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====== Lul, the Merchant God ======

"The scribe's quill is mightier than the crossbow's quarrel."

{{:gaeleth:divinities:lul.jpg?200|}}

**Symbol:**  stacked coins

**Alignment:** Neutral Good

**Portfolio:**  merchants, coinage, books

**Worshippers:**  merchants, traders, students

**Cleric Alignments:**  NG, TN, LG, LN

**Domains:** knowledge, luck, trickery, good, (magic)

**Favored Weapon:** heavy mace

**Animal Totems:**  eagles, raccoons

====== Dogma ======

Followers of Lul believe that knowledge is power, and that money is just a means of keeping track of knowledge and power, both.  The church of Lul watches over merchants, caravans, and all who deal in trades and knowledge.  Followers keep records, to aid the church, and in return, the church protects the secrets of its followers.  Some followers of Lul, and some sects of the church, consider magic to be another form of knowledge -- while most see some knowledge as not being worth knowing.

====== Physical Description ======

His statues depict a tall and lean man, with brooding eyes and close-cropped hair and beard. Wearing long flowing robes with wide sleeves and a hood pulled back, he gives viewers the impression of long travels. In one hand is always a thick tome labeled "Andremos", meaning 'information' in the old Karatikan tongue. When painted, his hair is dark, and there are dark circles under his eyes, as though he hasn't slept in a long, long time. His robes are usually of a flowing teal that turns to purple closer to the ground.

====== History ======

Lul was actually a mortal man at the start of the [[gaeleth:history:Storm Wars]]. Working as a sorcerer who dallied in the merchant trade, he made a considerable sum of money with wise investments, and poured the money into his research. As the war wore on, and he did what he could to support the war effort, [[Agincoth]] came to him one night in a dream. The Goddess of Knowledge knew that she would die before the wars were over, whether [[Nathel]] won or not, and asked Lul to become one of her special priests, to research a way to defeat Nathel even after the fall of the goddess. Lul accepted the task out of duty more than love or adoration, and immediately became both a sorcerer and a specialty priest of Agincoth. As the seasons ground on, Lul made considerable progress, finding the long lost blade known as Giran Howell, the Godslayer. Giran Howell, also known as the Soul Rapist, provided Lul with a secret that would haunt him for the rest of his days as a mortal. Agincoth immediately promoted him to [[Disciple]], and Lul used the weapon to slay one of Nathel's lieutenant's, the god of pain, [[Hyark]]. During the slaying of the god, Lul's knowledge of (and power over) the weapon, infused him with a considerable portion of the god's powers, elevating him from Disciple to archon. In the ensuing chaos of newfound powers and mental agony, Giran Howell was lost, only to be found by the armies of Nathel.

Lul, in his new form as archon, became a herald of Agincoth, privy to a great deal of her secrets. When Giran Howell struck against the north, in the hands of [[gaeleth:people:Simon Luminar]], Lul helped to stem the tide of panic among the other gods and their followers. Once the wars were over, the archon had earned a considerable reputation among the other churches, and had earned the respect of the various leaders of the [[gaeleth:places:Karatikan Alliance]]. Agincoth revealed her 'death' to Lul, and using Giran Howell, elevated him to the status of true god. To everyone else, it appeared as though Lul had merely accepted the portfolios of the goddess after her death -- at his hands. As the [[gaeleth:history:Inquisition]] started up, the followers of [[Yatindar]] openly thanked Lul for killing the Goddess of Magic, even though many mages and sorcerers still maintained their abilities. If any of the churches suspected anything, they kept it to themselves. Lul and his own Disciples and followers took over the work of Agincoth's clergy, and added several portfolios that had been neglected by the other gods, including merchants and mysteries. The Church of Lul grew in power during the Inquisition, as it ferried mages and sorcerers away from the east and the Inquisitors, and helped merchants and traders grow in ability and wealth. During the [[gaeleth:history:War of the Undead]], the libraries of Lul proved invaluable repositories of information on the undead, and the various libraries served as last bastions in some beleaguered cities and towns.

====== Relic ======

The exact location of Lul's Relic has been kept such a secret that rumors continue to circulate to the effect that perhaps not even Lul's Chosen knows where it is. Supposedly, there are a number of clues scattered throughout the Book of Lul that give hints to where the Relic -- and a vast treasure -- lie. Many merchants while away their free time studying the various hints within the holy book, hoping one day to find the Relic of Lul, and the treasure that goes with it.

====== Church ======

The clergy of Lul serve a two-fold purpose -- they act as librarians for repositories of knowledge, and they act as beneficiaries for merchants. The headquarters of the Church of Lul, based out of the [[gaeleth:places:Kranthagian Library]] in [[gaeleth:places:Karmen]], houses the Chosen and his Disciples. From there, they send messengers and books, special cargoes and secret scrolls, to all the other libraries. Each library is divided into two portions; one portion, the general public can peruse for a small fee. The other portion, the priests will peruse for a larger fee. Since followers of Lul are expected to keep a diary, and turn it over to the church upon their deaths, these diaries are kept in the priest-only section of the libraries, known as the Covenants. Inside each Covenant also work a great many scribes and thinkers that help to orchestrate the knowledge kept inside the holy libraries. The clergy helps the merchants by standardizing the coinage wherever they are, with proven scales and purities, and by acting as stock brokers and information traders. Each acolyte is assumed to be a keen study of trade, a fair appraiser, and a font of obscure knowledge that might be related to turning a profit.

The church's secret agenda is to help the mages, and maintain their faith against the return of Agincoth. Only a select few know of this agenda, and they are referred to as the Eagle's Wings sect. As many secret or sensitive books and documents pass from library to library, several spell books lie within the more important libraries, available only to mages and sorcerers who know how to find them. The majority of the church's followers, merchants, guildsmen, traders, caravaners, and goodsmen, take the same view as their neighboring churches and faiths -- believing Agincoth dead, magic an evil of the Storm Wars, and Lul a hero for his murder of the Goddess of Magic. 

Within the church are the elite Quitzara, whose purpose is to act as spies and information gatherers.  The Quitzara do not take sides, and merely gather information for the Covenants, although rogue Quitzara have, in the past, done some terrible things -- though the church denies sanctioning any such actions.  Many priests of Lul are suspected of being Quitzara, although their numbers are truly minute.

====== Powers ======

The priests and paladins of Lul always have a hidden item.

**Lul's Secret:**  Cantrip, Bonus Action, Touch, V/M, Special, Conjuration School.  The caster can place an item of no more than five pounds' weight into pocket dimension that stays anchored to the caster.  Any item stored there, such as a bag of coins or a book or a weapon, is undetectable to all but //true sight//.  The caster can retrieve the item at will.

**Precious Touch:**  Priests and paladins automatically know the true value of any precious metals they can heft in their hands, be it an electrum statue or an ancient platinum coin.  They can tell the precious metal content amount to the nearest milligram of platinum, gold, silver, or copper, individually or in alloys.
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