*ARIANKA - Goddess of Law and Discipline

*Description:
Arianka, sister of Solkan and Alluminas and consort of Solkan, is
the embodiment of law and discipline. In the distant past, Tzeentch,
changer of the was, saw Arianka as a great threat to his plans and
imprisoned her in a crstal coffin which can be opened onl b a set
of kes, hidden somewhere in the world but whose whereabouts are
unknown. !an "ld #orlders belie$e Arianka is nothing more than
legend.
"ne legend tells of how Arianka forged %aihtendrung, her crstal
sword, out of a special magical crstal that shone with a soft inner
light. The tale claims the substance, called %aihtero crstal, was
created as a reaction to the e&istence of the solidified chaos known
as #arpstone, and that its' properties are such that it produces an
aura of stasis around it, that nothing changes as long as the
crstals' soft light is shining on it. (o such crstals ha$e e$er
been found, howe$er, and the tales are largel belie$ed to be nothing
more than that.
It is also said that Ariankas' legendar coffin is made of %aihtero
crstal, locking her in the stasis field thus generated around her.
The legend surrounding her does not make clear how her captor trapped
her thus, but the coffin is said to lie in )raag, *isle$. Ariankas'
followers are dedicated to the search for the kes which will free
her from her imprisonment.
*Special (ote:
+eing as Arianka is imprisoned, she is uni,ue amoung the warhammer
gods in that opinions differ o$er whether -and how. her cult persists
toda. This description cannot cater for all these $iews and makes
no attempt to do so.
Also, a ,uest for Ariankas' kes is a good campaign hook, so I'm
lea$ing out details like the number of kes, etc. as /!s can then
decide on them as fits their campaign. This description assumes the
character worships Arianka alone -as opposed to being in some 0oint
Arianka1Solkan sub2cult. and is meant as a sort of generic template
to put the scalpel to as ou see fit. ! personal $iew on Arianka is
in a section at the end.
*Alignment:
%awful.
*Smbol:
Ariankas' smbol is her crstal sword, %aihtendrung, with which she
is said to dispense her punishment. 3ultists belie$e that on the
da of her release she will take up %aihtendrung and 0oin Solkan in
taking re$enge upon the chaos god who imprisoned her.
*Area of #orship:
!embers of the cult come from all o$er the "ld #orld, but are few in
number, and tend to come from the south of the "ld #orld. %ocal
cults in a particular area generall get together with others on
Ariankas' hol das to meet in praer and discuss an leads found in
the search.
*Temples:
All Ariankas' old temples ha$e long since crumbled to ruins. 4ew
cultists are willing to gi$e up the ,uest for the kes to o$ersee the
rebuilding of the temples, and, where a cultist has been willing to
do so, the new temples ha$e reportedl collapsed on placing the last
brick1stone. Ser$ices are usuall held in shrines set up in cultists
homes or propert bought b the cult for the purpose.
*4riend and 5nemies:
The cult is contempible towards the ma0orit of "ld #orld religion,
because its' weak stance against chaos, but 6anald in particular is
an enem for his constant belittling of authorit. (ot surprisingl,
The cult is $ehementl hostile to the chaos gods. 6elations are
friendl with the other gods of law.
*7ol Das:
7ol das are the first and last da of each month and since her
imprisonment, the da belie$ed to be the anni$ersar of her
imprisonment is also held hol.
*3ult 6e,uirements:
(ew cultists must ne$er ha$e broken the law, e&cept where allowed b
Ariankas' scriptures.
*Strictures:
2 "ppose chaos and its' minions whene$er the are encountered.
2 "ppose weak and foolish laws which make a mocker of law and
dicipline.
2 (e$er let a crime go unpunished.
2 "be and enforce the letter of the law unless this would break an
of the abo$e strictures.
2 (e$er pardon others who ,uestion or disobe an order from a
superior, or do so ourself, unless to obe would break an of the
abo$e strictures.
*Spell 8se:
+efore imprisonment, Arianka granted all pett and battle magic
spells. +eing currentl imprisoned, howe$er, Arianka has no power to
grant magical aid to clerics.
*Skills:
Initiates of Arianka must bu the %aw skill, at normal 5) cost,
before ad$ancing to le$el one cleric.
*Trials:
Trials to Arianka are ne$er set, as the ,uest for the crstal kes
and coffin is considered too important. #hen a trial is indicated,
the character must accumulate another 9:: 5) and tr again. #ere
Arianka not imprisoned, a tpical test might be to thwart a group of
criminals that were currentl e$ading the authorities.
*+lessings:
Arianka fa$ours tests based on %d, 3ool and #), especiall %oalt,
resistance to bribes, etc., although she has no power to grant
blessings -or curses. while she is imprisoned.
*)ersonal ;iew -long.:
I see the cult of Arianka as being ali$e and well. #hen Tzeentch
defeated her, he imprisoned her in a %aihtero crstal coffin which
does indeed lie in )raag, *isle$. The nine kes -also made of
%aihtero, as is %aihtendrung. are hidden somewhere in the world, but
noone knows where 2 the change location randoml at the whim of
Tzeentch. 7er cult collapsed on her imprisonment, but some remnants
sur$i$ed.
!an cultists were disspirited and ne$er ,uite reco$ered. Some were
totall absorbed in the cult of Solkan -who took up the torch of
discipline when she was imprisoned., while some were partiall merged
in the cult of Solkan and persist as a sub2cult worshipping both gods
-the are sub0ect to both sets of cult re,uirements and ha$e to
follow both sets of strictures, hol das, etc. but recei$e magic and
blessings from Solkan for their dedication..
"thers still remained loal to Arianka alone and this sub2cult of
hers also persists toda. This sub2cult is itself composed to two
groups. The first group knows of the true location of her coffin and
go to great lengths to ensure that the world at large does not find
out, a few members of the 0oint sub2cult with Solkan are also trusted
with this sensiti$e information. The other group is generall not
trusted enough to be told and will be told onl in times when there
is no other choice. Arianka also has an order of knights templar,
the *nights of the 7ol <uest.
(ot onl is her cult ali$e and well, but so too is Arianka herself.
She is ali$e and semi2conscious in her coffin, and considerabl
weakened in her godl powers b the stasis field. She does, howe$er,
ha$e limited control o$er the crstal -although e&ercising it costs
her dearl in strength.. She thus has the power to grant magical
spells and effects to cultists within D=2> ards of the coffin
-reroll e$er round, minimum of zero. and can grant blessings within
the same range, although these too end when the sub0ect lea$es the
range of Ariankas' influence. %aihtendrung lies beside her in the
coffin.