Arrows of Decus
The Arrows of Decus are the backbone of the belief of Decus, the god of the hunt. His followers preferred weapons are bows and religiously prepared amber arrows, wich are not to be confused iwth the holy artifacts they directly recieved from their deity.
They very much fulfill the ranger archetype and value resourcefulness and proficiency. They are often to be found in woods, wich are under their protection, controlling the population of local animals and supporting nearby villages, when able to.
Structure
The Arrows of Decus are often divided into multiple "hunting squads" led by a Trekker.
Though there is no real restriction to be hunting for their god, the names still persist.
Public Agenda
The Arrows of Decus provide security by hunnting monsters and also are often those providing additional food to the societies they are integrated in.
Assets
The worshippers of Decus often occupy wide areas of any kind of forest and keep it in optimal condition for hunting. There are strict regulations and there is always a keen eye for the preseervation of endangred species.
Otherwise the priests of the god of hunt often trade, preperate and manufacture the hides, meat and other materials they collect due to the hunt.
Military
The Paladins of Decus are often used as guardians for the temples and usually prefer melee fighting. But this doesn't deter them from using heavy, strength-robbing bows for efficient long range.
While they prefer medium armor, heavy armor is also a viable option for open fields.
Their spells mainly revolve around shaping the terrain around them and highten their endurance.
Mythology & Lore
In the ancient Era of the gods Decus wandered the earth and searched for worthy priests for the teachings he had to offer. o he planned to do a hunting competition, everyone who deemed themselves worthy of becoming one of his priests would be allowed to enter. The goal was to achieve a truly succesful hunt and each hunter would be given an almost identical piece of forest, with roughly the same amount of wildlife.
There were three main contestors, a barbarian, a ranger and a middle aged man. They were tasked with bringing home a truly great bounty and were given three days.
The barbarian was the first to go his arrows wouldn't miss and his spear was drenched in blood the second he saw considerable prey.
The ranger immediatly jumped onto the next tree and spied for the most powerful and rare beast he could find.
While his competitors jumped into action the old man asked Decus, if he was allowed to keep what he hunted and Decus immdeiatly confirmed. The man set foot into the forest and carefully trecked on.
At the evening of the third day the hunt came to an end. Out of the foliage emerged a bloodspattered barbarian, presenting the plentiful of trophies he had accumulated, even so the furs of almost every creature in this piece of the forest.
Shortly after him emerged a ranger with the head of a white stag, one of the most prized of creatures in this forest.
The Barbarian exclaimed he would be the clear winner and demanded the blessing of Decus, who strictly called him to silence. The ranger chose to stay silent, but clearly saw himself as the winner, since he saw that the quality of his cath clearly outweighed the quantity of the barbarians.
And just as the sun vanished behind the mountains there was an audible, joyful whistle, followed with the appearance o fthe middle aged hunter. He managed to kill three deers, not quite an accomplishment, since they were quite common and in addition not the most extravagant of these specimens.
The barbarian and ranger scuffed and looked to Decus, who would now decide who would recieve his blessing.
The god of hunt slowly looked across the three hunters and spoke to the barbarian.
"You do know the purpose of a hunt, don't you?", the barbarian immediatly replied: "Of course i do, it is the honor and the trophies you get to collect!". Decus slowly shook his head and the barbarian shreeked in terror as the skinned and mutilated carcasses of his slaughter set foot outside the forest and mad with pain and anger they pounced on the butcherer and dragged him back into the forest.
Decus exhaled and turned to the ranger, who was clearly shook with fear at the fate of the barbarian. As Decus repeated the question, he panicked and ran with his valuable antlers and furs, but as he set one foot before another he slowly realized how the furs he held were suddenly his own and the antlers he lost focus of sprouted from his forehead. His human form vanished and he became prey, a white stag. A stag who was shortly taken over by instinct and fled into the forest of the former ranger.
The middleaged man was odlly calm and assumed he wouldn't leave alive either, Decus was a god after all. He looked a the god of hunt and asked "Oh, mightiest of hunters, i will not beg for mercy, the only thing i ask from you to give the result of my hunting to my family, they will need it." Decus laughed at that and assured him he wouldn't die today, he instead looked closely at the dead deer and appreciated his clean and precise shots. The god of the hunt gave him his blessing and gave him ten of his amber arrows.
Divine Origins
As the first Decus gave the first arrows to the hunter he also gave him one of the barbarians pelts, cleansed it and enscribed it with his teachings. Thus the hunter was now allowed to spread the beliefs of his deity and to call upon his help.
The hunters name, sadly is forgotten, but till this day the amber arrows he recieved are powerful and valuable artifacts, craved by every temple of the Aroows of Decus.
Tenets of Faith
Stay calm
Be resourceful
Know what you are doing
Do not waste what your prey gave you
Your goals are prey and you are the hunter
Ethics
A faithful priest of Decus:
- Always honors his prey
- Knows how to hunt, or at least to preperate
- Never takes more than he needs
- Takes his time but strikes true
- Never lets his prey suffer and serves the killing blow as fast as possible
Worship
The worship of Decus involves respectful and well thought hunting and the occasional sacrifice of trophies to him. These are often antlers, teeth or furs, wich are burnt and told to appear as they animals they once were in the Neverending forest , or as trophies around Decus neck in special cases, like the happening with the ancient ones.
There are daily prayers, of course, but the main priority is on fulfilling the code of the religion.
Priesthood
The active parts of this religion are often small "hunting parties" lead by a physically fit and experienced individual, called Treker.
The lesser priests and acolytes are often appointed for the more mundane tasks in the temple, while the hunnting parties control the populations and decide who is allowed to hunt their specific territories.
Granted Divine Powers
Priests of Decus are reported to recieve divine powers, like:
- Traceless traversal of any terrain
- The ability to speak to animals
- Extreme precision with hunting-related weapons
- The power to become nearly invisible in partial cover
- Extremely keen sight
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Arrows of Decus to not have anything to do with the outside world and never extend their influence beyond their territory, wich to protect is the only interference they have with the government.
They sometimes converse with the local druids, but this is it.
Sects
These are the sects of the Arrows of Decus:
The Monsters Bane:
This priesthood of Decus is specialized in the localization and elimination of monsterous spawn throughout the world and harvest what is to take as good as they can. They may charge money for their deeds, but they have lots of variety when it comes to weapons, as monsters come with special weaknesses and strengths. They are also known to tame some of these creatures. The Arrows of Decus see them as glorified mercenaries and still ask themselves why they recieve the favor of their god.
The Midnight Guardians:
This exact group of priests took up on the threat of vampires and hunt them down relentlessly to rid the world of these abominations. The Arrows of Decus find this excessive and think they are above these creatures and shouldn't sink to their level. The Monsters Bane on the other hand are actually qite sympathetic with them.
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