Yurtrus

Yurtrus was an orc god of death and disease. Where Shargaas symbolized the fear of what lurked in the bowels of the earth, Yurtrus embodied the constant threat of death and plagues with which the orcs lived every day.

"When White-Hands speaks."

- An orcish saying that meant "never".

Description
Yurtrus appeared as a vaguely orcish giant, a tall abomination riddled with rotting flesh and consumed by corruption. His peeling skin glowed green and was covered in oozing pustules and sores, his repulsive form rupturing with every step. Surrounding the disgusting body of the Rotting One was a huge cloud of noxious, stinking gases, which covered an approximately radius around him. Yurtrus also had no mouth, and so could not utter sounds.

The only acceptable part of Yurtrus were his clawed hands, which were smooth, unblemished, and otherwise completely normal save for their pure, chalk-white color.

Personality
Vile and inscrutable, Yurtrus was considered unpleasant even by the orcs. He was infamously uncommunicative (as befit a being with no mouth) and did not share his secrets. Despite his lawful tendencies, he was known to act on his capricious whims.

Powers
The horrid gas around Yurtrus's avatar caused mortals increasing levels of distress based on their vitality. Most were affected as if it was dust of sneezing and choking, but the more powerful felt it as a stinking cloud or even symbol of pain, with effects lasting as long as one remained within the smog.

Yurtrus himself couldn't be harmed through poisons or illnesses, and his touch infected his victims with a rotting disease (if not several). The loss of vitality from the immediate touch could be permanent, requiring multiple wish level spells to fully remedy, and would be fatal in a few days unless the subject was healed.

Aside from that, Yurtrus wielded powerful divine magic which he could use to cast spells of death and destruction.

Manifestations
Yurtrus's omens were usually outbreaks of disease, though he also manifested through the stench of rot or the decaying of white hands or slime.

Realm
Yurtrus's realm, commonly referred to as Fleshslough, was located on the diseased 1 layer of the Gray Wastes known as Oinos. Practically nothing was known about it since not even avatars sent by other gods ever left. What was known was that even by the standards of the emotionally-draining wastes, it was a dreary and depressing place. All plant-life died before getting so far as the border, and each time the entrance (two great black, iron doors set into a hillside) swung open, the stench of death wafted out. Even the yugoloths, ruled in the Gray Wastes by the master of plague and disease that was the Oinoloth, moved carefully through his territory. Only Yurtrus and his equally quiet, mouthless petitioners lived within.

In the World Tree cosmology, Fleshslough was located alongside the domains of the other orc gods in Nishrek, a land of eternal carnage where orc tribes fought unceasingly to prove themselves to their gods. In a dimension where (much like in Ysgard) those that died in glorious battle simply returned to life, Yurtrus was the most feared being of all. Petitioners who fought poorly were sent by Gruumsh to the mighty hill standing above the battlefields where Yurtrus dwelt, forced to enter Fleshslough where Yurtrus would separate their spirits from their flesh, permanently killing them.

Activities
Yurtrus only sent out avatars to spread plagues and cause pandemics whenever he so desired.

Relationships
By his very nature, Yurtrus did not typically form relationships. He did have a cold alliance of sorts with Shargaas, silently supporting the Night Lord's subtle efforts to counteract the influence of the three orcish gods of war (Gruumsh, Bahgtru, and Ilneval). Ilneval hated both Yurtrus and Shargaas for their underhanded methods and smell of cowardice, but was smart enough to put both their skills and abilities to use effectively when fighting other pantheons. Even Gruumsh, however, was frightened of Yurtrus despite likely being able to kill the Rotting One if he desired, as rumor had it that he was unwilling to get that close.

Outside of his own pantheon, Yurtrus was thought to have some relations with other gods of death and disease like Talona, although it was possibly more a rivalry than an alliance. He was perhaps the mightiest of the non-human gods of Hades with the exception of the sea-confined Panzuriel (though if the two ever bothered to fight, Yurtrus would be a serious challenge), but there were perhaps some places so virulent that even he would hesitate to go there. Like the rest of his pantheon, he hated the dwarf, elf, and goblin gods, and he opposed them when the opportunity arose.

Yurtrus had no known proxies, but despite his lack of a mouth and generally silent ways, he was known communicate through telepathic whispers to some.

Worshipers
Apart from some monastic orders, Yurtrus's church was not organized and its clergy was dispersed among numerous tribes and clans. The priests were rarely tribal leaders, but the terror inspired by their god gave them greater independence.



Many clerics are also assassins, divine disciples or monks. An entire monk order called the Brotherhood of the Scarlet Scourge was dedicated to him. Unlike other monks, these monks could learn clerical abilities without destroying their potential as monks. They bleached their hands and infected their own long-grown nails with red ache through a special powder made from blood to spread the disease among their enemies.

Dogma
Followers of Yurtrus believed death was inevitable for all living beings. The ravages of an epidemic were simply death taking victims who had not fallen in battle, so orcs should choose their end where it was most likely. However, disease would ultimately attack all living creatures. Orcs could only avoid the touch of White Hands by begging for mercy, and they should fear him, for death was always lurking in the shadows of Luthic's cave, and it will certainly strike again.

Clergy were intermediaries between the tribe and Yurtrus when the community was the victim of a disease or an epidemic. In addition, priests of Yurtrus handled the bodies of those who had succumbed to disease, died in battle, or passed away with old age (which was very rare for orcs). The priests of Yurtrus were also responsible for overseeing the food stocks of the tribe, determining when meat was rotten or water too polluted to drink. Thus, some tribes began to worship Yurtrus as a god of food and health to be appeased.

Rituals
The priests and followers of Yurtrus prayed at dusk for their spells.

The Lord of Maggots did not speak or communicate, but sometimes was receptive to prayers and sacrifices to save an individual or a tribe from the ravages of disease. Sacrifices were generally offered to the Rotting Lord by inoculating a particularly horrible disease in victims.

The Church recognized two major holy days. The first was the Ceremony of Contagion, which was celebrated on Midsummer's Eve. It was said on that day the god spread a contagion that sapped the world of life and drew it inevitably toward winter and the end of the year. After a series of bloody sacrifices to protect the orcs from the ravages of disease, the priests of Yurtrus went forth to spread disease and death worldwide, especially among other races.

The second holy day, known as Putrescent Death, was celebrated on the eve of Midwinter. During that night, the clergy of Yurtrus celebrated the death of the world, symbolized by the sacrifice of intelligent creatures from other races.

Connections
Yurtrus