The Light-Eaters
A mystical Uz path discovered by Andrew Solovay
Web Adaptation by Nick Eden
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Note! This is a fan contribution. The information may be
contradicted by official material.
The mysticism rules from Hero Wars are under revision. They will see
print in a daically different form some time in the future.
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The Light-Eaters
Background
There are those who know the hidden face of Zorak Zoran. To most Uz, and all
non-Uz, Zorak Zoran is a madman and berserker, consumed with hatred and lusting for destruction. This is because they do not understand Zorak Zoran's nature.
Zorak Zoran is commonly thought of as a demon, or a troll, or a god. Zorak Zoran is none of these things. Zorak Zoran is the vengeance of
Wonderhome. Zorak Zoran is every urge and passion that Subere sends forth to her
grandchildren, driving them to recreate the true darkness that is Wonderhome.
All Uz, thus, share in Zorak Zoran. Every time an Uz does anything which strengthens
Wonderhome, or weakens Hurtplace, or makes Hurtplace more like Wonderhome, that Uz is the teeth of Zorak Zoran in the world, though she
knows it not.
Some Uz share more deeply. These are the ones who worship Zorak Zoran as a "god" or "demon", and devote themselves to war and destruction. They rampage
through Hurtplace, tearing it apart at the boundaries, weakening it for the day when Subere rises and shakes the universe, leaving nothing but the holy
Darkness.
And there are a few who follow the true path of Zorak Zoran. In them, Subere will awaken a single, driving urge--to destroy one specific part of
Hurtplace. They will be driven to find this thing and devour it, changing it to Wonderhome within them. Subere will send them through all the worlds,
devouring what is wrong and leaving clean space for Hell to be built.
The Cult
| Physical discipline: |
Unarmed combat (biting)
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| Mental discipline: |
Obsession/single-mindedness
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| Spiritual discipline: |
Become darkness
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| Skills: |
Stealth
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| Secret: |
Discover your enemy (finds out what one aspect of Hurtplace the
mystic must destroy); probably acts as an integrated passion spirit for all
actions directed to destroying the Enemy.
Depending on the Enemy, may act as
a skill on its own--e.g. if the enemy is Disease, the cultist can "devour
the disease" from a sick person, using the Secret as a "heal disease" skill.
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The Light-Eaters are solitary Uz. A full Light-Eater travels either alone,
or with an apprentice (one apprentice only). The apprentice gradually learns the disciplines of the cult, as well as appropriate physical skills. (A full
Light-Eater can use his "become darkness" discipline to travel unseen; the apprentice uses mundane stealth, assisted by the master's powers.)
In time the apprentice can learn the cult's Secret. When this happens, the apprentice will discover what single aspect of Hurtplace he must hunt and
devour. This might be anything which is not found in Wonderhome. Most commonly it is light, heat, or some variant--that is why the cult is
commonly known as the "Light-eaters". But there are many possibilities. The Jonstown Compendium describes an encounter with a troll whose enemy was
Pain, which he sought and devoured. Other mystics might seek Chaos, or
Dissension, or Disease, or Aldryami, or Fear, or Infertility, or Dark-Trolls, or anything. No mystic can know or influence, in advance, what
his enemy will be. (Until he learns the Secret, he accompanies his master and helps to devour the master's enemy.)
From then on, he will go on quest after quest to find a particular instance of the enemy, destroy it, and go on to the next one. He will destroy the
enemy wherever convenient, but will always have a particular goal in mind. For example, a particular cultist whose enemy was Fire might at a particular
time be on a quest to destroy the sacred flame in a particular Yelm temple. He would cheerfully devour any other fire he happened to come across, but
would not feel compelled to do so, and could pass flames by when expedient--but he would obsessively work towards destroying that one
particular flame that Subere had sent him towards. When a cultist devours
the object of his quest, he immediately knows what his next target is. The target may be in any world; he can patiently take all the time he needs to
reach and devour it, provided that all his efforts are directed to that goal. The goal may be spectacular (devour the flame in the brazier burning
before the throne of the Red Emperor), trivial (go to Apple Lane and devour the flame burning on the candle sitting on the innkeeper's table), or
anything in between.
The cultists are almost invariably Uzko or their variants (hot trolls, snow trolls, etc.). It is not unheard of for a superior trollkin to join the
order (usually a twin-birth who is "trollkin" only by legal convention). No female cultists have ever been known, though they are possible. It is
possible that there are Uzuz cultists, but if so, they almost certainly spend all their time in one Otherworld or other.
A cultist usually shows some obsessive behavior while maturing (not unlike our "obsessive-compulsive disorder"); they are often initially drawn to the
conventional Zorak-Zoran cult, or other similarly single-minded fringe practice. From time to time a full Light-Eater will come to a community and
let them know he is willing to take on an apprentice; the Great Mother will
usually know if there is a particular Uzko who is suitable. Just as often, the apprentice-to-be will feel compelled to run away from home, and will
encounter the Master in the wilds.
Game ideas
A Light-Eater could be a single encounter, a chance flavor-building incident (as in the
Jonstown episode), or a hook for a full episode.
The Light-Eater might suddenly appear and take sides in a combat (on either side), then vanish--he's always available if you need a deus ex machina! He
might also be the enemy in a mission (e.g. the mysterious troll who's known to be assembling an army to attack the heroes' home), or the leader or
patron (hiring the heroes to assist him in his current quest). He might simply commission the heroes and vanish--sending them on a mission which
will assist his quest in some obscure way, which the players might never discover.
Given how solitary and obsessed the cultists are, the cult isn't really suitable for PCs.
From the Jonstown Compendium, entry
#182,466
A strange report from Sword Sage Hothrik of Heortland: "While traveling, my
companions and I were set upon by bandits. We drove them off, but one of my
retainers was wounded, and I lacked the skill to heal him. His wounds were
not great, but were so painful that I feared he would die of exhaustion before we could reach help.
The second night after the ambush, a powerful Dark Man appeared by the wounded man's pallet, slipping unnoticed past the guard on watch. Before I
could move, he threw himself on the wounded man, seeming to tear at him with
his teeth--but after a moment's shock, I saw that the Dark Man was not actually injuring my servant, though the teeth appeared to rip into his
flesh (yet leaving no mark behind). After a short time he stood up, and to
my amazement my servant was sleeping peacefully, no longer in pain.
The Dark Man said to me in halting Heortling speech, 'I go? Or we fight?' He
was unarmed, but so large and strong that I preferred not to press the issue. I responded, 'You may go. But what did you do?' He answered, 'No pain
in Good Home' (by which I surmise he meant the Trolls' Hell before the Sun
came). 'I eat pain, make this into Good Home.' He then vanished into the night.
My servant no longer seemed troubled by his wounds, and healed rapidly thereafter. When we reached my temple, I consulted a sage who knew of the Uz
and their gods. He could not explain the troll's behavior, and said it did
not comport with any of their known cults. He was shocked when I sketched the ritual scarring on the troll's face and arms, as he said the scars were
most like those of the Zorak Zoran berserkers--whose behavior is certainly
very different from that we saw!" |
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