This is what I came up with as a result of the exchange.
Duck Cults
Poveri PondFather and Canarda StweamMother are the leaders of the duck pantheon. When the Great Ice froze the Stream World, Poveri Pondfather stole fire and sweet herbs from the hostile gods, bearing it to his people in the form of a sacred cigar. Canarda taught bullying and good nestkeeping, and so made the ducks what they are today.
Their three eldest sons are the ancestral lords of death - dwead Hueymakt, Dueymakt and Loueymakt, the Death Dwakes. Hueymakt, who first stole Death; Dueymakt, who kept fighting even when he lost his arms and his legs; and Dueymakt, who can see a long way even though he has only one eye.
Other gods born of the Cosmic Egg include the Berserker Storm Bill, Finoswam the Waider, Mallard Gor the MudSlinger, Vinga Nestguard the Weed Pwotector ("Not 'weed', 'weed!"'), Mudhome the Nest Maker, Sogarsi the Stweam Voice, and Ducka Fowl, Judge of the Quick, the Dead and the Dwead. Ducks also recognise Orlanth the Twickster, the cold wind who makes circles cwoss the pond, who once stole their wings but promised to one day return them.
The ancient enemy of ducks is the chaotic Quackodemon, who laid the Wed Egg in the Sky, the Wed Moon of the Lunar Empire. Dwead prophecies reveal that if the Red Egg ever hatches, it will release into the world Kwakboth, the Devil Weborn. And that could turn a bit nasty.
Poveri Pondfather
Lightbwinger, Cigar Stealer, Snapping Turtlebane, Stormhater, HerbLord,
Founder of the Pond Tribe.
Poveri is chief god of the Pond Tribe. All ducks are communal worshippers of Poveri, and strive to develop at least a few cigar-related talents or feats.
Sacred cigar smoking is endemic in duck culture. (And the average life span for a duck is around thirty years).
Cigar Magic Talents
Balance Ash
Counter Delecti's Fog
Everlight
Flick Ash
Fumigate Bugs
Good Shag
Hide In Smoke
Manipulate Fire
Noxious Cloud
See In Smoke
Shape Smoke
Smoke Any Old Weed
Smoke Underwater
Poveri Affinities
Pondfather (...)
Cigarbwinger (Conspikquous Consumption, Haze of Leadership, Smoke of Repulsion, Smoke of Spirit Seeing, Smoke of Concealment, Cloak Stench of Undead, Sweet Smell of Success, Healing Smoke, Noxious Cloud, Cigar Against the Darkness, Flick Ash, Herb Life, Herbal Insight, Bwak Lung)
Cheers
John
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone (02) 6125 0649
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