Yaezhing

Yaezhing

(Deity)

Titles

Minister of Blood

Adjective

Yaezhingan

Realm

Setsendu, Hell

Alignment

Lawful evil

Areas of Concern

Harsh justice
Murder
Punishment

Worshipers

Ninjas, assassins

Edicts

Commit assassinations for hire, strike unseen, carry out punishment for convicted criminals

Anathema

Show mercy to a target, take credit for your assassinations, refuse to punish a lawfully convicted criminal, slaughter indiscriminately

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Artifice, Death, Evil, Law, Trickery

Subdomains (1E)

Construct, Deception, Devil, Murder, Toil, Undead

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Death, duty, pain, trickery
Alternate: Darkness

Favored Weapon

Shuriken

Symbol

Shuriken drenched in blood

Images of Yaezhing

Source: Dragon Empires Gazetteer, pg(s). 63 (1E)
Tian Xia World Guide, pg(s). 44 (2E)

Legacy: 2E cleric alignments from Gods & Magic (Second Edition) 132

Yaezhing (pronounced yi-ai-jen) is the Tian-Shu deity of murder, death, and harsh punishment, and patron of ninjas and assassins. He also acts as the enforcer of justice among the gods.

Appearance

Yaezhing is portrayed in idols as a Tian male in red robes wearing an iron crown, holding several shuriken in one hand and a noose in the other. Physically, he appears with bulging eyes, a long beard, and a red face. He is also often depicted as a shadowy humanoid figure with the head of a tiger but human eyes.

History

Yaezhing is a god of duality: he is both lord of mortal murder and enforcer of divine justice toward other deities. These roles sometimes seemingly contradict each other, such as when Yaezhing, at the behest of the honourable sun goddess Shizuru, punished the Lord of Envy Fumeiyoshi for murdering the moon god Tsukiyo by burying him alive, despite Yaezhing being the patron god of murder. This act was meant to communicate to the other deities what would happen should one cross the Celestial Court.

Church

Although he is a deity of murder, Yaezhing does not promote or condone it out of pleasure, glory, or as a wanton or reckless practice, but rather only as the resolution of a contract.

Worshipers

Like their god, followers of Yaezhing often reflect a seemingly paradoxical duality. His priests serve as sanctioned executioners and enforcers of local laws while simultaneously working as killers for hire. Yaezhing is the patron of ninjas and assassins, but also executioners, judges, and law enforcers who prioritize meting out punishment over determining guilt. He does not distinguish between an assassination and an execution, viewing both as merely opposite sides of the same coin.

Some of Yaezhing's most zealous followers also work as so-called vigilantes who resort to extreme violence over the slightest perception of an infraction.

Yaezhing's worship is most prominent in the metropolis-state of Goka, the Successor State of Lingshen, the hobgoblin dictatorship of Kaoling, and the naga kingdoms of Nagajor. Yaezhing is also revered by a significant number, if not a majority, of vampires.

While Yaezhing is widely feared, his worshipers are often secretive about their faith. Some of the rare few who act in his name in public don dark red magical cloaks known as capes of justice that are emblazoned with his shuriken as part of a mandala pattern. Such followers are often hunting for a specific offender unto whom they intend to deliver the Minister of Blood's divine justice.

Worship of Yaezhing experienced a particular resurgence in Kasai during the ascension of the Jade Regent, reshaping the city's judiciary and constabulary in the process through the congregation of the Temple of Woe. In Dhucharg, Yaezhing's followers in the Ministry of Blood serve as the city's public executioners.

Religious symbol, favoured weapon, and sacred animal

The religious symbol of Yaezhing is a shuriken drenched in blood, and the shuriken also serves as his favoured weapon. His sacred animal is the tiger.

Realm

Yaezhing dwells in Setsendu, a realm of constant war in Hell on the edge of Avernus that he shares with General Susumu. The Minister of Blood acts as an intermediary between the realm and the rest of Hell, particularly as a consultant to archdevils on the technical matters of torture. His faithful shades also wage constant battles within Setsendu in the name of his extreme justice.

Relationships

Shizuru, ruler of Tian Xia's deities, tolerates Yaezhing out of her desire for harmony. Yaezhing continues to protect Tsukiyo, reborn anew after being killed by Fumeiyoshi, from attempts to kill him a second time. Tsukiyo holds little appreciation due to his disdain for the cruelty in Yaezhing's punishments.

The growth of Yaezhing's following among nagas concerns their most prominent deity, Ravitha.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.