Erb, the Darkness

For our first post providing more detail on the deities in the setting, we’d like to provide a shout-out and thanks to LudicSavant for providing inspiration for the layout of our deity posts as well as being okay with us using his general layout. A few of the domains within the Expanded Domains section are actually Subdomains, which are modified versions of the main domains.

Erb, Lord of Darkness

“There is a spark of power within you, mortal. Are you foolish enough to let others hold you back from your potential?”

- excerpt from the play King of Dawn, where Erb is tempting the brother of the protagonist

Alternate Names: Deorc (halfling), Kharidet (orc), Tenevris (gnome), Thudwyll (elf), Varetsleg (dwarf)

Expanded Domains: Blood, Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Magic, Repose, Smoke, Undead

Portfolio: ambition, blood, magic, potential, power, ritual magic, sacrifice, self-improvement, self-realization, sorcery

Recommended Music: Mirror of the Night

Knowledge (Religion) DC 10:

Known as the Black Archmage, Father of the Gods and Lord of Darkness, Erb is the god of dark magic and all that it entails. He taught the mortal races all forms of magic that corrupt, defile, or pervert. The rituals to create undead, blood-curses, or fueled by mortal sacrifice were all created by Erb.

     Erb is the estranged husband of Aelma, and father of all other gods and goddesses besides Zarth. Once, Erb was the ruler of the gods, but when motherhood made Aelma become soft, he left his wife and children behind.

     Many battle-mages make offerings of incense to Erb before a battle, seeking to gain a slight boost to their spells so as to overcome their enemy’s defenses.

     In art, Erb is depicted as being composed of black smoke within a blood-spattered gray cloak.

Knowledge (Religion) DC 15:

Erb’s philosophy teaches that one should seek to meet their full potential, without letting anything or anyone stop them. Those that would hold you back are to be crushed under your boot. In the view of Erb, there is no cost too great, no price too foul, if it will grant you greater levels of power. To the followers of Erb, power is not a means to an end; it is the goal of a never ending quest.

     Understandably, this is not considered acceptable in polite society. Thus, the open temples to Erb double as libraries, with the requirement that to enter you must provide a new piece of magical knowledge. This new piece of knowledge grants you a twenty year pass, allowing you plenty of time to research or discover new material. Each temple contains a set of enchanted quills that are linked to their counterpart in the other temples, allowing anything written by them to be simultaneously recorded at every temple.

     On the third Lastday of every month, the temples to Erb will construct a bonfire that will burn from dawn to dusk. Only green cork oak is burned, due to it being a sacred tree to the faith of Erb. Before the bonfire is lit, it is doused in oil and all who seek advice or a blessing from Erb will place their blood within a bowl at the base of the bonfire. The smoke from the bonfire is said to have messages for those that bled into the offering bowl, and legends tell of powerful heroes beginning their journey on the prompting of the smoke.

     The Belpotrophilum, the largest nonmilitary organization in the Green Coast, is funded by the church of Erb. Many wonder why a church that preaches against helping others would fund an organization of orphanages, though the church claims that they are ensuring that the orphans within the Belpotrophilum are provided all the tools they need to fulfill their potential.

     The teachings of Erb focus less on magic than one would assume. While the use and power of magic is certainly a part of the doctrine, the majority of Erb’s teachings focus on growth, both on an individual and societal level.

     To the followers of Erb, the greatest sins are not greed, lust, or wrath. The greatest sins that a person can have, according to them, are indecision, sloth, and pandering to others.

Knowledge (Religion) DC 20:

Gulvor ne Eshkog, a holy book estimated to predate the Historical Wipe by at least a century, states that Erb and Aelma were more than husband and wife: they were also brother and sister. Before they created the world with their children, they lived with a being called Father. No mention is made of a mother, but Father is described as being like both siblings, and yet not like either.

     The book tells of Father coddling Aelma and Erb, protecting them from anything that could so much as annoy them. While Aelma tolerated Father’s behavior, Erb did not. Eventually, Erb had enough and forged a hooked blade. The blade was forged from the ash of granite, the rust of gold, the breath of a fish, the heart of the ocean, and the fire of the sky. But more important than the reagents that went into making the blade was in the quench. Using his magic, Erb stole blood from Father and Aelma, and it was their blood mixed with his own that served as the last step.

     It is at the beginning of Erb’s confrontation with Father that the sole copy of Gulvor ne Eshkog becomes illegible. Those scholars that have read the book agree that Erb must have won, with them debating on whether Erb killed Father or simply defeated him. However no other mentions are made of Erb’s blade or of Father in any text or archaeological find. This had led to debate on whether the book was an actual holy book or simply a story that someone wrote for some other reason.

Knowledge (Religion) DC 25:

Within Delm-Fyradul, the high temple to Erb within the city of Drynaryn, there is a document known only to the highest ranking of Erb’s priesthood: the Rhaest Gwynn. This document is a record of all sorcery bloodlines that the church of Erb is aware of.

     Some claim that the church of Erb’s funding of the Belpotrophilum has an additional purpose. These individuals make the claim that the true reason that the church funds the organization is to both find sorcerers, as well as have a ready supply of breeding stock to as to make sure that the magical bloodlines continue. How this breeding program is supposed to work is that the church will have the Belpotrophilum raise a few select orphans (those with “desirable features”) to be husbands or wives and offer them to powerful sorcerers along with a hefty dowry on the condition that the pair have at least one child every five years for as long as they can.

Organization: Order of the Lost Relics

“You seem to be under the impression that I care about your village’s superstitions. I am entering the ruins, if you do not wish to be crushed under my boot then step aside.”

— Relic Hunter to a farmer; the farmer stepped aside

The Order of the Lost Relics is similar to both a bounty hunting guild and the Archaeology Society. Like bounty hunting guilds, they can be hired by wealthy individuals or governments. Like the Archaeology Society their focus is on ancient ruins and artifacts. The key difference is that the Order focuses almost exclusively on magical items. They are sometimes hired to recover stolen heirlooms, and the employer may also receive any additional magic items that are recovered in the process, for an added fee of course.

    When not hired by a patron, agents of the Order are most often found searching for lost magic items. All members of the Order are uniquely trained, taught to utilize their body’s own energy and to defend themselves without the use of weapons or armor. The official reason is that by training to use the body as both weapon and shield that means that they can sell any magic weapons or armor that they would otherwise use. Unofficially most Relic Seekers consider it a point of pride that their mastery of their bodies means that they can thrive where most others rely upon spell or steel.

     Training to become a Relic Seeker is a long, arduous, and possibly deadly process that begins at childhood. Initiates are told that their previous lives are no longer relevant. Day after day they train until they collapse from exhaustion, before being forced to get up to study both history and magical theory. Nearly a third of initiates die before they complete their training.

     Those that survive and complete their initiate training are elevated to the rank of Relic Seeker. Relic Seekers are sent out in teams or alongside other treasure hunters until they prove their skill and capabilities. Those that do so are promoted to the rank of Relic Hunter and are trusted with low-level secrets of the Order. From that point, rank is measured by seniority and specialty. All members of the Order are taught from childhood that the assignments that they go on are to be considered yet another form of training. Only by going out into the world can they achieve the perfection that comes from meeting one’s potential.

     The leader and face of the Order is chosen by a council of Relic Hunters that have had their rank for at least twenty years. This council chooses from among themselves who is best suited to the position, and the one that is chosen is them bestowed the title of Relic Keeper.

Code of Conduct: Paladins of Erb

“You say that you want to be my squire so as to become a better knight than your brother. That’s the desire of a fool. There is only one person that you should try to surpass: you saw him in the mirror yesterday.”

— Gorkim Blackshield, dwarven paladin of Erb to his squire

This code of conduct applies to those who would call themselves paladins of the faith, not just any follower of Erb.

 - Never give less than your best. While the foolish may settle for “good enough” you must be better.

 - Seek improvement in all things; push yourself to your limits and beyond.

 - Do not help others by solving the problems for them. Help others by giving them the tools to solve the problem themselves. Only step in to handle the matter yourself if the problem is well beyond their capabilities.

*A NOTE ABOUT PALADINS* Despite Erb having a Neutral Evil alignment, we have still provided a code of conduct for paladins. This is due to the fact that a deity only having one interpretation has never made sense to those of us behind the scenes. In addition, in a pantheon-based religion people do not pick one deity and only worship that deity. They worship the pantheon as a whole while some people drift more to certain deities than others, these are the priests and other members of the clergy. What this means as far as players are concerned, is that we see no reason why a god can't have an interpretation to allow followers of any alignment. This is merely our suggestion, if you do not want to allow paladins of Erb in your games then that is perfectly fine.

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