Mythos and History
Buserian is one of Yelm's ten sons, the former Overseer of Abgamman, the City of Priests. When his city fell, he accompanied his great-nephew Anaxial on his Ark, and with him built the city of Yuthuppa along the ancient Celestial plan to make Yuthuppa a paradise.
After this, Buserian was forgotten, even by the city he helped found, and went into the wilderness. There he built a hut of bent sticks covered with hides for protection, for now the sky had gone dark and the Empty Emperor Kazkurtum sat upon Yelm's throne
Buserian did not leave his hut, even when his enemies removed the hides, for within the frame of sticks, he could not be harmed.
From here, he meditated to approach the mind of his uncle Dayzatar, but was unsuccessful, distracted by the darkness, until he found Polaris, son of Dayzatar. Seeing Polaris, Buserian was able to approach his mind, and from there Buserian could reach other stars in the heavens. By meditating and speaking with them, Buserian learned many secrets and powers.
Eventually, Buserian was approached by outcasts who had no walls to protect them, and no magic to feed them. Buserian was moved by their desperation, and taught them the secrets of the stars. These people became the Stargazers, Buserian's first worshipers, and took Buserian and his knowledge with them to Yuthuppa within a new frame which they carried with them.
In Yuthuppa the inhabitants had long forgotten the ways of Anaxial and Murharzarm and had forgotten how to be true people. The Stargazers showed them the secrets that Buserian and given them, and showed the Yuthuppans how to meditate and communicate with the stars for their blessings and secrets.
In this way, the Yuthuppans once again became priests of Dara Happa, and when Yelm reascended, the city was once again prosperous and glorious.
Nature of the Cult
Appointed by his father, Yelm, to record all that went on in his domain, Buserian is the god of scribes, scholars and other bureaucrats. His worshippers must be literate, and are recruited only from amongst the ranks of the nobility.
Buserian is also the god of Stargazing, and his frame is used to mark out the positions of stars and planets in the skies and record their positions in the houses of the heavens. To aid in this, Buserian has taught his worshippers how to commune with celestial bodies, by recreating his frame and sitting beneath it, a worshipper of Buserian may engage in meditation to approach the mind of the stars to learn the secrets of the heavens.
Depiction
Buserian is depicted as a Dara Happan nobleman, clad in finery and surrounded by the trappings of bureaucracy. He is often shown beneath his frame, a dome of woven sticks replicating the heavens above.
On the Gods Wall, Plentonius identified Buserian as the third figure on the first Row.
Cult Organization and Holy Places
Each temple of Buserian is mostly independent, acting only nominally under the control of the Block Pyramid in Yuthuppa, which as well as being his greatest shrine, is also the greatest storehouse of astrological lore in Glorantha.
Buserian's temples also act as schools, tutoring young Dara Happan nobles in reading, writing, and mathematics. This is done as a religious duty, but many nobles will offer patronage to the temple that educated them in their youth.
Initiates
- Any male Dara Happan hero of noble birth may begin play as a member of Buserian's cult.
- Initiates begin play with a relationship to one of Buserian's grimoires at 17, and chose four spells appropriate to this grimoire as spells they have already learned.
- Initiates with a rating of 1W or above may learn additional spells in a grimoire or gain a relationship to another of Buserian's grimoires. This may be done during character creation, or during play by overcoming a plot obstacle to learn the secrets of that grimoire.
- If successful, the Initiate may spend two hero points and add the grimoire at a starting rating of 13.
Grimoires of Buserian
The Perfect Sky
One of Plentonius' many lengthy texts, this one describes each of the hundred most important stars of the heavens, the gods they represent, and the powers they may grant. The text teaches two widely known spells. The first allows worshippers to Identify Constellations and Stars, allowing for quick and simple estimations of locations and the time of year, no matter where the Initiate is.
The second spell allows the Initiate to Create Horoscopes, letting them divine the future by means of the positions of the stars within the various houses of Buserian's frame.
At least four other spells are known to be hidden amongst the scrolls that make up this work.
The Changing Sky
This set of scrolls from Yuthuppa date back to the first age, within this work the story how the heavens were corrupted and altered into their present form, of how Yelm reordered it, and of how the stars themselves deviated from the divine order. Seven spells are known to be found within this text, including how to Call Down an Elemental of the Celestial Sky to connect the sky with the earth; another spell details how to See the Unseen, using the light of heaven to see through illusions and darkness; a third allows the Initiate to Bind Wandering Daemons of the heavens to specific purposes.
The Celestial Record
Dating back to the earliest years of Dara Happa, these tablets have been copied many times over the millennia, enabling a continuous record from the dawn of Yelm's reign to exist amongst the followers of Buserian. This record contains five spells that are key to recording information, including a ritual to grant Unfailing Recall of Memories, a set of instructions to Repel Ink and other stains, and exercises to grant a Tireless Hand.
Stargazer
- Once an Initiate has reached 11W in one of their grimoires, they may become a Stargazer, a Devotee of Buserian. They must overcome a significant plot obstacle to convince the other Stargazers they are worthy of this rank.
- A Stargazer never fails in their attempts to reach the Sky World; their attempts are at worst Costly Successes. They may also learn new spell effects within their grimoires by communing with beings in the Sky World.
- They must make a Sky World journey, overcoming at least one dangerous obstacle to reach their teacher, and then test their rating in their grimoire against a Very High resistance. If successful they have managed to learn a new piece of celestial lore, allowing them to practice this spell and to teach it to other worshippers of Buserian. If they fail they cannot gain any other spell during the current session.
- As a Stargazer, the worshipper has many duties including teaching new Initiates, performing divinations for the nobility, and furthering their knowledge of the heavens. When using their grimoire rating as a flaw, they always suffer at least a -6 penalty.
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