The Mutilated One

[it occurs to me that some people might find this offensive. That's certainly not the spirit in which it is written, but if the rest of the GM team think it is, I'll go along with you.]

Or the Mutilated Lord, as some refer to him/her/it. The Mutilated One has no other known name (even other gods protest ignorance), and no avatars in the same sense as other gods. Instead 'he' usually appears in dreams; his appearance and even gender are variable but are always heavily mutilated (atrophied lumps replacing limbs, four continuously wagging bloody stumps instead of fingers, etc.), with the face entirley concealed by bandages. The Mutilated One does not speak in these dreams, but screams, moans, or roars. Sometimes those visited in this way awake with some message or warning in their minds; sometimes not.

The Mutilated One is the patron and protector of those not physically or mentally whole, seeing them as his children. He uses his divine powers, sometimes directly, to intervene on their behalf. This usually takes the form of little 'coincidences'. In return, many see him as a beloved parent, and offer up their praise. However, this association with the crippled and lame earns him the suspicion and hatred of many, and not all of them whole bodied. The more so because it is well known that he seeks always to increase the number of his children. [the Mutilated One is not protecting all of his 'children' all the time or anything like that. Also, he is not responsible for all or even many accidents in which people become disabled.] Nevertheless, he has a large cult of followers, though they are not particularly organised, or even aware of each other in many cases. Apart from small protections and gifts that he directly bestows on those he favours, the Mutilated One is also quite free with in granting certain magics to those who worship him; often, though, these are accompanied by dreamed visions of services that must be done for the god.

An exception to this are the beggars of Horizon. They are a well organised network that specialises in information, but also participate in various criminal and semi-legal activities (and begging, of course). The extent, or even the existence, of this network is not well known beyond the underworld of Horizon. Membership is compulsory for anyone wanting to beg for any length of time in the City, and with compulsory membership comes worship of the Mutilated One. All beggars of the City are scarred in some way; if necessary, they must inflict these on themselves to gain membership. At the head of this network is the King of Beggars, who resides in a catacomb beneath Horizon. It is a secret known only to a few that this individual is the closest thing the Mutilated One has to an avatar. Kings are chosen by the most influential of the beggars from among their number on the basis of political intrigue and occasional dream messages from the god. Once appointed though, the Beggar King is repeatedly possessed by the Mutilated One, who speaks his only coherent words through this individual, directing his followers in Horizon according to unknown purposes. In between possessions, the Beggar King gets to rule as he sees fit. Over periods of years, the repeated possessions erode the King's mind; sooner or later, they are all reduced to a vegatative state. Then a new King is chosen. Partly as a result of the strong fraternal feeling of the Beggars, and partly due to the Mutilated One's protective behaviour, it has become known as 'bad luck' to harm a beggar in Horizon.

The Mutilated One has little contact with other gods and, unlike them, does not have a problem with humanity in general. It is difficult to say whether he is also dying. His barge is a maze of wire and blades, many of which drip blood.