Handmaidens of the Mother

The Handmaidens of the Mother  are the most favoured members of the Shadow Cult, each one personally selected to attend to the swollen person of Greatmother Lucaerna. Each handmaiden is radically mutated or in posession of many of the blessings and curses of the Gifts, and in their collection has been selected from the Cult Orders and placed in this special place of prominence. Oftentimes as they are unable to carry out any other duties.

Order Makeup
The Handmaidens are one of the oldest orders of the cult, being made up of those select few who provide personal service to Luc or those that have fallen completely under the sway of the cult Gifts and breed the next generations of the cult. So rich in blessings are they that the Greatmother is able to directly influence their minds or overshadow them entirely. The handmaidens are non-selective in who can become one, and while the order is predominantly demons of various races, a select few mortals have risen to high station, whereas other mortals make up the number in kind.

The handmaidens are removed from the normal duties of the cult orders; whether that be battle, preaching, or other tasks. Instead, these personal attendants to the Greatmother busy themselves with three main duties; care of Lucaerna's newborns, carrying out tasks for Lucaerna, and worship of The Mother by perpetuating the endless cycle of birth through their own bodies. And as such the handmaidens broadly are divided up into a hierarchy based on their assigned duties within two broad categories; the Battlemaidens and the Broodmaidens.

Battlemaidens
The battlemaidens are the face of the Shadow Cult and are the warrior leaders as needed. Whenever the Temple Guardians are assigned to a particularly important mission or a crucial assassination is required, Battlemaidens are attached to the operation. Battlemaidens represent the very peak of physical conditioning and are all capable sorceresses or combatants. In practice though, these handmaidens serve as overseers and leaders rather then fighters, meant to report back to Greatmother Lucaerna, as most importantly among the favoured, the Battlemaidens are mobile. The battlemaidens typically posses fewer of the Gifts which would leave them encumbered for extended periods of time or otherwise indisposed. Bodily strength, mental fortitude, and other traits which enhance aggression. While not unheard of, some battlemaidens posses the traits of Bru'dalan, but tend to suppress it, lest they be overcome and become confined to the temple. In addition, the battlemaidens generally serve as representatives or ambassadors for the Shadow Cult when needed.

Broodmaidens
Where battlemaidens represent the personal servants of the Greatmother outside the cult, broodmaidens serve Lucaerna closest within. Formed off the cult devotees who have begun bearing children for the Faith, the Broodmaidens are the beating heart of the Shadow Cult, responsible for the growth of the order. Typically coming from those already having found favour in some capacity, once their firstborn has been produced, they will be brought before Lucaerna and blessed with the marks of Bru'dalan