On Luukos and Raising the Dead

by Lady Darcena

March 2000

When a person dies, their body is left on the ground.  They instantly know if they are going to be in Lorminstra's graces or not.  If they have bought Lorminstra's favors, known as deeds, then they are able to stick around the world a bit longer, before they are taken to her gates.  A cleric, a follower of a god known for their powers of raising the dead, may wander about and see this body.  They have a choice to make.  They can use the powers granted by Lorminstra and given to the other gods of Liabo to raise the person, or they may leave the body to rot.  The following document is about Luukos, and his follower's ability to raise the dead.

Luukos is the serpent god of Death, the "Soul-Taker".  He is the enemy of Lorminstra.  Lorminstra is the goddess of Death and Rebirth.  She is the sister of Ronan.  Lorminstra holds the crystal keys to the Gates of Oblivion, beyond which oblivion, or the abyss, rules.  She is the one who determines whether a soul should be restored to it's mortal body or whether it should dwell forever in the abyss (or afterlife).  If the soul is claimed by some other and out of her reach, she holds no sway.  As the enemy of Lorminstra, Luukos has a very important role.  Some think that the Gates of Oblivion are Lorminstra's way to protect the souls of the dead from Luukos, who tortures and destroys the souls of people.

An archwizard, and collector of lore, believes that Luukos actually likes to see his minions killed, that Death and Luukos are virtually the same thing.  He also believes that "Luukos wants to see everyone die a slow and painful death."

Others, followers of Luukos, have a far different twist.  Armaxis, a follower of Luukos, says that Luukos carries great influence in the realm of the undead.  Luukos is a liberator of sorts, freeing those who would otherwise be trapped behind Lorminstra's gates.  Armaxis's opinion is that Luukos does not imprison the undead, but at times he may use the souls of the wicked and the damned to animate bodies.  However, most of the time this animation is a reward for a service rendered.  Another comment Armaxis had on Luukos is that his preferred form is the green serpent.

Blades states that Luukos is like a warden of a jail.  Luukos enslaves, and Lorminstra frees.  He is a follower of Luukos and he believes that Luukos enslaves those who do not deserve Lorminstra's freedom in the afterlife.  "Luukos can take their souls by force if need be."  He believes that Luukos is an extremely powerful god, but that the other Arkati all balance each other, so Luukos is not any more powerful than another god or goddess.  Armaxis and Blades agree with each other that the majority of undead are not Luukosian.

When asked why Luukos seems to get all the blame, Blades replied that Luukos is very visible compared to other creators, and there is a lot of propaganda against Luukos.  Blades was also asked if Luukos requires His followers to wear a certain style of clothes.  His reply?  "He wishes nothing for his followers to display, but yes his followers will tend to wear emerald colors or things inscribed with serpents and snakes."

I've even seen a tattoo that looks like this:

a tattoo of a green-scaled serpent encircling a black-haired woman
The coils of the serpent have entangled the form of a slender, dark haired woman
with alabaster skin.  Closer examination reveals that she is not quite trapped, and a hand holding a ring of golden keys has worked its way through one of the coils.

On the opposite side is a cleric of Lorminstra, Lord Truekillr.  He states that Luukos is a snake and he lies for the betterment of himself.  He also comments that Luukos "uses his followers and gives nothing in return but hollow promises and false powers."  His opinion is that Lorminstra should destroy Luukos so that Luukos can no longer taint the living.  He also says that there is an unending battle between Lorminstra and Luukos, but that it's fought subtly.  "Rarely will open war-fare happen. But I think it is plain to see who is winning the battle on the mortal plain. At least if following has anything to do with it."  Kinre, cleric of Luukos, thinks that Luukos does believe in the betterment of himself, however, he doesn't see where Luukos would have to lie.

Many think that Luukos is nothing but a dirty murderer that lies and cheats to get his way.

Because Luukos is the serpent lord of Death, should his followers be able to raise the dead?  Would Luukos even want his followers to raise the dead?  That seems to be against his code.

Kinre states that he occasionally offers the souls of those he raises to the Lord of Luukos, in hope of gaining favor from him.  He told a story in which he met Luukos, and as a test was told to kill Krynith, a dhe'nar who was with him.  He hesitated and Luukos killed him for not immediately obeying.  Kinre wonders whether followers of Luukos should be able to hunt the undead, but that has nothing to do with this topic.

Durason, a follower of Luukos, believes that the clerics should be able to raise the dead because, even though Luukos is the god of Death, having the right people alive could create more dead beings for Luukos.  "Seeing that everything dies, including creatures, having people alive to kill more creatures should make Him happy."

Toreena, a single and charming Mentor, believes that "a Luukos cleric bringing people back to life.. is quite objectionable.  To me.. there is Lorminstra, and if you are good, you earn her favor.  She allows your body to be brought back to life.  If you do not earn that favor, you are sent to the afterlife."  She believes that if a Luukosian cleric was to bring a body back to life, it would not be a simple resurrection.  Instead, it would be a stealing of souls or gathering of minions.  It would be more purposeful than just raising the dead.  A slave to his whim, more or less.  She believes that "raising should be more of an enslaving.. if done by a Luukosian cleric."  I stated that, "Luukos clerics that raise the dead "twist" the clean process into an enslaving.  From then on, the subject of the spell is caught in Luukos's web until the day He deals with them."  She replied that the above statement is exactly what she meant.

Blades says that "considering all clerics derive their power from Liabo at this time, I wouldn't raise the dead with their spells."  He also says that he's sure Luukos would not appreciate his priests using her powers (speaking of Lorminstra) to resurrect the dead.  Truekillr seems emphatic that Luukos clerics shouldn't come near a fallen body.  He admits that he's biased since he is a cleric of Lorminstra.  He believes that they (the clerics) would corrupt the soul if Luukos granted the body life.  "Plain and simple, they shouldn’t be allowed near a soul that is not with it's body.  It's detrimental to all that Lorminstra stands for."

Now, for Armaxis.  Armaxis says that he has spoken with a greater spirit serpent of the Lord Luukos.  He says that he was instructed that followers are not encouraged to practice such a vile magic and that the Serpent Luukos understands the need to so in this "heathenous times".  Luukos has said that there are three exceptions to the rule of 'Do Not Raise the Dead if You are a Luukos Follower'.

1)  If the body is a fellow follower.
2)  If the body is someone of use to you.
3)  If the body is someone of use to the Lord Luukos.

However, if a cleric just raises everybody, then he or she will lose favor with Luukos.  The reaction to this statement?  Kinre:  "They are a bit broad and easily manipulated."  Durason:  "I think that everyone is in use of Luukos whether they know it or not."  Blades agrees with Armaxis.  Truekillr:  "They can raise their own foolish kind all they want.  It saves Lorminstra the effort of cleansing their soul."  However, Truekillr does not agree with the second or third point.

So, should clerics of Luukos raise the dead?  You have both sides printed before you.  It's your choice and it's your opinion.

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