Zura

Zura is a Lord of the Abyss, whose dominion over vampirism and those who suffer from it have earned her the title Vampire Queen. Once a demon, and of unspeakable ancientness, Zura is the source of vampirism in Ahren, and thus exemplifies its best qualities - the seductive, predatory, and ultimately treacherous nature. This makes her, in many ways, the antithesis of Orcus, the God-Lich and rival Lord of the Abyss. Where Orcus made himself into what he was, Zura was born a vampire. And where he populates his rank with hosts of the mindless undead - ghouls, zombies, and other abominations recreated in his designs, she elevates her followers into a facsimile of her divinity and looses them of their mortal limitations like morality.

A chaotic evil diety, the symbol of which is usually a stylized mushroom. Divine spellcasters inspired by the Prince of Rot gain access to the Chaos, Evil, Death, and Nobility domains.

History

Zuras origins are shrouded in the mystery of time and the volatility of her native realm, the Abyss. She is known to have always been one of the Hemophagi Daemons, perhaps the oldest example of them (and certainly the oldest extant example).

Relationships

All of the Lords of the Abyss war with each other constantly, shifting alliances amongst each other in like manner to how mortals shift their clothes. She is especially eager to go to war with Orcus, as the two have fundamental and unresolvable disagreements over the nature and purpose of undeath.

Appearance

Zura's native form is of a Hemophagi demon of enormous age and size, but she rarely uses it in the presence of mortal or even once-mortal observers. Instead, she invariably appears before them in a more pleasant form - usually that of a horned woman with ashen skin and a pleasant, even seductive, countenance and disposition.

Realm

Zura is the Queen of the Halls of the Blooded, a realm of the Abyss. It is an incredibly static and unchanging domain in the form of a massive fortified palace of black abyssal basalt.

Providence

Vampirism itself is the providence of Zura. While not all vampires worship her, vampirism itself (at least that sort which is communicable amongst the mortal races of Ahren and originated with the Hemophagi) is her creation. Through it, she elevates her faithful and chosen into a state similar to her own state of immortality (if not true divinity), and frees them of the moral restrictions that plague the minds of the mortal races of Wisteria.

Servants

Many species of demon pledge their loyalty to Lords of the Abyss, among whom Zura is no exception. While Dretches are, as always, over-represented, she is also popular among the Hemophagi, of which she is either the senior or progenitor. In addition, a great number of vampires serve her directly.

Church

Zura's followers, amongst all the followers of the Lords of the Abyss, most closely resemble a church. While their worship is illegal in most of the civilized areas of Wisteria, this does not stop the vampires (already viewed as monsters and without rights) and their loyal or bewitched followers from occasionally gathering under the influence of their queen. Vampire strongholds - usually lift their voices toward her.

Worshippers

Zura's worshippers are rare among mortals in Ahren, and mortal worshippers are usually doing so while existing as thralls (magical or practical) of vaompiric masters. Indeed, most of her true worshippers already have the curse of vampirism upon them.

Clergy

Particularly ancient vampires, along with those who had clerical positions before they were turned, occasionally turn to Zura for their divine inspiration, seeing their former gods as having turned their back on them. Still others enter into additional dark pacts with Zura to become her warlocks.

Especially old vampires - usually the heads of vampiric tribes or houses - occasionally become absolutely blasted by Zura's divine inspiration, and become a sort of reborn oracle.

Temples & Shrines

Many vampire strongholds have shrines of sacrifice to their Queen. In such places, offerings are shown for thanksgiving for their vampiric abilities and for her protection against discovery or destruction by the locals.

Holy Texts

The Lords of the Abyss consider nothing sacred. No word, much less a facsimile of their word, may be used to bind them. Their only teachings are that which they or their lieutenants or priest pass along to the next generation, and their only law is their current demand.