Phyrrus
God of Guilt, Atonement, and Righteous Wrath
Lesser God

Epithets:	the Black Unicorn, Guiltmonger, Lord of Righteous Wrath, Scourge of the House of Light
Alignment:	Chaotic good
Symbols:	Black unicorn or unicorn’s horn
Colors:	Black and silver
Stones/Precious metal:	Obsidian, onyx; silver
Primary followers:	Has few followers other than clerics and Knights; also petitioned by those seeking righteous retribution or atonement for sins
Special mark:	Blackened accouterments used by all clerics and Knights

     "He is feared, loathed, and shunned by the greater part of the New Races. No temples stand to give glory to his name, no multitudes gather to sing his praises. His judgments are untarnished by mercy, his punishments untainted by pity. His horn is death, his hoof is damnation, his voice is doom eternal. He is Phyrrus, the Black Unicorn."

     Such is the popular image of this fearsome Power, eloquently penned by a Serenity of the Order in a despairing letter to a friend. And like many such stereotypes, it is a blend of twisted fact and clouded fiction, of faults writ large and virtues left unrecorded. The truths surrounding the Black Unicorn are disquieting, to be sure, but worth knowing nonetheless.

     Except for his beloved mate and consort, Alviani the Intercessor, Phyrrus is the only Power of the pantheon who was mortal-born. His dark tale is told in hideous detail in the Astarith’s Fourth Book, and begins with an abduction of a nameless unicorn by a fell denizen of the Five Pits. Used for centuries as a test subject for a host of foul experiments, the unicorn somehow learned to harness the very energies used to torment him, and finally used them to escape that unholy realm.

     Ravaged in mind and body, the unicorn wandered the whole of the world friendless and alone, his only companions those who would use his power for their own cruel and selfish ends. Enraged by their transparent scheming, the unicorn would dispose of his would-be masters in ways so appalling in their brutality that all Minarra began to call him Phyrrus—from an Istari word loosely translated as "mercy-blind".

     A horrified yet intrigued House of Light was determined to enlist this creature to their cause, and quickly decided on a plan of action. With the compassionate aid of an unwitting Alviani, Princess of the Avaril, the House was able to heal the unicorn’s near-madness and raise both Phyrrus and his loving Avaril consort to the ranks of the divine.

     Though the wounds to his mind and spirit have long since healed, the Black Unicorn still bears the marks of his physical torment. His fur glistens like freshly mined coal, and his hooves, horn, and eyes are as the darkest obsidian belched from an angry volcano. When angered, flames erupt from god’s hooves with every step, while his eyes and horn glow with the searing red heat of steel beneath a blacksmith’s hammer.

     The true nature of the god is not an easy thing to pin down, especially for the uninitiated. Many misguided folk look upon the Black Unicorn and see a vengeful, terrible Power, not really any different than the evil deities he is ostensibly fighting. This is simply not so. The true form of Phyrrus is a mirror for the soul, one that merely reflects the evil that lurks within oneself. In exposing this latent darkness to the light of day, the god hopes that mortals will use that knowledge to resist the baseness of spirit that leads to true evil. He is not always successful—arrogance and ambition can be stubborn and persistent blinders, at times removable only by force…

     Phyrrus’s war against the Darkness is waged on two fronts. The first is found wherever evil manages to shroud itself from mortal sight. These shrouds come in many shapes and sizes: wealth, fame, family, and privilege, just to name a few. These worldly assets impress neither the Black Unicorn nor his mortal servants, a fact that forces such sinners to deal with a divine host that cannot be bullied, bought, or silenced.

     The other front is found within spiritual cul-de-sacs, where mortals struggle to regain their honor, dignity, and even their lives from sins many find unpardonable: murder, drunkenness, addiction, and depravities of all sorts. If they can summon the will to cry for help, the Black Unicorn will guide even the most wretched back to humanity. Though many fail (as much from their own weakness as from the Guiltmonger’s unpleasant methods), enough succeed to become legends in their own time and models of hope and redemption for future generations.

    Phyrrus is as unpopular as any god of good could possibly be. Few people care to be reminded of their dark side, and fewer still welcome the venting of the True God’s wrath upon them, no matter how richly deserved. When the situation warrants, the Black Unicorn runs roughshod over worldly laws and traditions, shattering the armor of noble rank and high office with a stamp of his hoof. As a consequence, he is largely despised by the ruling classes, while the common folk fear him as a dangerous threat to cherished social norms.

     Despite rumors to the contrary, Phyrrus is not beyond restraint or reason. As befitting the Intercessor, Alviani has a strong yet subtle influence over her mate. To the relief of the world, Alviani can illuminate the precipice of injustice and cruelty for her consort and keep him from throwing his victims over the edge. (His mortal servants, on the other hand, must rely on their training and conscience to make the chasm visible...)

Avatars: Manifestations of the Black Unicorn are, as far as most mortals are concerned, thankfully rare, since his arrival is so often followed by destruction and death. Although he may assume any form he wishes, Phyrrus clearly has his favorites.

     While Phyrrus may appear "in the flesh", he usually settles for a unicorn-shaped manifestation whipped up from whatever material is at hand. Thus, avatars have appeared as creatures of snow, sand, water, stone, fire, or even smoke. But regardless of the medium, the eyes of the avatar blaze with a deep, angry red.

     His other favorite is that of a short, wiry human male in early middle age. The avatar’s facial features are sharp and severe, bordered by a cascade of raven-black hair and inlaid with cold, hard eyes of reddish violet. His deep olive skin and black goatee perfectly complement his fine garments of the darkest ebony, tastefully accentuated by deep blues, greens, and purples. The demeanor of the god is often aloof, irritable, and sullen; in any event, the meaning is brutally clear: trifle with me at your own peril! Yet despite his attitude, those who are basically decent and good have nothing to fear from him.

     Regardless of their form, avatars of the Black Unicorn are notorious for their ill humor, gracelessness, and violence. Many take this as further proof that the god really doesn’t "belong" to the House of Light—but once again the truth eludes such short-sighted folk. Phyrrus doesn’t come to Minarra to make a mess—some sinful mortal has already seen to that. The god has simply come to clean it up.

Mortal Servants: Compared to the other Orders that serve the House of Light, the faithful of Phyrrus are a paltry, unpopular breed. Many societies throughout Minarra look upon the servants of the Black Unicorn with varying degrees of contempt, fear, and pity. The Order is respected only by its siblings in the House, yet even here there exists a shameful desire to distance themselves from their brethren in black. Phyrrus actually finds comfort in this; after all, the finest of souls should be the ones who are most aware of his influence.

     The Order’s somber dress code does nothing to reassure an already suspicious and edgy populace. Not only do the servants of the Guiltmonger dress in black, they must also blacken any long-lasting possessions that can permanently hold the color. Graces and senior Knights are distinguished by a silver trim on cloaks, elésahs, etc., while Serenities also wield a silver-bound, blackened quarterstaff. This device, the Staff of Damnation, is among the most powerful of all Minarran clerical items. Holy symbols carried by junior clergy are of black iron with a rim of silver wire, while those of Graces and Serenities are of silver, inlaid with an onyx or obsidian unicorn, respectively.

     Silver is a sacred metal to the Order. It is not only a testament to Phyrrus's love for his consort Alviani (whose mane and wings bear a wondrous silvery gleam), but also a reminder of the temptations of worldly wealth. With the exception of coinage, servants of the Black Unicorn are forbidden to own any objects made of gold or platinum, in whole or in part. This extends even to the wedding bands of married clergy, which by tradition are always of silver.

     It has been said that the secret to training acolytes of the Order is to treat them like sentient weapons. By the time they are ready to serve, they must be keen of edge, unblemished by flaws of character or judgment, and always alert to danger. Lastly, they must shield the goodness at their core from anything that could poison it—most of all from the pain and suffering they inflict upon the damned and endure from those seeking salvation.

     At any given moment, the entire Order of the Black Unicorn may number less than a thousand individuals in all the world. Accordingly, members of the Order are trained to travel alone, and to make sound decisions without the advice or consent of their superiors. This isolation also places Phyrrus’s faithful at a severe disadvantage: if things go badly, they suddenly become a very conspicuous target. In the long run, only those clergy who know their limitations and carefully gauge their risks survive to old age. (It also explains why servants of Phyrrus gladly join any adventuring party that will have them…)

     As already alluded to, there are no permanent temples to the Black Unicorn, nor is there an extensive church hierarchy—there is simply no need. It is an Order of itinerants, ever on the move; to be anything less would be an intolerable waste of precious manpower.

     The Order has but a single holy day: the eve of the new year. At these times, small bands of the faithful might gather at some predetermined place, else they will simply find some quiet corner of the world and offer their devotions in solitude.

Philosophy/Tenets of Faith: The followers of Phyrrus are as unfettered by tradition and regulations as any clergy in Minarra could be—a fact that carries with it a sobering responsibility. Servants of the Black Unicorn are free to fight the darkness and redeem the lost by any means at their disposal, and are answerable only to their own conscience, the True God, and the Serenity, in that order. As a result, the faithful spend their lives treading water in a sea of evil, with only their courage, strength, and decency to keep them from drowning.

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