Raxivort is the patron god of the xvarts (small, blue-skinned, cruel, humanoid). He also acts as a patron of wererats, bats, and rats.
Worshipers, Clergy & Temples
Most of the Night Flutterer's worshipers are xvarts, though wererats and werebats occasionally also revere him.
Shamans of Raxivart's chief duty is to ensure their own survival and that of their tribe (in that order). Raxivart teaches, as the Shaman's preach, that the xvarts will one day rule all the small creatures of the world, using fire and the sword as tools to this end. Xvarts speak Goblin, but some xvart shamans (and a few "intelligent" xvarts) also speak the kobold dialect of Draconic.
Vestments
Shamans of Raxivort wear special stilts that elevate them to a height of five feet. Over these, they wear long black robes and a mask of gold or gilded copper. The stilts are worn only on ceremonial occasions.
Hierarchy
The "church" of Raxivort has no structure or organization. Tribes of xvarts typically have a shaman of Raxivort, who may have a novitiate or two. When a novitiate becomes powerful enough, he usually challenges or gets rid of his superior in some way.
Temples
Raxivort's worship is illegal in most lands, even in the evil lands of Iuz. There are likely temples to the Packmaster of Rats in the Duchy of Berghof, the Bone March, and the Pomarj. A large temple to the Night Flutterer is rumored to exist in the Drachensgrab Mountains.
Rituals
Any captured intelligent beings are usually sacrificed to Raxivort whenever such are available.
The days most sacred to Raxivort's cult are the xvart mating seasons, on Growfest 4 and Brewfest 4. Both days are known as Raxivort's Orgy.
Dogma
Might makes right. If xvarts are not strong enough to prevail, the proper course of action is to retreat, and return with reinforcements. Have patience and survive by any means—including lying, cheating, theft, enslavement. With patience, one can still triumph in the end.
Appearance, Manifestations
Raxivort resembles a xvart of great hideousness (A xvart is a small blue-skinned humanoid, similar to a goblin). His skin is bright blue and his eyes glow with orange light. He wears silken garments over blue chainmail, all of which shimmer as if aflame. He carries small, bladed weapons such as knives and daggers, as well as his falchion, the Azure Razor. Raxivort can also take the form of a rat or a giant bat.
Relationships & History
Raxivort was formerly Graz'zt's Master of Slaves. They parted on extremely bad terms, and remain deadly foes. Raxivort controls the hordes of vermin that infest the streets of Zelatar, Graz'zt's capital city.
History
Long before the Baklunish-Suloise Wars, before even the beginning of the elven calendar, Raxivort was a mortal xvart somewhere in the Flanaess. By his wit and strength, he rose to rulership over all xvartkind. Desiring still more power, he made pacts with beings of the outer planes, eventually contacting Graz'zt. Raxivort proved himself to his new demonic master, and was eventually rewarded with the position of Master of Slaves.
Only recently, after lengthy and apparently faithful service, Raxivort betrayed his master. When Graz'zt was least prepared, he struck, attempting to seize control of Graz'zt's layer of the Abyss, and the two entities warred for several months. Ultimately Raxivort called a truce, and made off to Pandemonium with much of Graz'zt's treasure.
Today Raxivort dwells in a realm called the Black Sewers in Pandesmos. He sends swarms of rats to Graz'zt's capital city, while Graz'zt sends assassins to kill his hated foe.
Mythology
It is said that xvarts were originally gnomes enslaved and experimented on by the fomorians. They escaped to the Plane of Shadow thanks to a pact with a coven of hags, where they mutated further, their skin becoming deep blue in order to blend better with the shadows of the plane. Since then, many have spread back to the Feywild and the Prime Material Plane. Many xvarts believe that it was Raxivort who made the pact with the hags, or that he helped them return to the Prime Material Plane. However, even though this myth is refuted by scholars, xvarts refuse to believe anything else.
Quick Descriptions:
Raxivort is an xvart of great hideousness. He is a small, bright blue-skinned humanoid with large glowing orange eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. He is wearing silken garments over blue chainmail, all of which shimmer as if aflame. He carries a falchion in his had, and has a dagger sheathed at his hip.
In the back of the cave is where the xvarts keep their camp. The smell is foul and revolting, with refuse scattered all around. Trash and useless items are scattered about the floor. There are little bundles of tattered cloth near the back, which must be where they sleep. There is no shrine or markings of a temple, but a blooding stone rest against one of the walls. Bones are strewn at it's base.
Before you is a gruesome xvart, resembling a hunched over goblin with blue skin, large orange eyes, and a receding black hairline. She, or he (you can't tell), is wearing a tattered black robe, wearing a copper mask with a horrid visage and is carrying a dagger.
