Scay, Goddess of Imprisonment
Scay
[Female, Evil]
Scay is the patron saint of corrupt jailers, wardens, slavers, bounty hunters and others who use the law to justify their special brand of cruelty. She represents both physical and mental dimensions of imprisonment: The power to imprison and the emotional repercussions to both the sentencer and the victim.
The Goddess of Imprisonment is known for her utter lack of compassion and disdain for those who are weak of mind. She insists that it is a right for the strong to subjugate and control those who are too weak to function within society, particularly those who have little self control or sense of personal accountability. It is noted by a good many detractors of this evil god that successfully functioning within acceptable boundaries in her eyes often means navigating between both shifting principles and tempers.
Scay most often appears as an Elven female with noble, sharp features, dressed in an exceptionally well tailored black suit jacket, black breeches, knee-high leather boots and black gloves. Similarly she has black hair woven into a tight braid strung up to rest atop her head and wears a pair of iron-framed spectacles. Along her clothing are various iron ornamentations: thick buttons, clasps, and buckles, attached by varying lengths and sizes of chains, as if to secure her clothing. Her eyes are pure black, occasionally swirling with a grey mist that vexes the soul. Those who meet her gaze and hear her words are very often made to submit to her demands with little examination of their purpose or logic.Portfolio: Imprisonment and Capture
Cleric Training:
A hopeful of Scay must first prove themselves by taking a small creature captive and keep it barely alive for a year and a day. During that time, they must study the physical and mental limits of their captive, coming to understand the nature of imprisonment. They must both protect it and prevent its escape with failure meaning the student must start again. While this study takes place, they also undergo physical training in the mastery of metal weaponry, armor, and tools designed for capture and detainment.
Successfully completing this task rewards them with a terrible fate: A group of acolytes comes for them in the night and takes them prisoner, dragging them down into the dungeons below the church. There they remain prisoner for 2 years so that they may learn what imprisonment truly means and have any pity purged from them. Additionally, they must study the laws of various societies and learn ways to manipulate them. Surviving this ordeal rewards the prospect with the title of acolyte, and they are tasked a third time. This time to capture would-be acolytes and keep them imprisoned for two years, just as they were themselves. This final stint of training not only firmly ingrains cruelty within the acolyte, but also imparts a desire for the empowering aspects of imprisonment.
At the end of their training they may take the Imprisoner’s Exam. Those acolytes that pass the exam are promoted to Cleric of Scay and sent to various posts throughout the land, serving as bounty hunters, prison wardens, or even judges. Failing the exam is rare and brings a terrible punishment as the acolyte is imprisoned deep below the church until they die of old age. There they serve as an example and training tool to the acolytes that come after them.Quests:
The Dreambreaker Clause
A common quest meant to be taken by a Cleric or Corrupted Paladin wishing to advance to the position of High Priest, The Dreambreaker Clause is a task undertaken by only the sturdiest of Scay's followers. The challenge of this quest requires a Cleric to imprison a powerful innocent through mental manipulation alone. The cleric must control the environment in such a way that the innocent is held prisoner within their own home, without using lock, chain, or shackle. When the Cleric has completed the quest successfully, the victim would rather die than leave their own home, a prisoner of their own guilt and fear. Imprisoning a creature through mental control alone is an impressive feat within the church, and the Cleric is celebrated then promoted to High Priest.
After enough time has passed that the prisoner is mostly forgotten by society, the High Priest, and his fellowship come for the prisoner. They drag the poor soul from their prison home and incarcerate them in special iron cages kept within the church dungeons. The desire of the prisoner to escape just to return to their previous prison is a powerful component in some Church Rituals.
Prayers:
Prayer of Submission
I submit to one, but that one decides incarceration for all, and so she would have me. In this despair I revel, and seek to turn it against others.
Hymn of True Justice
The law is what we make it
As is the cage
Whether within or without
Scay shall set our stage
Temples:
The Temples and churches of Scay are mostly built from stone and iron, representing the supposedly solid foundation on which her edicts are built. Her places of worship are most commonly found in well-populated cities thick with commerce and with heavy political climates, as this is where her worshipers can best ply their trade. There are temples throughout Nexxen, with heavy influences in East and West Oblian, Lystomia, and some in Tyranok. Dar’nathik, Tor’nathik, Gal’nathik, and Solmeria are less hospitable towards those who weigh the law too heavily, and also less tolerant towards imprisonment and slavery than other countries.
Block of Justice
A prominent outpost of Scay’s following can be found in East Oblian, known as the Block of Justice. It serves a dual purpose as a place of worship and also a loose affiliate of law enforcement throughout the region. Specifically, it hosts the largest payout and detainment center in the world for criminals who have had bounties placed on their heads. The area is governed by neutral law, and so whether a “criminal” is innocent or guilty is of little concern to the triumvirate that runs the facility. They are, however, very concerned with maintaining a reputation for fairness, and so listen to and adjudicate any disputes. Since bounties brought in are rarely conscious, and often not alive at all, contesting one’s guilt is a rare event indeed.
Another feature of the Block of Justice is its world famous detention center, housing rows of jail cells built to accommodate all manner of creatures. Some are even designed to hold powerful extraplanar entities such as greater demons and celestials. These units are held on the lowest levels, nearly a mile below the surface, kept under exceptionally crafted lock and key, inspected by the Triumvirate themselves.
Rites: Rites and Rituals performed by the followers of Scay are completed with a small length of iron chain that serves as a focus. The ritual diagrams are often drawn in a box or diamond pattern with lines of metal shavings used for any symbols created within the main area. In the event that they are cast to acquire information or gain some form of control over another humanoid, an additional juxtaposed image similar to the first main pattern is laid over the original to amplify its power. This causes a greater divine power to be manifested within the caster’s will as they conduct the ritual, a call that their target is unlikely to be able to resist completely.
Scay’s rituals focus on divination and entrapment, and to a lesser extent emotional manipulation and the creation or alteration of various metals. While these castings can be used for the simple benefit of aiding an individual, their primary purpose is intended for either locating and capturing an elusive foe, or preparing equipment that would aid in this purpose.
While mostly clerics perform these rituals, Rangers, Eldritch casters, and even Rogues who dabble in ritual casting utilize these kinds of magics, as they find the types of rituals created by Scay to be particularly effective at acquiring their targets. Many of these kinds of adventurers function as bounty hunters or local law enforcement, often with less than scrupulous methods.Burial Rites: Those who served Scay are buried with high honors. This includes priests, acolytes, soldiers, guards, lawyers, politicians, lawful mercenaries, and others who openly worshiped the Goddess of Irons. Their remains are most often buried in a heavy oak casket, reinforced with high quality iron bands, along with any personal effects that could incriminate them or expose less than ethical methods of punishment. The more well accomplished the individual, the higher quality the casket, and usually a better turnout for the funeral.
If the worshiper was particularly poor or uneducated, they are laid to rest in a crypt set aside for those with fewer resources and similarly buried with any past deeds that they would prefer be left unknown. Despite her reputation as a cruel and manipulative goddess, Scay demands proper respects be given to her followers for the services they performed in life, no matter how small.
Tithe: Tithes to Scay can be made in the form of common monetary forms such as gold and silver, but donations of strong metals like steel, iron, mithral, and adamantine are also accepted. The latter two are rare, and such a donation usually comes with a request, such as access to a prisoner or the overlooking of a misdeed that was exposed. While ordinarily being caught in the act of breaking a law is considered a high offense in Scay’s church, the act of buying one’s way out is not looked down upon in the slightest. Tithe’s to Scay have a reputation among different churches as simple bribery, which is a common misunderstanding,
Leadership of the Church are expected to tithe roughly 15% of their annual income to Scay, while simple followers are required to tithe 5-7%, depending on the region. The reason for this is quite simple: The more dedicated to Scay one becomes, the more likely it is they will need to bend the rules to suit their own needs. Prisoner’s detained within a temple of Scay are also allowed to tithe, even if they do not worship her. If they can offer a resource that was not taken off of them when they were captured, and that resource was successfully obtained, they can potentially buy their own freedom from persecution. This often requires a manipulation of local law enforcement outside of the church, however, and depending on the influence of Scay within the region, the price can be quite steep.
Benefits: The powers granted the Scay faithful provide mastery over chaos, mastery over the mind and body, and mastery over the metal used as a tool against the other three. A powerful cleric can manipulate metal to strengthen, sharpen, loosen, or otherwise improve or hinder equipment. They can perform similar feats with a being’s mind, attacking it either emotionally or tearing it apart psychically. Being Clerics of Judgement, they become exceptionally adept at punishing those who they deem guilty, either by condemning them heavily or rooting through lies to expose them.
Members of the Church of Scay find themselves backed by an organization that has both power over earth and the celestial plane, arguably a very good friend to have. In the event that a known follower is incarcerated by an outside organization, the church of Scay will come to their aid for a nominal fee to see that they are released. Despite their somewhat skewed perspective, the priests of Scay are well trained in rooting out lies and discrediting evidence just as well as they are with manufacturing them. If a follower needs someone punished for a crime, the church is similarly obligated to assist in the matter. The more criminals Scay captures, the greater her legacy grows. More often than not she gains followers to her cause out of pure coercion once they are within the grasp of her minions.
Herald and Allies:
Scay has a great many allies, whether she is known to them or not. Almost every major city on Nexxen owes allegiance to the Goddess of Irons, simply because within every court lies at least one worshiper in a position of some power.
Galvos [Herald]
Galvos, the Iron Judge, serves as Scay’s Herald and advisor. He possesses the body of an Iron Golem, although his left hand has been shaped into a great hammer. The golem itself has been reinforced with a divinely enchanted outer layer of iron armor harder than adamantine. Within this immortal body are the souls of two great adjudicators who fell in service to Scay centuries ago. Both were exceptional priests in their own right, but their true power lied in their understanding of human nature, particularly how to bring a humanoid to the depths of despair for the first, and how to route out lies for the other. Upon their deaths, they were each offered the opportunity to serve eternally, for a cause greater than themselves. Seeing an opportunity for greatness serving under the one they dedicated their lives too, they accepted.
With the impossibly resilient and immortal body of a Huge Iron Golem at their command, the corrupted judges known as Galvos have much of the standard compliment of attacks and defenses available to an Iron Golem, although greatly increased in both physical and magical strength. Their greater weapon, however, is the ability to eat away at both the morale of their enemies while in combat. They project an aura of supreme dominance while within 100 feet of mortal creatures. When a mortal creatures will has been effectively crushed, they begin to petrify as iron statues, submitting utterly to the will of Scay.
Galvos appears primarily to wreak Scay’s sense of justice upon individuals or communities that have become too obstinate against her attempts to gain control of their lands. This occurs very rarely, however, as this clear disruption drops all pretenses as to Scay’s nature, and requires Galvos to “judge” those who will not cooperate or try to flee with excessive force. Galvos has also been sent to extract a particularly difficult being who has avoided capture by more mundane powers. Galvos can open up its chest, which also doubles as a cage capable of holding a medium sized creature within it, giving credence to the title given to it by mortals: “The Warden.”Talvus Rotmouth [Ally]
Talvus Rotmouth is an exceptionally skilled Bounty Hunter who has worked for the court of Dymanos, a moderate sized city found in East Oblian, for a quarter of a century, and holds a particularly large amount of clout within the court itself. This Half-Orc Ranger has spent the majority of his career capturing individuals with bounties on their heads, and occasionally a few innocents who stepped into the wrong room at the wrong time. What the court does with them afterwards is of little concern to Talvus, and because of this Scay would consider him something of a mortal champion. This has been evidenced by two separate occasions where Talvus was almost defeated by more upstanding heroes that had caught on to his methods. On both occasions, Scay intervened, granting the Ranger the power to smite his foe with lethal psychic energies.
Relationships with other Gods: Scay is perceived as both a manipulative and cunning adversary amongst all the gods. She is notorious for maneuvering here enemies into a place of psychological insecurity, before ensnaring them in a powerful trap of her own devising. She has even achieved this feat on her least favorite of the gods: Rhode. Not for any particular slight, but more as a principle of her existence. Rhode is a free spirited deity who believes in escape, release, and exploration, values that Scay finds would compete with her own gathering of loyalists. While Rhode has no desire to battle Scay, and has never even retaliated other than to perhaps expose her actions in the past to the other gods, their conflicts have nevertheless drawn notice. Even the mortals of Nexxen have become aware of Scay’s obsession over entrapping the God of Wanderlust, and it serves as a stain on her record that there is one she cannot contain.
Factions:
There is little differentiation in factions of Scay, as the goddess is well known for her very specific insistence on how she is to be worshiped, and her laws carried out. In fact, splinter groups attempting to re-interpret the judgement of Scay are often eliminated rather quickly before they can spread their “heresy” amongst other people.
At one time, such an institution existed known as The Sovereign Hand, a church of Scay that had separated from the main denomination because they believed the tenets they adhered to were not strict enough. They focused obsessively on the wrongful incarceration of enemies of the church, caring not for their political status or fame. This drew far too much unwanted attention in Scay’s direction, and even exposed one of her most powerful high-priestesses to a point where the church was forced to remove her. A decree was handed down to her minions to “wipe out” the church with extreme prejudice, so that no trace of the unruly betrayers remained.
The real truth, however, is that this incident was due to Scay’s design, and The Sovereign Hand remains today in West Oblian, an underground organization dedicated to the removal of threats to Scay’s cause that have committed no actual crime.Relics:
The Banded Star
A heavy mace surrounded with iron bands along the length of the hilt, it exudes an overbearing willpower. Should a mortal grasp it, they will find themselves combating the will of Scay herself, albeit reduced by the limits of the item. Still, it is a powerful weapon and anyone struck by it will find themselves entrapped by one of the iron bands. The object launches itself into the frame of the target and magically expands to wrap around their body. Not only does this immobilize them, but the magical band also overwhelms them with feelings of hopelessness and abandonment, making it easier to force submission upon an unruly target.
Pendant of Punishment
This medallion is made of adamantine and studded with obsidian gemstones. It allows the wearer to immediately recognize the lies spoken to them by other creatures. If the wearer concentrates on the speaker, they can even learn the unspoken truth, and understand exactly what they attempted to cover up.
Once this knowledge is learned, the wearer is capable of casting curses on that target as if they knew the Truename of the victim, and the victim was present for the casting of the curse, even if these conditions are not meant.
The Pendant of Punishment has been seen many times throughout history in the hands of corrupt officials, kings, and jailers, however its strange powers are frowned upon by most civilized societies, and those caught using it are often dealt with quickly unless they are found to be followers of Scay.