Ksarul worship in House Corvidae

Although members of the household are free to pursue their own religious beliefs, there is one faith that is traditionally followed by those with sorcerous aptitude; that of Ksarul, Lord of the Dormoron Plain.One of the many titles given to Prince Ksarul, the Doomed Prince, gives perhaps the best indication of his status. The history of Ksarul stretches back to the days of the old Empire, before the cataclysm, when the Prince was part of a wider pantheon of ancestors including the Tatterdemalion – King of the Imperial Ancestors. The story goes that Prince Ksarul taught the secrets of sorcery to mortals in direct defiance of the King in Yellow – Tatterdemalion. As punishment for his disobedience, the Ancestors fought against Lord Ksarul in a titanic battle at a place called the Dormoron Plain. Although Ksarul was defeated, even the combined might of the Ancestors proved insufficient to kill him. Determined to rid himself of the renegade Prince, the Tatterdemalion bound Ksarul in cords of yellow silk and placed him within a magical prison (known as the Blue Room) which he flung into the void to drift forever, lost in an enchanted sleep from which he cannot awaken. Legend tells of seven magical wards and seven enchanted keys which may unlock the Blue Room and awaken Lord Ksarul from his unnatural slumber. In the lands of Sicilija the freeing of Ksarul is traditionally viewed as the event that heralds the end of the world (and is thus viewed with some trepidation … even by those who serve the Blue Prince).

The followers of Ksarul found themselves alone with only the skills taught them by the Doomed Prince to aid them. The war which had been fought between the Ancestors had cost many lives on both sides of the dispute and, as a result, a vengeful population rose against the followers of Ksarul, blaming them for their misfortunes. The devotees of the Doomed Prince then split, some went into hiding and became inward-looking and defensive, ultimately leading to demonological and necromantic practices; but a large part left the Imperial homeland and travelled away from the site of conflict, maintaining themselves by teaching in the communities they passed through. Gradually, as these survivors spread further afield, organised worship of Ksarul was almost abandoned in the Heartlands, abandoned that is apart from two strongholds of faith.

One of the strongest followings of the faith of the Doomed Prince remained and still remains on the old Imperial isle of Sicilija. However these devotees had faced many years of oppression and had turned away from the compassionate teachings given by Lord Ksarul when he was still free. They now followed a secretive and vengeful cult, hoarding power in whatever form it could be obtained. Those interested in learning more about these decadent and evil sorcerors should look to the Mirror of Souls in Syracusa.

The other organised followers of Prince Ksarul are to be found in the ranks of House Corvidae. Here the original teachings of the Blue Prince are preserved and the devotees are taught to show compassion to all and to encourage the spread of knowledge whenever the opportunity arises. Household sorcerors are taught that the use of necromantic or demonological power can never be justified, and that to indulge in such practices will lead inevitably to one’s own doom. It is sadly noted that Lord General Corvus Corvidae had no aptitude for magic and was therefore not given the teaching that could possibly have saved him from the wiles of Roxanne and Golgamoth.