Titles: The First Love, Goddess of the End, Goddess of Love, Goddess of Corruption, Zuri
Inspiration: desiderium, saudade, endtimes, malediction, hut heru, wub
Biography:
They say it is impossible to forget a first love. And for the peoples of Eideiri, Zurinthe was their first. She was the first and only god to ever truly love the peoples and they in turn loved being loved. When they were cold, she taught them to harness fire. When they were in danger, she taught them to build better shelters. When they were lonely, she taught them to love each other. Zurinthe believed her interactions with the peoples defined her as a god more than her powers ever did. One day, she fell in love with a mortal. And that mortal loved her back. And they were happy.
There was only one problem. The mortal was mortal. And Zurinthe was not. So she peered into the future and she was alone again. And then into the future of all mortals and she was alone. Again. The things she saw became too fearsome for her. The future did not offer any chance at happiness. And she knew she had to prepare for it. If not, everyone would surely die a miserable death. In fear of losing her loved ones, she spent all of her time peering into the future, looking for some alternative. But by the time she had a plan, her precious mortal had already passed.
Zurinthe pleaded to the other gods to return her mortal back to her so that she may say a final goodbye. So that she may mourn with closure. They denied her request and told her she was better off asking the mortals to whom she gave many of their powers. So Zurinthe consulted the shamans to return her mortal’s soul. Then the necromancers to return the body. Then priests to bless a resurrection. But it had been many years since her mortal had passed. Many years since she had given gifts to all of the mortals. And she had become forgotten.
None would help her, for none were left to love her without her continuously bringing gifts. Heartbroken, she still loved the peoples of Eideiri. The burdens of the future and what would kill them all became her priority. It had to. And so she gave the peoples three final gifts. First, she did not share the perils of the future with them. That horror was her burden alone. Second, she gifted the magic to create the great cities and to protect them from the perils of the present. Finally, she gifted the rest of her immortal power by taking the fight to the future to prevent the future.
Worshippers:
Assassins, mystics, lovers, widows, and cultists
Places of Worship:
Places of quiet
Worship:
Worship of Zurinthe is only done by those with deep religious knowledge and devotion. Although her story is far from a secret, she does not compel servitude or continually provide in order to attain worship. She is included in prayers with the rest of the gods but no special dues are generally made for her.
There are a few who love Zurinthe for the sacrifices she made in order to love the peoples. Through a holy council of the most devoted remnants of this faith, they have learned to take on the perils of the future into themselves. They are able to divine into the future and accept these perils as a form of self flagellation. They wish to ease the burden of Zurinthe by carrying only what they can through the course of their lifetime. Some choose to weaponize these perils as a means of redistributing the suffering in lieu of other weapons so as to know their battles will benefit the future as well as whatever cause they’ve dedicated themselves to in the present. Others choose merely to accept what they can and heal themselves so they may accept further malediction.
The perils of the future are no light matter, however. They often risk total madness merely by looking and expect to come back with with horrible mutations, diseases, curses, and other ailments. Just as Zurinthe faces these perils in her love for the peoples, so too do her worshippers face them in their love for Zurinthe.
Under rule of council, the devoted are urged to travel the world and spread their influence as best as possible. More are ever needed to fight the perils of the future and hopefully, one day return Zurinthe and her love back to the peoples.
Servants:
The Zurrean Council
In the absence of Zurinthe, a council has been formed to preserve and spread her will. It is believed they act in good faith, but do not take responsibility for the actions of the individuals who might follow them. The location and members of this council are a very well guarded secret. Similarly, devoted followers only reveal their faiths to those whom they would trust with their lives.