(OOC: Gonna give it one more round of posts before starting the dinner for Dave and B, and also cause I have to figure out what the heck Nythymn cuisine would be lol)
Wrex studied Junko's skin. In many ways it reminded him of a druid's skin, their bodies too were a collection of tattoos and scars that told all sorts of religious stories and mandates. But druids jealously guarded them, hoping to use them against each other. He found the Quywe fashion of proudly displaying them refreshing. He nodded along with the Speaker's words. It was invigorating to see not all of Mundus was so backwards. "There is a power in the divine that few cultures seem to truly posses. They follow their own petty superstitions blindly and unquestioning and yet look down on the rituals that do not mirror their own. I am glad to make your acquaintance."
Iaxxodril ushered the Empress out of the room, leading her back as he answered her question. "There's a lot that goes into it. Necra is known to be a strange and twisted, this may sound harsh, but I mean it in that she has a unique personality. Before she came to rule the afterlife, she was known for being shy and pure. But tangle with the forces of death for as long as she has and it changes you. The physical depictions of monsters are to illuminate her monstrous nature. It is something we cherish in her. To us, more than with any of the other Gods of the Hallowed Pantheon, Necra is the furthest from a human. Though we tell stories, we have our legends and myths of death, no one truly knows anything of the afterlife. It is all faith. Unknowable. Necra is unknowable in the same manner. Unlike the others of her Pantheon, she also has little care for Mundus. Her care for the living world is only because her love, Reaver resides here. It is rare for her to create a physical vessel to send part of her soul to Mundus, an Avatar as we call them. Necra's Avatars usually have some sort of deformity, because her soul is connected with that which is not alive, it partially rejects the living vessel. Previous Avatars have been often been blind or mute. There was once an ancient heretic cult that actually cut their tongues and eyes thinking it might bring them closer to the Goddess. Hmm, such a morbid practice. The world is already cruel enough."
They had reached their destination and the Druid opened the door, rejoining everyone else in the ballroom. Dinner was almost ready, Iaxxodril could smell the aromas wafting through the halls.
Axel's words might have been flattery to another woman, but Vizla was still unimpressed. Not that she showed this of course. "The cult I grew up in, the Sybil are noted for their prophetic visions and dreams. When the Empress was born, one of my sisters sent word of a dream she had that night. Best translated, I believe it would be... 'Kings will weep as babes for her forgiveness and Queens will flock like doves to hear her words. She will have the power to shape and build empires, as if they were sand among a beach, crumpling them with a wave of her hand. When she cries, the world cries, and when she laughs, the world shakes in agreement. This one' blood shall be as if the blood of Mundus, when she bleeds the world bleeds.' Quite the reputation to live up to, isn't it?"
Velkin turned to the Matriarch, who nodded. He watched the Grand General drink before answering. "I'm afraid as the two Delegation members from Asuria, we can tell you little of the Black Crypt's doing. But, there are al sorts of rituals conducted through Nyx. The specifics vary depending on who is preforming them. While the Black Crypt and Vom Chancery are two major religious institution, there are a number of cults within the Coalition, both state-sponsored and heretical. Every group has varying beliefs and different specifics to their rituals. But the majority of the rituals are for the same goals- prayers for forgiveness of sins and guidance, purification of ones soul, prophesying dreams and visions, asking the Gods for favors or blessings. I doubt much of it is very different than most other religions in Mundus. There are of course special cases, the Black Crypt once practiced the Rite of Rak'Nepenthe, where one is made to forget their life and in essence reincarnation, allowed to live a second life, freed from their past. In Asuria, the when a Matriarch dies, one of the Maidens, her body servants, must take her place. To do so is through the Rite of Shir. It is a bloody and dark rite. They Maidens slaughter each other without remorse until all but one have either yielded or are dead. There are few rules, and so word of a Matriarch's death within her home is extremely important. It is perhaps one of the most violent surviving ritual."
