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Rufio, the Procurer of Gilded Dreams

Rufio is one of the host of Scavenger Lands deities who draw power from envy and desire. However, unlike his brother incubi, mere lust does not satisfy him; only unattainable and forbidden desire holds any spice for the Procurer of Gilded Dreams. For this reason, he is feared and shunned by those who know of him, for the dreams he sends invariably sow discord and strife.

In his true form, Rufio is a short, dusky-complexioned man whose sparkling eyes and neatly-trimmed goatee give him a somewhat mischievous appearance. In this guise, he invariably appears bedecked in outrageously flamboyant garb -- feathered caps, fur overcoats, brightly-colored silk trousers, and enough gold jewelry to bankrupt a small nation-state all figure into his unmistakable look. Although he frequently carries ornately decorated weapons, Rufio is a coward who flees from any enemy not obviously his inferior.

Rufio travels alone, roving restlessly across the land. He favors cities and towns, simply because there are more people there, but it is quality rather than quantity he desires. If a solitary pilgrim harbors a secret desire which Rufio finds pleasing, he will pursue her just as avidly as he would any city-dweller. Although he is not formally worshiped, he gains power every time someone wishes for something she cannot have.

When he comes across a person who lusts after the unattainable, Rufio enters her dreams and sends her beautifully-crafted visions of finally grasping that which she covets. Although he occasionally caters to lust for power, riches, or knowledge, Rufio skews considerably towards sexual desires; in such a case, he takes on the form of the object of desire and uses his Charms to both inflame victims' desire and draw power from their lust. In some rare cases, he even materializes and comes to the victim physically, if he judges that it will be more effective than mere fantasies.

Although Rufio's dreams are carefully calculated to stoke, rather than slake, the victim's desire, there invariably comes a point where the victim is either driven to actually attempt to get what he wants, or else to shut out reality and spend all his time in Rufio's fantasy world. In either case, Rufio will quickly abandon him; the first provides closure, while the second betokens a perverse type of contentment. Both render Rufio unable to draw sustenance from the person.

Rufio himself desires happiness, as it is the one emotion he is incapable of feeling. He becomes envious and spiteful when he finds people who are truly content. He will expend great efforts to make such people unhappy with their lot, typically by sending them dreams designed to provoke envy, lust and greed. Luckily for the victims, such attacks never last very long in the face of a strong will; unless Rufio can inspire desire for the unattainable in a person, he quickly runs out of power and must depart to find sustenance.

Like most other spirits of desire, Rufio is known to the Immaculate Order, who deem him a malicious troublemaker. Although he would like nothing better than to tempt the monks, who doubtlessly harbor oceans of pent-up desire, Rufio is generally too much of a coward to get close enough to them. He gives Immaculates, even mortals and those who are unaware of his presence, as wide a berth as possible. The same principle keeps him from fraternizing with most of his fellow gods, who tend to share the Immaculates' assessment of him.

• back to Ikselam/Rufio/LittleGods.