THE MEMORY OF THE CITY
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Religion
Múrekíha
The Lilitic Goddess of Sadism
Destruction need not be directionless, like the pain brought forth by Alestéa's chaos. It can be a fine instrument of cruelty and torment, sculpted precisely to bring pain and anguish to a betrayer or fool. Embodying this attitude, and feeding off it, is Múrekíha, the Lilitic poisoner of winds and inks, who brings her own sense of justice to bear on whomever she is asked to torture.

Múrekíha's facilities are not partial to any moral system; however, calling upon her services is an invitation for scrutiny by the memory-sifters in the Neptarlekína. If either party—tormentor or tormented—is found to be sufficiently wicked, they face temporary exile upon death, as the dead who dream no longer have no interest in hateful emotions. The ritual is accomplished with chanting and the letting of blood.

Ultimately, calling on Múrekíha or seeking to embody her art poisons the soul; thus she is also thought of as a masochist at heart.

Unlike the other goddesses (except Ighokhéa), the Lilitai believed there was direct, supernatural evidence of Múrekíha's existence—she was widely believed to be responsible for violent sleepwalkers, or even to possess them. The fear of such malevolence led to the employment of priestesses (bístogalsai) whose primary responsibility was to wake such dreamers. Even though Múrekíha is normally considered a neutral judge of the wicked, she feasts on the misery of those she damns, and is not always satiated by her work.

Múrekíha appears in an ekhañka of black leather, with henwestai of alternating black and white stripes (a specific pattern called múklerasa). Her skin is pure white, and her eyes, hair, teeth, and elongated tongue are all solid black.