Aquilonia’s Asura

Heretical Religion in the Heart of Hyboria

The religion of Asura is largely an underground, secretive one, since many Hyborians regard Asura as no more than a demon; however, his cult stretches over most of the world from Vendhya across all the Hyborian kingdoms, his worshippers meeting in hidden safe-houses in every major city.

Aquilonia is home to one of these secretive cults of Asura, at least under King Vilerus – the later reforms of King Conan extended freedom to all religions in Aquilonia, much to the disgust of many ordinary Mitra-worshippers who still feared the cult of Asura. The cult’s influence extends throughout Aquilonia but no further south than the Khorotas. The cult has a secret, highly magical communications and spying network, based around the sorcerous news spell and other spells of the Divination sorcery style.

Asura is known as the Shining One. He came to the world and gave man civilisation. He revealed the secret wisdom of the heavens to men in order that they may use the knowledge to combat evil. Freedom of thought is emphasised in the Asuran cult.

Philosophy of the Asuran Religion

The Grand Illusion of Life

Life is a grand illusion perpetrated by Ahriman and the Asuran cult tries to see past that illusion. Asura grants a man wisdom to control his impulses and insight to see past the obvious. Evil is a manifestation of the grand illusion.

Evil

The Asurans believe evil is in the eye of the beholder and is a relative concept, not an absolute one like the Mitrans claim. To an Asuran, evil exists in Asura (or whatever one wants to name their god) just as poison exists in a snake. The poison is not poisonous to the snake, nor is evil harmful to a god. What is evil is only evil from Man’s point of view and depends upon how it is used. To a snake, poison helps it defend itself and capture prey – so too is Asuran ‘evil’ used. There is no absolute evil but relative evil is a horrible reality. Thus, while sorcery can certainly be used for evil, it is not inherently evil.

Equality

Men and women are equal in the Asuran religion. Any difference between men and women is on a physical level only and thus part of the grand illusion.

Violence

Asurans condemn violent crime and treachery.

Religious Tolerance

To the Asurans, all religions have the same basic goals and lead men on the same basic paths, so there is no reason why coexistence should not be actively pursued. The shallow differences between various religions are part of the grand illusion. If one peers deep enough, all religions are functionally the same. Although Mitraists believe the Asurans to be devil-worshipping cannibals, the Asurans harbour no ill-will against the Mitran religion, nor do they spread lies about the religion. In general, Asurans find mystery religions to be silly and do not engage in pointless ritual initiations and any sort of irrational ceremony. However, they do not disparage those who enjoy such things.

Vigilance

Asura watches the cosmos to witness its unfolding and so too must the Asurans. Divination spells are used for this purpose, and spells such as sorcerous news are especially beloved. Like serpents, they lie in the shadows and watch, waiting for the opportunity to act in their best interests. One of the things they watch for is Acheronian activity. They know pockets of Acheron still survive, especially in Nemedia, and they know the weaknesses of the Acheronians. They know the GiantKings are the offspring of Ahriman, a powerful demon, and are a relative evil on the earth. Followers of Asura strive to have high ranks in Spot and Sense Motive in order to see past the illusions of evil. The Asurans are also vigilant in their watch for Corruption, especially among their own members. Wisdom is an important statistic for Asurans.

Secrecy

Popular antagonism has driven the cult into hiding. They have become experts at disguise and secrets. Their temples are cunningly hidden. Ironically, the

cult whose purpose is to see past illusion are actually masters of illusion. Those who seek to unravel secrets are masterful at preserving their secrets – often to their own detriment, as their secrecy leads to even worse rumours about their faith. This secrecy is further preserved by not evangelising or proselytising their religion; only those who are born into the religion are able to practise it. Even marrying outside the religion is frowned upon.

Afterlife

The soul of the deceased stays with the corpse for three days while the priests perform purification ceremonies. While the body makes its way down the Khorotas River, the soul makes a pilgrimage to the afterlife. If the soul is judged more good than evil, then it is allowed into heaven. If judged more evil than good, it is condemned into a frozen and cold pit of eternal darkness.

Taboos

It is taboo to speak about anything unlawful, for it might lead one to do the act. Lying is also taboo as it contributes to the overall illusion of life. It is also taboo to earn points of Corruption or to do things that risk Corruption.

Asuran Religious Symbols

Fire: Fire and light are the ultimate symbols for the Asurans. They are symbols of divine illumination. Fire especially must never be defiled. Prayers are said before candles, open flames or lighted braziers. The sun and the moon may also serve as prayer foci, as they are also sources of light. The Serpent: The serpent is the symbol of ancient knowledge. By worshipping sorcerous knowledge, which they symbolise with a serpent, the Asurans became known as snake-worshippers. Asura gave knowledge to Man and brought him out of barbarism. The followers of Asura have knowledge of all the wizards of the East, who are greater than the wizards of the West. This knowledge is meant to help the

Asurans combat those who misuse knowledge for relative evil. Asura is symbolised by a white snake and Ahriman is symbolised by a black snake. The black snake wrapped around the world is an image of the grand illusion perpetrated on the world by evil. Water: Water is seen as a metaphor for life and rivers of any size are venerated as goddesses. The pouring of water also plays a role in many Vendhyan rituals and spells.

Disposal of the Dead

Pilgrim boats carry their dead out to the sea, down the great Khorotas river, in symbolic recognition of the cult’s historic connection with water. The dead are known as pilgrims. The Asurans believe cremation of corpses is an evil created long ago by Ahriman and the practice is forbidden to Asurans. Burning a corpse or person on a pyre is considered an unredeemable sin. The consumption of human corpses is likewise taboo. Corpses should not be buried. The Asurans consider the elements to be holy, especially earth, fire and water, and these elements should not be contaminated by corpses. It is better that a corpse is left to the birds of the air, for they are creatures from heaven. As it is, the Asurans send their dead down the Khorotas River in a black boat piloted by a slave. Mourning for the dead is heavily discouraged, especially in public. Such displays of emotion are seen as particularly Ahrimanic.

Benefits of Worshipping Asura

Each god or pantheon offers certain benefits to its worshippers, so long as they remain in good standing with the cult and Asura is no exception.

Requirements of Worship: Pay a tithe worth 3 sp/level/ month to the local priests of Asura; keep secret about your membership in the cult; carry out duties for the priesthood as required; do not become Corrupt; oppose those who carry out human sacrifice or traffic with demons. Benefits of Worship: Atonement, Faith, Spells (Counterspells, Divination). Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus as follows: scrupulous honesty is required in all things except in the matter of concealing the existence of the cult from outsiders; you must work for the greater good of the cult and the god in everything you do and you must avoid becoming personally wealthy. Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus the following: Spot and Sense Motive become class skills (even if the priest gains levels in a non-scholar class); sorcery teaching is available (Counterspells, Divination, Oriental Magic, Prestidigitations, master-words and signs, and summon elemental only). Typical Punishments for Disloyal Priests: Removal of priestly status.