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Patron of chitine and shadar-kai. Illusionists
Mirrors. Shadow illusions. Smoke. Night. Spiders. Wind and air. Shadows and reflections. The Dark Passenger.
Shadow, smoke, the ephemeral, the insubstantial, the incorporeal, unknowable
Weaves darkness like a web. Dark threads.
he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, hostility, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war, and conflict.
connection to obsidian, the material from which mirrors were made
which were used for shamanic rituals and prophecy.
Another talisman related to Tezcatlipoca was a disc worn as a chest pectoral. This talisman was carved out of abalone shell
Names and aspects
Drow: Chu'tsirn
Abyssal: Hmocua, Iavhuab
Celestial: Lamareah
Khemeti:
"Smoking mirror"
"Night wind"
He had many epithets which alluded to different aspects of his deity: Titlacauan /ˌtɪtləˈkaʊən/ ("We Are His Slaves"), Ipalnemoani ("He by Whom We Live"), Necoc Yaotl ("Enemy of Both Sides"), Tloque Nahuaque ("Lord of the Near and the Nigh") and Yohualli Èhecatl ("Night, Wind"), Ome Acatl ("Two Reed"), Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque ("Possessor of the Sky and Earth").
Strangely, a dark mirror of kevadar.
History
Relationships
Shaydis
The literal shadow of Shaydis.
Tsukiyo
Enemy of Tsukiyo
Appearance and emissaries
It is often impossible to distinguish him from his own shadow. His False Image is in all ways identical to him.
Few visual representations of him. Simetumes called the Invisible God.
Cloak of darkness.
Blind.
Six arms. Usually spinning webs, knitting, weaving
When depicted he was usually drawn with a black and a yellow stripe painted across his face.
The color black is strongly associated with Tezcatlipoca and he is often portrayed as having horizontal bands across his face especially in black and yellow,
but the many different codices vary on which two colors from site to site.
There are also portrayals of his body also being black in certain places.
Most commonly he is shown with horizontal face bands, wearing a heron feather headdress, a loincloth, and knotted sandals with an armband, and tinker bells either around his neck or ankles. Tezcatlipoca is often shown carrying a shield with balls of either feathers or cotton and holding arrows or a spear in his right hand with a fan of feathers surrounding a mirror.
Minions
Shadow Demon servants
While he is not a patron of the undead, any who are killed by him rise again as greater Shadows.
Worship
Domains: animal, darkness, magic.
The priests of Tezcatlipoca often wore the ornaments of the god and wore specific garments for different rituals. Common ornaments were white turkey feather headdresses, a paper loincloth, and a tzanatl stick with similar feathers and paper decorations. Another common practice was to cover themselves in black soot or ground charcoal while they were involved in priestly activities at the temple or during rituals. They would also cover the sick and newly appointed king in a similar manner with a black ointment to encourage an association with the god. When the ritual called for it, priests would also dress up as Tezcatlipoca himself and accompany other similarly outfitted gods or goddesses. More on the exact rituals, such as the Feast of Toxcatl will be mentioned later.
There were several priests dedicated to the service of Tezcatlipoca, one of them was probably the one Sahagún calls "huitznahuac teohua omacatl", others were the calmeca teteuctin who were allowed to eat the ritual food offered to Tezcatlipoca, others accompanied the Ixiptlatli impersonator of Tezcatlipoca in the year prior to his execution. Honoring Tezcatlipoca was fundamental to both the priesthood and the nobility. "On his installation," the new king fasted and meditated, "which included prayers in honor of Tezcatlipoca, the patron deity of the royal house".
Tezcatlipoca priests were offered into his service by their parents as children, often because they were sick. These children would then have their skin painted black and be adorned with quail feathers in the image of the god. Sacred hymns were also chanted at ceremonies to honor the gods. Most were sung to praise the highest deities, including Tezcatlipoca, who was often addressed as the "Giver of Life." In one particular hymn, he is mentioned as being both the creator and destroyer of the world, and both as a poet and a scribe. Everyone, including commoners, high priests, and the king, were involved in some aspect of the Toxcatl ceremonies.
As discussed above, Aztec folklore is rife with parallels, much of the time depicted in deities such as Tezcatlipoca. For Aztec nobility, this "patron deity" is fundamental in the social and natural phenomena justified by religion during this time. Extreme reverence and respect, characterized by ceremonial proceedings in which priests were "to pay homage" to Tezcatlipoca, or where "citizens waited expectantly" for ceremonial proceedings to start under the low hum of "shell trumpets," were commonplace, especially for this deity. Utter respect from the highest position of Aztec nobility, the king, shown through the figurative and literal nakedness of his presence in front of Tezcatlipoca. The king would stand "naked, emphasizing his utter unworthiness," speaking as nothing but a vessel for the god's will. The new king would claim his spiritual nakedness symbolically through words and physical vulnerability, praising Tezcatlipoca.
Shadowcults
Temples and Shrines
Many of the temples now associated with Tezcatlipoca are built facing east–west,
The Main temple of Tezcatlipoca in Tenochtitlan was located south of the Great Temple. According to Fray Diego Durán it was "lofty and magnificently built. Eighty steps led to a landing twelve or fourteen feet wide. Beyond it stood a wide, long chamber the size of a great hall…". There were several smaller temples dedicated to Tezcatlipoca in the city, among them the ones called "Tlacochcalco" and "Huitznahuatl".
Tezcatlipoca was also worshipped in many other Nahua cities such as Texcoco, Tlaxcala and Chalco. Each temple had a statue of the god for which copal incense was burned four times a day.
Holy Texts
Holidays
and his main festival was the Toxcatl ceremony celebrated in the month of May.
Tezcatlipoca's main feast was during Toxcatl, the fifth month of the Aztec calendar. The preparations began a year earlier, when a young man was chosen by the priests to be the likeness of Tezcatlipoca. This individual was called the ixiptla or "deity impersonator" and was chosen to ceremonially represent the god to the Aztec people. Sometimes, slaves were purchased for the ceremony, and in this case, were bathed carefully to erase impurities. Women were sometimes sacrificed as ixiptla to honor female deities. However, ixiptla were usually selected from among captive warriors, and the chosen individual was bathed and ceremoniously cleansed for the role that he was to undertake. For the next year he lived like a god, wearing expensive jewelry and having eight attendants. The young man also was dressed in the likeness of the god and people on the streets would worship him as such when encountered. "For one year he lived a life of honor," the handsome young man "worshipped literally as the embodiment of the deity". During the last 20 days before being sacrificed, the ixiptla had their appearance transformed back to that of a warrior. "He had been a warrior who was captured, and he ended his life as a warrior." He would then be wed to four young women, also chosen in advance and isolated for a full year and treated as goddesses. This marriage, occurring after a full year of abstinence, symbolized a period of fertility which followed the drought. The young man would spend his last week singing, feasting and dancing. During the feast where he was worshipped as the deity he personified, he climbed the stairs to the top of the temple on his own where the priests seized him, a time in which he proceeded to symbolically crush "one by one the clay flutes on which he had played in his brief moment of glory," and then was sacrificed, his body being eaten later. The young man would approach this sacrifice willingly, as being sacrificed in this manner was a great honor. "Sacrificial victims mounted the bloody steps of the pyramid with dignity and pride. "The sacrifice itself marked the end of the drought. Immediately after he died a new victim for the next year's ceremony was chosen.
Tezcatlipoca was also honoured during the ceremony of the 9th month, when the Miccailhuitontli "Little Feast of the Dead" was celebrated to honour the dead, as well as during the Panquetzaliztli "Raising of Banners" ceremony in the 15th month.
The shadow is the blind spot of the psyche. The repression of one's id prevents shadow integration. Freud and Jung coalesce at Plato, wherein id rejects the nomos. Persona is contradistinct to shadow. The personal shadow is unconscious—id and biography—suppressed under the superego's ego-ideal (q.v., A Note Upon the Mystic Writing Pad). The shadow is projected onto one's social environment as cognitive distortions.
From one perspective, the shadow "is roughly equivalent to the whole of the Freudian unconscious"; and Carl Jung himself asserted that "the result of the Freudian method of elucidation is a minute elaboration of man's shadow side unexampled in any previous age".: 63 Contrary to a Freudian definition of shadow, however, the Jungian shadow can include everything outside the light of consciousness and may be positive or negative. Because one tends to reject or remain ignorant of the least desirable aspects of one's personality, the shadow is perceived to be largely negative. There are, however, positive aspects that may also remain hidden in one's shadow (especially in people with low self-esteem, anxieties, and false beliefs). "Everyone carries a shadow", Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." It may be, in part, one's link to more primitive animal instincts, which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind.
Jung stated the shadow to be the unknown dark side of the personality. According to Jung, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to psychological projection, in which a perceived personal inferiority is recognized as a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. Jung writes that, if these projections remain hidden, "the projection-making factor (the Shadow archetype) then has a free hand and can realize its object—if it has one—or bring about some other situation characteristic of its power". These projections insulate and delude individuals by acting as a constantly thickening veil of illusion between the ego and the real world.
Lord of all the divs, Ahriman is the embodiment of pure destruction and seeks the utter obliteration of existence through his div servants. Ahriman is a demigod, and his unholy symbol is a black circle edged with a thin sliver of silver, depicting light eclipsed by darkness.
Home
Ahriman rules from his throne in the realm of Ahermanabad, atop Mount Kaf—itself carved from fallen monuments—at the edge of Abaddon under a dark apocalyptic void which dominates its sky. It is from here that Ahriman sets his dark designs on the rest of the multiverse.[4]
Servants
The div, of whom Ahriman is lord, are a race of fiends created from the essence of jinn he corrupted that revel in destruction and misery; specifically, they seek to destroy the works that mortals create, much like the daemons with whom they share Abaddon.[6] Beyond this, Ahriman also created the undead ghuls from twisted jann, to vex and destroy mortal life[7] and the despotic fiendish dragons known as azi.[8] While it might seem a paradox that an embodiment of destruction could also create new forms of life, he does so only to hasten the destruction of the rest of the multiverse.[citation needed]
Ahriman's hatred of life is so great that any creature he kills is instantly reanimated as a powerful undead (usually a wight) that serves him loyally in his destructive quests. Ahriman's favourite form of ruin is the corruption of mortal desires, often through the use of manipulated wish spells.[3]
Unique Servants
Ahriman is almost always attended by powerful akvan princes who serve as his bodyguards. These unholy servitors have names such as Crumbling Earth, Dying Ember, Gasping Wind, Thirsty Sea, and Unbalanced Soul.[4]
Worshippers
Despite his abhorrence for all life, cells of cultists on Golarion worship Ahriman, collectively called the Usij. These deranged nihilists channel Ahriman's power and inspiration to realize their destructive plots. Originally from Kelesh, the Usij are no longer as numerous as they once were, after purges by followers of Sarenrae. That said, the Usij are insidious and have rebounded, particularly in desert regions, seeking to corrupt and destroy everything around them.[3]
Obedience
Some followers of Ahriman gain special unholy favor from Ahriman, either through self-flagellation or destroying things of value to others, ideally in front of those who value them.[4]
Set, (pronounced: /sɛt/ set[2]) known as Typhon in the lands of Thay and Unther,[1] and Zehir to the yuan-ti race[3][4] was the greatest evil power of the Mulhorandi pantheon. He was a jealous and loathsome being that did all he can to meddle in the plans of his fellow deities.
Description
Set symbol.jpg
Holy symbol of Set
Set typically appeared as a Mulan man possessing the head of a jackal and finely scaled skin. He wore white, gray, or black robes, collar, and bracers. Set sometimes appeared to his faithful in the form of a predatory beast or scavenger, a reminder of his anger if they failed him.[9]
Other manifestations
The will of Set was often communicated through the actions of creatures such as nightmares and hell hounds, as well as through any poisonous animal or plant.[9] The sound of a rattlesnake or jackal warned his followers to danger. The faithful of other Mulhorandi deities may have encountered the vision of a skull that exploded before their eyes, releasing a shower of blood upon them.[9]
Powers
Set's bite was poisonous, and he had the power to create poison at will. His touch could bend others to his power or kill them instantly, as he chose, and even the purest heart turned evil upon looking into his eyes.[9]
Relationships
Set was the son of Geb and Nut, and brother of Osiris. He considered the other members of the Mulhorandi pantheon to be his enemies, though he has been known to ally with Sebek on occasion.[1]
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Set had negotiated alliances with Tiamat, as well as with the dragon Maldraedior.[1] However, his actions outside Mulhorand drew unwanted attention, and the deities Bane, Cyric, and Talos all wanted to claim Set's power for themselves.[2]
Worshipers
Worship of Set was uncommon in Mulhorand, but his influence continually grow in the neighboring nation of Unther.[9]
Clerics and other clergy in service to Set wore linen skirts, sandals, and collar. These individuals don headdresses over shaved heads. When preparing for battle they dressed appropriately for the situation, but preferred equipment that featured a prominent snake motif.[9]
Clerics of Set prayed for spells at night.[2]
Church of Set
Priest of Set.jpg
Priest of Set.[12]
The clergy of Set was composed of evil beings from any ethnicity, a practice which came about only after the Godswar. These individuals spend much of their time overseeing the actions of criminals and grave robbers, as well as planning the overthrow of the government of Mulhorand.[9]
The secret center of the church of Set was the Cavern of the Jackal, located beneath the city of Sampranasz. Temples dedicated to Set were usually subterranean, and always hidden.[9]
Orders
The clergy of Set sponsored numerous bands of thieves and other criminals.[9]
The Fangs of Set
This organization sought to rule Mulhorand from the shadows, leading the nation along a path of Set's design.[9]
Celebrations
The church of Set recognized no specific holy days.[9]
Test of Venom
This ceremony was performed by any follower of Set wishing to become a member of the clergy, and involved walking among poisonous vipers or scorpions.[9]
Reconsecration
The Reconsecration was a ceremony that perverted an existing tomb or crypt, transforming it into a shrine dedicated to the Defiler of the Dead.[9]
Personality
His methods were aggressive, yet subtle. He liked his wishes to be carried out quietly, but boldly and did not forgive failure, though those who continued to please him could expect to be richly rewarded.[7]
Worshipers
Zehiric clerics were called Venomers and he drew many worshipers from the ranks of the yuan-ti that were unhappy with the detachment of Sseth.[4] High-ranking clerics were referred to as "Low Priests".[9] In a society of snake men, being low was considered a positive attribute. The unholy gesture of Zehir was the sign of fangs.[10]
Ibrandul (pronounced: /ˈɪˈbrɑːndəl/ Ih-BRAN-duhl) was a chaotic neutral lesser deity of the Underdark, caverns, and dungeons.[4] In Calimshan he was also believed to have power over darkness and stealth.[6] He had been slain during the Time of Troubles, his name and following usurped by Shar.[4]
Ibrandul radiated an aura of gloom, darkness, and ages long past, displaying intense emotion by flicking his tongue or blinking at an increased pace. He was most commonly portrayed (in Calimshan and the Sword Coast North at least) as a giant lizard of the depths,[1] a monstrous ibrandlin[4] up to 60 feet (18 meters) in length. This form, known as the Stalker, was one of his two favored appearances (at least as played by Shar) the other being the Skulker.[1]
The Skulker frequently shapechanged, but generally appeared as a 6 to 16 feet (1.8 to 4.9 meters) tall humanoid made of black and gray stone, worn smooth as if it had been long exposed to howling, eroding winds. His only specific facial features in this state were eye patches that glowed like cool magma against pure darkness, and in this form he could be mistaken for a stone golem or earth elemental. Other Skulker forms were that of a massive, bare-chested human with chiseled features (as known to the natives of Calimshan) or a stony, roper-like creature (as known to the drow). Regardless, the Skulker preferred to appear lurking in pitch blackness, visible only by the light of his eyes, aiding or obstructing through voices in the dark.[1]
Manifestations
Ibrandul's other manifestations usually took the form of sounds, such as footsteps around a bend, breathing (often mistaken for wind howling through the caves), dripping water (particularly in arid underground regions), cave-ins (from which comprehensible words and phrases could be made out in the rumbling), and interesting erosion patterns and rock formations. Many adventurers have been completely oblivious to the aid which he provided, having been guided to their destination, avoiding natural hazards, by following natural (if strange) signs, usually a trail of warm spots on tunnel walls, each briefly visible via infravision. Shar tended to use the same subtle signs Ibrandul did to forewarn high-ranking priests.[1]
The Skulking god was also known to work through free-willed earth elementals, stone-eaters, lizards of all sizes including his own ibrandlin, skulks, gray and crystal oozes, and will o'deeps.[1]
Personality
Ibrandul, though he demonstrated wit whether helping or hindering, was a taciturn and moody god, and was portrayed as such by Shar whenever his guise was in use. He was not an uncaring deity however and in fact was always restless, ever-seeking to stalk and explore the Underdark and hunt down those who would harm his followers.[1] However, while Ibrandul would aid and guide those who served them when they were in need,[2] he had a tendency to ignore them once they were relatively safe. It was thought that this inattentiveness resulted in diminished strength and thus played a part in his eventual death.[1]
Powers
As the Stalker, Ibrandul could quickly strike out with using all his claws and fangs, whereas the Skulker bludgeoned his opponents with two powerful appendages (which could take the form of arms or more unusual limbs like tentacles). In either form he could cast spells from any school or sphere of magic, favoring those of elemental earth,travel, and darkness. He could only cast light-creating spells if their effects occurred instantaneously (such as a fireball as opposed to glitterdust).[1]
Though able to see in perfect darkness as if it were broad daylight, a continual light spell was sufficient to blind Ibrandul, though he had several means of counteracting this. The simplest was to cast create darkness around himself (which he could do at will along with his usual attacks or spells). He could also sink directly into rock walls, moving, striking, and observing completely uninhibited regardless of the light beyond it.[1]
Other stone-related powers of Ibrandul included his ability to become undetectable by non-magical means if he stood motionless against stone. As a creature of Pandemonium, Ibrandul had also learned to stone shape with his breath, expertly carving any kind of rock down to the most intricate feature. The process took a minute for every square foot, and could be used to create anything from stone darts, to natural altars, to navigable Underdark passages.[1]
Possessions
Gifts of Ibrandul were healing potions that had the additional effect of turning the imbiber's skin scaly and gray, the condition lasting for a few days depending on the subject's fortitude.[2]
Realm
Ibrandul's realm of Ibrandyllaran was located in Phlegethon, the 3rd layer of Pandemonium, but could be found drifting in the Astral Plane after his death.[1]
Worshipers
Main article: Church of Ibrandul
Priest of Ibrandul.png
A priest of Ibrandul.
Ibrandul had been one of the more notable, if not strongest, deities of Calimshan, and a diverse variety of his worshipers dwelt there.[7] He was popular amongst adventurers,[6] and also worshipped by the underworld-affiliated, escaped slaves, and shulks. He would watch over all his followers, protecting them from the dangers of dark places (particularly the Underdark)[7] and was rumored to aid those venturing underground when they were in need.[9]
Originally Ibrandul's worship was unheard of north of the River Chionthar, his influence limited to the countries of the Shining South,[7] but it had spread since his death at the hands of Shar and her subsequent adoption of his persona.[9] It had declined over the centuries among the humans but still practiced with fervor by the skulks, whose only interaction with the surface-goers was raiding, causing the Skulking God to be seen as an evil power in Calimshan more than anywhere else in the Realms. His faith was much more recent in the Sword Coast North and attracted worshipers of diverse alignments and races, his priests focusing on his aspect as a defender more than a lover of darkness (a focus Shar likely planned to shift).[1]
Ibrandul's largest single group of followers were the skulks living in the ruins of Deep Shanatar beneath Amn, Tethyr, and Calimshan.[7] Drakkalor (former patron city of the dwarven god of greed, Abbathor) in particular was the site of a skulk nation whose tribal culture centered around their emancipation from the drow of Guallidurth by Ibrandul and the raiding of that city's traveling merchants.[10] Some Underdark druids of various races, even drow, had Ibrandul as their patron but stopped receiving spells from him upon his death; some turned to dwarf, gnome, or other Underdark deities, while the drow possibly (and unknowingly) received their power from Lolth.[1][11] The slave population in the beholder city of Zokir, after centuries of secret worship, were also allowed to worship Ibrandul by the ruling hive mothers.[12]
Specialty priests of Ibrandul, known as Darkwalkers, were required to be chaotic neutral and reasonably healthy and wise. Such priests had various powers and training relating to nagivating the dark, creating darkness, and altering stone. Under Shar's influence, all new initiates into the faith were to become specialty priests, the remaining clerics being holdovers from before the Time of Troubles (Ibrandul himself never created specialty priests due to his relative neglectfulness).[4][1]
Ibrandul's dogma held that the Underdark was every bit as vital as the surface world, and that its darkness was its greatest redeeming quality, freeing intelligent beings from the inexorable monotony of a day and night cycle that would restrict their lives and providing an endless variety of shapes and textures to tactiley experience, sensations that would be lost on those who merely used their sight. There was nothing inherently evil, or for that matter good, about the dark, with such judgements considered both personal and frivolous.[1]
Ibrandul's clergy was expected to proselytize to the poor of cities, as well as adventurers, with many members either wandering the Underdark as adventurers themselves or simply acting as aides for them. They had a tendency to celebrate the darkness by roaming the Underdark alone, resulting in a somewhat high mortality rate among lower-ranking priests, the smart followers remaining in groups until they developed the priestly powers and survival skills to explore alone. Their mission was to persuade those they met to acknowledge Ibrandul as their defender while they were underground and encourage them to stay there.[1] [4]
They were also expected to build underground temple fortresses to serve as sanctuaries for those venturing the depths and offered refuge in them to those who needed to hide beneath the earth (whether from a natural disaster like a storm or a plague or from enemy assailants like police or foreign invaders). This was in exchange for regular rental payments for the food and bedding as well as a niche in the temple and the favor of Ibrandul.[1][4]
Rituals
There were very few holy days among the Ibrandulin. Each Midwinter's Eve they would perform a ceremony known as Deliverance Unto Darkness, typically involving the sacrifice of a creature intimately associated with Lolth or the drow, such as a monstrous spider, to celebrate their emancipation from the dark elves. The ceremony also usually had dark path spells cast in long chains, the faithful wandering the Underdark without light sources and trusting their god to lead them to safety. On the cloud-covered nights of a new moon, while the surface world was pitch black, the ceremony known as the Foreshadowing would begin where, beginning at midnight, they would celebrate Ibrandul's promise to eventually envelop the worlds above and below in darkness.[1]
Long before his death, Ibrandul imparted secret transformation spells and breeding processes to his most devoted followers, who used the lore to develop the create ibrandlin spell by which the lukrers in darkness were created by magically altering fire lizard eggs. The Lurker in Darkness never provided enough divine power to turn ibrandlin into a self-propagating species, with their offspring merely being fire lizards, but with Shar's favor the creatures bred true, resulting in much excitement among the clergy and a steadily increasing number of the modified race. Given the expense of the spell's components, it would likely fall into disuse so long as the ibrandlin could breed on their own.[4][1][13][14]
All senior priests of Ibrandul were required to undergo a secret ritual in a ceremony known as "Elah'ranak" (meaning "Protective Armor of Darkness" in Alzhedo). Performed by the temple leader, the magical rite saw the supplicant ingenst ibrandlin blood, after which overlapping patches of ibrandlin-like scales appeared on their wrists, forearms, chest, back, and legs, which granted them great natural armor, but reduced their natural charisma.[4][1]
All followers were to throw a copper piece into any crossed pit as thanks for their safe traveling and in nearby holes or crevices if they believed they witnessed one of his signs, with priests having the additional expectation of irretrievably throwing a tenth of their wealth into a deep pit as a tithe when they reached a new level of power.[1]
Temples
Ibrandul had several temples and shrines both known and hidden, though he could be worshiped anywhere in the Underdark or in the shadows. He had shaped many elaborate altars out of natural stone throughout many large Underdark caverns, each recognizable as at least 20 feet (6.1 meters) across plateaus with steps making them accessible from all sides. They were worn glassy smooth across the top and had runes and glyphs of varying texture and shape in the center for followers to caress while kneeling and meditating.[1] The Runemesa in Zokir was constructed similarly to these natural shrines by the city's beholders, albeit in such a way that they were difficult to reach without flight or spider climbing as both a cruel taunt and method of inducing loyalty.[12]
Athkatla, the capital city of Amn, housed a few hidden cellar-shrines for the Skulking God.[15] Memnon was the home of the Protector's House, a small but excellent two-story temple where Ibrandul was worshiped down in the lowest cellar, as well as represented with an ibrandlin on the last of the four outside coulumns.[8] His largest and newest temple was the semi-secret Deep Temple of Dark Hope beneath the streets and sewers of Waterdeep. It was a stronghold for adventurers of the Undermountain and Underdark able to pay the steep fee, also reachable by a two-way gate from the Upper Temple (or Dark Gateway), which took the form of a secret shrine to Ibrandul in Waterdeep's Trades Ward.[1]
Cyric (pronounced: /ˈsɪərɪk/ SEER-ik[4][27][19]), known as Sirhivatizangpo by his Gugari worshipers[3] and as N'asr by the Bedine,[28][29] was the monomaniacal Faerunian god of lies, trickery,[30] and strife,[30] having previous held dominion over tyranny, murder, lies, intrigue, illusion.[4][19] It was Cyric who murdered Mystra and caused the Spellplague, throwing the cosmos into turmoil in an act that cost him much of his following.[10]
Even before godhood Cyric attracted a zealous contingent of Zhent warriors that devoted themselves to his cause. They followed Cyric during his quest to retrieve the Tablets of Fate and cast aside their loyalties to their former employers and home realms. While Cyric did spare them from inadvertent death,[96] he only traveled with them so long as they proved useful,[97] and completely abandoned them afterwards.[98][69]
The Cyricist church was hated across Toril with good reason: Cyric's church was pledged to spread strife and work murder everywhere in order to make folk believe in and fear the Dark Sun. It supported cruel rulers and indulged fostered fear and intrigue while avoiding the spread of outright war. The church was often beset by internal feuds and backstabbing for some time before eventually waning.[19][99] Many outside the church viewed it as a twisted den of madness, trickery, and death. Cyricist clergy condemned this outlook, preferring to see their religion as one of enlightenment. It purportedly revealed that all societal bonds of friendship, family, and love were nothing but weak ties that always withered away, and were therefore useless, weak, and pitiful.[30]
Cyric's clerics prayed for spells at night, after moonrise, and often trained as rogues or assassins.[19] His specialty priests were known as strifeleaders.[100] They celebrated few holy days and did not acknowledge the date of his ascension to divinity, due to it coinciding with that of Midnight. Whenever a temple acquired something, or someone, important enough to be sacrificed, its high priest declared a Day of the Dark Sun to signify the holiness of the event. Eclipses were considered holy occasions, and were accompanied by feasts, fervent prayers, and bloody sacrifices.[19]
In addition to the worshipers Cyric claimed during his ascension, he also garnered those of the Leiran faith after slaying the Lady of Deception.[101] Cyric's faith spread across some unlikely groups, including the insular Bedine people of Anauroch,[102] Tethyrian cultists of Ao that remained unaware of their true divine patron,[103] some of the more malevolent tieflings of the Realms,[104] and renegade githyanki that forewent worship of their lich-queen.[105]
Ratri is a Vedic goddess in Hinduism. She is the personification of the night. The majority of references to Ratri are found in Rigveda and she is described as the sister of Ushas, the personification of dawn. Together with Ushas, she is referred to as a powerful mother and strengthener of vital power. She represents cyclic rhythmic patterns of the cosmos. Her physical appearance isn't explicitly mentioned but she is described as a beautiful maiden.
One hymn in Rigveda and five in Atharvaveda are dedicated to her. In later Tantric texts she occupies an important position. She is associated with Ushas, Indra, Rta, Satya in Rigveda, whereas in Atharvaveda she is associated with Surya. The Brahmanas and the Sutra literature mention Ratri again and again.
Erebus is the second ruler of the cosmos along with being a child of Khaos. He was also the husband of Nyx who also is his sister. His two children whom are well known through Greek myth include Hemera, the Protogenos of Day, and Aether, Protogenos of Light, an ironic fact that the day and light would be the children of night and darkness.
While he is featured little in Greek mythology, he is known to have fathered several other deities with Nyx; depending on the source of the mythology, this union includes Aether, Hemera, the Hesperides, Hypnos, the the Sisters of Fate, Geras, Styx, Charon, and Thanatos. In Greek literature, Erebus is also used of a region of the Greek underworld where the dead pass immediately after dying, and is sometimes used interchangeably with Tartarus.
Appearance
Erebus has no physical form, as such it is highly difficult to interpret him in an appearance. Like Nyx, he can only be seen as the night-time sky, Erebus on the other hand can only be witnessed as the shadows and darkness that lurk about and leak in the nooks and crevices of the world itself. However, Erebus is capable of taking a form, although not physical, but a spectral one. Although, it is believed that this form merely acts as his avatar.
He can also appear as a deep purple slim humanoid demon-like being with segmented horns that arc back over his head and curve upward to a point just over the back of his cranium.
However according to some, Erebus has apparently been seen taking a human form.
Personality
Erebus is always seen to be serene and apathetic towards other people, even while actually deeply conflicted. He is notably calm, even in battle. He generally acts different, bordering on coldness, to most situations he is faced with, and rarely views his opponent as being worth his time.
He doesn't show these emotions very often and it's said that he often sports a poker face. He denies this and believes that he just expresses his emotions in his own way. His sister state that he gets a lot of love letters from female entities. He is good at making friends and socializing, and he is one of the few people who can control Tartarus when he gets out of hand.
He can be seen to be friendly towards his siblings and father, however, his coldness can make him rather cruel and quiet hostile from outsiders, specially if some space monsters or an Old One accidentally find themselves in his presence.
Due to fighting many entities, Erebus is an extremely cunning, wise, witty, and a cautious person, having not trusted the words of an Old One like Yog-Sothoth. He is wise and smart enough to convince Nyarlathotep to think that the outer god had successfully manipulated him, and just playing along from his games.
Powers and Abilities
Erebus is one of the strongest of the Protogenoi, being able to take on the likes of Shupnikkurat, Barak and his sister Gaia and is also one of the only people able to stop an angry Tartarus in a one-on-one fight. Erebus is so powerful that he can also fight Chronos, a more powerful being, as well taking on multiple True Archangels at once. His power is matched only by his brothers and sisters.
Primordial Physiology: As a Primordial, Erebus is an immensely powerful being that has existed prior to or since the beginning of time. He is able to control, alter, create, and manipulate anything and everything related to concept of darkness with ease. Erebus can do virtually anything he desires, with even Satan himself stating that Erebus is not be trifled with, to the point of going as far as showing caution around him.
Nigh-Omnipotence: While not as powerful as his creator Khaos nor as great as his sister and wife Nyx, he does have the abilities to do literally anything he want including destruction, infinity, endless power and others. Erebus has the powers over Creation and is described as both omnipotent and unbeatable by those aware of his existence. Erebus is only equated by his siblings, and surpassed by Chronos and Khaos. No one below the Primordials can stand a chance against him and will never overcome it. Nyx has said that Erebus and Chronos are equally good combatants and them fighting would probably end up in a very close stalemate, edging to Chronos in victory. He also has an intense dark aura that can blacken a space in no time at all. Upon full release, his aura sometimes has detrimental effects on lesser Gods. Zeus declared that his power was so vast that it had no end. Erebus can make all of the Olympian deities kneel before him in fear with just his mere presence and aura. He was able to erase several realities.
Nigh-Omniscience: Erebus knows almost everything in existence while being blocked from certain details or being limited in other ways, possibly only being able to see multiple timeline's and universe's, or have just small patches of information that are missing or blocked out. Thus allowing him to keep his sense of free will and uncertainty. Due to his nature, Erebus also knows everything about darkness, shadows, the night and everything related to it. As such, he knows everything within the darkness, and what lies within and around it. He knows everything when it comes to darkness/the night because all its secrets are revealed, knowing all the ways and reasons of how darkness and the night are supposed to be work.
Creation: Erebus can create organic or inorganic matter from nothing, either as finished objects or simply unfinished elements. Higher level He can create anything they can think of, whether conceptual or sentient. This includes the creation of energy, souls and life of any complexity, dimensions or realities, stars, etc.
Destruction: Erebus can utterly destroy things. Depending on the user, this could be anything and everything from small objects to entire galaxies or universes and possibly even abstract concepts and/or natural forces/laws. Notably, Erebus of this power still have limits - if they lack any limits then this would be an example of Absolute Destruction. What those exact limits are will depend on the user. If the user is able to remove something completely and utterly without leaving anything behind, it may instead be a form of Erasure.
Reality Warping: Like his siblings, Erebus is able to control and bend reality to his whims, capable of altering something as tangible as physics and the universe to something inconceivable like logic. Because of this immense ability, many younger gods are often led to believing his to possess complete omnipotence power. As the Primeval Darkness, Erebus can distort, shape, manipulate, even warp billions of realities, with just a mere thought or snap of his fingers.
Immense Strength: Erebus is one of the most powerful of the Protogenoi. He is not known for his strength(even his sister is stronger that him) but he would still probably be able to toy around with the strongest mortals demigods and gods without trying without the use of his other powers.. However, it’s been proven that he was not known for fighting and so is weaker the most of the Primordials, but was good at tricks. He is one of the few who can restrict Tartarus when is angered.
Darkness Embodiment: Erebus is the physical manifestation and personification of Darkness, the all-encompassing void which acts as the counterbalance to light. The darkness manifested is made of pure negativity/dark energy and/or lack of illumination. Due to being its personification, Erebus has full of the concept of the darkness which he also rules. He cloud can create of this ability is essentially tapping into the core of different forms of darkness itself to assert their dominion. Because being darkness direct manifestation and personification, his powers are superior to those of his wife Nyx although slightly but below Darkness and Ayin.
Nothingness Manipulation: Erebus, due to being a child of Khaos, is also the primeval being of nothingness and can manipulate its very essence to truly erase countless realms, universes and even primeval to absolute nothingness to the point no proof of their existence remains.
Darkness Empowerment: Erebus become stronger, faster, more durable, etc. when he come in contact with darkness or shadow, possibly unlocking abilities related to the affinity and enhancing the existing powers. Erebus may be able draw sustenance from the darkness or even slow or stop aging.
Darkness Manipulation: As the Primordial of Darkness, Erebus is capable of producing a dark mass of auras that was able to damage Satan's armor. He can also use his darkness to create a barrier to protect himself from his enemy’s attacks. Erebus incorporates all the essence of darkness into existence and balances it with its other opposite, light.
Absolute Darkness: He is able to create a field of absolute impenetrable darkness that completely negates sight and may also dull or even completely negate the other senses. He may even be able to generate darkness so intense it can completely obliterate objects in its path.
Darkness Teleportation: He can teleport via shadows/darkness, merging into shadows/darkness and appearing anywhere else from the same element.
Umbrakinetic Combat: He can fuse manipulation of darkness with physical combat to create a devastating form of martial arts. He can use both direct and indirect attacks, utilizing every patch of darkness or shadow available or create tools and weapons as needed.
Umbrakinetic Creature Creation: He is able to create beings of darkness/shadow or shape existing darkness/shadow into wanted shapes and purposes. He can grant the beings varying levels of independence and existence and delete the creature once they are done with them.
Erebopresence: He simultaneously exists everywhere night and darkness exist, manifests or resides, regardless of where.
Grim Darkness Manipulation: He can create, shape and manipulate darkness/shadows/blackness of a darker, detrimental nature; that which damages, destroys, and consumes anything/everything he come's across, representing the hazardous destructive side of darkness/shadow, which in turn ignores most of the limitations and weaknesses of the normal darkness/shadow. In essence, this is about solely controlling the negative powers of darkness/shadow.
Pure Darkness Manipulation: He can create, shape and manipulate darkness of beneficial nature; that which strengthens, enhances and causes anything/everything it comes across to flourish, representing the sustaining and preserving side of darkness, which in turn ignores most of the common limitations and weaknesses of its normal elemental variety. In essence, this is about solely controlling the positive powers of darkness.
Shadow Constructs: Erebus could shape and solidify darkness to create various forms of constructs, from weaponry to equipment to even semi-living beasts. Once he created multiple blade separates into a thousand tiny, slender blade fragments, which fly away from the hilt, leaving only the sword's handle in Erebus' hand. While the blades are supposedly too small to be seen normally, they reflect light in such a way as to resemble cherry blossom petals.
Darkness Imprisonment: He can bind, imprison and/or otherwise stop object/being by surrounding them completely by using darkness.
Dark World Manipulation: Erebus can create, shape and manipulate the darkest areas of the mystical world and every aspects of the shadow world, from elements to mythical beasts, darkest areas that hold ancient secrets, mysterious creatures, and legendary powers that no one of the mortal planes can comprehend.
Primordial Darkness Manipulation: Erebus can control the primal darkness that has existed before creation, and represents the darker aspect of primal creation alongside the Light, both being two halves of the same coin, yet stand opposite. Due to its primordial nature it goes beyond concepts of good, evil, and even neutrality.
Omnidirectional Darkness Waves: Erebus can release massive amounts of darkness in every direction at once for almost unlimited scales. This ability allows the user to dispatch many foes at once and destroy large areas.
Conceptual Darkness Manipulation: Erebus can manipulate the abstract concept of darkness. He can have many feats, such as darkness that can prevent light from existing, darkness that makes things more visible rather then less, produce darkness/shadows that can exist without light, harm things that can absorb or are immune to darkness, produce shadows/darkness that can consume or negate other forms darkness/night/shadows, and much more.
Esoteric Darkness Manipulation: He can manipulate the esoteric side of the darkness/shadow, with special properties and a mystical nature to it. With mastery, the wielder could use the esoteric element for a variety of magical effects.
Nether Manipulation: He can create, shape and manipulate Nether, the "Chthonian Element" that flows through the realms of the living, and the Dead. Nether is most known as the substance that makes up the Underworld, a subterranean dimension where all souls go when they pass on. Nether is very similar to Aether “the Celestial Element” in that it is from a Plane that exists between the planes of both matter, and energy.
Dark Matter Manipulation: Erebus can create, shape and manipulate Dark Matter, a hypothetical type of matter distinct from baryonic matter (ordinary matter such as protons and neutrons), neutrinos and dark energy. The name refers to the fact that it does not emit or interact with electromagnetic radiation, such as light, and is thus invisible to the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Although dark matter has not been directly observed, its existence and properties are inferred from its gravitational effects, and it is estimated to make up 84% of the universe's mass and 23% of its mass-energy.
Dark Matter Constructs: He can turn Dark Matter into tools, objects, weapons and other items, create semi-living constructs and/or create structures/buildings of varying permanence. Erebus who have mastered this ability can use it for almost any situation, creating anything he need.
Dark Matter Aura: Erebus can release and surround themselves in/with dark matter for defensive and/or offensive purposes, possibly becoming almost untouchable and granting them various abilities/attacks. The aura also give's Erebus enhanced physical capabilities such as speed, strength and durability.
Dark Matter Empowerment: Erebus become stronger, faster, more durable, etc. when he come's in contact with dark matter, possibly unlocking abilities related to the affinity and enhancing the existing powers. Erebus may be able draw sustenance from dark matter or even slow or stop aging.
Black Hole Manipulation: He can create, shape and manipulate black holes, a region of space time where gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. He can control the size of black hole, and move it around in space to "suck up" everything in its path.
Mist Manipulation: As the god of mist, Erebus can manipulate mist including amount, thickness color and more. He can also combine his mist with darkness for various proposes and effect.
