| Blood Congregation | |
| Ascendant | Herenicus Coldraven |
| Oligarchs | Charn and Semcath |
| Patron | Apollyon |
| Leadership Style | Oligarchy |
| Founder | Xerimor |
| City | Mhaldor |
| Classes Permitted | Apostate, Magi, Occultist, and Shaman |
| House Tutor | Morimbuul |
| Heraldric Arms | Sanguine, a baalzadeen statant guardant Or |
| Icon | The Crown of Thorns |
- This page is about the House. For other uses, please see Apostates (disambiguation).
Founded in 318 AF by Father Xerimor, and formerly known as the Apostate guild, The Blood Congregation is one of the Houses of Mhaldor. The Spire of Horror is the House estate of the Blood Congregation, and is located in Mhaldor's Baelgrim Fortress.
They serve as the clergy of the city, devoting themselves to the Seven Truths in all fields with a fierce zealotry.
Their house tutor is Morimbuul, a troublesome daemon who has fathered three children with mortal mothers. His children are Aznahz, Sabatu, and Nebatu. Inchzlit, a mad gremlin, is the humgii that resides in the Spire of Horror.
The Blood Congregation had an icon called the Crown of Thorns. It was destroyed in the year 433 AF by a joint effort involving Eleusis, Shallam, and Ashtan. It was reerected in 441 AF.
Founding
The foundation of the Apostate class and, subsequently, the guild itself occurred after a number of unusual occurrences. The first hint to its beginning was in the year 318 AF, when images of dark priests began to appear to Mhaldorians, while angels in Shallam began to show demonic traits.
In the same year, the rogue occultist Xerimor summoned Lord Taug and was told to travel to the Chaos Plane to slay Danaeus.
Upon the completion of this task, Taug imprisoned Danaeus' soul in an altar in Mhaldor, with the intent of imprisoning him there for eternity. Naturally, Lord Golgotha was enraged by this action, and instructed Xenophage and the Occultists to construct a portal strong enough for him to enter Sapience through. Upon his arrival, he freed Danaeus and, to fill the void left in the altar, imprisoned Xerimor in his place.
The citizens of Mhaldor worked to free Xerimor from his prison, lest his soul be bound there for eternity. They were instructed to make a sacrifice of a holy being to achieve this goal. Though many attempts were made to capture and slay a priest for this purpose, none were successful. Finally, Azmodai, the pit fiend, summoned the priest Valeo, whose angel was slain and used as a sacrifice to free Xerimor.
Immediately upon his release, Xerimor explained that the altar could be used to unleash a demonic force upon the land, and he then opened a portal in this manner; one that was large enough for an entire army of demons and other infernal beasts.
Valeo intervened, however, striking Xerimor with his holy mace and then using the last of his power to resurrect his angel. In the meantime, the demon general, Morimbuul walked through the portal, the first of what should have been many demons. It was then that Valeo's angel stepped through the portal with her master's corpse. This had an unpleasant effect, at least from the perspective of the followers of Evil, as it balanced out the powers of the portal, and caused it to collapse.
Rather than waste the efforts put forth by the Mhaldorians, Xerimor completed a ritual to bind the now stranded Morimbuul to a life of servitude. With Morimbuul's knowledge, the Apostates were formed.
Events
The Apostate guild and the city of Mhaldor found themselves at odds only once during the history of the guild and city, though the repercussions were heavy for Mhaldorians.
In the year 333 AF, an apostate named Dalamar broke guild and city law by exterminating The Garden of Rapture. Herb bans were placed upon Mhaldor by Oakstone at this time, crippling the city with an herb shortage. Dalamar was cast out from the city, but remained in the Apostate guild. This caused some strife between Mhaldor and the Apostate guild, and Father Detritus was refused the position of Viceroy due to the trouble.
With blessings from Lady Indrani, Vicar Appolonia contested Father Detritus for guildmaster in an attempt to patch up guild and city relations. This only caused more misunderstandings, however. Eventually, the guild and city came to an agreement, and Father Detritus was permitted to take his place as a rightful Viceroy of Mhaldor.
Messiahs of the Damned
The leader of the Congregation is referred to as the Messiah of the Damned. Former Messiahs are known as Fathers or Abbesses, depending on if they or male or female, respectively.
Secretaries of the Congregation are known as Vicars.
- Xerimor
- 318 AF to 321 AF
- Mistral
- 321 AF to 324 AF
- Detritus
- 325 AF to 335 AF
- Afflicted
- 335 AF to 350 AF
- Ladydeath
- 350 AF to 359 AF
- Ranzou
- 359 AF to 378 AF
- Ravai
- 378 AF to 385 AF
- Wulfen
- 385 AF to 397 AF
- Herenicus
- 397 AF to 413 AF
- Cypra
- 413 AF to 431 AF
- Dyzanru
- 431 AF to 439 AF
In 439 AF, the Blood Congregation switched from a Dictatorship to an Oligarchy, below are the political leaders of the house since that time.
| Messiah of the Damned | Term of Service | Apostle | Term of Service | Apostle | Term of Service |
| Dyzanru | 439 AF to 452 AF | Herenicus
Wulfen |
439 AF to 440 AF
440 AF to 452 AF |
Rameus
Cypra |
439 AF to 440 AF
440 AF to 452 AF |
| Ranzou (interim) | 452 AF to 452 AF | Wulfen | 452 AF to 452 AF | Cypra | 452 AF to 452 AF |
| Wulfen | 452 AF to 470 AF | Ranzou
Nocroth |
452 AF to ? AF
? AF to 470 AF |
Cypra | 452 AF to 470 AF |
| Nocroth | 470 AF to present | Nulaye | 470 AF to present | Rachis
Herenicus |
470 AF to ? AF
? AF to present |
Patrons
The Apostate guild has been patroned in the past by Lord Sartan, Lady Indrani, and Lord Apollyon. They were also briefly patroned by Lord Thoth after Lady Indrani left Mhaldor, and Lord Shaitan after the separation of Lord Sartan into the Twin Lords of Evil.
They are listed below in no particular order.
- Lord Sartan
- Most of the patronship of the original guild was under Sartan, at varying times.
- Lady Indrani
- Indrani matroned the house for some time, until She took Her leave of Mhaldor.
- Lord Thoth
- Thoth briefly patroned the original guild only briefly, as a placeholder after Indrani was no longer matron.
- Lord Apollyon
- Apollyon took the mantle of patron shortly after the split of Sartan. He is the current patron.
- Lord Shaitan
- Immediately following the split of Sartan into Shaitan and Apollyon, Shaitan was automatically made the patron of the house. He also patroned the house during an extended absence by Lord Apollyon.