While most of the Sundered priests and civil servants of Zoher are missing an arm or an eye, occasionally you will see more committed individuals who have given up their torso or entire head. They are a rare species even in the religious land of sacrifice, but they do not compare to the ruler of the nation. Residing in Morus towards the center of Zoher a head in a jar presides over the comings and goings of the Zoher people. “The Head Priest”: His full name and title. Every 7 years if The Head has not lived a life of proper sacrifice his divine vitality will fade and a successor will be found. Even among the Church of Hormus’ most ardent followers it can be difficult to find one willing to forgo everything but their mind, sight, and speech. Stories are told of individuals who’s strong hearts wilted once they saw the apparatus necessary to complete the ritual. Ropes and iron bands extend from the ceiling, wind through a series of pullies and are attached to the head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, midriff, legs, and feet. Over the course of 2 hours each component of sacrifice is ripped from the new leader after he has spoken its tenet, often needing to be woken forcefully or with strong smelling salts after several fainting episodes. When all is said and done a disembodied head remains glowing in divine light, below it a pile of gore, bones and viscera. No one knows the extent of The Head Priest’s gifts but they are said to be unkillable. The contract they have formed with their deity is one of the strongest known to any wizard or historian. It perhaps rivals, on a mortal scale, the contract formed when Hormus first met the soil.
History
The position of Head Priest was first claimed by Uhrata Kaikki. The tale of The First Head Priest is one which most Zoher children are told at a young age, and required knowledge for all members of the church. When he finally died many decades after his sacrifice the Church of Hormus was left without a primary leader. During this dark time a method was developed by which a new candidate for Head Priest might be found, and Uhrata’s first contraption was torn down and replaced with a much more sophisticated piece of engineering which has continued to be updated to this day.