Circle of Spores

For those most commited to protecting Moru Kel and its people, death is not an end. A true hero can rise again to fight another day, thanks to the knowledge bestowed upon the Circle of Spores by the gods. This mystical group is composed of followers of Skura, the Night Sky, and her twins, the moons Semoz and Koros. Sacred burials by the Circle of Spores are reserved for the bravest warriors, the Chosen, and only 319 honorable souls have been bound in this fashion since Moru Kel was founded in 376 K.S.

Dusktakers

The Dusktakers, or Takers, are devotees of Skura who prepare the bodies of the Chosen. Their rituals are shrouded in secrecy, but the crowncap mushroom is involved in some sort of embalming process that takes place in the Broadback Wood. There are rumours surrounding these ceremonies. Kilgar the Sentinel, now a highly educated man, recorded the following as a boy of but 12 years:

Wanessa is my Anty as she marryed the brother of my granfather who is Hork. But shes not so old as him. Shes a Sisters Of Skora and goes to the brodback wood with them to barry the ded. Akshully, its to do sum thing befor thay are barryed. I followd behind an there wuz a lot of them Skora there in the wood but I coont get reel close. There was some shanting and singing real low. There wuz a long time an I wuz getn hungry. Then theres real bad sounds like a beest only also screeming like a man. Also I hurd fiting with sords or sum kind of metal wepuns. It wuz an offul rackit. I got real scared and run home to tell da an him go tell Hork. There is lots of peepul all that nite an Anty turns up hurt reel bad. She says it was a cat that got her an scard her face all up like that. Mama sez that aint true it wuz one of the ded that done that to her. I think mamas rite. Wanessas still my favrit anty but she shoont lie.

According to her friends, Kilgar’s mother, Kashara, went to her grave convinced something “undead” attacked Wanessa that night. His aging great aunt, now a Sister of Skura, has always said the scars across her face and chest were caused by a jaguar attack. The ragged scars certainly look more like the result of tearing claws than the swords or metal weapons Kilgar claims to have heard, and Kilgar himself is now embarassed by this record of his childish conjecture and supports Wanessa’s account. Still, many others have reported hearing eery shrieks and wails, even sounds of battle, in the Broadback Wood. Some consider the area haunted.

The Chosen are temporarily buried in the swamp, near the Moon Dome. Burials take place at night, with the body of the Chosen remaining in the muck until two nights later. They are then exhumed by the Dusktakers and transferred to the care of the Nightwatchers.

Nightwatchers

The Nightwatchers, or Watchers, are followers of Semoz, the Fallen Moon. After a ritual, performed with the Dusktakers in the swamplands, they transfer the embalmed to their crypts. Crypts of the Chosen are located just beneath the landings of Moru Kel’s 9 stairwells, above the station houses where the Sentinels spend their down time, when on duty. 

Dawnbreakers

The Dawnbreakers, who worship Koros, are trained to raise the dead soldiers, when the city is in peril. Their rites are even more mysterious than those of the Dusktakers, as the Chosen have never been called upon to defend Moru Kel. 

The Twilight Guardians

The Twilight Guardians are a group of zealous warriors who defend the Circle of Spores and the sacred swamps. To that end, they have also been called into service to protect Moru Kel on rare occasions. Known for throwing their bodies into a completely selfless rage in order to focus solely on the destruction of their enemies, it’s believed that they somehow draw their power from the normally toxic crowncap mushroom.

Some of their number have left the service of the circle, and prove dangerous indeed in whatever endeavors they undertake.