Plain of the Urduks
by Marco Dalmonte English translation by Gary DaviesFather Sky (Odin) - Good government and authority, sky, storms, winds, guile, knowledge, wisdom
Mother Earth (Terra) - Creation and protection of all forms of life (animals and plants), earth, birth, balance of the life cycle, prosperity and fertility
Sinbad - Travel, exploration, adventure, courage, overcome every border
Simurgh - Protection of living species, health, knowledge, flight, travel
Himayeti (Ixion) - Energy, light, sun, fire, strength, banish the darkness
The Executioner (Malinois) - Hunting, war, courage, just vengeance, arms and armourers, hunters of lycanthropes
Kala (Hel) - Reincarnation, corruption, death, darkness and cold energy, increase entropy and male, evil shapechangers
Notes:
1. The Urduk mythos derives from the Neathar belief of these people, which with the passing of the centuries have mixed only in part to the Sindhi religion. For this the two Immortals that have the greatest importance with the Urduks are Father Sky (Odin) and Mother Earth (Terra), creators of the universe thanks to their carnal and spiritual union. According to the Urduk cult, all the living creatures living on the womb of Mother Earth (who therefore must be respected as well as worshipped, in order not to poison it themselves), and from death their souls are united on the chest of Father Sky, who then decides who are the most worthy of remaining with him. Those people which instead needed further purification were sent back between the arms of Mother Earth so that they learn further lessons and redeem their own errors, escorted by the Celestial Traveller, or Sinbad. Still according to the Urduk, Sinbad and Simurgh are the emissaries of Father Sky and Mother Earth, while Himayeti (Ixion) and Kala (Hel) represent light and obscurity, good and evil that fight between the two worlds.
2. As for those clerics of Sinbad, also present among the Urduk haven’t been permanently allocated with a locality, for this they are found constantly in travel together with nomads and are greatly respected by them (given that Sinbad is one of the most important Immortals with these people). However, there is in Sind a real cult site consecrated to Sinbad in the Twin Oasis, a grotto in which legend tells that Sinbad appeared for the first time to the folk of the desert, and that is also supposed to be a portal that leads to other worlds. This sanctuary is visited each year by some followers, and is protected by an order of priests (the Silent Keepers) with the literal task of showing that the infidels can profane his marvels.
3. Carved in the rocky wall of the Great Plateau that separates the Great Waste from the coast there is a sanctuary dedicated to Simurgh, a divine, bird-shaped creature who has been said to have saved the world many times from destruction. Many Urduks pay homage to this legendary creature and various priests of Simurgh can be found among their tribes with the task of protecting the nomads and supporters.
4. The Executioner (Malinois) is an Immortal that the Urduk have taken from the lupin that live in the desert and that have made their own, given that the ideals of war, vengeance, courage and hunting to the shapechangers are shared by these nomads. The Executioner is a legendary ‘demigod’, apparently child of the Sky and Earth, mandate to the Urduks for helping against their enemies.
5. Hel (known with the name of Kala) is worshipped by various humanoids that surround the desert and by all the evil shapechangers that are still nestled in this land, as well as bands of Urduk raiders corrupted by her clerics.