’s favored animal is the Angler Eel.

History

Dogma

Home Plane

Appearance

Depictions of Churg vary from person to person, and no two individuals ever depict the man-fish god the same.

Relationships

Temples and Shrines

Regions of Popular Worship

Churg is rarely if ever worshiped outside of Kuo-Tao communities. The few other followers that dedicate themselves to the god of the men-fish are found sporadically throughout the world. Their appearance holds no rhyme or reason, only linked in the fact that they have all heard the voice of the tortured one. Why they hear the voice of Churg is still unknown, but few question it and merely embrace the voice from beyond the veil.

Followers

The followers of Churg are primarily Kuo-Toa who generally hide themselves away from surface dwelling societies. They distrust other races, fearing that they might inflict the same suffering that the Primogens did upon Churg himself. Though this suspicion infects the Kuo-Toa communities as well, causing an abundance of infighting within their own ranks. When they can manage to band together, these communities pray to Churg in hopes of receiving visions as to what their future holds in store for them.
There are very few faithful of Churg outside of the Kuo-Toa, but the occasional surface dweller has heard his voice. Some hear but a single otherworldly whisper while others are plagued by the maddening screams. The latter often go mad or attempt to quell the noise with offerings and prayers to the god of men-fish. These cursed followers sometimes come together to form small coteries where they perform similar to the Kuo-Toa communities. In very rare occasions, these groups will be drawn together by Churg’s voice or visions and attempt to spread the maddening word, generally with little success and a bloody outcome.

Tenets

• Trust No One. Everyone is out for themselves, the only one you can rely on is yourself.
• Strength Through Suffering. Pain is a gift and the path to power. Churg’s torment birthed his escape - your hardship is a crucible.
• Freedom. Laws only exist to chain and control you, undo the tyranny of civilization and the gods.

Sins

• Stagnancy is Death. We thrive in chaos, motion, and must always seek to transform ourselves and adapt.
• Betrayal in Silence. Do not withhold your voice, whether in prayer, rage, or expression. Share yourself with the world.
• Abhor the False Prophet. Visions from Churg are sacred truth, those that would counterfeit them are deserving of death.

Written by - Sithums

Type

Religious, Other

Official Languages

• Aquatic