Luuz is the saviour-deity worshipped almost universally by the Luuzians but also has some non-Luuzian followers. More so than any other mortal race, the Luuzians seem particularly close to their god and its many incarnations. Some followers of Luuz favour or venerate a particular incarnation; other followers choose to worship all aspects of Luuz, seeing the whole as being greater than the sum of its parts.

Luuz itself has no particular form but manifests in the multiverse as one of a number of incarnations. One of the incarnations of Luuz is always dominant and this is tied to the number of followers that choose to honour each incarnation. In short, the incarnation with the most followers is always the dominant one. Thus, followers of Luuz take their beliefs seriously for Luuz’s character is closely tied to their beliefs and they, in turn, are affected by Luuz’s dominant aspect.

The currently known incarnations of Luuz are detailed below but The Histories suggest there are many more. A priest of Luuz aligns himself or herself to an incarnation of Luuz by performing the Rite of Tolekki to invoke and bind with one of the incarnations of Luuz. The Rite of Tolekki usually involves a week of prayer, meditation and the completion of a Saiku; a final triggering act that calls to Luuz, allowing the priest to more closely bind themselves to one of the incarnations of Luuz. Priests of Luuz may only bind themselves to one of Luuz’s incarnations at a time but, once bound, the priest is free to perform the Rite of Tolekki at any time to more closely bind themselves to another incarnation of Luuz.

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The Takaaki

The Takaaki is the principle religious text of Luuz. Much of the text is believed to have been lost and all that currently remains are fragments of the great tales. Most scholars believe that the Takaaki contained a series of inter-related stories that tell of the exploits of Luuz in its many incarnations.

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Known Incarnations of Luuz

The section below provides details of some possible incarnations of Luuz that you could use in your game. These incarnations are those that survive in the remaining fragments of the Takaaki. If you wish to create your own, there are some general guiding principles below to help GMs.

Daichi, the Lord Oracular

• Suggested Domains: Knowledge, Travel
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki-Daichi): Incarnates should mediate for a week upon a recently acquired piece of knowledge, determine a lesson from the knowledge and share the lesson with a stranger to finish the rite.

To follows of Luuz, the incarnation Daichi represents wisdom and problem-solving.

In the Takaaki, the tale of Daichi tells of how he counselled Snake and Frog. Snake and Frog wished to play a game of Kraku but were unable to because, if Frog were to leave the sanctuary of his pool, he would dry up and die in the hot weather; but Snake couldn’t swim and would drown if she entered the water. Daichi discovers the two friends as they try to resolve the problem, and suggests that they play when the rains come.

Toki

• Suggested Domains: Trickery (and possibly Luck or Skill if you want to add another)
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki-Toki): The incarnate should trick someone (or something) into doing that which they wouldn’t normally do. If successful, the incarnate should meditate upon their success for a week and offer any ill-gotten gains to Toki.

The tale of Toki tells how he tricked Chameleon. Chameleon had stored his food up for the cold season and refused to share it, even though he had too much. None of the other reptiles could discover where Chameleon had hidden his food because he was so good at hiding. Toki tricks Chameleon into thinking it’s night by blindfolding him when he’s asleep, lazing in the sun. Chameleon turns black and grey because he thinks it’s dark but this makes him easy for Toki to follow. Toki finds the food, but steals more than he needs. He shares the food with the others but Chameleon goes hungry all through the cold season.

Yuuko, the Architectrix, the Lifegiver

• Suggested Domains: Light, Water
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki-Yuuko): Incarnates must plant a seed and nurture it for a week. The rite also involves meditation and singing.

Yuuko is a creator-incarnation of Luuz, a life-giver and builder.

The most well known tale of Yuuko describes how she forged the current Luuzian home world so that her children could hide from Kiyoko, who wished only to use the Luuzians in her bitter crusade against Rin. This tale is also notable as the only known example where three incarnations of Luuz are manifest simultaneously in the multiverse.

Kiyoko, the Glory

• Suggested Domains: Glory
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki- Kiyoko): Incarnates must meditate upon a just cause for a week. Meditation must take place in an area that Kiyoko would find suitable although incarnates can create their own shrines to Glory, Justice and Honour.

Kiyoko is a crusader incarnation of Luuz renowned for her justness, hot-headedness and temper.

A commonly told tale of Kiyoko revolves around how she sets off on an ill-prepared crusade against Wyvern but is rescued by Crocodile who is renowned for his patience.

Rin

• Suggested Domains: Decay, Renewal
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki-Rin): The Tolekki-Rin requires the Incarnate to create a Wasan (a type of doll containing a rare fungus associated with fertility) which must be burnt and the ashes cast to the winds.

Whilst Rin is usually portrayed as a more sinister aspect of Luuz, most of her tales contain positive elements including hope, loyalty or the indomitable vigour of goodness. Rin’s parables usually revolve around some dark and vindictive machination of hers that ends up inadvertently doing good. Often this is caused by a lack of foresight on Rin’s behalf; Rin having underestimated her victims; through the trickery of Toki; or creative wiles of Hikari.

Hikari of the Leaping Hands

• Suggested Domains: Changeling, Chromata
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki-Hikari):

Hikari is an incarnation of change and creativity. Like Toki, Hikari is portrayed as wily but, where Toki’s wiliness is through trickery and cunning, Hikari’s is usually through creative invention or novel problem-solving. Hikari loves change, often growing bored quickly, or rarely seeing her ideas through to completion. She is an incarnation of joy and creative expression.

Sora, the Weeping Death

• Suggested Domains: Mercy, Death
• Suggested Ritual of Invocation (the Tolekki-Sora):

All things must end so that they may grow. Sora is a tragic incarnation of Luuz that represents fate, rebirth and transformation. She is often portrayed as weeping, for whilst she understands the necessity of her role it is not one she enjoys.

Religions