"The more I learned of the gods of the Lizard people, the more incredulous I became. Their pantheon was at that point nigh indecipherable to me and appeared to include one whose place is to exist outside said order, and to be worshipped by no 'true Children of the Old Gods'. Yet it is written that this outsider shall be tended to until the end of time by her 'Faithful Half-kin'. Was this being one of the Old Gods? or a mortal chosen to bear their sted? The answer came after many long months of patient research, and even then, I would question everything I had come to believe..."
- —Prelude to Chapter 3: "in the Garden of the Gods" by noted mage of the Jade College, Cyrston von Danling.[3b]
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Rigg, the exiled Old One.
The Goddess Rigg Is one of the Old Ones and the leading figure in the Amazon Pantheon. In recent times, her figure is only mentioned in a small number of glyphs. Highly unusual, this being is referred to in the feminine context, and in one glyph sequence referred to as the Mother of Kalith, a term with no known meaning to the Lizardmen but with significance to the Amazons.[1a]
History[]
The Amazons worship their own gods and Rigg is the patron goddess of warfare, blood, Koka and Violent Death. Her manifestation is said to stand at a menacing 9 feet tall and have blazing red hair and eyes.
Rigg is an Old One and it is implied she was the only woman amongst their ranks. Yet Rigg was an outsider; an outcast among her peers. According to Amazon mythology: During the High Age of Southern Lustria when the Old Ones still roamed the world, The Goddess Rigg along with an Elven God Amex, sired a child known as "Kalim, Mother of all Amazons" and together, Kalim and Rigg founded their own society, with their Amazon daughters as their eternal handmaidens.[2a][3a]
Reign of the Old Ones[]
Despite her Exile, Rigg and her daughters were accepted by the other Old Ones and their Lizardmen servants and the two groups were able to co-exist and live almost entirely peacefully, side by side. There was even a measure of trade and cooperation between the two races and Rigg's Amazons were particularly valued as Acolytes, Viziers and Thralls by all the Old Ones and the first generation Slann.
Through this Aeon of creation, Amazons were the right hand of the Gods; They possessed tremendous wisdom, each was clean of limb and never grew old and for as long as they stood at the side of their Creators, they were nigh immortal.
Together, the two civilizations worked in service to the Great Plan; although the extent of Rigg's part in the creation of the other races and the shifting of the continents is unclear.[2a][3a]
The Great Catastrophe[]
When the Polar Gates collapsed, a flood of Chaos Swept the world and devoured all in its wake. The Old Ones fell... and with them fell the Amazons. While the Old Gods fled or perished, their servants fought a desperate war against a veritable tidal wave of daemons. The Amazons, severed from their creators, found their powers greatly diminished and retreated to the depths of the jungle. Here they established secret havens they would defend against all others for the rest of time.[2a][3a]
The true fate of Rigg during this time is unknown, but whatever the case, she has ascended to another plane of existence and can be summoned back to the Mortal realm at places of great sanctity by Sisterhood Mages to aid them in times of need. The goddess will obey a single request of the summoner and after fulfilling their wishes she vanishes back to her own realm.[2a]
Rigg's Shrine[]
The Great Shrine of Rigg stands on the shores of Lake Lokka, deep in the forests of Amazonia and is one of the two main cult centres of the Amazon religion (the other being the Temple of Kara). It is said to commemorate the mythic union between Rigg, Amazon Goddess of War and Amex the Sea Elf God of Wealth and Happiness. Here, they brought into the world "Kalith, Mother of all Amazons". This creation myth lies at the very centre of Amazon religious dogma.[2a]
Worshippers of Rigg amongst the Amazon tribes make regular pilgrimages to the Shrine. The administration of the centre is in the hands of the Amazon Sisterhood. Its buildings house a Sisterhood diocesan centre, along with its offices, a library, and a meeting hall.[2a][3a]
Like all Amazon holy places, the Shrine and its precincts are forbidden to non-Amazons, except those with special dispensation from the High Priestess. Even then, this privilege is bestowed only on women, and they would find themselves under constant guard.[2a]