Soorinek

Soorinek
Aliases	The Doubter
Alignment	Lawful Evil
Divine Rank	Demigod
Pantheon	Illumian
Portfolio	Intrigue, Secrets, Betrayal
Domains	Evil, Luck, Trickery
Home Plane	Negative Energy Plane and Baator
Worshippers	Illumians, Anarchists, Rebels, Doubters, Antireligionists
Favoured Weapon	Scimitar

Soorinek is one prime example of how ironic the touch of godhood can be in the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse. See, in life, this illumian sorceress was a hardcore anarchist and an antitheist who disdained religion as "mere trappings designed to accrue power from the gullible and weak-minded". Imagine her surprise when her final utterance, the outpouring of illumian word-magic that all illumians undergo at the moment of their death, somehow catapulted her into the ranks of the divine as the first evil member of the illumian pantheon, a role she would only be seconded in later with the ascension of Wathaku.

It goes without saying that Soorinek was, and arguably remains, kind of conflicted about the whole goddess thing. Admittedly, she quickly saw the usefulness and power of an organized church now that she was a bonafide deity, and claimed a portfolio based around her own talents for secret-stealing and espionage in life. But she hasn't forgotten her anarchistic roots, either. She uses the power of her church to tear down anyone or any group that exceeds its rightful place and authority. Many a powerful king, proud general, and pious priest has fallen victim to the subtle plotting of Soorinek’s followers. Even her fellow deities aren’t immune to Soorinek’s drive to make sure no one exceeds their station.

Soorinek directs her church from a citadel shaped like a gray orb that hangs in the nothingness of the Negative Energy Plane. But she has been spending more time lately conferring with the archdevils of the Nine Hells than in her lonely spherical palace. Soorinek herself appears as a black-skinned female illumian with a jharis - the equivalent of the question mark in the illumian language - floating around her head as her one and only sigil.

Soorinek pits her would-be clerics against one another from the first day in seminary training, announcing that only the top quarter of a given group will attain the priesthood. A series of tests and examinations gives the acolytes ample opportunity to betray and sabotage each another, so only those well versed in political maneuvering become Soorinek’s clerics.

“The sharpest nail gets the file,” states one of Soorinek’s proverbs She orders her minions to neutralize or tear down a power structure that has overstepped its bounds. Sometimes she targets powerful and ambitious cabals, sending her worshipers to bring them to heel. She also directs her clerics and followers to work as agents of illumian revenge, exhorting them to attack any group that has wronged the illumians.

Soorinek’s prayers begin with the phrase “Soorinek says . . .” and take the form of proverbs. There are no group prayers in Soorinek’s faith, and her prayers of intercession describe a Soorinek worshiper alone against the world.

Soorinek’s shrines feature gaudy paintings, with frescoes on the walls depicting illumians about to perform great deeds such as monster slaying, marching off to war, or casting powerful spells. But they never actually depict the great deeds themselves; and, by tradition, each illumian face is painted so that it looks toward the same place: an utterly blank wall at the far end of the shrine. Furniture tends to be simple and individualized, with chairs rather than pews and pillows rather than kneeling rails.

Soorinek’s clerics offer a number of rites for illumians seeking a blessing of good fortune—or ill fortune for a hated rival. Rites are usually brief, one-on-one affairs between priest and worshiper. Clerics of Soorinek hold confidentiality in high regard, so an illumian usually feels comfortable performing a rite that wishes bad luck on an enemy, confident that the cleric won’t tell anyone about performing the rite.

Soorinek’s herald—and rumored consort—is a pit fiend. She sends bearded devils, bone devils, and ice devils in response to planar ally spells.