Zuoken is the Baklunish god of physical and mental mastery. Once a human martial artist, Zuoken attained such mental and physical perfection that Xan Yae raised him into godhood several centuries ago. Zuoken encourages his followers to be disciplined, serene masters of their minds and bodies.
Zuoken's followers are almost always monks. The god sends his followers into the world to improve themselves.
Clergy
Zuoken's clerics teach da'shon and the way of Zuoken and Xan Yae. Zuoken’s clerics study at the feet of a master, with their training consisting of long dialogues between the master and students punctuated by intense physical training and martial arts practice.
Clerics often wander the land to accelerate their physical and mental advancement, undergo many tests of hardship within and outside their temples in the pursuit of perfection, search for their god's prison, and attack monks of the Scarlet Brotherhood when encountered.
As aging and infirmity are concerns for those who perfect their bodies, they care for the elderly to acclimatize themselves with its changes. Although Zuoken is confined in some way, his clerics receive their spells normally.
Vestments
A typical cleric of Zuoken wears light, plain-colored clothing decorated only with a simple sash bearing Zuoken's striking fist symbol.
Temples
Zuoken's temples are typically far from civilization. They are often guarded by an order of monks known as the Fists of Zuoken.
Rituals
Zuoken's followers meditate with every full moon. Prayers to Zuoken are short and poetic, often using a strange sentence structure that tends to confuse non-initiates. A common beginning to a prayer is "Zuoken, me to the pinnacle take..."
To learn da'shon is to be on the path to perfection, for the use of weapons is a hindrance to the ability of mankind to attain the goal; once the goal is reached, one can use such things without fear of losing sight of perfection. One must strive to achieve the pinnacle of physical and mental ability. One must pursue harmony to achieve perfection, so every issue must be considered from both sides so that a balance may be struck between the two, allowing a harmonious resolution.
Zuoken appears as a Baklunish man of unremarkable appearance. He speaks very little. Zuoken sends a thought slayer as his herald. His planar allies are rasts, couatls, and huge elementals of any type.
Zuoken is a servant power of the goddess Xan Yae. He is allied with Delleb.
History
Zuoken was a mortal servant of Xan Yae who had mastered martial arts (his unarmed style was called da'shon, or "falling hail"). With 38 other monks, all unarmed, he held off a crucial mountain pass for three days and nights against a vastly numerically superior army of invaders. Though he was the lone survivor, they were successful. After inspiring an entire generation of new monks, Zuoken traveled to the Pinnacles of Azor'alq where he passed the tests needed to become a demigod. It is said that Zuoken ascended to the heavens on the moon's silvery staircase.
