Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Darkness, Death, Evil, and Travel
Location of Central Temple: None, the religion comprises of many independent sects
Favored Weapon: A Moon Shaped Sword or Sickle
Holy Symbol: A Moon, the specifics differ from sect to sect
The Cult of the Moon holds its origins in Galt death cults, it has been observed and transported to other nations and regions, but its meaning and purpose has slowly become corrupted. The rooms full of the bodies of dead ancestors struck people as odd, and many wandered away confused and dejected. A manuscript was written up several hundred years ago detailing these death cults, however the manuscript, a prized possession in many libraries, was horribly flawed and ended up causing such a religion to spring up out of fascination and a desire to do evil. The manuscript gave the death cults the name they share today, The Cult of the Moon. Some have theorized that it was some form of evil that wrote the manuscript and its evil is spread through words and secret messages hidden within.
As the name suggests, they worship the moon. It is a direct slap in the face to the ancient religion that worships “He Who Shall Not Be Named,” as manifested by the sun. This religion no longer has any known followers, as all followers were converted to more modern religions or killed. Since the sun cults held that writing was blasphemy, it was particularly easy to cleanse the world of.
It is widely accepted that the malevolent force that answers the prayers of the cultists is no god, but a powerful demon, possibly involved in the creation of the manuscript. There is no way to prove this interaction, of course, but many religious scholars have cried warnings against collaboration with cultists for this reason. Therefore the anticipated afterlife is service and devotion to this malevolent creature in a plane of eternal night.
The religion, partly in order to keep its members safe and also as a byproduct of the different types of people reading and putting the decidedly evil manuscript into place, split up a long time ago into many separate and distinct sects. At times a sect is political, attempting to cause upheaval and strife, but at other times it is just a pure matter of blood lust. A sect is sometimes only a few people in number, but they have been known to grow into the hundreds. Even the Confederacy of Galt has been plagued by moon cults, despite the difficulty of obtaining any written piece there. This is particularly ironic, considering the rough origins of the cult.
Quite often a member of the Cult will seek any opportunity to bring suffering and death to those he does not care about. Especially those he feels are under him. In Metavin, the Cult used the wars going on there to release undead by the hundreds to torment the populace. The fact that they were being paid by Crenf to release the creatures made the deal that much sweeter.
The Cult of the Moon attracts a wide selection of people. Beyond just plain sadistic there are people who use the Cult as a stepping-stone to greater things. The Cult of the Moon is often willing to help those they feel could be beneficial to their goals. Either way a knowledgeable person can contact the cult, albeit carefully and with great reverence, and request help to accomplish things they need done. Be they politically or economically motivated goals the Cult expects a return for their help. It is through such unholy alliances the Cult gains and keeps its money and power.
Aside from the ambitious there are also people who truly believe it is the will of the earth that people die and rise from the grave again. These people often talk about circles and desires of the earth. Sects that think along these lines often try to work in these views about whom they kill and what they do. Quite often they look to kill and raise in some kind of sick balance. At times it is as simple as one male to each female. Other times it is more complex, such as the eradication of an entire family down to the most distant relative for reasons unattainable.
The Cult of the Moon recruits heavily from the mentally unstable. It is the belief of some that they are directly in tune with the moon and that their ramblings offer insight into the universe. Such is how tomes of rambling and gibberish have begun to circulate around some sects and the wisdom of a madman is consulted before any action is undertaken. Others believe the madmen are just easily adaptable to the beliefs and plans of the religion. That it is, at times, difficult to find a true follower and only the madman can truly comprehend what needs to be done and why. Any sect that actively recruits madmen for whatever reasons are often found using mind-altering substances to attain such a state themselves.
Leaders of the Cult are often power hungry people that don’t quite fit in anywhere else. They have an odd fascination with the dead, and raising them again. They seek to impress, confound, and make a name for themselves in society. Upon attaining the role of Sect Leader they proceed to gather funds and cease to exist for all intents and purposes. A body is found and crafted to look like the person where the authorities can find them. Often the face is ruined, but personal positions are found on the decoy. This has resulted in a long dead noble, perhaps even massively popular, returning from the dead years or decades after his planned demise to do massive harm and evil to a population.
The new Leader no longer exists and can then proceed to worship the moon and its fluctuating manor. Creatures of the night hold a close place to the cults heart, and most of the professional members are nocturnal. Much of their effort is allotted to stealing or creating dead bodies for reanimation. Sometimes this is nothing more than grave robbing, but more often than not someone is murdered and raised again. Within the same hour they are out wandering the streets causing havoc and fear. For obvious reasons the Cult acts slowly, and these occurrences are often few and far between. But when many sects get together and plan ahead the streets can become alive with a procession of the dead.
For the most part Temples of the Moon are as varied as their followers. But there are a few common threads.
First, none of the Temples are out in the open or easily accessible. They are all hidden somewhere. Be it the façade of a shop, or the basement of someone’s house, the Cult does not want to easily be found. This is another direct contrast to Galt death cults, which are open about their worship of the dead. Open necropolises can be seen in most Galt cities, whereas Moon cults remain hidden and fearful of retribution.
Second, almost all of the Temples have some sort of sacrificial altar. The altar is sometimes only superficial, and all the death related ceremonies are done on site, but usually the altar is used with regularity and becomes stained. The altar is sometimes nothing more than a slab of wood or stone, but other times a master artisan was bribed, threatened, or through his service to the moon created a masterwork altar.
Third, the Sect Leader is always living on the premise and hardly ever leaves it. It is their job to manage things at home such as finances and personnel and the only times they leave is either when nobody else can do it, or it is of great importance.
· Veet 15th – The Winter Equinox. Sects often celebrate the winter equinox as a holiday because it is the longest night of the year. This affords them time to complete whatever evil they enjoy. The way it is celebrated varies from cult to cult, but often undead are raised or innocents are sacrificed.
