Burgûl'Goth - the Shadowking

Name: Burgûl-Goth

Title: Fil'Goth (Master of the Cave), The Shadow King

Origin: Kiran

Domain: darkness, night, death, murder, pursuit, and execution of heretics and unbelievers

Typical spells: darkness, incantations, blindness

The Shadow King was once the ruler of a small, insignificant empire. When Sauron offered him one of the Nine Rings, the prospect of such a power was irresistible for him. The result was a rapid and complete corruption, for the darkness in the heart of the king needed little encouragement to devour his nobler side. Now that his will is enslaved by Sauron, the Shadow King proudly wears his black cloak that darkens the sun and obscures his enemies' vision. The main aspect of Burgûl-Goth is the night and the associated darkness. It is said that only the presence of this Nazgûl devours all the light that surrounds him. He is wrapped in a standing veil of darkness so that his enemies have to fight him blindly. In battles, he protects his armies from sunlight by conjuring dark clouds. He controls the dark ash and dust clouds which spread out of Mount Doom. He even manages to enlarge the dark sky above Murdur to spill over the boundaries to be a menace to the lands of light and the living unbelievers. Another aspect is death itself, as a state of eternal darkness. The dark power held by death as a guidance for the living to gain the same finality that accompanies the Fitgnau. Any believer who has reached the goal of darkness and death is at the same time the one to enjoy the Fitgnau as a
pioneer.

## The faith

### ***The reason for an uruks’s belief in this Nazgûl***

Classically, the belief of Burgûl-Goth is especially spread among the Shirkuz and there especially among the Thrugu, because of their covered missions. They hope for special protection. But also, among the Uruku, which are susceptible to sunlight, the belief is spread. Above all stands the victory of darkness over the sun on Fitgnau. They believe that, if they die, their dark souls will be transformed into the darkness above Murdur and become part of it. The more Uruku die in war, the more the darkness expands and engulfs the bright lands of the Sharaz and Golugu, making it easier for rest of Murdur's armies to defeat its enemies. The death of the heretics and unbelievers feeds the power of the Shadow King to keep his work alive.

### ***Distinctive features of believers***

The symbol of Burgûl-Goth is a black bleeding heart pierced with a knife or a simple black heart, which is carried by many followers in any form or paint on their clothes or armor. Some Uruku also has their dagger decorated with the sign. Uruku who believe strongly over a long period of time can also physically change. This usually starts when the believers begin to suffer from extreme physical pain in the sun, which goes beyond the typical symptoms of a disease. They are not afraid of death, because their death means for them, to serve the Shadow King and the Shakh`bûrz forever with their dark souls and make the Fitgnau more accessible. The followers, which have served the Shadow King for decades, wear hoods and long robes because even the brief contact with the decaying sun releases their skin from the bones. In extreme cases, the light of the moon is enough to burn their skin.

### ***The Uruk and his faith, and what he does for it***

The most famous ritual of the Burgûl-Goth`s followers - but usually also
other participants - is the Bûrzil Dufumu'ob (the night of knives).
In this night, the Uruku set out to kill the enemies of the Faith and their
allies. At the beginning of the ritual, a Burgûl-Goth cultist announces the
main objectives of the ritual and then blesses the weapons of the
participating Uruku. They usually use one-handed swords and daggers. If no
consecrated cultist is present, this task is usually taken over by a
commanding officer. After their assassinations, the Uruku and disciples, who
gather the cutout Zuzalhûnu (heretic hearts) of their victims, must return
to the cult and sacrifice them to the eternal dark heart of Burgûl-Goth.
Only those who after an assassination hand over a Zuzalhûn (heretic heart)
to the cult, will gain the favor of the cult and thus of the Shadow King. Only
those who sacrifice enough Zuzalhûnu have the opportunity to become a Thrug
or later Thrak or another position or rank inside the cult.

## Bos'Burgûl-Goth - the Cult of the Shadow King

### Structure of the cult

The center of the Cult of the Shadow King is deep inside the Shadow
Mountains in the midst of a labyrinth of gloomy tunnels, barely
discoverable to the uninitiated, where even artificial or magical light
can`t exist. It is said that the sanctum of absolute darkness that Morgoth
himself once created is its center. Hûn'Bûrzum, the heart of darkness, this
place is called, which even the magical strongest inhabitants of Minas
Morgul avoid. Driven by the constant rhythmic throbbing of the Hûn`Burzum,
the dark evil pulsates through the veins of the Shadow Mountains. It is
strengthened by the drumming, resembling an endless heartbeat, as well as
the moaning and growling chants of the drumming cultists. Within the cult,
the belief prevails that light and darkness are the formative elements of
the world order that is in constant conflict with each other. Darkness is
interpreted as the substance of strength that will devour the weaker light
on the day of Fitgnau. The most devoted cultists almost never leave the
widely ramified caverns unless they have the reputation of serving in the
Gund Piztor. Within the catacombs, they live an ascetic, lightless
existence that is an entirely inseparable fanatical service to the
Shakh`bûrz and to the Fil'goth, whose aspect of darkness they almost adore
as an own deity. The daylight is their worst enemy. If they are exposed to
it for a long time, they will soon lose their health. Bizarre tumors form
on their skin, and their lungs spill over with black, viscous mucus and
their senses begin to fade. The few of them, who stay permanently outside
of these places of worship, always wrap themselves in flowing black robes
during the day, which at best reveal their eyes, which are usually streaked
with sickly red veins. At night, they move faster and safer than anyone
else. For this reason, the cult also represents much of Murdur's most
capable assassins, called the Thrugu. At first, there were only a few
capable Thrugu of the Shadow King who proved their skill in eliminating
heretics silently and unnoticed. Meanwhile, this field of activity is one
of the most important skills of the cultists, so that today murder-orders
are even a kind of initiation rite of Bos'Burgûl-Goth and it has developed
its own school out of it. Some of them see themselves at the same time as
judges and executioners and they travel on behalf of the cult through
Murdur to track down and punish heretics, deserters, insurgents, but also
simple bandits. They founded many different specialized orders to the cult,
sometimes with military structures or some of them in a kind of informers-
and spy-network. The cultists are in a constant quarrel with the cultists of
Narkû-Mat, who are constantly trying to outsmart death. The cultists of
Burgûl-Goth do not fear death and see it as a last great and dark gift of
life, which an Uruk must earn himself. The cult of the Narkû-Mat is
therefore regarded by them as a cult of cowards and idlers, and as
abhorrent. In addition to the cult of Mautark, the cult of Burgûl`goth is
one of the most disciplined cults of the Nine. Bos Burgûl'Goth and its
orders train numerous of his units in the deep cave systems within the
Shadow Mountains. They are trained in fighting in absolute darkness and in
narrow corridors.
In addition to the pragmatic Thrugu, the rest of the cultists are primarily
sinister mystics who have knowledge in summoning up demons and spirits from
the dark forces of the Shakhbûrz. The Thrugu trained in the Shadow
Mountains also have during their training contact with mighty Shatraugu as
a second pillar of the power of the cult.

## Professions and training

#### ***Thrug***

The dark fortress of tunnels in the interior of the Shadow Mountains brings the best and feared Thrugu (Assassins). They come from all parts of Murdur. The most promising puppies are brought here to get the Thrug-training. However, only very few survive the training since the cult of Burgûl-Goth only is satisfied with the best of them. As part of their training, the thrugs must kill their fellow comrades, so that from each training group only one Uruk survives.

#### ***Thrak***

The most fanatical Thrugu of Burgûl`Goth can be trained to become one of the Thraku of the Shadow King, which are feared throughout Murdur. Some of them are called the Frûm`throqualu, "spirit-eaters". At the end of their meditative training, they receive the gift of the shadow from Burgûl-Goth. This gift is a black hole, which rages inside the Thraks mind. It allows the thrak to weaken the mind of other Uruku. The black hole devours the mind of the Uruk so that he suffers unimaginable torments. Over time, however, it devours also more and more of the wearer's mind, depending on the willpower, and the Thrak falls into madness. There are still some other kinds of Thraku, but the knowledge about them is hidden by their dead victims.

#### ***Shatraug***

The Shatraug of Burgûl-Goth is powerful summoners and unsurpassed calling demon-like beings of shadows and darkness. These dangerous creatures are silent and deadly shadows.

There are enough nightmare-stories that everyone in Murdur constantly fears that all the shadows have eyes and ears. Besides of the military structures inside some of the orders of the cult, the Shatraugu often lead them.

#### ***Dushatar***

The few Dushataru from the cult act more like teachers to the Thrugu in Religion and Geography, because on their missions the thrugu must be prepared for certain circumstances. The thrug, for example, must know when there is heresy and sometimes he gets the information that his victim works and lives in another part of Murdur.

## Attitude towards the other cults

All the other cults under the Shakh`bûrz, the actual source of power, are considered powerful, and mentioning something else would be, in the eyes of the cultists of Burgûl-Goth, sheer heresy. To consider a Nazgûl as weak is a provocation and will be punished with death. The cultists of Burgûl-Goth see the Shakh`bûrz`s choice of the Nine and their order from top to bottom as correctly determined by the Big Eye. There are differences in opinions, criticism, and friction about the aspects and actions of other cultists. Unbelief, insults, mockery, and denial of the Lord of Murdur, as well as of those servants and allies, chosen by the Shakh`bûrz (such as the Nine, Dûrghâsh, Takhbor'karn, Luthic ...), and their worshippers, are heretical acts. This also applies to disturbing changes in the "structure" created by the Shakh`bûrz and the religious hierarchy. Differences between individual breeds and the purity of their blood are uninteresting and irrelevant to the heresy pursuit of Bos`Burgûl`Goth. In this case, the followers behave like normal Uruku. In case of military
positions of possible heretics, it is estimated how far the Frûmgrat and the Cult of the Shadow King are behind it. The followers must only be stealthy enough.

***Shatraug-Goth***

The believers know that the Witch King, as leader of the Nazgûl, stands far above all others. The faithful support of the cult with awe and admiration, for its terror and destructive power, leads to the death of many. What they do not approve of is the undead, created for the ranks of the Shatraug-Goth, because the faithful of Burgûl-Goth count either the finality of death or the life for death, but not magically created mixed existences. However, it is rather reluctantly tolerated and not openly pronounced.

***Khâmul Ghânsha***

The magical abilities of the Eastling and his cultists are seen as a purposeful and useful tool to bring death to the enemies and heretics.

***Maugoth-Mor***

 The cultists and followers of Maugoth-Mor are considered a threat. With watchful eyes, they are observed by the thrugu of Bos`Burgûl`Goth, because they are constantly tempted to break the clerical hierarchy created by the Shakh`bûrz. The temptation alone does not matter because the Shakh`bûrz
tolerates the fight for higher positions. Only the ways and means of the Bos Maugoth-Mor are a thorn in the side of the cultists of the Third, because the exercise of power and pain, torture and humiliation does not always lead to the final result, but, from Burgûl-Goth's point of view, only death.

***Ghadhûmûrzal***

The plagues
and poisons of the cult of the Stained are often considered a useful means of bringing death over enemies and heretics. The followers of the Shadow King often like to use the fluids and other stuff from Ghadhûmûrzals poison-kitchens. It is important to the faithful that the toxins are deadly and fast. Disease infection, however, is frowned upon, because the desired death is drawn unnecessarily long.

***Narkû-Mat***

Even though the cult itself is considered powerful and, of course, accepted, the followers of the immortal are perceived as softened and cowards, with fear of death. In addition, the cultists of Narkû-Mat allegedly also create undead. Not for the war effort, but the victims of the life-prolonging magic of some more powerful Shatraug of the Narkû-mat-Cult, that turns the Shadowking-followers to dislike them. They are basically avoided because the ideological differences are so great that only experienced Thraku, Shatraugu, and Dushataru of Burgûl-Goth are able to distinguish between heresy and creed.

***Quûral***

The secret behavior of the cultists of
the Quûral finds much favor among
the Thrugu. Their intrigues and dark business often lead to dead
casualties. In addition, the Shadow King's Thrugu often receive
information about heretics from the Hanralu and Îstashalu (spies and
informants) of the cult of the Quûral, who are well paid for their
treacherous services by the Bos Burgûl'Goth.

However, limits are also set, and the machinations are
tolerated by the Bos´Burgûl´Goth in such a way
that the faith is not affected.

***Mautark***

The
discipline of the faithful of the Mautark is admired because from the
perspective of the Thrugu self-restraint is a guarantee of success.
Obedience, loyalty, and faithfulness are the aspects that the Bos
Burgûl-Goth sees as the pillars of the faith from which emerged the great,
dark Empire of Ashes. Followers are attached to the idea that the religious
structure of darkness is only contained in these aspects.

***Dushgor***

Since
most of the followers of the Dwimmerlaik are the Akash`Uruku of
wasteland-regions of Khand, these are considered as an example of a
merciless and successful religious conversion by Murdur. The breeding of
the deadly black stallions is highly credited. The aspect of deadly
vengeance correlates with the dogmas of the Bos´Burgûl´Goth and the art of
casting deadly curses finds great acclaim.