Cain (Ca-ein)
Cain , Son of Man
Cain awaits thee; Cain embraces thee; Cain claims theeCain, claimed by legends to be the very first sinner, is a non-native deity that was brought into Theras during the first Human crossings of The Bridges. His arrival is said to be catastrophic, with the sun itself turning black for an entire day, mourning the entrance of such a terrible god into its realm. Cain can be cold and calculating, filled with savage bloodlust, ruthless, patient, or all of them together. The mere presence of living creatures instills within him an overpowering urge to kill, and a violent hunger for destruction.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The Mark of Cain
While every god has a significant and meaningful symbol, none are like The Mark of Cain. Supposedly a part of his curse, the mark is a powerful symbol on its own, being used as a sole component in certain spells; most notably, a Symbol of Death spell. Unlike virtually every other divine follower, the followers of Cain do not use an object as their holy symbol; the Mark of Cain is either tatooed or branded the cleric's body, most commonly on the forearm or forehead. This marks the follower for life, ensuring their loyalty to be as permanent and final as death itself; this also helps to solidify their sense of commitment to the god and his tenets of faith.Clergy and Worshippers
Among the followers of Cain, known by the exonym of Cainnaites, the perception of clergy is that of a very much disoragnized web of strictly local hierarchies. Most of the Cainnites are found in urban areas of virtually every culture and place. A local figurehead of either a geographic area or a faction of Cainnites is known as a High Primate or High Primistress; a head of a temple or fortress are accordingly known as that establishment's Primate or Primistress. In turn, a Primate's aide-de-camp will be commonly known by the title of Primurder or Primurdrix, and it is their role to call upon the Cowled Deaths when needed. These are the nine most senior clergy members, excluding the roles mentioned above. Lower on the hierarchy are the common clergy members, collectively known as Deathdealers, all bearing the shared title (regardless of level or rank) of the Slaying Hand. Regardless of their standing within the clergy, if any, Cainnites refer to themselves and each other as brothers; this supposedly alludes to the myth of Cain and Abel, which asserts that Cain murdered his brother in another age, thus implying that murdering a fellow Cainnite is not only allowed, but encouraged. This allusion is vehemently denied by Cainnites, who claim that murdering their brethren is counter productive in every sense.Temples
Cainnites often congregate in citadels rather than conventional temples. Said citadles shelter many assassins and send forth agents to nearby settlements to solicit patrons who might hire the occupants of the citadel. Urban temples dedicated to The First Killer are typically dark austere dungeons, underneath a city's streets; however, they almost always feature a mosaic or sculpture depicting some form of violent death. Some house several chambers with macabre exhibitions of tokens from murder victims; other hold large crypts filled with the corpses of past victims who could not be left where they were slain. More often than not, such chambers and crypts are haunted by restless dead. Rural holy sites are crude, primitive shrines located on barren hilltops and dominated by blood-stained sacrificial altars. In some cultures, a ring of teardrop-shaped stones, carved into skulls, is embedded in the ground surrounding the shrine.Tenets of Faith
While the exact phrasing vary between citadels and communities, they all adhere to the four following principles:
- Every murder commited strengthes Cain. One should view murder not only as a duty, but also as a pastime.
- Every ten days that pass without death being dealt are a major offense to Cain and diminish his power. This should be offset by striking under the darkest skies during the heart of the night.
- If murders cannot be commited due to imprisonment or a similar hinderance, atonement is achieved by murdering twice for each murder one lost.
- Victims must know the identity of their murderer and that they were murdered in Cain's name before their death.
Make all folk fear Cain, the first sinner. Let your killings be elegant, or grisly, or seemingly effortless, so that those who witness them are forever awed. However, tell folk that gold and offerings to the church will make the Lord of Murder overlook them for today.
Day-to-Day Activities
Cain encourages also the pursuit of personal wealth and hobbies, in the main, Cainnaites sepnd their nights performing murders and their days preparing for muder, suchj as procuring or caring for weapons, journeying to the appropriate site, praying Cain for success, sleeping uinder guard so as to be fully awake for the hours of darkness, eating, training, praying for spells and the like. Many are assassins, bounty hunters and mercenaries or in organized brotherhoods of men and women in such professions. Priests of Cain do enjopy their killing, but it doesnt mean they kill indiscriminately. Much time and thought is going into the planning of not just dark deeds, but the implications of killing this or that individual. The church tries to eliminate all rivals and those who stand against it, to be sure, but also strives to enrich itself by frightening common folk into place offerings of coinange and vluables before Cainnaites and byt taking care to let economically and socially important individuals live unharmed. the High Clergy and Primates spend much of their time planning the proper strategies of maniupulating nerby rulers, inhabitants and organizationns into the deeds and behavior that Cain desire.Priestly Vestments
Regardless of rank or gender, all clergy members wear full eremonial robes and cowls of deep purple or of black with violet streaks of random size, shape, and placement. The interior linings of the cowl and garments are always deep black, and a black veil is worn over the face tomake the cowl seem empty to an observer. High-ranking priests sometimes adds a scarlet sash to this costume for easy recognition when ill-lit rituals are taking place. Curve-bladed ceremonial daggers are worn at the belt, but only High Primates, Primates, or members of the Brethren of the Keen Strike employ them in combat or slayings; all other Cainnaites used them only in rituals.Holidays
The main ritual to Cain is, of course, an act of slaying, during which the priest intoned: "Cain awaits thee, Cain embraces thee, none escape Cain" (if necessary, repeatedly). After each murder, a priest of Cain draws Cain's symbol beside the corpse in the blood of the victim and smears the blood on his or her own hands, from where it promptly vanishes if the ceremony was done fitly. Priests also pray to Cain upon retiring for slumber (in a temple, this was done en masse, in a formal ceremony known as Day's Farewell) and whenever they set out to slay. Moreover, every increase in priestly rank is marked by a solemn private ritual in which the ascending priest goes out from the temple to return only after slaying another with nothing save his or her bare hands. The events of the killing are related privately to a senior priest, and if the signs are deemed favorable, the new rank is conveyed in a church ritual held in full ceremonial regalia by all temple clergy members during which a living sacrifice to Cain is made.
Senior priests are said have an uncanny ability to ferret out lies about this private ritual and be harsh in their punishment of those bearing false report. Lay worshipers of Cain (but not priests) are to pray to Cain for the limited safety of "his overlook" when setting forth on journeys or into known danger. They are also to pray when giving gold to Cainnaites (to ensure that the Lord of Murder accepted their gift) and whenever a violent death occurred nearby or to someone related to them. The only calendar ritual of the church of Cain occurred on the Moonfest, when the dead of the faith are remembered and Cainnites celebrate especially important or impressive slayings by retelling stories of these deeds. .
Mental characteristics
Personal history
It is said that Cain was involved personally in the death of the Arasilian Dynasty and he himself was involved in the assassination of dozen of the bastards of the royal lineage.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Cain only lived to hunt and kill, the presence of the living instilling in him an overpowering desire for death and destruction. He was at all times a cruel, violent and hateful being, though his behavior could vary from cold and calculating ruthlessness to a savage thirst for blood.
Titles:
The First Sinner;Lord of Murder;
The Master assassin;
Divine Classification
Intermediate Power
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Realm
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Related Myths
| LG | NG | CG |
| LN | N | CN |
| LE | NE | CE |
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