Cult of Ruhmal
The Cult of Ruhmal, also known as the Cult of the Destroyer was a secret group based in the Ivory Kingdoms devoted to Ruhmal, a malevolent deity also known as Shiva or her avatar Kali-Ma. [1] The Great Temple of Ruhmal was their seat of power. [2]
Beliefs[]
Ruhmalist victim
Shiva did not seek the uncreation of the world, she sought its renewal, [3] so before it the world had to be destroyed, to rebirth stronger. [4] Ritual scarring was practiced, on the face, torso, and arms, where salves could easily be applied to "sculpt" their final appearance. [5]
Hierarchy[]
The initiates of the cult were members of the rank of Shumsee, those who must distract the cult's victim or held them down when the killing started. [6]
Sainika martial art[]
The ruhmalists practiced sainika, a martial art they stolen from the gurus, who were almost wiped out by the cultists. Their assassins learned this art and became killing machines. [7]
Naga Abominations[]
The ruhmalist drew Naga Abominations to the Sanctuary of the Outcasts, were they broke any link with the Akasha and communed with Shiva. [8]
History[]
Ki-Rin Clan[]
In 497, [9] during the Ki-Rin's Exodus, the Shinjo family thwarted the ruhmalist activities. [10]
Ebonites[]
The Ebonites were the mortal enemies of the Ruhmalists, and they fought within the Ivory Kingdoms. [11] In the 6th century the Ruhmalites knew of the Ebon Stone and believed it contained a servant of their goddess, and attempted to destroy it. In the 10th century, after decades of conflict, the Ebonites decided to move the hidden stone. The Ruhmalists noticed their presence at Medinaat al-Salaam ten years after they had left the Kingdoms. [12]
The Jewel[]
In the 12th century the Leader of Ruhmal Giya was commanded by Kali-Ma to travel to Medinaat al-Salaam before the Awakening. [13] They came across the desert in the guise of merchants and diplomats, hoping to find new prey to sate their goddess's vicious appetite. [14] There they followed the Blood Feud against the Ebonites. [11]
Shattering of the Jewel[]
In 1132 as the battles of the Shattering of the Jewel ended with the defeat of the Immortal Caliph and her henchmen, even the Senpet, Ruhmal worshippers, and city folk turned on the Khadi. [15]
Activities at Rokugan[]
This year the Ruhmalist leaders plotted to destroy the Seppun family. In this way they would claim nothing was within his cult's reach, taking a victory in every major country of the world. One of the cultists, Feydn Rafiq, countered the mission, using rokugani pawns through deception. [16]
Mantis-Ivory Kingdoms War[]
The Ruhmalists planned to invade Rokugan but were stopped by the Mantis Clan and the rest of the Ivory Kingdoms, who allied against House Rafiq, the main group of the Cult, at the end of the Mantis-Ivory Kingdoms War. [17]
Jackals[]
In 1151 the Ruhmalist were pursued by the Ebonites and they found refuge in the sewers of Medinaat al-Salaam. They became a faction within the Jackals, a necromantic cult that operated in and around Medinat al-Salaam in the Burning Sands. In 1156 the Ebonites concentrated their efforts in the Jewel, affecting much of the Jackal activities, and disappeared. Their alliance had become dangerous and risked their own supervivence. The Ruhmalists were quickly destroyed or expelled by the Ebonites. [18]
Ruined Kingdoms[]
In 1168 the Ruhmalist began to grow in their activities. [19] In 1169 Kali-Ma was awakened by the Black Scroll Essence of Jigoku. [20] Members of the supposed extinct Cult of Ruhmal had conducted a ritual which allowed Kali-Ma to achieve ascendance. The Destroyer hunted down and slain the other members of the Ivinda religious pantheon. [21] In 1170 Kali-Ma achieved the favor of Jigoku, becoming the Champion of Jigoku, and fueled her worshippers through a bloody ritual while she was raging war upon the heavens. The Ivory Kingdoms were put to the torch and the power of the Destroyer One was uncontested. The few remaining cities of the realms were destroyed by the God Beast of Kali-Ma. [22]
Genocide[]
The ruhmalists had sacrificed the majority of the Ivory Kingdoms inhabitants through a ritual. They narcotized the captives and chained them. With a knife three cuts were made, one in the right side, another in the throat, and the last in the heart. The spirits of the dead were drawn away and consumed by their fouled gods, strengthening them. These rituals were instrumental in the creation of the horde of Destroyers. [23]
Regicide attempt[]
In 1172 the Ruhmalites sent agents to the Imperial City Toshi Ranbo to kill the Divine Empress Iweko I. [24] The group killed a dozen of traveling sohei and took their robes, to conceal their features from the Rokugani scrutiny. One of them had sacrificed in a ritual where he was exsanguinated, and later was burned to cover it. In this way the wards of the Imperial Palace had been weakened. [25] The infiltrators murdered several members of the Court but were killed before they could execute the Empress. [26]
Yuna[]
While Kali-Ma was warring in the Emerald Empire, her vassal Yuna remained in the Ruined Kingdoms. His followers took more captives to sacrifice to him, as the head of the cult there. [23] The Cult attacked one time the Second City, but the Rokugani managed to defeat the cultists after three days of fierce fighting. [27]
Resistence[]
The Cult of Ruhmal combated the Rokugani, mostly their enforces of the Spider Clan. The last significant conflict happened in 1195, and only a limited encounter with the Mantis Clan was accounted since. [28] In 1198 one of the few remaining Ruhmalist strongholds was found by the Spider. [29] The Ruhmalist retaliated and the Spider suffered a major blow to their western lands, including the Steel Soul Dojo which was set to fire. [30]
Known Ruhmalist Leaders[]
| Kali-Ma | ? - 1173 |
| Yuna | 1173 - Present |
See also[]
References
- ↑ Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 265
- ↑ Second City - The City, p. 87
- ↑ Shiva the Destroyer (LBS - The Awakening flavor)
- ↑ Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 270
- ↑ Way of the Naga, p. 119
- ↑ Punjat (LBS - The Awakening Boxtext)
- ↑ Way of the Open Hand, p. 94
- ↑ Way of the Naga, p. 118
- ↑ Imperial Histories 2, p. 154
- ↑ Secrets of the Unicorn, p. 9
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 248
- ↑ Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 265
- ↑ Giya (LBS - The Awakening flavor)
- ↑ Starter Quotes (LBS - The Awakening)
- ↑ Enemy of My Enemy (LBS - The Awakening flavor)
- ↑ Hidden Emperor, p. 36
- ↑ Strangers, by Rich Wulf
- ↑ Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, pp. 248-249
- ↑ Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 249
- ↑ The Essence of Loyalty, by Shawn Carman and Nancy Sauer
- ↑ Second City - The City, p. 4
- ↑ Unleashed, Part 1, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 The Haunted Lands, by Rusty Priske Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "HauntedLands" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Rulebook Story, (The Dead of Winter)
- ↑ The Dead of Winter, Part 1, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ The Dead of Winter, Part 2, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ Whispered Secrets, p. 13
- ↑ Embers of War, Part 3: The Spider, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ A Brief History of the Sanctioned Spider Clan, by Seth Mason
- ↑ The Shadow’s Embrace, Part 1: The Crab, by Seth Mason
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