There are few members of the First Herd more terrifying than the Gelder, yet also few others more trusted to destroy even worse monsters. Gor Gorma is the dread eldest sister of Oria and Galana, who was given the domain of Hell in the depths of the earth. Where Galana was given the sky to roam and Oria given the Bright Earth to tend, Gor Gorma rules the deepest Underworld, mistress of the demons that consume and destroy.
Gor Gorma revels in the fear she causes, and no god dares bar her path. She even enters the camp of Yu-Kargzant each night to play games with her sister, a right she extracted in return for providing him with the Furies. Gor Gorma is the Earth-in-Fury, called on by those who need vengeance and have none to speak for them. She is the Queen of Nightmares, who guards the night against the things which are worse than her.
Gor Gorma is the elder sister of Oria and Galana. She rules the Deep Hell, far beneath the earth, which is home to terrible monsters, demons and the most impure souls, which must suffer at the hands of her children to be truly purified. As the eldest of her sisters, she was given the first choice of what she wanted to be. She looked upon the world, seeing its beauty and its monstrosity. She looked at her beloved sisters, and saw in them hope.
Gor Gorma chose for herself the worst domain, and she chose to become the most terrifying of creatures, for she loved her sisters and wished for them to prosper. And more than this, she desired the power to punish and destroy anyone who would harm her sisters. Ever since, she has continued to pay the price her power has demanded. She is always rejected, for it is her duty to be rejected. She is always feared, for it is her purpose to be feared. Only when someone needs her brutal violence or her terrifying visage is she called on, and even then, none bear her presence long if they can avoid it - none but her sisters.
When Yu-Kargzant descended into the Underworld, it was Gor Gorma who prepared a home for him, and she aided him in battle against the forces of Darkness, which rejected his light. Yet also she refused to help him leave, for his light helped to protect Oria, whom Gor Gorma also sheltered in Hell. She fears nothing, for nothing is as fearsome as she is.
The cult of Gor Gorma is not large. It exists on the outskirts of Pentan society, for those who follow Gor Gorma declare themselves to stand at the edges. They are figures of terror, respected but greatly feared, and their wrath is legendary. The cult is heavily relied on to lead the defense of holy places to Galana and Oria, and most Gor Gorma priestesses are warrior-guards for these cults. They are also mercenaries of a sort. Anyone who has been wronged may come to a Gor Gorma cultist and request vengeance, though it is something usually only done by those without kin to seek it for them. This is because the price for Gor Gorma’ s vengeance is blood, given freely and willingly, to feed the goddess - enough blood to equal however many lives the vengeance requires. This means those seeking it end up in service to the cult for long periods, to allow their bodies time to heal.
Gor Gorma is always portrayed as a hideous monster. In her Rider aspect, she is a huge ogre, her body the color of stone and her mouth dripping blood. Her clothes are made from the bones and hair of humans, and her hair is wild. Her teeth are sharp and vicious, and her hands and feet are tipped in claws. She wields a huge axe, and she is often depicted protecting cowering children or wounded women. In her Horse aspect, she has the bloody fangs of a predatory beast and her hooves are sharp, like blades. Smoke and ash emit from her nostrils and her tail is a serpent. She is often depicted devouring predators.
Gor Gorma is associated with the runes of Earth, Death and Disorder. Hers is the Malign Earth, wielding its wrath and hunger far more than its powers of growth or benevolence. She is associated with Death as a form of renewal and a weapon of vengeance, watering the grass with blood and striking down those who have harmed her kin. Her power of Disorder is largely related to destruction as the Shaker, who makes the earth dance and open itself to consume. In this aspect she is also associated with the plant-eating dinosaurs of the steppes, whose footfalls shake the earth.
EARTH: Gor Gorma is the keeper of the Malign Earth, and her use of the Earth Rune is focused through this nature, but extremely broad within that. An incomplete list of powers that initiates can access through the Earth Rune includes withstanding pain, seeing in darkness, fighting with axes, tracking kinslayers or violators of holy places, fortifying blood beer, blessing crops with blood, calling earthquakes, commanding snakes or dinosaurs, cursing crops, summoning or commanding lesser gods of the Malign Earth or vengeance, shielding against physical or magical attacks, riding horses, or drawing strength and power from the earth. Initiates strong in the Earth Rune are determined, cold, and vengeful.
DEATH: Gor Gorma wields the power of Death as a tool of vengeance, and her Death Rune powers reflect that. Among other abilities, initiates with the Death Rune can fight with axes, fight from horseback, terrify people, weaken foes that have harmed them, sense kinslayers, gelding horses or people, blast foes, go into berserk trances, enchant iron, or kill without being seen. Initiates strong in the Death Rune are patient, ruthless, and merciless.
DISORDER: Gor Gorma is the Shaker, and her powers of Disorder are almost wholly physical. Initiates have been known to perform deeds through the Disorder Rune including but not limited to destroying buildings, riding horses, performing riding tricks, opening holes, smashing things, commanding plant-eating dinosaurs, causing terror, gelding horses or people, causing earthquakes, or having their horses kick things down. Initiates strong in the Disorder Rune are violent, hot-tempered, and passionate.
Gor Gorma is opposed to the runes of Chaos, Life and Harmony. She delights in maliciously scaring the living and satisfied with the promise that everything will be torn down and that all are equal before her.
Gor Gorma is extremely close with her sisters, Oria and Galana. She grudgingly offers her loyalty and respect to Yu-Kargzant, who proved himself worthy of her sister, and is surprisingly friendly with Lozarl, who shares some of her nature. She is otherwise distant from the rest of the First Herd, holding herself apart as a figure of fear and rejection, though she can be relied on to defend the holy places of the Earth.
The Gelder has many enemies, for she never forgets anyone who has harmed her kin. However, she hates them equally, reserving special ire for only a rare few. She bears particular malice towards the forces of Chaos and Unlife, who chased and tormented Oria, and Argan Argar, who sought to eat Galana by trickery.
In the future, Gor Gorma will be tricked into laying with Moonson, bearing the Horse-Eater Moon, Yara Arannis. She will be unable to fight her own daughter, and her cult will struggle against these hated foes, for they are kin to Gor Gorma.
Gor Gorma’s cult barely exists on its own. The eldest Axe Woman in a group will be considered to be in charge of it, but there is rarely more than one in a tribe, and even that is not common. Instead, the Axe Women integrate into the cult of Oria or the cult of Galana, whichever has the more powerful high priestess in the tribe. They swear to defend their sister-cults and take orders from the high priestesses of the Oria and Galana cults or from the khan - though the khan must always pay a price, usually in blood sacrifice to Gor Gorma.
The priests of Gor Gorma are known as the Axe Women; rare male priests are known as Axe Gelds. They do not possess their own hierarchy, but rather attach themselves to the priesthoods of Galana and Oria, or rarely lesser Earth cults. Few tribes possess more than a single Axe Woman, if that, and their life is supported entirely by the tribe, as they are forbidden to care for crops or herds beyond their own mount.
Gor Gorma’s holy places are the breeding grounds of her servants, the earthshakers - that is, the dinosaurs of Pent. The cult has no center of power, being almost entirely disorganized, but their holiest place is the Blood Hollow, the site where Gor Gorma first brewed the blood beer after slaying Kandez the Frozen, who sought to chain her sisters in winter at the orders of his father, Valind.
An initiate of Gor Gorma must possess the Earth Rune and either the Death or Disorder runes, one of which must be at 1W or higher. Almost all are women, though men may join if they do not possess the Life Rune and are willing to be gelded, which removes their ties to life-giving earth and connects them to the hungry earth.
Essentially all initiates are also priests. They are forbidden to love, have sex or become pregnant by any means. They are not rendered impure by contact with blood, but become impure at every sunrise and sunset regardless of what they do, and many make little effort to remove their impurity except when they must perform rituals that require purity. They are forbidden to raise herds or crops except their own horses, with the exception of feeding the earth with blood in rituals of Gor Gorma. They may not take part in any ritual that is related to pleasure, fertility or growth otherwise, except in the context of guarding it or being ritually rejected - a role they often relish, as it lets them reinforce their status as terror figures.
When an Axe Woman accepts a request for vengeance, as long as the rituals are followed properly, she is considered to exist outside normal law. Any murders she commits as part of this vengeance, so long as they are not secret, are not illegal, and there is no recourse in the law or the gods. She must, however, present proof of the vengeance contract if asked.
The primary public holiday of Gor Gorma is the Day of Red Earth, also known as the Axe Day, on the Wild Day of Disorder Week in Darkness Season. This is the day on which Gor Gorma slaughtered the Taker, Lord of the Undead Army. It is not, however, her holiest day. The high holy day of Gor Gorma is a secret holiday, not shared with outsiders, and honors Gor Gorma’s choosing of Hell as her realm. It is held on Freeze Day in the Death Week of Earth Season.
Most sacrifices to Gor Gorma are held on the Day of Red Earth, with the peoples of Pent offering up black hens, black calves and black lambs up to the Terror Horse in hopes of calling down her divine vengeance. These are her favorite gifts, and she refuses the sacrifice of anything which is not alive. Her followers often offer up their own blood to her.
A devotee of Gor Gorma must have a rating of 11W in one of the Earth, Disorder or Death Runes. They are terrifying figures, forswearing all other cults and magic to become living embodiments of the Queen of Nightmares.
Blood Drinker (EARTH): Blood Drinker is the name of Gor Gorma’s axe, and it is her. When Gor Gorma needed to fight the Ice Demons to get at a man who slew her nephew, she gathered up the blood of her victims and consumed it. Fortified by its burning heat and drunk upon its killing power, Gor Gorma and the Blood Drinker became united as one. She got upon her horse, and until she got off, she could not become impure, for all of her impurity lived in Blood Drinker. She did not think, but only slaughtered those who stood between her and her target. Her horse-self consumed their flesh, her teeth and hooves becoming part of Blood Drinker, and Gor Gorma struck down every foe. Once the Ice Demons were dead, she continued to kill anyone too slow to get away. Blood Drinker has only ever been stopped in two ways: First, if she is removed from her horse, her impurity returns to her. This is how Hurfor kept her from consuming the Weak Herd. Second, when Blood Drinker slew all of the Shadow Thieves, Whirlwind Fool stole all the beer in the Arcos Valley and placed it before Gor Gorma, who drank herself to sleep.
Painted Killer (DEATH): Gor Gorma made herself the Painted Killer to hunt specific foes, marking herself to declare her hunt for specific foes. She always paints her face and her legs black when she seeks to strike fear, but uses different colors for different killing quests. She paints her hands and feet red and her arms and legs black when she hunts men. She paints her right arm and right leg white and her left arm and foot green when she hunts spirits. She paints her face red and yellow and stripes red and yellow on her arms and legs when she seeks to extinguish an entire family or bloodline. She paints her face, arms and legs black, with red fangs around her mouth and red stripes along her limbs, when she hunts a monster. These are the most common paints, though other more specialized ones exist. While the Painted Killer wears her death paint, she is relentless and merciless in pursuit of her quarry. They cannot escape her or shake her tracking. While she is chasing her prey, she does not sleep, eat or drink. As long as she remains in a state of purity, she cannot be seen by her prey until she closes for the kill. She cannot remove her paint until her prey is dead.
Night Mare (DISORDER): Gor Gorma the Night Mare is a figure of terror and punishment rather than vengeance. Her face is marked with ash and she decorates herself with the bones of beasts. Anyone who meets her eyes feels fear, and she knows what it is that most terrifies them. She may render herself impure to embody that fear, striking terror into the heart of her victim that they cannot face. Those who have harmed their own tribe or kin quake before her and lose all strength. No door may bar the Night Mare, whose strike bursts them, and no barrier can withstand her might. Those she fights are tossed about like rag dolls, but they do not die, that the fear may never leave them. The Night Mare must be rejected by all right-thinking people, who shun her and leave the guilty to face her alone. She may not take part in normal society except to spread dread and fear, showing people what happens to those who act outside of the tribe’s law. She cannot harm a child and cannot even scare an obedient and good child. The only thing that can stay her vicious barbs of fear and mockery is the invitation of such a child to come in and eat, for Gor Gorma loves her nieces and nephews.
Gor Gorma is, for the most part, her own agent of vengeance. Those who leave her cult or betray their oaths are marked for vengeance by the cult itself, who are visited in dreams by the Queen of Nightmares to let them know their target. The cult is obsessive and relentless in punishing these people, often turning their bones into trophies.
Initiates of Gor Gorma often become spirits of vengeance after death. They are known euphemistically as the Unani, the pleasant ones, and they can be invoked to punish oathbreakers, kinslayers and those who violate earth temples. The Unani act by targeting the community that shelters such a person, typically their tribe. The entire tribe will be cursed with weakness and sloth, rendering it easier for the Axe Women to come punish them.