#Stygian Priests

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"....RAISING IT ON BLOOD, MAGIC, AND VIRGIN FLESH..." -- A CHILD OF SET.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on promo shots of the Fire Dragon, a "Son of Set," 6" action figure, from "Conan: Series 1" by McFarlane Toys, c. 2004.

MINI-BIO: "Stygia was founded by an ancient race that once lived far to the east. In their wanderings they stumbled upon the remnants of a more ancient culture, a mysterious pre-human race of giants, which they came to worship. In the uncounted centuries since that time, Stygia has become a decadent and declining power, though still greatly feared by its neighboring kingdoms. In these sweltering lands Conan is known also as Amra the Lion, the corsair chief who plundered their coasts with steel, flame, and ruthless efficiency.

PART II: The sorcerers and priests of Stygia worship Ibis and the Snake God of Set. Snakes are sacred to Set -- and a number of monstrous serpents are kept hidden away in the temples. Attended and trained by an inner circle of priests, when these preternatural creatures hunger, the priests bid them roam the city's murky back alley's by night, taking what prey they may encounter, as all human flesh is a sacrifice to their scaly god.

PART III/END: The High Priests have nurtured the Son of Set for generations, raising it on blood, magic and virgin flesh. Thanks to the priests’ care and training, this child of Set, this Fire Dragon, has grown to immense size and now possesses great intelligence and power. Its inhuman mystical abilities allow it a direct connection to Set himself, making even the High Priests tremble. The Fire Dragon is a perfect guardian for the hatching scaled ones, and for keeping the Cimmerian pirate imprisoned."

-- MCFARLANE TOYS, from the mind of writer-creator Robert E. Howard

Source: https://mcfarlane.com/toys/fire-dragon.

[thydungeongal]

Anyway I'm currently planning an old-school D&D campaign (actually using Holveja & Hirviöitä) set in late iron ages/early medieval Finland. Why? Because this campaign will undoubtedly be run irl for a bunch of Finns and I think the idea of a setting that mixes local history and mythology is fun.

First of all, I'll be going with the expectations set up by H&H: no demihuman player characters. The Cleric equivalent, Pyhimys (Saint), is very Christian-coded and I'm leaning into the idea that miracles are the domain of Christian miracle workers. But this also means that not every single village priest is going to be a Pyhimys.

But contrasting with this, creatures from Finnish mythology are very real. And due to the nature of Finnish folk religion, you can easily run into Mielikki, the goddess of the forest, in the woods. She will probably be in disguise, but if you know you know.

Old-school D&D kind of gets a lot of deserved flak for presenting an American colonial fantasy where the main dialectic is between civilization and wilderness, with the latter also represented by monstrous humanoids who are also portrayed in not exactly the most favorable terms. That dialectic is going to be present to some extent in my game, but it's very much going to be between Christianity and paganism, between Swedish rule and independent Finnic tribes, and you know. Neither side will have orcs and a big "these guys are okay to kill just because" stamp on their foreheads.

Now of course there will be dungeons. And dragons. The idea in this historical/mythological setting of mine is that in many ways pre-crusades Finland was a more uncanny and magical place, and one of the effects that "civilization" as the Swedes have brought it has on the environment is that the land becomes much less magical.

To this end I'm probably going to be using a system not unlike in depth-crawls, where the random encounter tables are weighted to produce more dangerous results the further you are from cities. +1 for each hex of distance to the nearest city. This is a concept I'm familiar with through @cavegirlpoems' modules Gardens of Ynn and Stygian Libraries which both kick ass, and I'm interested in seeing how well this concept would work in a hexcrawl!

Speaking of hexes, having discovered that the Scandinavian mile (or peninkulma as it's called in Finnish) ≈ 6 miles I have decided to go with a scale of 1 peninkulma per wilderness hex.

[stygiantechpriest]

hello!

was curious what a stygian tech priest is?

Hello!

My username, Stygiantechpriest

Is a 40k thing

Stygies VIII is a forgeworld of the Mechanicus

And is my favorite forgeworld

Ergo

With my obsession of the Mechanicus from 40k

My username is stygiantechpriest

A Techpriest from Stygies

I have considered renaming myself Tenebrantechpriest, off of my homebrew forgeworld of the canon world of Silva Tenebris tho

[theblackbookofarkera]

Lyndonmire

Aside from the bustling black metropolis of Shadowpool the city of Lyndonmire is the largest settlement in the Pale Isles. Serving as the capital of the kingdom of Westcastur the city is built upon the ruins of an Old World Fortress amidst an artificially drained mire. The skyline of the city is dominated by the illuminated towers of the stygian temples of fallen Goz that have been converted to Dinorian churches. A dangerous city of thieves and murderers if you ever find yourself in trouble in Lyndonmire seek out one of the aforementioned churches as the priests are sworn to protect anyone within their holy walls.

“Once the fickle old gods walked the paths of Old Lyndomire but they have been driven out by the true Almighty. The sod cottages are now wood, soon stone and then steel. This once hallowed village will rise to touch the sky and control all the realms of men.”

-Archdruid Crethos Egalbran

[fanaticastrid]

I felt fine, despite what had obviously happened. It didn't make sense how in the world I could possibly be alive right now.

But here I was, standing in the alley pondering my life, feeling so... empty. Something else didn't seem right with me, yet I had no clue what was off. I just felt as if a part of me were ripped out. I don't know.

I bring you... Aoroi Lester. (Tap or click images for better quality)

Yeshhhh this is Lester's true form in the AU! He's got to be careful not to break into this as he's quite aggressive in this state, but a bit of food or physical affection will quickly calm him down. Lester's mostly the same as an aoroi except he's faster, but now vulnerable to magical metals like Celestial bronze, Imperial gold, and Stygian iron.

Apparently, aoroi have some sort of magical quality to them, which one can use if they capture one. Lester isn't so sure about that... until he encounters Medea, who has a strong interest in using his "magic" for a task that Neos Helios very much wants done. No spoilers ;)

Eventually Lester masters control over his aoroi form, and he's quite proud, bragging about it to Apollo and Meg until he hears something land 9n the hearse. Next thing he knows, he feels a sharp cut across his belly, but he knows immediately it wasn't him that was wounded. Before he knows it, the voice of Tarquin beckons him to return to his tomb, eager to have such a strong spirit among his ranks of the many dead Romans...

Stay tuned, folks! I'm working on getting the Double Lester AU/ Son of the Priest on Ao3, I'm working here!

[leveractionlesbian]

40k headcanon: Forge World Stygies VIII and the Blood Ravens Chapter are absolute besties. Raven scholars, such as librarians, apothecaries, and techmarines, will meet up with Stygian tech priests, share each other's knowledge, and perhaps knock back a couple brewskis.

because when the rest of the imperium hates you for tech-heresy, your options for friends are limited

[leam1983]

Hero's Journey

It's funny, really. You grow up getting your head stuffed with narrative devices, being told that Heroes Exist and that some people Really Do Go Through All That in the span of a few months - and then you get older. You realize that heroes are morality vectors and narrative frameworks, nothing more. You realize you'll never scale a wall with your bare hands like Conan the Cimmerian and steal the Eye of Whateverthefuckit'scalled to fight back against the Stygian Priests of Set whose biggest crime seems to involve... liking snakes a lot.

Yeah.

And in the meantime, your biggest accomplishment probably involves successfully voiding your bowels after three days of absolutely horrendous constipation.

Walt gave me a look as I headed out the bathroom. "Feeling better, Grem?"

I gave him an intentional glower and a muttering of Crom's name, which earned me a thumbs-up.

"Let me heah the lamentations of their women!" he later shouts at me, in a deliberately bad Schwarzennegger impression.

[libidomechanica]

“Queen-Bee, the surf”

Moder&mayden þat is makeles,     kyng of all the address was not love, ’—thus chides she should     interrupt his former

years he had absent love, and forks     for will not open, but through the night I sing by his helmets     sprang the day before

thy beauty hath no more they also     set about the Stygian river, which had Horace     and dire events, and

some mistrustful wood; surfeit by     them of reaching decrepit age to tread the aged priest,     lead’st thou love me, good reasons

drawn thus it was without virtue,     or a wren lights she had blown do but gentle hands besides     being naked, loving

that I hope that Fate avenges     arms Shirúeh with dew, taking her: ah! At length upon     one luxury, unless

it be poison’d and remember     that have seen or read: an endlesse night win oblivion,     even the tomb? Lie with

this unblest, and feature; making     matches with morning it subject and to redress was combing     out her eddy brainless

were made, why so will I dress     with rumour of theirs endure to Frankenstein. In some leap’d     overboard with him for

high and down the darling, fill my     cup; the birds do from the Harmonist embargo’d marriage.     Queen-Bee, the surf bright see

that thee for the neighbour’s ear; children     dear, was it yesterday we heard, she look, not as well.     Goodly present eating.

But all your new life, death, spoke not     his troublesome to each other wisht thee with his recent     rags they must want of sound

off an hour to resign; and theirs     as dues of Natures choycest treasure or pain to hide the     coffee and Haidee; yet

even smiled enough as yet a     colt—take, breath. His suite consider’d: first, but not a wee, and     second sight, it seems to

love, or the skies, for my helpless     berries. To lag behind you say, the charms the mount her; the     very beauty’s voice? The

honest, and dewy on the weak     tongue be still, with javelin’s point can engage; the ornaments     of alabaster.

[melvin-dukowski]

Operation listen to a new album a day Q1 list

1: Foreign Skies by the Dreadnoughts.

2: King of the Jews by Oxbow

3: Swarm by Atomic Ape

4: Yodh by Mizmor

5: Los Angeles by X

6: School’s out by Alice Cooper

7: Панихида by Батюшка (Panikhida by Batyushka)

8: Shoelace and a Knot by yungatita

9: Sorrow and Extinction by Pallbearer

10: Mestarin Kynsi by Oranssi Pazuzu

11: Sign of the Devil by Dopelord

12: Unsilent Death by Nails

13: I by Hell

14: Sunami by Sunami

15: Abandon All Life by Nails

16: Big Sigh by Marika Hackman

17: Command Your Weather by Big Business 

18: Self Surgery by Mrs Piss

19: Revengeance by Conan

20: ILION by SLIFT

21: And Then There Were None by Church of Misery

22: Shades of God by Paradise Lost

23: Dismal by Grief

24: Tweedles by The Residents 

25: Myopia by Mizmor/Thou

26: Carboniferous by Zu

27: Death Magic Doom by Candlemass

28: The Bunny Boy by The Residents

29: Doc at the Radar Station by Captain Beefheart & His Magical Band

30: Koolaide Mustache in Jonestown by Don Salsa

31: Victim in Pain by Agnostic Front

32: Milo Goes to College by Descendents 

33: II by Meat Puppets

34: AN INSATIABLE HIGH by Masayoshi Tanaka

35: You Will Never Be One Of Us by Nails

36: Ein Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft by DAF

37: The Scythe is Remorseless by Yersin 

38: SAVED! By Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter

39: The Burden of Hope by Grails.

40: Redlight by Grails

41: Parole de Navarre by The Dale Cooper Quartet

42: Voice of Chunk by The Lounge Lizards

43: The Affair of the Poisons by Hellripper

44: No Control by Bad Religion

45: Ethic of Radical Finitude by Downfall of Gaia

46: Maniac Meat by Tobacco

47: L’etoile thoracique by Klo Pelgag

48: The World as it is Today by Art Bears

49: Elizium by Fields of the Nephilim

50: Ihsahn by Ihsahn 

51: You Have Already Gone to the Other World by A Hawk and a Hacksaw

52: The Underground Resistance by Darkthrone

53: Terminal by Bongripper

54: Black Tar Prophecies Vols. 1, 2 & 3 by Grails.

55: Of the Last Human Being by Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

56: Moon Healer by Job For A Cowboy

57: Green Room by Radkey

58: Maps by Billy Woods/Kenny Segal

59: Atrocity Machine by Body Void

60: Preachers Daughter by Ethel Cain

61: THE HOLY BIBLE by Manic Street Preachers.

62: Stygian Bough Volume 1 by Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin

63: The Mother of Virtues by Pyrrhon

64: I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy

65: Burning Off Impurities by Grails

66: Still They Pray by Cough

67: Time ‘n’ Place by Kero Kero Bonito

68: What Passes for Survival by Pyrrhon

69: Namidae by Oxxo Xoox

70: Corpo-Mente by Corpo-Mente

71: Universal Sprache by Vladimir Bozar ‘n’ Sheraf Orkestar

72: Weedsconsin by Bongzilla

73: Under a Slab, We All Rot by Asphalt

74: Mercenary by Bolt Thrower

75: She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She by Chelsea Wolfe 

76: The Black Halo by Kamelot

77: Rum, Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues

78: Invincible Shield by Judas Priest

79: Behold the Abyss by Those Poor Bastards

80: Ultima II Massage by Tobacco

81: Dandelion Gum by Black Moth Super Rainbow

82: Self-titled 1998 by Dropdead

83: Here are The Sonics by The Sonics

84: Undestroyed by Free Salamander Exhibit

85: The Bowls Project by Charming Hostesses

86: Everybody Knows this is Nowhere by Neil Young with Crazy Horse

87: What a Fucking Nightmare by The Chisel 

88: Feel the Misery by My Dying Bride

89: Maya by M.I.A

90: Whereabouts Unknown by Mojo Nixon

91: Paralyzed by Witch

So far so good. The best albums on here have entered my normal rotation and the worst were merely just kinda boring.

[redredrosesnowwhite]

Bailey Dallas Capote-Valentino [Queenie], Clemente Lazaro Massimo Valentino [Stygian Conjuror], Benito Angelo Valentino [Dark Elementalist], Blackheart Mephistoson-Valentino [Sadistic Demon], Lennox "Shades" Ainsworth [Dark Priest], Buffy Anne Summers-Ainsworth [Goldilocks Slayer], Snow White Ainsworth-Van Helsing [Red Red Rose], and Abraham Van Helsing [The Huntsman]. Dark Winds.

[stygianconjuror]

Bailey Dallas Capote-Valentino [Queenie], Clemente Lazaro Massimo Valentino [Stygian Conjuror], Benito Angelo Valentino [Dark Elementalist], and Lennox "Shades" Ainsworth [Dark Priest]. Dark Winds.

[xsadisticdemonx]

Bailey Dallas Capote-Valentino [Queenie], Clemente Lazaro Massimo Valentino [Stygian Conjuror], Benito Angelo Valentino [Dark Elementalist], Blackheart Mephistoson-Valentino [Sadistic Demon], Lennox "Shades" Ainsworth [Dark Priest], Buffy Anne Summers-Ainsworth [Goldilocks Slayer], Snow White Ainsworth-Van Helsing [Red Red Rose], and Abraham Van Helsing [The Huntsman]. Dark Winds.

[goldilocksslayer]

Bailey Dallas Capote-Valentino [Queenie], Clemente Lazaro Massimo Valentino [Stygian Conjuror], Benito Angelo Valentino [Dark Elementalist], Blackheart Mephistoson-Valentino [Sadistic Demon], Lennox "Shades" Ainsworth [Dark Priest], Buffy Anne Summers-Ainsworth [Goldilocks Slayer], Snow White Ainsworth-Van Helsing [Red Red Rose], and Abraham Van Helsing [The Huntsman]. Dark Winds.

[magicwingslisten]

ELEGY THE ELEVENTH: WAR IS A CRIME

Whoe'er first forged the terror-striking sword, His own fierce heart had tempered like its blade. What slaughter followed! Ah! what conflict wild! What swifter journeys unto darksome death! But blame not him! Ourselves have madly turned On one another's breasts that cunning edge Wherewith he meant mere blood of beast to spill.

Gold makes our crime. No need for plundering war, When bowls of beech-wood held the frugal feast. No citadel was seen nor moated wall; The shepherd chief led home his motley flock, And slumbered free from care. Would I had lived In that good, golden time; nor e'er had known A mob in arms arrayed; nor felt my heart Throb to the trumpet's call! Now to the wars I must away, where haply some chance foe Bears now the blade my naked side shall feel. Save me, dear Lares of my hearth and home! Ye oft my childish steps did guard and bless, As timidly beneath your seat they strayed.

Deem it no shame that hewn of ancient oak Your simple emblems in my dwelling stand! For so the pious generations gone Revered your powers, and with offerings rude To rough-hewn gods in narrow-built abodes, Lived beautiful and honorable lives. Did they not bring to crown your hallowed brows Garlands of ripest corn, or pour new wine In pure libation on the thirsty ground? Oft on some votive day the father brought The consecrated loaf, and close behind His little daughter in her virgin palm Bore honey bright as gold. O powers benign! To ye once more a faithful servant prays For safety! Let the deadly brazen spear Pass harmless o'er my head! and I will slay For sacrifice, with many a thankful song, A swine and all her brood, while I, the priest, Bearing the votive basket myrtle-bound, Walk clothed in white, with myrtle in my hair.

Grant me but this! and he who can may prove Mighty in arms and by the grace of Mars Lay chieftains low; and let him tell the tale To me who drink his health, while on the board His wine-dipped finger draws, line after line, Just how his trenches ranged! What madness dire Bids men go foraging for death in war? Our death is always near, and hour by hour, With soundless step a little nearer draws.

What harvest down below, or vineyard green? There Cerberus howls, and o'er the Stygian flood The dark ship goes; while on the clouded shore With hollow cheek and tresses lustreless, Wanders the ghostly throng. O happier far Some white-haired sire, among his children dear, Beneath a lowly thatch! His sturdy son Shepherds the young rams; he, his gentle ewes; And oft at eve, his willing labor done, His careful wife his weary limbs will bathe From a full, steaming bowl. Such lot be mine! So let this head grow gray, while I shall tell, Repeating oft, the deeds of long ago! Then may long Peace my country's harvests bless! Till then, let Peace on all our fields abide! Bright-vestured Peace, who first beneath their yoke Led oxen in the plough, who first the vine Did nourish tenderly, and chose good grapes, That rare old wine may pass from sire to son! Peace! who doth keep the plow and harrow bright, While rust on some forgotten shelf devours The cruel soldier's useless sword and shield. From peaceful holiday with mirth and wine The rustic, not half sober, driveth home With wife and weans upon the lumbering wain.

But wars by Venus kindled ne'er have done; The vanquished lass, with tresses rudely torn, Of doors broke down, and smitten cheek complains; And he, her victor-lover, weeps to see How strong were his wild hands. But mocking Love Teaches more angry words, and while they rave, Sits with a smile between! O heart of stone! O iron heart! that could thy sweetheart strike! Ye gods avenge her! Is it not enough To tear her soft robe from her limbs away, And loose her knotted hair?—Enough, indeed, To move her tears! Thrice happy is the wight Whose frown some lovely mistress weeps to see! But he who gives her blows!—Go, let him bear A sword and spear! In exile let him be From Venus' mild domain! Come blessed Peace! Come, holding forth thy blade of ripened corn! Fill thy large lap with mellow fruits and fair!

(translated by Theodore C. Williams 1908)

Albius Tibullus (54 BC-19 BC)

[for-peace-war]

Tsekani, Priestess of Set and follower of Shar’Negrath.

By *danpur.  Gift commission for @diermina

[doomedandstoned]