King Bull



KING BULL God of Protection & Virility 

Pantheon
None, but can be worshipped with other gods as appropriate in the Border Kingdoms; mostly with Jhebbal Sag, demons and animalistic cults.

Regions of Worship

 * Border Kingdoms (western part)

Divine Relationships

 * Considered demonic by Mitrans

Representation
Giant white or black bull with red glowing eyes. The King Bull is represented by a flesh-and-blood bull that the people believe is possessed by a divine spirit. Sometimes this role is taken by male priest if he proves that he has sacred bull blood running in his veins and he was born from a union of woman and avatar of god.

Gender representation: male

Symbolism

 * Horns
 * Mace
 * Hide

Spheres of Power

 * Might
 * Protection
 * Fertility
 * Luck

Rituals & Beliefs
The people of western Border Kingdom pay homage to King Bull and hold a festival in his honor every autumn. During the autumnal festival, all travelers are left unmolested and all the people are at peace. A woman is stripped and bound, sacrificed to the living avatar of King Bull at the climax of the festival.

Anyone may attend this festival in peace but a ritual is performed on the second night of the festival by nude highborn women and any man who witnesses this ritual is summarily executed. It is known that the divine bull copulates with the chosen women on that night — some of them do not survive that encounter, but those who do and get pregnant afterwards are considered to be blessed. The ritual is a way to test and prove current avatar’s virility. Children who come from that union can be bestial-like and almost non-sentient. If they are more human than beasts, they can become priests or warlords, claiming to be children of King Bull.

If the King Bull becomes old and loses his virility, a tedious ritual is performed at the festival whereupon the old King Bull is slain with a certain flint knife and a younger bull inaugurated as the new avatar of King Bull. Ancient custom forbids the raising of any other weapon against the King Bull, which is an embodiment of luck and the fertility of the flocks and herds.

The Priesthood
Priests of King Bull are male. They wear outfits made of leather and furs and put bull skulls or horned helmets on their heads. They oversee sacrifices and tend to the avatar of their god, feeding it and claiming to listen to his orders.

Implementation IC & In-Game
Vanilla Jhebbal Sag religion as placeholder.

More Information

 * Faith and Fervour (Conan RPG Book)