Sanglintah

The chief deity of the leeches is Sanglintah, the Colossal Leech, the Many-Times-Great-Father of all Leechkin. The legends surrounding him are unbelievable, as befits a deity.

In the beginning, there was nothing, and then there were the stars. The stars were celestial beings which traveled creation, bringing light and life to the Shasjrakh (First Island). At first they fostered their creations, but later became bored and toyed with the hapless mortals.

Sanglintah, the first leech, was saddened by his master's actions and went with his sister Hirudka to plead with the greatest of the stars, the Speaker. The Speaker was the wisest of the stars, and brought sound into the world. However, Speaker had been affected by the same malady that the other stars suffered from. When Sanglintah and Hirudka approached Speaker in his star-dwelling, the insane star attacked them savagely. Hirudka was slain by the star, and Sanglintah nearly lost his mind in grief. He leapt upon Speaker's brilliant form and pierced the star with his tongue (proboscis). Speaker's great voice echoed across creation, and the other stars came to his aid. When they entered the star's dwelling, Sanglintah had drank all of his essence and the lifeless Speaker lay beside the first leech's sister. Feeling fear for the first time, the stars fell to Sanglintah's fury. His power swelled like his body, and after the thousandth star was drained of its life, the others finally fled into the sky.

So it was that the first leech, in devouring the essence of his former masters, saved the leeches and became a god.

Sanglintah is a Neutral Deity whose domains are Death, Plant, Strength, and War. He appears as a massive leech who has three jaws and a proboscis. His favoured weapon is the greatclub. His symbol is a six-pointed star pierced by a tongue (proboscis). Sanglintah accepts clerics of any alignment, but they must ultimately serve the interests of Leechkin. Good clerics occassionally attempt to hold discussions with civilised races, but evil ones will just as likely suck the blood out of any non-leech. The clerics commonly wear shades of brown and green, as these colors are readily available locally.