Post by Thade on Jul 9, 2008 22:00:30 GMT
Her beauty striking and alluring, her words enchanting, her might unforgiving, her powers unending, her name unknown to outsider, but those who follow this Goddess, the Goddess, know her simply as Hecate, the one and only true deity.
Exalted by her followers, the Goddess Hecate is known for many things, she is known as a gatekeeper to them, guarding the passageway between life and death, deciding which souls get to pass through and which get stuck between the void of life and death. Tales of Elders from the clan using this very benefit given from the Goddess to wake up and even escape from certain death had long been told through the clan in gatherings. She is known as a gatekeeper for many other reason as well, it would not be uncommon to see a follower of hers, kneeling down at a doorway, praying before passing it. This was actually quite common in their ranks, Hecate was known as the guardian of such ways as well, brining favor to those who show her faith and most usually great harm to those that do not bid in her favor. As all followers know, Hecate is a kind Goddess, as long as you are faithful to her cause.
The beautiful Goddess is also known to be the Goddess of the wilderness, her followers almost always stop outside deeply grown areas and foggy swamps to pray before passing through them or staying inside them. They are known for using these areas for their gruesome rituals and secret meetings, Hecate's followers feeling much safer within the Goddesses areas, with her protecting eyes watching over them and praying on the powers given to her from their rituals. Tales of mysterious strangers disappearing into the woods deep into the night only to never return are common to be heard through the taverns of Stygia by travelers and Stygians. Also common to the followers of Hecate is to place a piece of wild animal meat whenever crossing a crossroad, Hecate also being the Goddess of Crossroads the followers showing themselves at good faith of Hecate by doing so and also insuring themselves a safe passage through the land by doing so, as it would seem the Daughters of Hecate are very superficial people, with a good reason though, their Goddess is not a forgiving one.
The powerful Deity Hecate is also the Goddess of something else, it being the only reason for the Witches to worship her as their god. Hecate is also the Goddess of sorcery, her powers being unlimited and wicked, more wicked then any other god known through Hyboria and any Witch over the rank of adept in the clan have bared witness to this, the immense power they can draw from the Goddess herself being more powerful then anything they have ever experienced, this being the reason that many young witches often dream of bumping into her followers, just to get a chance of becoming one of them. The elders of the clan are among the most powerful witches in all of Hyboria, their sorcery going over anything any common Witch can ever wish to comprehend and it has even been told that their powers are intertwined with the wicked powers of their Goddess herself.
Getting such a intimate bond with the deity always came with a price, not only the elder witches but all the witches following Hecate actively performing rituals in favor of the Goddess, these rituals were mostly preform in temples dedicated to the Goddess but could also be preformed anywhere, a sacrifice somewhere familiar to the Goddess is just as good as any, the Witches commonly using doorways and trees in forgotten Forrest's to hang their victims from to preform their weekly sacrifices. Hecate is not known by the witches to be a picky goddess either, she will except any Hyborian victim for her rituals, even one of her own which is quite common within their ranks, the followers not only sacrificing traitors and spy's that have managed to get into their ranks but powerful witches even sacrificing themselves by preform great rituals ending in their souls literally getting ripped out from their body, only to be returned moments or days later as a sign of satisfaction from their goddess, or if the goddess is displeased just another dead body at their ritual grounds.
Many of those who preform such a ritual on themselves come back to life at some point, but few are ever the same, some wake up confused and crazy, some without their powers, some wake up just as they were and some even wake up with great illnesses, waking up with a great illness being a sign of great despise from the Goddess to wards the person and followers like these are often left where they wake up, other followers not wanting to catch any form of disease or go near a someone the Goddess Hecate despises so much. Of all the witches returning there are a selected few of them that wake up with there powers having grown immensely, their magic now intervened with the wicked Goddess herself, this was not the only way to achieve such a thing but the most exalted of the many. Witches returning with their powers graced by the Goddess herself are often held high in the clan, with any faithful follower jealous at the sight of someone that is allowed such a intimate connection with the great goddess, witches admiring the immense and beautiful power these returnees have to offer.
Of the hundreds of witches that return from the verge between life and death none of them ever speak about what they have seen and experienced while their soul out of their body and no faithful follower dares to ask, not only out of fear from such a powerful witch but also out of pure respect to the Goddess, such tales best fit for those worthy enough to have visited the Goddess and return, with secrets of the afterlife coming only in the case of death to those followers without magical powers or just not brave enough to try such a dangerous ritual.
Exalted by her followers, the Goddess Hecate is known for many things, she is known as a gatekeeper to them, guarding the passageway between life and death, deciding which souls get to pass through and which get stuck between the void of life and death. Tales of Elders from the clan using this very benefit given from the Goddess to wake up and even escape from certain death had long been told through the clan in gatherings. She is known as a gatekeeper for many other reason as well, it would not be uncommon to see a follower of hers, kneeling down at a doorway, praying before passing it. This was actually quite common in their ranks, Hecate was known as the guardian of such ways as well, brining favor to those who show her faith and most usually great harm to those that do not bid in her favor. As all followers know, Hecate is a kind Goddess, as long as you are faithful to her cause.
The beautiful Goddess is also known to be the Goddess of the wilderness, her followers almost always stop outside deeply grown areas and foggy swamps to pray before passing through them or staying inside them. They are known for using these areas for their gruesome rituals and secret meetings, Hecate's followers feeling much safer within the Goddesses areas, with her protecting eyes watching over them and praying on the powers given to her from their rituals. Tales of mysterious strangers disappearing into the woods deep into the night only to never return are common to be heard through the taverns of Stygia by travelers and Stygians. Also common to the followers of Hecate is to place a piece of wild animal meat whenever crossing a crossroad, Hecate also being the Goddess of Crossroads the followers showing themselves at good faith of Hecate by doing so and also insuring themselves a safe passage through the land by doing so, as it would seem the Daughters of Hecate are very superficial people, with a good reason though, their Goddess is not a forgiving one.
The powerful Deity Hecate is also the Goddess of something else, it being the only reason for the Witches to worship her as their god. Hecate is also the Goddess of sorcery, her powers being unlimited and wicked, more wicked then any other god known through Hyboria and any Witch over the rank of adept in the clan have bared witness to this, the immense power they can draw from the Goddess herself being more powerful then anything they have ever experienced, this being the reason that many young witches often dream of bumping into her followers, just to get a chance of becoming one of them. The elders of the clan are among the most powerful witches in all of Hyboria, their sorcery going over anything any common Witch can ever wish to comprehend and it has even been told that their powers are intertwined with the wicked powers of their Goddess herself.
Getting such a intimate bond with the deity always came with a price, not only the elder witches but all the witches following Hecate actively performing rituals in favor of the Goddess, these rituals were mostly preform in temples dedicated to the Goddess but could also be preformed anywhere, a sacrifice somewhere familiar to the Goddess is just as good as any, the Witches commonly using doorways and trees in forgotten Forrest's to hang their victims from to preform their weekly sacrifices. Hecate is not known by the witches to be a picky goddess either, she will except any Hyborian victim for her rituals, even one of her own which is quite common within their ranks, the followers not only sacrificing traitors and spy's that have managed to get into their ranks but powerful witches even sacrificing themselves by preform great rituals ending in their souls literally getting ripped out from their body, only to be returned moments or days later as a sign of satisfaction from their goddess, or if the goddess is displeased just another dead body at their ritual grounds.
Many of those who preform such a ritual on themselves come back to life at some point, but few are ever the same, some wake up confused and crazy, some without their powers, some wake up just as they were and some even wake up with great illnesses, waking up with a great illness being a sign of great despise from the Goddess to wards the person and followers like these are often left where they wake up, other followers not wanting to catch any form of disease or go near a someone the Goddess Hecate despises so much. Of all the witches returning there are a selected few of them that wake up with there powers having grown immensely, their magic now intervened with the wicked Goddess herself, this was not the only way to achieve such a thing but the most exalted of the many. Witches returning with their powers graced by the Goddess herself are often held high in the clan, with any faithful follower jealous at the sight of someone that is allowed such a intimate connection with the great goddess, witches admiring the immense and beautiful power these returnees have to offer.
Of the hundreds of witches that return from the verge between life and death none of them ever speak about what they have seen and experienced while their soul out of their body and no faithful follower dares to ask, not only out of fear from such a powerful witch but also out of pure respect to the Goddess, such tales best fit for those worthy enough to have visited the Goddess and return, with secrets of the afterlife coming only in the case of death to those followers without magical powers or just not brave enough to try such a dangerous ritual.
