Hirai

Title Our Lord in Iron
Portfolio Strength Battle Weapons
Alignment Chaotic Neutral
Worshipers Soldiers, mercenaries, brigands, bloodthirsty savages; Rai, barbarians
Worshiper Alignment CG,CN,N,CE
Domains Chaos, Destruction, Glory, Strength, War
Subdomains Blood, Ferocity, Protean, Rage, Resolve, Tactics
Favored Weapon Greatsword
Symbol Sword in mountain
Allows creation or rising of undead: No
Favored Animal(s) Rhinoceros
Sacred Colors Gray,Red

Hirai is the god of battle, strength, and weapons.

Dogma

The Rai (Who's name derives from the god himself) have been worshiping this Deity since ancient times and was the origin of the principles that most Rai practice even to this day. Hirai appears as a three horned Rai wearing spiked armor, glowing red eyes and wielding a massive greatsword.

He believes in strength and power, the verdict of the sword, and the music of clashing iron. He does not favor good or evil, and the only right he confers upon mortals is the right to fight for their next breath. As long as people struggle against themselves and each other, Hirai's teachings live on. The greatest moments in a Hiraite's life are those spent locked in close combat, with every moment threatening annihilation-all else is dull and dreary.

Hirai was unknown to the world until the ancient Rai began attacking the continent of Ezlia in ancient times and his word has risen throughout the world ever since, Hirai has been there to inspire mortals to greatness on the battlefield. Under his iron gaze, the worthy find glory-and those who fall are forgotten.

Hirai's priests believe that if the world ever became free of war, his spirit would abandon Xilrin in disgust, but he would eagerly return should mortals ever take up arms again. Despite advances in magic, technology, and the tools of war, Our Lord in Iron is remarkably constant, for his focus is on battle itself, not the reasons for it or the types of weapons used. Whether a battle is between orcs and humans or elves and creatures from beyond the stars, Hirai is there to glory in the vital energy of conflict. Hirai's entire focus is on battle and the crucible of struggle. He understands the need for archery, siege weapons, and stealth, but nothing satisfies him more than face-to-face melee combat in which sweat, blood, and fear fog the air. While Kamus represents the tactical side of war, and Eyvra its necessity as a last resort when evil cannot be stopped in any other way, Hirai is the excitement, battle-lust, and brutality of combat.

He is indifferent to whether his followers are knights in plate mail, goblins wielding dogslicers, or children armed with table knives-anyone willing to put up a fight, no matter how pathetic or pointless, is worth swinging at. He does not condone the wild slaughter of innocents and invalids, for such acts are the parlance of murderers and butchers, not of warriors. Likewise, he can be merciful, giving quarter to those who surrender, but he is quick to slay any who pretend to submit in the hope of striking while the superior opponent is unaware, and those who refuse to fight at all are barely worth a scornful beheading.

It is more pleasing to Hirai to see a soldier fight a score of battles in his lifetime than die in the first, and if compromises or truces mean warriors live on to fight again, he supports diplomacy over seeing every soldier fight to a pointless death, but he doesn't care for negotiations and quickly loses interest when tempers cool and blades are sheathed. Battles of words and wits tire him, not because he lacks the intellect for them, but because he finds them as pointless and unsatisfying as crushing ants-true challenges are those where lives are on the line and a moment's hesitation can mean blood and pain. As good and evil have little meaning for him, he may fight demons one day and noble dragons another, just to challenge himself and test his own mettle. Among other deities, Hirai is seen as warrior with few equals, but prone to rage and destruction when he grows bored.

Artistic depictions of Hirai are uncommon, as his followers prefer mighty deeds and boastful words to quieter, more permanent works of art. Of the depictions that are created, however, his image, shape, or shadow is often drawn in blood or hammered together out of scraps of metal. A few temples with forges have molds for casting weapons, and the spillover channels in the molds lead to hand-sized receptacles shaped like spiked, armored men with Hirai's symbol on their chests. These heavy, inadvertently created icons of the faith are used both as holy symbols and for focusing group prayers before battle. Hirai shows his favor through iron armor or weapons that gleam or leak blood when touched. Certain legendary warriors are known for leaving a trail of blood and gore behind them even when not in battle, and sometimes a favored, lone warrior outnumbered by a superior force manages to survive because his enemies slip on the blood-slick bodies of the dead. Hirai's anger most often manifests in sudden patches of rust that appear to completely ruin a valued weapon or piece of armor, and he has been known to punish a cowardly warrior by causing his armor to fall apart into a pile of rusty scraps just as enemies converge on him. His holy symbol is a mountaintop with an enormous sword jutting from it.

The Church

Hirai's is an all-or-nothing faith. An individual is either brave or a coward; he either stares the enemy in the eye or drops his gaze in shame. Hirai demands only that his faithful constantly prove themselves in battle. If there's no convenient war, daily duels and other mock battles can satisfy this need for a time, but Hiraites living in a peaceful region tend to wander off in search of conflict or start some of their own.

A typical worshiper of Hirai is a soldier, mercenary, brigand, or bloodthirsty raider, or even a smith who crafts the tools of war. His followers tend to be impulsive, violent, and prone to grabbing whatever they feel like owning; as a result, there are far more evil followers of Hirai than good. Fights between the faithful are common, though they are usually not fought to the death; they are undertaken to establish dominance or claims over treasure, to impress lovers, or just for entertainment. Among the faithful there is often a sense that those fighting on the same side are kin-comrades willing to shed blood in a ritual of violence predating civilization and even their god himself.

Most church music is based on Hirai's holy text, the Hiraishomi, and is suitable for marching, charging, working, or dancing that favors stomps or other loud footfalls. Hiraite bards use their magic to duplicate the sound of weapons breaking bones and the screams of the injured, giving any performance the semblance of a battlefield; evil bards of the faith may actually own disposable slaves they "play" for this purpose.

Hirai doesn't care about marriage or familial bonds. He knows such things are necessary to produce the next generation of warriors, but doesn't care whether children come from an exclusive marriage or from polygamous or random couplings he despises rape and discourages it believing that is a weak and cowardly way to pass down your seed. He understands that love can inspire passions that make men and women fight, and that protecting a spouse and children is often why mortals go to war, but he values these reasons no more highly than territorial claims, family honor, greed, or survival.

In human communities where his faith is popular, marriage is no more or less common than in other lands. Some of the church's stories tell of mighty warriors who swore to only take a lover who could defeat them in single combat-and how when they met their matches, the couples became even more powerful in battle together than they were alone.

Temples and Shrines

Hirai's temples are more akin to fortresses than to places of worship-they are built with thick walls, iron gates, internal forges and stables, and spikes on the parapets, even in the center of an otherwise peaceful city. The priests keep them stockpiled with armor and weapons, typically harvested from dead enemies and kept clean and battle-ready by acolytes; many adventurers laden with salvaged armor head to a Hiraite temple first to sell their heavy loot. The priests don't bother to record what armor came from whom, so it is entirely possible for a young priest's first set of armor to have previously been worn by a fallen ore or a hero of the faith. A typical shrine to Our Lord in Iron is a pile of rocks capped with a helm or a sword jammed into a crevice in a boulder. Sometimes the shrines mark the graves of fallen champions, and other times merely a battlefield where much blood was shed.

Taboos

Though your religion is about death and destruction, it is also about facing those things head-on. People who attack others using the tools of weaklings are butchers and vermin. Attacking a foe from behind, murdering the defenseless, insisting that weaklings hold weapons so they can be struck down, and using poison or disease earns both scorn and enmity from true Hiraians. Worse still are the cowards who flee battles they could win if their hearts were strong, or the pacifists who insist that conflict is avoidable. These latter two are fair game for any Hiraian, as someone who will not fight is very different from someone who cannot, and it may be that a challenge is all the coward needs to find his courage. When Hiraians face each other in combat, they often salute each other. They do not show pity, but they do show mercy when they have defeated their foes. they may carry a respect for each other on the battlefield. This respect doesn’t stop the killing, but rather makes it fiercer as both sides compete for their god’s favor.

A Priest's Role

To worship Hirai is to recognize that fame and glory are fleeting, and that all that matters is how one acquits oneself in the moment. The companionship of others can lift a priest of Hirai up for a time, but in the end she must prove her powers every day or risk coasting on past glories. Hirai's clergy may be savage, or they may be cool and calculating, yet their goal is always to know that they spent their lives pushing their limits.

The church values strength over age or knowledge, and the senior priest in any tribe or temple typically reaches that position by defeating hosts of enemies and beating down all rivals. When several leaders come together, there is usually some gruff posturing and a few brawls until a hierarchy is established. Underhanded tactics such as poison are considered dishonorable in these bouts, though spells that enhance the priest, his weapons, or armor are considered fair. The head of a particular area may be addressed as a lord or lady, or by a local military title such as "commander," "captain," or even "chief".

Priests of Hirai in aggressive warrior cultures earn fame and riches by raiding other tribes or lands. Exiles and those from more "civilized" lands seek employment as mercenaries or bodyguards, or pursue criminal endeavors, such as brigandry, that allow them to crack skulls on a regular basis. Some travel the land as "monster hunters," usually out of a desire to test their mettle against strange beasts rather than an interest in helping threatened communities. In especially lawless lands they may find themselves deputized by local guard captains to help keep the peace-which they accept only because it gives them an excuse to fight. Priests usually have ranks in Intimidate, Heal, and Perception; those with a more tactical bent also study Knowledge (history), and the cannier ones put ranks in Sense Motive to better deal with tricky opponents. Nearly all of Hirai's priests are clerics. A few battle- druids are part of the clergy, however, lending an animalistic perspective and unusual spells to the church's battle-repertoire. Warbards and rangers serve the church in essential roles but are not considered part of the clergy.

Inquisitors of Hirai are very rare and make it their personal mission to chase down deserters and others who flee from battle, as well as soldiers who turn on their own. When they witness others fleeing, these coward-slayers prefer to finish the current battle before hunting their prey-this gives the scum a running start, makes the game more challenging, and avoids giving the impression that the inquisitor is also fleeing. When dealing with traitors who attack their own allies in battle, inquisitors immediately intervene and-assuming the perpetrator isn't being magically controlled-dispatch the offender and audibly curse his or her name.

Holy Text

Hirai has no sacred text, but a collection of seven heroic poems called Hirashomi explains the church's creed. Young priests quickly learn to recite these poems perfectly, as elders beat them every time they make a mistake. The poems may be spoken or sung, and each has a distinct rhythm so a familiar listener can easily recognize them when played on a drum. Though individual translations have slightly different meanings, all translations of a poem use the same rhythm (meaning that in some languages, particularly Elven and Devash, the phrasing is awkward).

Holidays

Unlike other martial faiths, such as Samaria's church, which records the dates of great victories and celebrates them as holy days,Hirai's church has little interest in keeping track of old battles beyond creating the occasional shrine at a battle's end. The faithful celebrate battles won today and look forward to victories in the future. Unless a war or battle's anniversary is strongly associated with a particular date, such as the first of the year or a prominent holiday, the church may forget about the specific date within a year or two, only mentioning it when it comes to mind or serves as an example to extol. Of course, any number of events may provoke such a memory and an impromptu celebration. For example, a change in the weather may cause a twinge in the old battle scars on a priestess's knee, causing her to reminisce about that battle in a speech a few days later; likewise, as a priest repels the orcs trying to sack his town, he may exhort the town guard to be brave, drawing from memories of his first battle against orc hordes. Thus, a particular month may have no "holy days" one year and several the next.

Relations With Other Gods

Traditionally, Hirai has little interest in the affairs of other gods, considering politics a waste of time. He has battled with most other deities, with demon lords, and with other beings of power when their interests happened to conflict with his or they opposed him directly. As such, other gods lay plans against the day when Hirai might cross their paths again. The craftier deities, knowing he is always willing to enter a battle and cares little for its purpose or the goals of either side, find ways to get him on their side of a fight, promising him the chance to leap into the most heated waves of combat, allies at his back. Many divine conflicts have been decided based on whom Hirai chose to fight beside-and that allegiance may have changed over the course of the conflict.

Hirai is generally on friendly terms with Yarnos, not out of any common philosophy but because the Prince of Darkness often supplies his divine minions with new and more effective weapons of war. He respects Besmara for her strength and devotion to battle-both deities are more interested in the excitement of the struggle than the spoils of war or the reason for fighting. Hirai is unimpressed by and a bit contemptuous of Cadmus's reliance on magic over physical might, but still feels a kinship with the other god in their mutual love of warlike power and indifference to its ethics. He even feels some admiration for Cadmus's strategic prowess.

There is no nuance or mitigating factor, however, for the contempt he feels for Nemyth, as assassination and murder are for cowards. In recent years, a conflict has gradually built between Hirai and Zephyra. The Lord in Iron encourages his mortal champions to wage war and become more skilled at martial endeavors, making them more difficult to kill. He believes a valorous death in battle is the proper reward for a life of devotion to such pursuits, and becomes indignant at the idea of seeing his favorite worshipers humiliated by the debilitating effects of disease.

Zephyra takes particularly keen pleasure in bringing ruin to the mightiest physique with lingering illness, or tempting the most disciplined paragon of bodily health into gluttony, and sees no reason that Hirai's faithful should be exempt from her efforts. Her interest has been piqued by the Lord in Iron's implication that his faithful should be reserved for death in battle, and a number of new Zephyrian cults have sprung up in recent years. They pose as warrior sects and challenge other fighters to contests of skill, but infect their weapons with both mundane and magical diseases. Even the lightest scratch may contaminate a fighter with a stealthy pestilence that will lie dormant for months before beginning to slowly, inexorably wither his limbs and sap his strength, until he is left too helpless to feed himself, let alone lift a blade. Hirai's frustration grows, and he may soon choose to escalate the tension between them-whether by striking at her directly or encouraging his followers to focus on seeking out and slaying her followers.

Hirai's worshipers have no particular enmity or friendship with the followers of other religions. If the others accept the superiority of Hirai's teachings, they see no need to fight them, but otherwise, they're happy to engage them at the end of a blade. Because their god has fought almost all other deities at times, and has allied with all of them at others, his faithful see no need to declare themselves for one side or another for any real duration. They admire the physical might of many of Irori's worshipers, but see the effort invested in such discipline as wasted when it is not applied to martial pursuits.

They respect the tactical skill of Kamus's followers and the passionate charges of Samarian or Eyvran crusaders, yet disdain their fundamental restrictions on where and when to fight.

The following content has been adopted from the god, Gorum, created by Pazio. Due to the game's individual setting, races, names and locations may be altered or removed entirely. Please recognize that these gods are not canon to the world of Golarion, so any comments, complaints, or concerns can be directed to the game's admin staff for further inquiry and answers. Thank you in advance.

This website uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., which are used under Paizo's Community Use Policy. We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. This website is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo Inc. For more information about Paizo's Community Use Policy, please visit paizo.com/communityuse. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, please visit paizo.com.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License