Sgrios Shambler

  Welcome, fellows. My name is Lenorah, and I am honored to stand before you once again in these hallowed halls. A new Deoch has arrived since I last spoke here, and an entire new cycle is turning. With it, I hope that we can be reminded of how endings are not something to be feared, but embraced. We Aislings have seen this revolution many times before, and with each one has come its own series of gains and losses. Indeed, in this very temple we have lost the persistent presence of many dedicated sparks, but I have also seen some new ones who may be young in their journeys of faith, but represent a hope that must not be ignored. With all that said, I feel a good use of my energy would be to reiterate to those who do not call this shrine their home why so many of us have and do. Throughout the centuries, even before the time of Aislings, people have cowered in fear at the name of Sgrios. His name has been associated with cruelty and evil. Perhaps stories of the so-called "Worshippe...

  Sgrios enjoys a reputation as the guardian of the end. He is the last thing we see before oblivion, and, as such, the net that keeps us from throttling over the edge of mortality into the realm of unbeing. For those focused on the preservation of the past, they see Sgrios as a God of Death; those with eyes fixed on the future embrace his stewardship of the living. Regardless of the vantage, Sgrios stands as the God of Endings; which seems cut and dry - birth allows us a starting point, and death punctuates the finality of that journey. What do we do, however, when the concept of an ‘ending’ is more complicated than that..? We, of course, know that life is more than a single narrative; it is a thick tome of adventures in which you are the protagonist. It is a journey composed of countless endings, and where one bleeds into the next is never as clearly defined as the chapters in a book. So, my question is: how do we know when something is over? When the meal has been served and we ...

Praise Sgrios! Our Lord of Death, Decay, and Rot!  My Lord of Mercy! We gather today to embrace the truth! That death is not the enemy. Decay is not to be feared. And destruction - ah, destruction - is but the reshuffling of sacred bones to make space for blooming life. The aching roots of a tree draw strength from the fallen. The wilted bloom folds into the soil to cradle the next seed. That which breaks is never wasted. That which ends…prepares the way. Sgrios does not take from us out of cruelty. He quiets pain. He offers release. He welcomes those whose bodies have failed them, whose suffering has outlived its purpose. And in His gentle rot, he nourishes that which comes next. For mercy is not always a healing that preserves but a healing that frees. We, who heal, know this intimately. We stitch wounds that sometimes will not close. We offer medicines that sometimes cannot cure. We hold hands on nights where hope...is far less gift than burden. In those moments... **takes a dee...

Few Aislings experience only one life. When Deoch touched us with our spark, he granted us a sight beyond that which we use to observe the world around us. The very term Aisling marks us as dreamers. Many of us have an uncanny connection to our family; we’re able to see what they see, know what they know. Siblings, cousins, parents and children - to many there is often little to separate our perception. Further, still, as ‘dreamers’, we are possessed with the ability to experience a second existence outside of ourselves. When we dream, our spirit travels to other realms where we are witness to a life entirely distinct, yet fully tethered to our existence. Despite how foreign these realms may seem, we are bound together by a silver thread that can not easily be severed. I’ve heard numerous accounts of the fantastical lives people lead in their dreams and from all accounts, these lives seem to be as real as anything we experience in our waking lives, here, in Temuair. I often wonder if, ...

High Priestess Paramour:  For over ten cycles this temple has been entrusted to my leadership. In many ways, I’ve shaped the face of this faith - not through the determination of force, but for lack of collaborators. Much of my life I spent feeling uncertain about the weight of my contributions, feeling as if I was unworthy to instigate change as nothing more than a mere priestess. Knowing what I did of our history, and having been raised in that environment by Van Morgan, the father of the modern Sgrian faith, I spent half of my time wishing I had someone to stand by my side and help me, and the other half fearing what may happen should a spectre of the past should manifest and deem my leadership unworthy. Though ghosts of the old temple do manifest on occasions, my service to this faith has largely been the work of a lone individual, and in that framework I became accustomed to being alone. Eventually I just gave up on being, altogether. No voice could penetrate my slumber - non...

((Notes: I lost my mom a few months ago and I just had my first birthday without her. This mass is based on true IRL events and the lessons of life, love, and death my mother taught me. I hope you find at least some value in these words. Please forgive me this moment of selfishness. If I could only ever hold one mass for Sgrios, it needed to be this one.)) **visibly nervous, voice a little shy** I would like to begin tonight's mass with a poem of mine. In hopes that you might all get to know me just a little bit better.  **deep breath** **a second one** **awkward pause** The Sgriocan Assertion **checks the room for reactions** **voice gets stronger** I assert that I’m Sgriocan I know that’s rather strange I promise I’m not broken I stand here firm and sane Some people find it rather odd “A Sgriocan? what is that?” “You can only have one god!” “This I know as fact!” I will not argue you my friend You may only serve at one Though hearts have ample space within To worship whom you wan...