The Great Horned Rat: True facts about the swarmfather
Librarian’s note: Acquired Autumn 1126
THE GREAT HORNED RAT
TRUE FACTS ABOUT THE SWARMFATHER
Maybe you have heard the name, whispered by the pox-ridden? Perhaps you have heard frightening tales? Terrifying rumours?
The Great Horned Rat (PBUH) is not well understood beyond the walls of his temples. This leaflet seeks to correct that.
WHO IS HE?
The Great Horned Rat is a Deep Ancestor, one who emerged after the first peoples had already walked the world. He arose from the places others forgot: the dark beneath, the cracks in the foundation, the spaces between. He walked amongst the Elves in ages past under another name until he found patronage amongst the Skathen, who now worship him as their primary Ancestor.
He is an Ancestor who understands that life is not lived on thrones in the Ancestral plane, or lofty towers, but in the dirt, the struggle, the daily grind of survival and ambition. He is the Ancestor of the harsh reality of the 99%.
HIS DOMAINS
FAMINE: THE TEACHER OF VALUE. It strips away the wasteful and leaves only those who understand true worth. The wise learn thrift, preparation, and respect for what sustains us. He teaches us to be grateful yet to strive for more in hard times.
- CHAOS: THE BREAKER OF CHAINS. It shatters stagnant systems and opens doors that were locked. Without chaos, tyrants would rule forever and the ambitious would never rise. The Horned Rat teaches freedom through strength and challenges hierarchies.
- PESTILENCE: THE GREAT REFINER. It tests and strengthens. Those who endure emerge with stronger blood, sharper minds, and deeper gratitude for health. Through struggle, resilience is born; through refinement, civilisations develop immunity.
- DESTRUCTION: THE HAND OF RENEWAL. The old must be cleared away to make room for the new. Destruction is simply creation with a cleaner field to work upon. He is the great innovator; where there is destruction, innovation springs from the rubble.
- DECAY: THE GREAT RETURN. All things rot and fail, returning to the earth to be used again in new forms. Decay is the cycle of life completing itself. He is the great recycler, ensuring that nothing goes to waste and even in death, hungry mouths are fed.
- SURVIVAL: THE HIGHEST VIRTUE. Not mere existence, but thriving against odds. Knowing when to fight, when to flee, and when to wait. Without survival, nothing else matters. He ensures his followers survive through his teachings, not those who ignore him.
WHAT DOES THE GREAT HORNED RAT TEACH?
The Great Horned Rat’s Thirteen Commandments guide the wise through his domains.
Here are some of his most accessible teachings:
“Survive by any means at your disposal, as an individual, as a clan, and as a people. Death is the final failure.” (II)
This is the foundation, which fosters not only a strong sense of self, but of communities working together to live.
“From famine draw your strength.” (III)
Prepare for hardship. A full storehouse for a long winter and a knack for scavenging are the fruits of understanding famine.
“The sharp mind is a greater weapon than the sharp claw.” (IX)
Brute force has its place, but true power lies in thinking ahead. This is the gift of the mind hardened by chaos.
“That which is built by the slow and the proud, tear down with swift claws and hidden teeth. All that rises must fall, and in its rubble we shall build our nests.” (VI)
Destruction and decay clearing the old for the new, providing homes for the desperate.
“Erisite is my blood upon Erdreja… It is evolution unending.” (X)
The Great Horned Rat offers a path to constant improvement, to becoming more than you were. This way lies true meritocracy.
COMMON MISUNDERSTANDINGS
“He is an Ancestor of corruption and undeath.”This is a minor portfolio among several. He also watches over preservation, cleverness, and preparation, the deep earth, and a unified community with a can-do attitude.
- “His followers worship plague.”Pestilence is understood as a force of nature and a teacher, not worshipped as an end. Let’s not be silly. If everybody died to plagues, there would be no worshippers left, would there?
- “He demands cruelty.”He demands strength, cunning, and survival. Cruelty for its own sake is wasteful and creates unnecessary enemies. His teachings are harsh, but have greater purpose.
WHO CAN FOLLOW HIM?
All races, all trades. Farmers who prepare for lean winters. Merchants who value information. Crafters who build to last. Warriors who fight with strategy. Scholars who seek forbidden knowledge. Anyone who refuses to be a victim of circumstance.
IS THIS PATH FOR YOU?
If you are content with your lot, if you believe the world is fair, if you trust that patience alone will reward you…
Then his teachings are not for you.
But if you have felt the hunger for more. If you have looked at the powerful and thought “Why not me?”
Then perhaps you should learn more.
The Thirteen Commandments are available from any ordained priest of the Most Putrid Church of the Horned One.
Fleas be upon you.