Mother

**The Mother** is the object of worship by the Shal'dari. Also known as **The Greatmother**.

Supposed by some to have once been a highly warped version of the image of Elune over time, the being once known as Lucaerna has become the incarnation and dominant figure of worship within the Cult. As such, Lucaerna is worshiped as the ultimate giver of life, and the progenitor of all things living.

## History of Worship

Worship of The Mother came into being as the Cult of the Great Mother grew in power and shifted its ideological goals away from demon hunting to its own growth. Under the ministrations of the first adherents, a faith centered around the false deity of 'The Mother' as a warped vision of Elune was promulagated. A falsehood belief meant to sooth the tortured souls of demon hunters long fallen from the sight of Elune. It was when Greatmother Lucaerna, the broodmother of the Shal'dari, ascended to demonhood and took control entirely of the cult did a coherant figure of worship emerge. A colossally titanic woman who is the predominant source of demons within the cult, birthed from her womb, and the nether anchor to her offspring.

## Characteristics

The Mother is worshiped as a lifegiver and a source of creation. Birth is her realm, and it is considered the highest form of worship to bear child. Beyond that, there are little strict tenants; to grow fruitful and multiply is the only ideological consistency, followed by a commandment to halt the destroyers of all life known as the Burning Legion.

Adherents to the faith are encouraged to seek out partners and bear offspring, and greater worship results is rewarded with the Gifts of the Broodmother.

* Tae'shala: "Bodily Power"
* Mu'sunda: "Mental Domination"
* Bru'dalan: "Born of Many"
* Kel'dalan: "Food for Many"
* Alah'dalan: "Seeds for Many"
* Kel'dah'sulan: "Nourishment"
* Lathar'xin: "Strengthening"

These blessings, once bestowed, will often be passed down the lines of breeding to the offspring of the blessed. Occasionally, acolytes or offspring may come to possess two or more of these mutations, and be considered holy. With the most blessing laden rising to take station as handmaidens to the Broodmother.

## Worship

The followers of the mother primarily consist of the female members of the highly matriarchal Shal'dari, but are divided into two broad catagories. Those who follow their natural inclination as demons to destroy, and thus serve to combat the cults enemies and remaining pockets of the Burning Legion, and those who provide life. The latter are those who seek out the blessings of the cult, and typically engage in all manner of lurid acts.

The women who engage in such practice tend to be salacious, hungry for sensation, and unmindful of the greater world. Their only concern is to provide life, to nourish life, and to gestate life. With many of the blessed laden with multiple children, often beyond any sort of normal limit. A select few even grow to incredible sizes to approximate the Greatmother Lucaerna and will birth litters of offspring at once.

Those who join with the cult and take the unto themselves, and those demons born to the bloodlines, hold that in death they shall be reborn in the Mother, and shall never truly die. The eventual goal is to consume life, and feed it to the Mother, who shall gestate all who shall live, and all who shall die. An eternal existence of growth and decay fueled by the love of the faithful and the care of the Mother.

The worship of The Mother focuses on Seven Virtues of Life

* **Dedication** to your Brethren and your Broodmother.
* **Exploration** of passions.
* **Fulfillment** of childbearing.
* **Fortitude** in battle.
* **Faith** in the Greatmother.
* **Tenacity** in battle.
* **Destruction** of the Legion

And the Seven Warnings

* **Moderation** of your gifts.
* **Control** of your obsessions.
* **Regulation** of one's hunger.
* **Failure** to breed.
* **Loss** of control.
* **Selfishness** in faith.
* **Dishonor** of the Greatmother

## The Curses

The curses are burdens and doubts that can emerge in the faithful of the Shadow Cult. Thought to be born of the Greatmother's own nature, these conditions can easily overwhelm those unprepared to bear them.

* Mor'gudra: "The Growth"
* Bir'thana: "The Brood":
* Man'gurda: "The Burden"
* Jur'gruda: "The Hunger"
* Deronica'torel: "The Monstrosity"