The Banshee Cults

Mythology & Lore

The Banshee Cults believe that when Danu made the world, she realized that life must die in order for life to thrive. So she would create death, but realized that the spirits of the dead could become lost or that death came too sudden for the family members. So she would birth the banshees, her own children of death. She would give them a queen, Clíodna, to help rule them and make sure they don't lose focus of their goals.

Divine Origins

The cult would spring when a practice would form after the banshees would wail. Families found the process of mourning to be hard, for losing a loved one is always a tough thing to go through. Women would go to mourning families and engage in a sort of vocal lament known as Keening to help the families mourn and to help guide the spirit of the dead. As such, the women would grow into an organization to better organize and manage their activates, and recruit men and woman to help swell their numbers. Naturally due to their close association to banshees, they would come to worship these terrifying heralds of death, and soon the cult would beseech Clíodna to allow them to serve her and her banshees. At first Clíodna would be protective of her children, the banshees, for she feared this was a trick to capture her banshees for use in necromantic rituals. Clíodna however, would come to see the passion and dedication these cultists had to her cause, and so a pact was formed. To this day the pact is as strong as ever, and the cultists loosely follow banshees to help assist the family that has been warned.

Tenets of Faith

Help the spirits of the dead see the afterlife
Banshees are sacred instruments to help the dead reach the afterlife, do not harm them and give them proper reverence
Oppose the necomancer for he seeks to defile the natural order and process of death
Car for the families of those who have recently passed and make sure they get help in their mourning

Priesthood

Those who seek to join the cult quite simply want to help relieve the pain mourning families and couples may go through. Many are just truthfully kind hearted, a rarity in this terrible world that we live in. Many also have had very personal experiences with death and lose, and so feel a very personal connection to the banshees and those who help those who have recently passed. Some also say they were entranced by the unearthly horror and awe inspiring fear the banshees illicit from their appearance alone.

Granted Divine Powers

Clíodna grants her banshees cultists with spells to help pass the dead into the afterlife, and care for the spirits of the dead. They can also use these powers to help fight off anyone foolish or vile enough to try and capture the banshees.

Political Influence & Intrigue

While the first reaction of outsiders is that these cultists worship dangerous and terrifying spirits of death and some might even expect the Banshee Cultists to simply be blood thirsty killers. This however is not the case. Not only are banshees simply fey spirits that help herald the death of a family member or warrior, but the cult simply seeks to help. Since banshees will wail no more than a day before the death, the cult seeks to follow these spirits in order to help escort them and to offer their services to the family in need. The banshees were apprehensive of the cult, Clíodna especially, but the cult would eventually earn the respect and trust of the banshees, for any allies to help defend themselves against necromancers is a blessing. Though the cults appearance is off-putting, they are largely harmless so long as one isn't a necromancer. They occupy a special place in Celta society, as they help the souls depart safely and swiftly to the afterlife, and so strict laws are in place to prevent any killings of these cultists.