The Cults of the Dragon Below are various cults that worship the dark forces of Khyber and beings from the underground realm.
In modern times, cultists seek to release beings (e.g. daelkyr, rakshasa rajahs, or demons) or gain power from those same beings through sacrifice or devotion.
Most cultists practice in secret as society at large shuns such worship. The cults are illegal in all of the Five Nations.
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History of the Cults[edit | edit source]
The cults have existed since the beginning of time in one form or another. There have always been those who chose to worship Khyber, the Dragon Below in order to gain power or in hopes of some dark promise fulfilled.[1][2]
Worship of the Cults of the Dragon Below are strongest in the western regions of Khorvaire, especially the Shadow Marches. These regions suffered most during the Daelkyr War, and bear the greatest scars from that ancient conflict, physically and psychologically.
Various Cults[edit | edit source]
Cults of the Dragon Below are not a unified religious doctrine. The large majority of these cultists are mad and dangerous, and they turn towards forces society shuns for personal power.[1]
Many followers of the Dragon Below are insane, holding strange beliefs as aberrations being beautiful creatures that will reward them for their devotion.[3]
Cults may worship aberrations, daelkyr, or other fiends of Khyber and their masters from the First Age.
There are no fewer than three sects of the Cults of the Dragon Below active in Sharn.[4]
The Aashta[edit | edit source]
The Aashta clan is one of three half-orc clans native to the Shadow Marches to have developed the Mark of Finding. These three clans (the Aashta, Torrn, and Velderan) form the basis for House Tharashk. The Aashta and lesser clans in service to them are rumored to be bound to the Dragon Below.[5]
The Aashta clan contains cultists of the daelkyr Kyrzin, the Prince of Slime.[6]
Khundar'aashta is one of the three triumvirs of House Tharashk, and represents the interests of the clan to the house in Zarash'ak.[5] Karr'Aashta, House Tharashk inquisitive of Deathsgate in Sharn is a member of the Aashta clan, and a folllower of the Dragon Below.[4] Sul'aashta Steelbane is a hunter of the Aashta clan, who hunts warforged and ventures into the Mournland, driven to defeat the warrior of steel and stone that haunt her dreams.[5]
The Closed Circle[edit | edit source]
The Closed Circle is a defunct wizarding guild of Sharn. They were destroyed by the other magic guilds of Sharn, the Esoteric Order of Aureon and the Guild of Starlight and Shadows, for delving too deep into the occult following their research into the daelkyr.
A mind flayer named Chyrassk, along with a small force of lesser aberrations from Khyber, have established a presence in the former Citadel of the Closed Circle in the undercity district of Khyber's Gate. The aberration has been sharing the secrets of symbionts, grafts, and unique discoveries made by The Closed Circle with its followers.[4]
The Cults of Slime (Gibbering Cults)[edit | edit source]
Members of these cults follow the daelkyr Kyrzin. These clans, also known as Gibberers, revere and tend to gibbering mouthers. They feed their elders and the infirm among them to the beasts as a mad form of preservation–their practices dictate that the souls of those consumed are preserved within these entities.[7]
The ir'Edar Brood[edit | edit source]
The Duke of Passage, Jalnar ir'Edar and his daughter Melys ir'Edar lead a cabal of almost 60 cultists in the city. His family has rumored to be prone to madness since a distance ancestor first took a half-orc from the Shadow Marches for his wife. Duke Jalnar ir'Edar now seeks untold heights of arcane magic in a mad quest to reclaim glory for Aundair that he believes has been lost in the last ten years.[8]
The Family Finch[edit | edit source]
Overlord Cults[edit | edit source]
The Cults of the Dragon Below can be used as witting or unwitting pawns for the whims of the Lords of Dust or their Overlord masters.
In the Webs of Zarash'ak, the mad goblin Jhugaar delivers sermons about the rise of The Voice in the Darkness.[6]
In Stormreach, the Overlord known as The Scar that Abides stirs strife and resentment among heirs of the dragonmarked houses.[9]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eberron Campaign Setting, p. ?. Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, & James Wyatt (2004). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Eberron Campaign Guide, p. ?. James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations. Richard Baker, James Jacobs, and Steve Winter (April 2005). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3657-6.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sharn: City of Towers. Keith Baker & James Wyatt (2004). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3434-4.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dragonmarked. Keith Baker, Ari Marmell, Michelle Lyons and C.A. Suleiman (2006). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3933-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Eye on Eberron: The City of Zarash'ak" (June 2011) by Keith Baker. Dungeon Magazine issue 191.
- ↑ "Eye on Eberron: Kyrzin, the Prince of Slime" (July 2011) by Keith Baker. Dungeon Magazine issue 192. , p. 1-3.
- ↑ "Touched by Madness" (June 2005) by Keith Baker. Dragon Magazine issue 332.
- ↑ City of Stormreach. Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James "Grim" Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
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