Ubellur

Ubellur
Titles	The Unanswered Question Key of the Night Incomplete Map of Death Master of Dark Tidings
Type	Pantheonic deity
Areas of concern	Madness, forbidden magic, dangerous secrets
Typical worshipers	Cults, secret agents
Domains	Darkness, Delirium, Knowledge, Magic, Nightmares
Divine font	Harm
Divine skill	Occultism or Society
Divine ability	Charisma or Intelligence
Favored weapon	Sai
Symbol	Butterfly with torn wings
Sacred animal	Butterfly or bat
Sacred color	Dark green

Every locked door restrains an idea, a secret that wishes to be free. Provide us with the keys, Ubellur, so that we might unleash them.

—Prayer to Ubellur found etched on the walls of a Darklands cave near Kur

Ubellur (pronounced OOH-bell-orr) is the god of madness, forbidden magic, and dangerous secrets.

Edicts and anathema

Edicts

Sow chaos, secretly push the world towards death and destruction, research dangerous and forbidden magic

Anathema

Allow order to rectify unstable situations, constrain your studies to acceptable matters

Description

The whispers in the shadows or in the back of your mind, the ones that push you towards questions best left unanswered. These are the influences of Ubellur. Ubellur's chosen are disparate, ranging from mad priests who are aware of their faith to inventors and mages who suddenly find sparks of inspiration to build terrible new creations. He toys with his followers and enemies alike, pushing them against each other to create ever more discord.

Though equally as interested as Lotan in bringing about chaos and destruction, Ubellur works in more subtle ways. Gradual pushes over centuries, little nudges that have cascading effects, small changes that spiral out into consequences few can foresee, these are Ubellur’s methods. His followers rarely have anything more than an inkling at the broader effects their actions will have, but perform them all the same in the mad belief that it will bring some terrible glory to their god.

Stories of Ubellur's origins and relations to the other gods never seem to agree on most of the details. The most widespread legends tell of how he was born from the disagreements of the other gods when they began to create the universe, a process he quickly joined in himself - on the surface following the same overall goals and plans, but in reality subtly planting the seeds of future chaos.

Followers

Despite their common reputation, not all of Ubellur's worshipers are violent cultists. These are the most visible, of course, even as they try to remain hidden - their penchant for terrible and bloody rituals, often performed under cover of darkness in public places, provides proof of their existence even as their identities remain secret. In some places, such as particularly depraved parts of the Darklands, they drop their furtiveness entirely. But Ubellur's most dangerous followers are more subtle. They are the ones in positions of authority, the ones with the means to slowly nudge the course of the world towards a terrible outcome while none suspect their involvement.

Many of Ubellur's devotees work against each other, sometimes knowing of the other’s faith, often not. To their god, it is irrelevant if his followers fight amongst themselves. If anything, it only brings greater chaos.

Church structure

There is no organized church of Ubellur.

Holy text

Ubellur's holy text is a massive tome called the Manuscript of the Veil. Only fragments of this text are known to his followers. The rest was forgotten long ago, its only complete copy either destroyed or lost. Recovery of the Manuscript is a task some worshipers of Ubellur take to fervently, under the belief that it contains knowledge that will grant them great power and insight.

Relations

It is only through their comparable subtlety that followers of Ubellur do not face the same persecution as those of Lotan. Still, worship of the Master of Dark Tidings is rarely tolerated in communities where other religions have a strong presence.

Depiction

Depictions of Ubellur vary across cultures, seen by different peoples in hundreds of different ways. Most commonly, however, he is depicted as a butterfly with torn wings, or sometimes an empty hooded cloak, held in shape with no visible occupant.

Variations by pantheon

Pantheon	Name	Notes
Chaskan	Ubellur	Ubellur (pronounced OOH-bell-orr) is the god of madness, forbidden magic, and dangerous secrets. Ubellur speaks whispers in the shadows heard only in the back of your mind, the ones that push you towards questions best left unanswered. His chosen are disparate, ranging from mad priests who are aware of their faith to inventors and mages who suddenly find sparks of inspiration to build terrible new creations. He toys with his followers and enemies alike, pushing them against each other to create ever more discord. Though equally as interested as Lotan in bringing about chaos and destruction, Ubellur works in more subtle ways. Gradual pushes over centuries, little nudges that have cascading effects, small changes that spiral out into consequences few can foresee, these are Ubellur’s methods. His followers rarely have anything more than an inkling at the broader effects their actions will have, but perform them all the same in the mad belief that it will bring some terrible glory to their god. Stories of Ubellur's origins and relations to the other gods never seem to agree on most of the details. The most widespread legends tell of how he was born from the disagreements of the other gods when they began to create the universe, a process he quickly joined in himself - on the surface following the same overall goals and plans, but in reality subtly planting the seeds of future chaos. Despite their common reputation, not all of Ubellur's worshipers are violent cultists. These are the most visible, of course, even as they try to remain hidden - their penchant for terrible and bloody rituals, often performed under cover of darkness in public places, provides proof of their existence even as their identities remain secret. In some places, such as particularly depraved parts of the Darklands, they drop their furtiveness entirely. But Ubellur's most dangerous followers are more subtle. They are the ones in positions of authority, the ones with the means to slowly nudge the course of the world towards a terrible outcome while none suspect their involvement. Many of Ubellur's devotees work against each other, sometimes knowing of the other’s faith, often not. To their god, it is irrelevant if his followers fight amongst themselves. If anything, it only brings greater chaos. Ubellur's holy text is a massive tome called the Manuscript of the Veil. Only fragments of this text are known to his followers. The rest was forgotten long ago, its only complete copy either destroyed or lost. Recovery of the Manuscript is a task some worshipers of Ubellur take to fervently, under the belief that it contains knowledge that will grant them great power and insight. Depictions of Ubellur vary across cultures, seen by different peoples in hundreds of different ways. Most commonly, however, he is depicted as a butterfly with torn wings, or sometimes an empty hooded cloak, held in shape with no visible occupant.
Laurentian	Ubilai	In the Laurentian pantheon, Ubilai is seen as the right hand of Skohsla, a deity that pulls the unsuspecting into the World-Encircler's faith. Was originally very ordered.
Elven	Urusthe	Urusthe (pronounced ur-OOS-thi) is a god of madness, forbidden magic, dangerous secrets, and the mysteries that lie in outer space. In the era of elven history during which the aeroliths were constructed, some cults to Urusthe set off into the darkness of the cosmos in search of the secrets shrouded there. Today worship of Urusthe tends to be stronger amongst Redemptionist elves than in other movements, but it remains fringe in all communities. Followers of Urusthe are generally looked upon with trepidation, but they are not outright ostracized as his devotees are seen as more dangerous to themselves than to others. They do not widely seen to cause direct harm to their surroundings or to those that do not worship their god, though at times their experiments and drive for knowledge at all costs result in unforeseen and sometimes disastrous consequences. Urusthe's holy text, the Manuscript of the Veil, survives in its most complete form amongst his followers in the Elven pantheon. Most of the text was lost long ago by those that worship his interpretations in other pantheons. The esoteric and largely incomprehensible text is read and re-read fervently under the belief that it contains buried nuggets of wisdom, available to those that devote themselves enough to its study. Urusthe is typically depicted as an empty hooded cloak, held in shape with no visible occupant.