Alquam

Worshippers

Most followers of Alquam are umbral humans seeking secret strength, darkvision, or other gifts, though darklings, gnomes, and shadow goblins also number among his devotees. Night watchmen, hunters, and bandits also frequently number among his most faithful as do all those whose daily life involves death and burial. Darakhul are often fond of him, though never to the exclusion of Vardesain or Anu-Akma.

Symbols and Books

Alquam's symbols include a black owl, usually portrayed with blue eyes but sometimes with eyes of amber, somewhat like a normal owl. This is his icon of watchfulness and keen vision, and small statues in this guise are sometimes kept in forest shrines as watchful creatures. His priests often keep owls as sacred animals. Additionally, a five-rayed dark sun is sometimes seen as a sign of Alquam, and a few sects use dried and preserved raptor claws as holy symbols for the Master of Nightmares.

The faith has only one holy text, the Book of the Black Gate. This describes the god's hymns, chants, sacrifices, and laws for the faithful along with a series of hunting parables that teach the basics of following spoor, choosing targets, and even how to dress and butcher common game animals. The chapters devoted to the "black gate" itself are somewhat mystical, describing it as a transformative portal that strengthens those who enter. Certain herbs, rituals, and unguents are said to prepare a devotee to enter the black gate, and those who undergo this ritual certainly believe that it will make them crueler, swifter, and more keen-eyed.

Shrines and Priests

Most shrines to Alquam are caverns carved with ornate runes, wardings, blessings, and sigils. Most such cavern-temples include a small body of water for night blessings, a form of ritual cleansing, and the larger ones often include a rookery or haven for bats, owls, or other nocturnal creatures.

Masks

Alquam is often believed to be a mask of Hecate or Vardesain, though more often his followers describe the Hunter as one of Alquam's aspect, and others say that Charun is Alquam's mask on the water and in the afterlife. For the most part though, Alquam is counted as a relatively quiet, silent god, or even as the shadow of greater gods.

Other Faiths

Alquam despises Lada, Kupkoresh, Bengta, Umbeserno, and all gods of the sunlit lands. They likewise seek to wipe out his followers wherever they can be found. Umbeserno takes particular offense at Alquam's role in delivering foul dreams and disturbing the long sleep of the bearfolk. Though he has many enemies, Alquam is accounted as a powerful god in the Shadow Realm and has command over the seasons when no moon shines and no star twinkles—his protecting hand shelters all the creatures of the dark against the rapacious or the cruel.

Alquam is on good terms with the Hunter and with Hecate, who is sometimes described as "Alquam's grandmother" and at other times as a friend and fellow creature of the dark. Vardesain and Alquam share mutual respect, though they are allies of convenience and seekers after the same ends. The god of the undead, Mot, is said to have long supported Alquam as a good and silent slayer, bringing more undead into his ranks, but Mot is not widely known in the Shadow Realm.

Alquam's greatest ally and friend is Charun the boatman. The two are old friends, crossing from shadow into darkness, both familiar with the River Styx and the midnight hour, and both faiths trust one another. "As close as cards with Charun" is a phrase the followers of Alquam use to describe embracing a friend or stalking an enemy.

What Alquam Demands

Never stand in the sun when shade beckons. Say your prayers at midnight, in deep darkness, and praise the darkness for its soft concealment. Learn to listen and to see when all others are deaf and blind. Your senses are keen in the night, your heart knows where enemies seek to evade you. Destroy light and cherish silence.