Cult of Lu (for Esoteric Enterprises)

 

Dandibuja

Mystic Cult: Lu

HE-ZU-AM

Three cuneiform symbols have been lovingly inked on a piece of cardstock, flanked by sprigs of lilac. On the altar below there is a somewhat-lumpy pottery bowl, glazed a deep brown and filled with a cardboard campfire of orange, red, and gold. Simple clay animals - dogs and horses and one lopsided elephant - orbit around a little ball-upon-cone figure of a person.

Domains - Humanity, family, parenthood, trickery, cleverness, women, mothers, protection (of children, of homes, of the downtrodden), sex, marriage, fertility & sexual health, passion (in general) overcoming obstacles, hospitality, daemonomachy, righteous fury, righteous thieves, fools,  mercy, justice, wisdom (eventually).

Symbols - Hamsa, handprint or hand stencil, the sign of the horns (pictured), the fire-maker's mudra (pictured), the crown of fire (pictured), pictorial depictions (varies by culture and depicted aspect)

Taboos - Abuse (in all forms, but specifically that of children, elders, spouses), incest, kinslaying, cruelty towards animals, inaction in the face of evil, adherence to law above common humanity, withholding mercy, undermining justice, deliberate failure to uphold the compact with the Folk, consorting with demons.

Epithets

• The Clever - She was clever first and always, let no gentle manner fool you. She is sharp.
  
• Mother of Multitudes - All peoples are kin, for all peoples come from her.
  
• Broad-Shouldered One - She has endured, unbreaking.
  
• Thief of Fire - Seeking, always seeking, stumbling forward, ever onward.
  
• Demon-Waker - They would have slept forever in the hearts of the Ancestors, till the Crown lit the kindling and the fire cast all we hate of ourselves as shadows of the soul.
• Mother of Grief - Her first child was born still, and drew no breath. 
  
• The Terror Striding Forth - Invoked only in the greatest desperation, when the barriers have failed and demons pour forth across the doorstep, when need is not for wisdom but for wrath.
  

Spell List

A mystic of Lu will start with two spells at random from this list.

1. Mending - as per Esoteric Enterprises
2. Cure Wounds - as per Esoteric Enterprises
3. Comprehend Languages - as per Esoteric Enterprises
4. Turn Away Malicious Ones - as per Turn Away Undead, but may also be applied to demons and malicious Folk.
   

And will gain the following cult spells as they level up.

1. Create Fire - as per Esoteric Enterprises
   
2. Call DOG - Summons an enormous spectral hound (stats as Black Dog). They are the best and goodest boy. No Flesh points - will dissipate after loss of all HP. Lasts 10 min / caster level.
   
3. War Form - +1 athletics, +2 to perception, +2 to attack rolls, 1d6 unarmed damage.
   
4. Breath of Fire - 15' cone, 1d6 dmg / caster lvl, save vs hazards for half.
   
5. True Sight - as per Esoteric Enterprises
   
6. Legend Lore - as per Esoteric Enterprises
7. Earthquake - as per Esoteric Enterprises
   
8. Crown of Fire - Can be cast only once. Can be cast only in circumstances where you are faced with your greatest enemy. As War Form, with all bonuses tripled. You take no penalties from Horrible Wounds and may resist 1 lethal blow. If you take lethal damage, make a Save vs Hazards when the effect of this spell ends - if passed, you survive, though you now will take all penalties for accrued Horrible Wounds and are now Bleeding Out. This spell lasts until the target is incapacitated or killed, or the caster suffers a second lethal wound.
   

Followers of Lu may speak with the Folk and certain animals (elephants, corvids and parrots, dolphins and whales, great apes, dogs) with ease.

The Cult in the World

The cult of Lu is mostly found on the surface, with only a few mostly or permanently residing in the Underworld. Followers have a strong tendency toward allying with human and ecological rights movements, often militantly. Cultists will usually be able to provide their allies some measure of sanctuary (of varying levels of security) and some means of safe(r) passage between safehouses.

The cult of Lu is on best terms with those of Coyote, Judas Thaddeus, Santa Muerte, and Ursus. It is enemies with those of Abraxus, Mammon, Sol Invictus, and The Void. Both apply to the cult of Lilith.