Church of Cyric

The Church of Cyric was the organization of fanatics and zealots dedicated to the worship and expanded influence of Cyric, the once-mortal man that ascended to godhood in the mid–14 century DR. The deity known "the One and All" to his followers became the god of murder, intrigue, strife, and others, before losing the domain of tyranny for that of madness, and finally being left with only trickery and lies. "It depends on me, of course. Everything does. Who shall live. Who shall die. What is, what shall be... Let them scorn me if they dare. I am the One, the All, the Face Behind the Mask. I am Everything."

- Cyric to his future chosen Malik el Sami, on the Night of Despair.

Organization
The "church" was a vast and far-reaching organization that comprised individual cell-like cults within many major cities across Faerûn. Each cell kept the location and activities of their group secret to others, often leading to conflicts between individual cells.

Each Cyricist temple was led by the "most powerful" local priest or blackguard, each of whom subsequently established a hierarchy as they saw fit. Rivals often vied for power, often leading to regular and disruptive changes in leadership and overt feelings of paranoia among these leaders. There was no single head of the Cyricist religion, though several influential head priests believed themselves destined for such glory.

Titles
Cyric's church had only a select few true priests, individuals that referred to one another as "the Sworn". Titles within the clergy included Dark Master, Hand of Cyric, Watchful Skull, and Dread Death.

Activities
"A Dark Sun has risen o'er this court..."

- Faerûnian saying alluding to inner turmoil.

In brief terms, the church's collective aim was to accumulate more power for themselves and Cyric, and destroy any groups or individuals that they perceived as rivals or threats. Agents of the faith were directed to infiltrate political bodies and power circles in cities across the Realms, especially those led by tyrants and despots, in order to spread mistrust and internal conflict within. To grow and foster devotion to Cyric's dogma, the priests took these actions without going so far as to plunge each kingdom or empire into outright chaos, lest some other deity reap the benefits of their work.

In practice, however, many priests of Cyric merely spent their time vying for greater power within the church and plotting against the leaders of rival cells. This discord within the church was intentional and not a malfunction of its operations however, as Cyric himself offered conflicting directives and often self-destructive orders to his own followers.

Rituals
Ritual sacrifices and blood offerings were always required when giving prayer to Cyric. Priests prayed for their spells during the night hours after the moon had risen.

Among the known ceremonies of the Cyricist faith were the Ritual of Honest Pain, which allowed the recipient to better lie without detection; the Ritual of Black Charms, which gave someone the daily power to easily influence the opinions of others; and the Ritual of the Dark Flames, which empowered his faithful with the ability to conture black flames of negative energy.

Celebrations
The Church of Cyric celebrated few holy days throughout the Calendar of Harptos. An eclipse was always a momentous occasion, celebrated with feasts, prayer, and the ritualistic murder of prominent devotee of Lathander.

For most of the 1360s DR, the day of Marpenoth 30 was one of celebration for the Cyricist clergy. This day commemorated the purge of Banites from Cyric's most holy city. After the Fall of Zhentil Keep in 1368 DR, however, the celebrations were immediately ended and any records of the holiday were stricken from church records.

In a spiteful twist of irony, the day of Cyric's ascension to godhood was not revered as a holy day for the church as it was also the day when Cyric's mortal nemesis Midnight became the new goddess of magic.

A "Day of the Dark Sun" was announced by any local priest when their cell acquired a subject worthy enough to sacrifice to their god.

Tactics
To achieve their goals of widespread distrust and conflict, Cyricists resorted to nearly any tactic available to them, including spying, kidnapping, infiltration of other churches, economic disruption, and of course murder. In some cases, temple leaders brainwashed others to enlist them for missions that they knew would end with the convert's death.

Individual agents preferred to carry out operations alone or in small groups, as there was less chance of their actions attracting unwanted notice. These small cells only acted in coordination with one another when a strong-willed leader arose within their ranks to take control and achieve greater objectives.

Base of Operations
Zhentil Keep existed as the only true central seat of power for the church of Cyric following his ascension, lasting about a decade until the city's fall in 1368 DR.

Temples
Cyricist places of worship varied in formation and appearance, springing up in abandoned buildings, isolated caves, dungeons, city sewer systems, and most notably, abandoned temples that once served the Dead Three. The one unifying theme was the inclusion of a sacrificial altar within. Notable Cyricist temples included:


 * Circle of Darkness, the original temple of Cyric in Zhentil Keep led by Xeno Mirrormane.
 * Dark God Reformed, the black stone fortress founded in Voonlar.
 * Monastery of the Ebon Dome, an abandoned Sharran temple located in the Shadowfell.
 * Mountain of Skulls, a skull-shaped cavern established within the Cloud Peaks in Amn.
 * Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse, the dual-tower fortress-temple whose leaders aligned themselves with the Sothillisian Empire, prior to the founding of the monstrous nation in the Weldath.

Symbology
The holy symbol of the faith was a jawless skull set before a purple of black sunburst. Individual temples modified the symbol as they saw fit, with additions such as a sword added beneath the skull, or flames within its eyesockets.

Dress
Cyric's priests dressed in purple or black robes lined with silver, along with silver bracers or bracelets bearing his holy symbol, symbolizing their enslavement to the One True God. When out in the field, they wore inconspicuous apparel that allowed them to easily act without drawing unwanted attention. If they chose to inspire terror rather than appear incognito, the priests preferred spiked black armor with a helm depicting some monstrous visage.

Magic Items
The Cyrinishad was among the most holy artifacts to the church of Cyric. Created by the Dark Sun himself, the book forcibly converted to his faith anyone that read its words or heard them aloud.

The Touch of Cyric was a unique, ivory ring that bore the dark power of Cyric. It remained in the possession of the Great Stone Head in the Nightingale Court of Myth Drannor.

According to legend, there were seven black iron keys that were needed to free Cyric from his imprisonment within the Supreme Throne. These keys were considered extremely valuable, each fetching upwards of 50,000 gp from the right purchaser.

Beliefs
Cyric was viewed by his devotees as the only true divine sovereign in all of Faerûnian cosmology, one that had been a god throughput the entirety of existence (despite acknowledgement of his brief life as a mortal). They believed that his holy word— the One True Way—must be spread across all the Realms by any means necessary. Authority figures were only to be obeyed so long as they maintained order, otherwise should slain in Cyric's name. Anyone that opposed the One True Way, especially the faithful of any other deities, were to be exterminated and strife sown amidst the circumstances of their deaths. Rather than cause outright bedlam, Cyricist clergy sought to make examples of the One's enemies, to others fearful of his inevitable control over their existence.

Attitude
Like Cyric himself, the followers of the One True Way regularly expressed extreme narcissism, misogyny, misanthropy towards the world around them. They were often prone to paranoid and antisocial behavior, especially when trapped in pointless "competition" with one another. They spoke of Cyric in absurd exaggerations and referred to other gods with disparaging terms, saving the worst vitriol for his enemies Oghma ("the Thief"), Mystra ("the Harlot") and Kelemvor ("the Usurper").

Orders
The anarchic nature of Cyric's church led to the formation of numerous splinter organizations and factions. Among these were:

Clerical Orders

 * Dark Hands, the zealous assistants at the Dark God Reformed.
 * Purifiers, a sect formed after the fall of Zhnetil Keep to eradicate any false believers within the church.
 * Swords of Cyric, these militant priests of the Dark Sun openly attacked the clergy of other faiths.

Military Orders

 * Company of the Ebon Spur, a dual-branch order of mounted crusaders that operated out of Amn.
 * Cyric's Paladins, a collection of some six-score Zhent guardsmen that held collection delusions of grandeur.
 * Sisters of Cyric, an all-female regiment of Thayan cavalry that rode atop black unicorns.

Assassin Guilds

 * Flames of the Dark Sun, an order of assassins headquartered in the Cloud Peaks.

Classes
Specialty priests of Cyric were known as strifeleaders. They were Cyric's foremost agents that extended his will into the power structures that existed across the Realms, and into the lives of their subjects.

Relationships
The church of Cyric was loathed and in some cases forbidden across many lands. As befitting their nature, they had no true allies. The church did occasionally partner itself with other malevolent organizations or with some of the more-monstrous races of the Realms, so long as their goals aligned with that of Cyric's will. Throughout the years, Cyricist clergy members have worked alongside the Cult of the Dragon as well as the Order of the Long Death.

For a time, the church of Cyric was wholly intertwined with the enigmatic organization known as the Zhentarim. After the mortal Cyric rose to godhood and took over the portfolio of Bane, many Bane-worshiping Zhents immediately turned to their new god, at least for a time. Other Zhentarim agents merely paid lip service to Cyric while secretly continuing veneration Bane, or his divine son Iyachtu Xvim.

After return of the god Bane to the Faerûnian pantheon, the dynamic between the Cyricist faith and the Zhentarim reversed, and members of the Black Network became counted among the church's most hated enemies.

Birth and Growth
As the mortal yet always-infinite Cyric gloriously ascended to godhood at the culmination of the Avatar Crisis in the, his church was formed in short order. It grew with exceptional speed, hastened by the deaths of the Dead Three—that is Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul—that very year. Many disaffected faithful of evil intent turned to Cyric after the deaths of their respective patron deities, and some that did not were still granted divine magic by him, for reasons known only to his brilliance.

The Dark Sun's faith flourished in the formerly Banite city of Zhentil Keep, and within no time at all Cyric ascended as one of the three great evil gods of the Realms' cosmology. The church continued for well over the following decade, spreading as far away as the Sword Coast, Calimshan, and even Thay. Even the insular Bedine people of the Anauroch were illuminated by Cyric's glory, venerating his aspect N'asr.

Despite the great many converts, some obstinate lackeys of Bane still clung to heretical faith within Zhentil Keep. Frustrated with their lack of vision, Cyric declared those infidels in his most holy city must be punished. Cyric's inquisitors initiated the Banedeath on Marpenoth 30 in the, purging nearly all Banite worship from Zhentil Keep and driving any remnants underground. As was their right, the church took wholesale control of the city and claimed it in his name. This bloody coup inspired a similar (albeit less-famous) inquisition in Amn the following year.

Crisis
As The One and All gloriously acquired the domain of madness in the, he initiated another inquisition against the faithful of Bane known as the Second Banedeath. He transformed the followers of rival deities into massive Gondar machines of destruction and laid waste to the Zhent-controlled fortress of Darkhold in the Western Heartlands, the community of Teshwave in the Dalelands, and the Citadel of the Raven and the city Yûlash in the Moonsea region.

That same year, The One directed a monstrous army of the Moonsea North—including frost giants, gnolls and other beastmen—to descend upon the unworthy of Zhentil Keep and create a tempestuous swell of prayer in his honor as doom approached.

Finally, he commissioned the writing of the most holy tome The Cyrinishad by a Zhent scribe, after several failed attempts that did not capture the real essence of the Dark Sun. As Cyric prepared to have his opus read before the people of the city, the treacherous former Banite Fzoul Chembryl read aloud from a blasphemous work of fiction, The True Life of Cyric. This calamitous mistake led to numerous tragedies for the city, preventing them from hearing Cyric's glory and attempting to lay out his intricate plan that was too much for them to comprehend. Ultimately, Zhentil Keep was destroyed an event that came to be known to the blasphemous as the Day of Cyric's Reckoning.

Despite these trifling setbacks, Cyric's truly loyal infiltrated towns and cities all across the Realms and inserted themselves into positions of power by the. Vital holdings included Llorkh in the Savage Frontier and the Host Tower of the Arcane in Luskan.

Languor
After Cyric finally murdered Mystra in the, he was for some reason imprisoned within the Supreme Throne in Pandemonium for one thousand years. This terrible injustice led to an unfortunate decline in his influence across the Realms.

As of the late 15 century, all that remained of the One True Faith beyond the Lands of Intrigue were scattered and frantic cults, determined to endure throughout the years until his mighty return. While the other lands were not fortunate enough to receive his blessing, Cyric's faithful strifeleaders continued his righteous work wherever possible. Some of these loyal agents returned to roles within the reformed Zhentarim, just as they did when the glory of the Dark Sun was at its apex.

The One's very own chosen, and perhaps most loyal servant, managed to witness a manifestation of the Dark Sun during the events of the Second Sundering in the. The Dark Sun tasked him with the divine mission to assassinate the chosen of the lesser gods Tyr and Sune, so that he could claim control over Mystra's cherished Weave instead of the unworthy Shar.

Members
"Bow down before the supreme power of Cyric, and yield to him the blood of all who do not believe in his supreme power."

- The charge given to Cyricist priests.

The faith attracted some of the worst and most power-hungry of Faerûnian society: unabashed liars, murderers, spies, and shameless traitors to home and country. They were considered among the least loyal people of the Realms, even among their fellow faithful. To coincide with the church's intrinsic lack of order, the faith welcomed any and all that chose to venerate Cyric. Converts to the faith were subject to horrific rituals and in some cases torture, meant to prove their devotion to their mad god.

Notable Cyricists

 * Basillus, a priest from the Moonsea region that went mad and turned to Cyric after his family died.
 * Elisande, Cyric's chosen that famously aided Graz'zt during the Rage of Demons.
 * Gareth Cormaeril, a fallen paladin of a Waterdhavian nobility.
 * Haarken Akhmelere, leader of the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse.
 * Malik el Sami, Finder of the Book and another of Cyric's chosen.
 * Xeno Mirrormane, head priest of the Cyricist temple in Zhentil Keep.

Heartlands
For the decade after its formation, faith of Cyric was strongest in the Moonsea especially within Zhentil Keep. The resurrection of Bane in 1370 DR led to the religion being outlawed within the Keep, and falling out favor with the Moonsea people, as was the case in Mulmaster.

The mysterious rift known as the Darkwatch north of the Glaemril river was considered a place of unholy power by Cyric's priests.

Sword Coast
A monument to Cyric's eternal glory was constructed atop one of the Boareskyr Bridge, depicting his triumphant defeat of the madman Bhaal.

Mount Waterdeep was a sacred site to the worshipers of Cyric as this was the location of his apotheosis. As such, many of Cyric's more fanatical followers would make regular pilgrimages to the city of Waterdeep.

Lands of Intrigue
Worship of Cyric became widespread throughout much of the Lands of Intrigue, during the decade that followed Cyric's ascension. Amnian followers of the Dead Three quickly aligned themselves with the Dark Sun, and the faith gained further prominence as the Shadow Thieves aligned themselves with his tenets. Throughout the course of a century the faith became intertwined with Amnian values such as determinism and self-sufficiency, as evidenced by its representation with the Pommarch on the Council of Five.

The faith gained popularity in Tethyr during the Tethyrian Interregnum, but became wholly unwelcome after the end of the Reclamation Wars in 1368 DR. It remained strong within the nation of Muranndin throughout the 15 century DR.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Prince of Lies • Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate series (Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear)