Cult of Ulric

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Priest of Ulric

The Cult of Ulric is the organised worship of Ulric, the God of Battle, Wolves and Winter in the pantheon of the Old World. [1a]

Worshipped by warriors and soldiers, his following is strongest in the north of the Empire, but his cult is found in other parts of the Old World.

Whilst most modern Ulricans believe that Sigmar is divine, a secretive sub-sect is believed to still preach that he was in fact a mortal hero thus belief in him is a heresy. [1a]

Friends and Enemies

There is friction with the Cult of Sigmar, especially since the latter has three Electorial Votes rather than the one that the Ar-Ulric has. Some followers of Sigmar are suspicious of anyone who is not a dedicated follower of Sigmar but for the most part, the mistrust is limited and both cults are able to put their differences aside to work together. Tensiosn do come to a height during elections if one of the candidates is the Count of Middenland who the cult of Ulric normally supports. [1a]

With Ulric's accent on strength, honour and directness in battle, the followers of Ranald are regarded as underhanded and dishonourable. [1a][2a]

History

The first worshippers of Ulric are thought to be the Teutogens. [1a]

It was the High Priest of Ulric who crowned Sigmar, subsequently though for many centuries, the Cult refused to acknowledge that he had become a god. [1a][2a]

Holy Books

  • The Ulric Creed: It contains the great sagas of Ulric and thus teaches how he expects his worshippers to act. [4a]

Holy days

Ulric's holy days are the autumn equinox, the winter solstice, and spring equinox. Holy days are spent holding military parades with huge bonfires and feasting into the night.

Locations

There are many Ascetic Monasteries scattered around the northern empire and dedicated to hardening the body and soul through exposure to the elements, physical exertion, and combat training and mostly located in remote and barren places such as mountaintops and deep valleys. The ascetic Monks and Nuns of Ulric live as close to the wild as they can, hunting their own food as wolves would do. [2a]

  • Drakwald College of the holy wolf: A renowned Ulrican seminary famous for the devotion and piety of the priests it produces, and infamous for the brutal regime to which its initiates are subjected. Many high priests of Ulric have come from the college, including Ar-Ulric Bronnstein. [2a]
  • Middenheim is the heart of his cult, and the base of the Ar-Ulric, the chief priest of Ulric. The Ar-Ulric is also an Elector, and one of the most politically influential and important people in the Empire. The city is fiercely protected by the powerful Knights of the White Wolf, proud warriors and respected champions of Ulric.
    • Lore Haus: The Old World’s greatest repository of Ulrican theology and history is housed in a wing of the Temple of Ulric. This is where monks and nuns study ancient scriptures dating back as far as Teutogen times. [2a]
    • The Womb of the Wolf: A site believed to be where Ulric’s first mortal child was born to Griselda, the daughter of the Teutogen chief. She had fled into the tunnels of the Ulricsberg when she became pregnant and there she was brought meat by Ulric’s wolves, and drank water from a holy spring which still remains. [2a]
  • Place of Shining Rock: Sacred to both Ulric and Sigmar (both cults portray their god as the one in the story) and lying on the Altdorf to Middenheim, about fifty miles from the City of the White Wolf. The god was caught in the clearing with his weapon out of reach and he picked up a strange rock as an improvised shield which an attacker’s blow miraculously shattered into a long, sharp shard and and with the god slew five hundred enemies before they fled. A shrine was built around the rock, which lays where the god threw it down after the battle. Two priests of Ulric and Sigmar tend the shrine. [2a]
  • Salzenmund: Over 2000 years old, it is the most celebrated and impressive temple to Ulric in the Known World. [3a]
  • Ulric's Throat: A cave system that is the home of the Order of the Winter Throne. [4a]

Notable

Orders and sub-sects

Priesthood

Ulrican Priests, Monks, Nuns, and Warrior Priests are Wolf-born or referred to as The Wolf-born [name].’ More powerful priests claim the title Lord Wolf. [2a]

Initiates wear black robes with high necked collars, a silver wolfs-head medallion around their neck. The few females have scooped necklines and a high necked blouse beneath. When training, they usually strip to underclothes as skin is considered less valuable than robes and many have minor scars. [4a]

A priest wears much the same robes but made from better cloth and trimmed with fur and with a white wolf head decorating the chest. Some wear wolf pelts with high ranking priests embellished with silk and the eyes replaced with jewels. [4a]

Few Ulricans cut their hair prefering to emulate their god who is famous for his bushy beard and wild black hair. In times of war, they often braid their hair. [4a]

Strictures

The Lore Haus is also the final authority on the canon law of the cult of Ulric,[2a] Ulric is a distant, harsh and unforgiving god, who expects his followers to stand on their own two feet, putting their faith in martial prowess. He praises courage, individual valour, and ferocity and despises weakness, cowardice, and trickery. [1a]

  • Obey your betters. [4a]
  • Defend your honour whenever it is challenged. [4a]
  • Underhandedness of all kinds is anathema to Ulric's nature of honour and directness. Except for attacking from ambush and using camouflage, subterfuge and deceit are forbidden. Gunpowder weapons and crossbows are also prohibited. [4a]
  • Military superiors are to be obeyed, except where the order would lead to violating another of Ulric's precepts.
  • The sacred fires in the holy places of Ulric must never be allowed to go out. [4a]
  • Wolfskin may only be worn if you have killed the wolf yourself with weapons you have hand-crafted from nature. [4a]
  • Black-powder weapons, crossbows and helmets are not favoured by Ulric. Use of them shows a lack of courage. [4a]

Symbol

The symbol of Ulric is the wolf.

Temples

Ulric’s temples normally follow the same template: a square wall pierced by a single, reinforced gatehouse with a wolf ’s head emblem carved above the gate. This protects a fortified inner sanctum with functional buildings including workshops, cells, barracks, refectories, stables, and animal pens with the temple itself rises in the centre, its manned battlements surrounding a high dome. The temple interior is normally a single, windowless chamber, lit only by small apertures in the dome above and by a central, ever-burning fire that represents the Eternal Flame in Middenheim. Opposite the entrance, behind the sacred flame, is a grim statue of Ulric, sometimes sitting, often flanked by wolves. [2a]

Templars of the Cult

Army of Ulric

Quotes

Ulric give me the fangs of the wolf, Ulric give me the claws of the wolf, Ulric give me the coat of the wolf, And I will show your enemies the mercy of the wolf.

.[2a]

Gallery

See also

Sources

The gods & goddesses of the Old World
Old Faith - Rhya - Taal - Ulric - Manann - Morr - Verena - Myrmidia - Shallya - Ranald - Handrich - Stromfels - Khaine - Sigmar - Lady of the Lake - Lucan & Luccina - Ursun - Dazh - Tor - Esmeralda