-HEGMOTHA-
GODDESS OF UNDEATH AND DECAY
Symbol: Often a fanged skull, though some cults have been known to use other symbols in the likeness of an entanglement of vermin such as a rat king or a swarming creature such as locust and flies. A major cult that worships Hegmotha uses a symbol similar to the Mage's Temple, the Mage's Eye, though a blade has been plunged into it.
Place of Existence: It is not clear if the deity has any dominion within Annabel's Realm of Hell, though it is noted that Hegmotha and Annabel are allies, even if it may be a loose alliance. It is believed that Hegmotha dwells within the Realm of Nhearn often, though Dermolgmarann servants fear that the deity's presence is never far from the Tower of Death, seeking to usurp the loyal Goddess of the Dead from her duties.
Signs: Swarms of flies, rats, locust, and beetles are signs that the Goddess is watching. The sensation of dark magics, the smell of decay, and goosebumps of the skin are signs that the Goddess may be near.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Hegmotha is a Goddess of many titles, though her primary role among the pantheon is as the Goddess of Undeath and Decay. She has been documented throughout the Ages, and even into the Age of Woe, as a deceitful deity, luring her followers to do her bidding by offering grand gifts of treasure and power. With these followers there have been many cults built, some against the forces of good, others to hoard resources or build temples of glory, and still more to further the agenda of the Goddess. During the end of the Age of Woe and into the First Age of the Empire, the most dire of these cults was the civilization of Manimarrowkin, a magically advanced people who sought the powers of everlasting life and discovered the terrors of necromancy.
Though little is known about her outside of her institutions, Hegmothan followers have shown such devotion that the Empire, the kingdoms of the dwarves, and the dominions of the elves, have all worked to uproot and destroy covens, cults, and gatherings of Hegmothan fanatics. These groups, some gatherings only numbering a few while others could support a network of hundreds, will often act out in bold patterns, seeking to be seen and envied rather than be hidden like other sinister factions.
The cult of the Blind Eye, a necromancy coven of mages, is likely the largest of the cults of Hegmotha. The followers of the Goddess were offered control over the Winds of Magic in such ways that other mages would deem their purpose immoral. The Mage's Temple battle mages are the most notorious foes to the necromancers, swearing oaths to uphold the good spirit and use of arcane magic and to undo the effects of the wicked. Within the ranks of the Blind Eye are Hegmothan paladins that form a duality with the battle mages, taking up obsidian armors and weapons of dark glass to be used against the silvered and vibrant equipment of their good aligned counterparts. The Hegmothan mages often take up more violent magics and practice in schools of curses, hexes, illusions, and necromancy.
Though there are smaller sects of Hegmothan worshippers, the Imperial Inquisition often discovers Hegmothans in solitary worship, the results of a corrupted and manipulated individual tormented by the great Goddess. Though little else is known of the Goddess of Undeath and Decay, she is noted as being a powerful being with strong ties to the arcane and the forces of evil.