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Cult of Solkan

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"Free me from the desires of my body, guide me in the path of Law, instruct me in the ways of seemliness, help me smite the enemies of order."

—Blessing of Solkan[7]

The Cult of Solkan is the religious organisation dedicated to the worship of Solkan, the unyielding god of retribution and righteous vengeance, one of the Gods of Law.[6a][12a]

Solkan is the most prominent of the Gods of Law, obscure deities almost forgotten in the Old World, and most Old Worlders avoid the faith of this harsh god. Solkan embodies the need to avenge wrongs and eradicate corruption. He is portrayed as a tall man in Classical robes, wearing a gold mask sculpted with an immaculate beard and an expression of resolute fury. Around his head is a blazing nimbus, representing his role as a sun god.[6a][12a]

Associated with justice and vengeance, Solkan seeks to punish all those who serve Chaos. In many ways, Solkan's followers mirror the practices of the witch hunters of Sigmar, but hunt their targets with even more fervour, caring little about the fate of any possible innocents who cross their paths during the hunt.[6a]

Solkan is mainly worshipped by those who seek to defy Chaos by any means necessary and those who seek aid in achieving vengeance against their personal enemies.[6a] Some cultists embrace Solkan's diktat of racial purity, especially in Marienburg, where people of another race or even from another city are viewed with suspicion and hatred.[11a]

Solkan and his followers see the world in black and white -- he hates chaos, change, and ambiguity. Only through eradicating corruption and restoring order can he rule over an unending realm of stability.[12a]

History[]

Origins[]

In the distant, mythic past, the Gods of Law fought a war against the Gods of Chaos. Solkan was the most martial of the pantheon, so he met with Khorne and his servants in battle. While the Avenger's blazing sword won many victories, his fellow Gods of Law were captured or forced to retreat. The Gods of Law lost the war and disappeared into obscurity. Only Solkan clings to power, much diminished, albeit with a renewed fury against the Ruinous Powers.[12a]

Ruined temples suggest the oldest Human cult originated in Tilea around ancient Remas. Solkan had a place in the myths of the southern Old World, the unsmiling judge in the pantheon of Classical Gods. Roostmaster Gregor of the Verenan monastery of Eyrie claims Solkan's cult is older -- that he is a primaeval sun deity originating from ancient Nehekhara, or even a pre-Human entity from the ranks of the mysterious Old Ones.[12a]

Elsewhere in the Empire and Bretonnia are primitive cave paintings of a solar figure with a flaming sword. The sun god Söll is a northern incarnation of Solkan, the ancient patron of the Menogoth tribe. Worship declined with the ascendance of the cults of Sigmar and the Lady of the Lake -- today, northern Solkanites in the Empire are influenced by the modern Tilean cult rather than their own ancestral heritage.[12a]

Saviour of Remas[]

According to the Cult of Solkan, the Khornate Daemon called the Mardagg assaulted the Tilean city-state of Remas after the retreat of the Elves from their colonies in the Old World. The Daemon was only stopped when Solkan sent a Viydagg to battle him. They fought, so the cult says, for a year and a day before the good spirit conquered the Daemon and imprisoned his soul in a bottle. However, some Elves think that such spirits are associated with another of the Gods of Law, Arianka.[3a]

In Remas the Inquisitors of Law and Light still celebrate this story by staging puppet shows in the neighborhoods of the city.[3a]

In hopes of stopping the permanent risk of uprisings and civil wars the Council of Fifty that ruled Remas was the first to welcome the construction of the great temple of Solkan in that city. While the citizens didn't allow the council to keep a standing army, no one opposed the powerful temple guard of the Solkanites, who kept any civil unrest effectively at bay. The new religion, whose followers tended to see sinners and heretics everywhere, led to a climate of fear in the streets of Remas and even to the violent discrimination of the once popular Cult of Morr. Only the powerful merchant families, who resided on the high bridge -- and the cosmopolitan quarter of the city's port -- were out of the reach of the religious zeal of the Solkanites. But the Cult of Solkan lost much of the favour of Remas' citizens when their inquisitors proved unable to stop the Mardagg on his second rampage through the city in the early 26th century IC.[3a]

Symbol[]

Solkan

A statue of Solkan, god of vengeance[12a]

The symbol of Solkan is a clenched fist[2a] or a sword-and-book. This sigil is very similar to the one used by the Cult of Verena, although Verena's cult invariably has the book laying open and the sword thrust down through its pages.[9a]

Beliefs[]

Followers of Solkan insist the world was once perfect, as the Gods of Law ruled all. But the Ruinous Powers tore a hole at the top of the Known World and disorder permeated the mortal realm. Worshippers believe Solkan demands they enact retribution against everything tainted. He is the purifying fire, the light of the brightest sun. One day Solkan will leave his celestial palace to burn away Old Night and restore order -- until then, no man or woman can escape his scrutiny.[12a]

Righteous anger is the only pure emotion for Solkanites. Other strong feelings simply feed the strength of the Ruinous Powers and must be controlled. Compassion and moderation are signs of weak resolve which give Chaos a foothold in the world. Solkanites have special enmity for those who use magic or prophecy -- powers which draw on the energies that constitute Chaos. The cult is disdainful of other Old World gods -- although they have learned to keep these views discreet. They believe the "soft" gods accommodate Human failings and allow the pervasive advance of Chaos.[12a]

Such uncompromising Solkanites frequently see deviation and lack of purity in one another -- especially when pragmatism overrides dogma. The cult has many splinter orders, ranging from secretive mystery cults in the Empire to powerful organisations in Tilea.[12a]

Penances[]

Penances from Solkan are tests of resolve and purity. Typical tasks involve avenging a great wrong or utterly destroying the tainted, especially when they require the penitent to burn something they hold dear. Solkan is never satisfied -- penance is common amongst his cult.[12a]

Inquisitors[]

"You think the Order of Sigmar are fanatics? Wait until you meet a Solkanite — they can glean corruption from any innocent word or action"

—Antal Buchen, Talabecland Road Warden[12a]

Inquisitors who serve Solkan, such as the Inquisitors of Law and Light, are renowned for their violent methods. Torture is a common practice for them.[11a]

In a Solkanite study, iron manacles often hang from steel staples fixed to the walls. Massive fire pits and large bellows loom beside them to ensure that the flames that will be brought to bear within the room's fireplace will be as hot as the breath of a Daemon. Gibbets and small iron cages that can seem at first glance too small to hold a Human body, no matter how contorted, hang from the beams overhead.[11a]

Pincers, tongs, and bone saws abound among the tools of torture wielded by the Solkanite inquisitors. Among their most infamous tools of agony were the "iron sisters," gigantic iron sarcophaguses with the surface morbidly cast into the image of a praying abbess; sometimes the mere sight of such an instrument of slow and agonising death was enough to break the will of a heretic.[11a]

The inquisitors also used the "Tilean boot," a ghastly device that made a slow and exacting art of breaking every bone in the foot of its victim.[11a]

Priests of Solkan[]

"You live to enact the divine will of Solkan, restoring pure order to a world hopelessly corrupted."

—Dictates of Solkan[12a]
Priest of Solkan

A priest of Solkan preaches the virtues of his god to the soldiers of Altdorf.[12a]

Priests of Solkan are austere, humourless individuals. During rituals, they wear white and gold robes in the style of ancient Tilea. Many don a golden mask in imitation of their god, with a stylised countenance of implacable fury.[12a]

Certain priests revere the whole pantheon of Law, fighting a losing battle to reassert their influence in the Old World. Nevertheless, it is the Divine Avenger that dominates their thoughts and actions.[12a]

Priests of Solkan can be recognized by their Staffs of Law or Sundial, and by their golden masks, acolytes use a cheaper wooden one.[12a]

Notable Priests of Solkan[]

Relations With Other Cults[]

Gods of Law[]

The Gods of Law are a spent force. Theologians and mystics may invoke their names or hunt for lore in ancient tomes, but these deities are too otherworldly and absolute for the present world. The full pantheon remains unfathomable -- each god represents an aspect of purity, largely incompatible with Human psychology. Perhaps only a cold-blooded, reptilian intelligence could ever truly comprehend their complexity. Solkan is the only god whose role adapted to Human perspectives -- the restoration of order and purity translates readily into the need for revenge.[12a]

Myrmidia[]

Solkan is a deity whose domain is concerned with vengeance. Oddly, perhaps, his cult shares certain similarities with that of Myrmidia, being represented by sun symbols and having its spiritual centre located at the city-state of Remas.[10a]

Theologians has expressed suspicion that the Cults of Solkan and Myrmidia share common roots. Perhaps there was a primal form of the two deities who represented vengeance as practised through warfare, with Myrmidia coming to represent the moderate and considered aspect, and Solkan the harsher, unforgiving aspect.[10a]

Solkanites deny this. Instead, they prefer to credit Solkan for inspiring Myrmidia in her development from a pacifistic goddess of civilisation into the rather more martial character she displays in the present day as the goddess of strategy and war.[10a]

Worship Today[]

Tilea[]

"Those that ally themselves with the Dark are forever tainted. Be they great or small, long in the service of the Dark or newly converted to blasphemy and wickedness, they are likewise unclean. Only the fire can redeem them, only flame can purge their evil from the land."

—Inquisitor Gualtiero Bocca[3a]

Solkan is a relatively mainstream god in Tilea -- a strict but benign force of stability and rectitude. Most Tileans invoke his name when they have been wronged, feel entitled to revenge, or when a situation has become overly complex. He is a patron of the vendetta, a particularly Tilean feuding tradition with particularly stringent rules.[12a]

Tilea's Solkanite inquisitors, including Remas' Inquisitors of Law and Light, investigate and torture those suspected of spiritual corruption. Their seat of power is Solkan's most significant temple in the Old World, in Remas. This imposing structure of unblemished white limestone towers above the city, its 200-foot spire topped with a golden sword that turns upon a pivot to point towards the sun. From this temple the Dominus Ultor directs his inquisitors and priests to never rest in a quest to seek out the unclean for retribution.[12a]

This impressive, gargantuan structure located in the outer city is still overlooking the sea. With a spire reaching nearly 200 feet into the sky, the Solkanite temple had taken nearly three hundred years to complete. It is a massive, megalithic edifice, with gigantic, immaculately white columns of imported limestone from Araby, towering before the plastered walls that enclose the sanctuary of the stern god of vengeance and order. Even at a great distance, the gigantic golden sword that topped the temple spire can be seen, shining in the sun, as if it could rise and drag the star towards the earth in case the celestial body offended the ruthless deity.[3a]

The cult makes great efforts to repel corruption wherever it is found, such as in its persecution of the prophet Battista Gaspar Necrodomo, an heretic arrested and tortured by the Inquisitors of Law and Light of the temple in 1586 IC, for spreading falsehoods about the End Times.[4a]

Some Tilean city-states, such as Pavona, do not have a temple dedicated to Solkan. Their only contact with the cult is provided by the order's wandering witch hunters.[3a]

The Empire[]

"They’re unhinged and totally sincere. I suspect we could discern some ancient wisdom if we managed to see past their deranged rants and attempts to burn the whole College."

—Hierophant Lotta Hohensehf[12a]

In the Empire, Solkan worship is the preserve of eccentrics and extremists. Solkan's rigid, inflexible morality appeals to those drawn to absolutes, who burn to impose order on the unpredictability of real life. Although the cult is not proscribed, it is unpopular, especially amongst the Cults of Verena, Ranald, Sigmar, and Shallya. There are few shrines to Solkan and most are found in private residences -- usually a whitewashed room with an altar bearing a golden sword and a window facing the rising sun.[12a]

A small number of witch hunters revere Solkan as the only patron unbending enough to quell the forces of Chaos and change. Covert Solkanites have infiltrated the Order of Sigmar and seek to eliminate the perceived failings of the Empire's patron god.[12a]

At present, the god Söll, an ancient deity of vengeance revered by the Menogoth tribe, is sometimes believed to be an aspect of Solkan. Worshippers of Söll are prominent in the southern lands of the Empire in old Solland and vocal in their demands of a reinstitution of the former province.[5a]

Söll still has followers in Wissenland, in the former province of Solland. It is no coincidence that the Solland Runefang was named Grudge Settler and the provincial symbol is a golden sun. Worshippers in Solland believe their god will avenge and restore their sovereignty, by wiping out the Orc successors of Gorbad Ironclaw. There is a part-ruined temple to Söll just outside Steingart, with faded wall frescoes of Söll vanquishing a horde of Bloodletters.[12a]

It is not illegal to worship Solkan in the Empire, though few follow his obscure creed. He is a strict god, with an unyielding intolerance of nuance, disorder, or change. Most folk find his harsh strictures at odds with how they live their lives.

During the time of the Black Death in the 12th century IC, one Solkanite witch-taker called Auernheimer rose to local prominence in Altdorf. Preaching to the frightened population, he believed that the disease was a punishment for the growing lack of religious fervor among the population.[2a] He even tried to arrest the Lord-Protector of the Empire, Adolf Kreyssig, for cavorting with witches (with the cooperation of Duke Vidor of the Empire), but the Lord-Protector was saved by the Skaven.[2b]

In Altdorf, the Cult of the Vengeful Blaze seeks to bring Solkan into more prominence and to enforce his merciless vision on the Empire.[6b] The cult secretly uses the Solland Memorial as a shrine of Solkan. At daybreak on certain days, a group of cloaked and masked figures converge on the site and assume ranks on the flagstones. The high priest of Solkan appears, dressed in long white robes and wearing a bearded golden mask that echoes the sun carving behind him on the tablet. The identity of the priest is unknown to even his followers, but he has a cultured Altdorf accent. During these ceremonies, the Solkanites pledge their absolute allegiance to their god of vengeance. When they disperse across the park, the memorial once again becomes an innocuous stone monument.[6c]

Certain Solkanites hate the fact that they must creep around and hide their worship of the god of vengeance while dubious cults and heretics parade around in the open. They want to hold open rites. Unsure how to make Solkan look good to the average, weak-willed citizen of the Empire, his followers have instead decided that ruining the reputation of some other permitted cults is a much better idea.[6c]

Marienburg[]

There aren't many worshippers of stern Solkan in Marienburg -- most Marienburgers are by nature too tolerant, too open-minded to worship one of the unforgiving Lords of Law. While it has never been officially banned, the cult is regarded as a haven for reactionaries at best, and dangerous extremists at worst.[1a]

Though few in number, devotees of Solkan have infiltrated the courts and the law enforcement agencies, especially the excise service. They dedicate themselves to an unbending enforcement of the letter of the law against the criminal classes -- meaning all who are not as devoted to the Law protected by Solkan as they are. Believing themselves to be in the midst of their enemies, they often conceal their cult affiliations, though it is widely believed that at least two judges of the High Court are Solkanites.[1a]

The cult's one public presence in Marienburg is in the Goudberg offices of its charitable organisation, the Brotherhood of Purity. This foundation, which officially exists to aid widows and orphans, is in reality a front for a violent and secret vigilante group, the Knights of Purity.[1a]

Zaragoz[]

Solkanite worship had been outlawed in Zaragoz, an Estalian realm, by the diAvila family, who all but openly practised Daemonology. Gravin Luciana von Eckstein acquired a Solkanite holy book, which she studied assiduously. She became increasingly sensitive to moral turpitude in paintings, sculptures and stage plays. Luciana's patronage of puritanical art introduced her to Mornan Tybalt, who eventually formed the Cult of the Vengeful Blaze.[8a]

Lustria[]

A small cult dedicated to an Avatar of Solkan emerged during an expedition in the jungles of Lustria, following repeated sightings of a golden Coatl near a Human camp. The creature's majestic and mysterious behaviour -- observing the explorers from a distance and returning over a span of weeks -- provoked awe and speculation among the expedition members.[14a]

Over time, a small group of individuals began to regard the Coatl as a supernatural being. This group formed a rudimentary cult centred on reverence for the creature. Their beliefs were catalyzed by the proclamations of Abramo Tabani, a Reman merchant, who declared that the Coatl was an Avatar of Solkan.[14a]

Under Tabani's influence, the cult adopted a harsh, puritanical worldview, demanding that those within the expedition suspected of corruption or taint be sacrificed to the Coatl.[14a]

Notable Orders of the Cult of Solkan[]

  • Order of the Shattered Amulet — A peculiar fellowship of itinerant Solkanite priests who seek the four fragments of Solkan's amulet, shattered by Fernadrang,[12a][13a] a Daemon of Khorne. This circular amulet was decorated with an unknown inscription and four serpents, consuming one another in a circle. Recent discoveries suggest the shards have been uncovered by Skaven.[12a]
  • Knights of Purity — The Brotherhood of Purity is a charitable organisation located in Marienburg, which is a front for the Knights of Purity, xenophobic fanatics dedicated to eradicating the smallest hint of Chaos wherever they see it. The Sword of Solkan is their agent, a mysterious vigilante who hunts and executes mutants in the port city.[12a]

Divine Lore of Solkan[]

Solkan will not allow a priest with any sins or corruptions to work a blessing or miracle in his name.[12a]

Notable Miracles[]

  • Absolute Purity - With a cry to Solkan, the priest inflicts the Avenger's wrath on the impure. A wave of cleansing flame washes the impurity, inflicting agony on all that Solkan abhors: Undead, Daemons, or wizards.[12a]
  • Fist of Vengeance - The priest calls on Solkan to smite those who defy his will. An almighty concussive blast hits the priest's target, inflicting damages ignoring any armour.[12a]
  • Flaming Blade - Solkan grants the priest's weapon the power of his pitiless fury. If the priest is wielding a sword, it is wreathed in white hot flames.[12a]
  • Fury of the Righteous Sun - The priest implores their god for total illumination. A blinding light pours from the sun, making it impossible for the foe to see.[12a]
  • Light of Stasis - The priest utters a terse prayer to the Gods of Law, requesting respite from change. The scene around the priest is bathed in pale light and all within is trapped in temporary stasis -- frozen and unchanging for the duration of the miracle.[12a]
  • Still the Winds - The priest beseeches the Gods of Law to calm the Winds of Magic. For the duration of the miracle, all magic is dispelled, magic items temporarily lose their magical qualities, and channelling and casting spells is impossible. Witchsight reveals the Winds of Magic are inert within the area of effect.[12a]

Sources[]

  • 1: Warhammer Fantasy Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Marienburg - Sold Down the River (RPG)
    • 1a: pg. 47
    • 1b: pg. 107
  • 2: The Black Plague: Blighted Empire (Novel) by C.L. Werner
    • 2a: Ch. 5
    • 2b: Ch. 10
  • 3: Brunner the Bounty Hunter (Novel) by C.L. Werner
    • 3a: Where Walks the Mardagg
  • 4: Archaon: Everchosen (Novel) by Rob Sanders
    • 4a: Prologue
  • 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. I (RPG)
    • 5a: pg. 17
  • 6: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Altdorf - Crown of the Empire (RPG)
    • 6a: pg. 24
    • 6b: pg. 217
    • 6c: pg. 79
    • 6d: pg. 65
  • 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
  • 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Altdorf - Crown of the Empire (RPG)
  • 9: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Doomstones 3 - Death Rock (RPG)
    • 9a: pg. 32
  • 10: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
  • 11: Witch Hunter: The Mathias Thulmann Trilogy (Warhammer Chronicles)
  • 12: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of The Empire Vol. III (RPG)
    • 12a: pp. 52-55: The Cult of Solkan
  • 13: Advanced Heroquest: Rules for Heroic Roleplay (RPG)
  • 14: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Lustria (RPG)
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