The Cult of the Mardu-Tarr

The Cult of the Mardu-Tarr are based in the walled town of Fuall. They are an almost entirely female group who formerly worshipped their ruler, Queen Karnuta Müd (Deceased), who was a Mardu-Tarr. They believed that their ruler offered them immortality by turning them to stone and as such they willingly submitted themselves to the process.

The queen considered all men to be a danger to women, a persistent and unacceptable danger, and as such she believed that they should be removed from society. As such all male children who were born to the members of the cult were presented to the queen during infancy and exposed to the power of her gaze. Those who failed this test, which given the frailty of extremely young children encompassed the majority, were subsequently turned to stone and were added to the structure of the towns defensive walls. The women of the cult saw this as a great honour and believed that their sons had achieved immortality and so they gladly gave them up to the process. Those few who pass the test became the 'sons' of the Queen and were employed as scholars or as part of the Queen's personal guard. The female members of the cult submitted themselves to petrification when they reached old age and were also added to the walls. Strangely, petrification was also used as a form of execution in punishment for breaking the towns laws. The difference in these cases was that the bodies of the condemned were not added to the wall but were broken up and crushed. Presumably it was believed that this denied the criminal the immortality that the cultists craved. Any female members of the cult were permitted to leave the town on the condition that they never returned. However, this was considered to be a dishonourable act and it would reflect badly on the standing of the former members family who remained within the town.

Within the populace there is a traditional ceremony where girls have their hair ritualistically braided when they reach a certain age. This is an event that is treated with much anticipation by the participants.

Though they were welcoming of strangers of both sexes they were kept at arms length and never fully accepted unless they became members of the cult and performed some tasks to gain the Queen's favour. It is unclear what will become of the cult or what direction it will take following the sudden disappearance of their Queen.