Emrul (Weg'olw'chyen; /eˈmrul/)
"He may wear the visage of one of us, but he is nothing of our kind - Aahnran. He's a cold, calculating creature who will never understand what it means to be alive."
Basics
Emrul is the Common and Outsider God of Magic, and considered the true and final controller and judge of magic on Aanrah. Emrul did not believe that mortal should have access to magic freely and once tightly restricted its learning - but since Szaifudrus broke his pact, he has reluctantly accepted his role in mortal's continued use of magic.Description
Appearance
Emrul usually choses to appear as a tall, gaunt elf-like humanoid with sickly pale skin, gaunt features, and green octopus-like eyes. His hair is often a writhing mass of shadowy black tendrils, which sometimes merge into the portals he appears from or void on which he sits. He us often seen wearing a form-fitting, stiff purple outfit with a high collar. This is known to be a proxy of his real form, and some scholars assume it is used akin to a angler fish's lure.Emrul's true form is said to be a extension of what his hair appears as - a writhing mass of void-black tendrils. Often only seen by the truly unlucky or those summoning him as a Outsider patron, Emrul's true form is sparsely documented, seen, or understood. A few worshippers describe it as 'octopus-like'.
Personality
Emrul prefers to come across as serious and formal, preferring to conduct his business in a no-nonsense fashion. His dealings can easily come across as disconnected and impersonal, to downright inhuman. He habitually treats the inhabitants of Aanrah as objects in a transaction then as living beings, though he does not see it that way. While he is not often inherently malicious, there is usually a clear disconnect between him, a Outsider, and the beings of Aanrah. He often works for what he believes is genuinely the best for Aanrah in the long run, but has little regard to its impact on the short term. Some consider Emrul cruel in this regard.Despite his bes attempts at a serious, business-like façade, Emrul is a petty and jealous god under the surface, insecure at his position as only a greater god in comparison to his elder god superiors, and prone to lashing out when things don't go his way. While his cruelty is usually accidentally, his is fully capable of being incredibly cruel out of spite - and will pull out all the stops to do so.
Powers & Domain
Emrul has control over all of Aanrah's magic. Scholars are unsure of what extent this goes to, but are aware that this at least means that Emrul has perhaps one of the widest ranges in abilities of any deity. He is said to know everything and anything that can be done with magic, and although mortal magic runs rampant, he is known to be able to strip knowledge and magic capabilities from others. It is unknown if his death would destroy magic on Aanrah or not.History
Emrul's early history is entierly unknown, as is common with most outsider beings. He is recorded as one of the First Gods present at the start of the world, and one of the most vocal and active ones. Though scholars are unsure if he created magic on Aanrah, he is though to have at least harnessed it and shaped it to how it is now.Prior to meeting Szaifudrus and the disappearance of Baza, Emrul was known to give out spells on a strict basis, often adding caveats that would prevent their users from passing the information to others. Emrul's stance on magic was that it belonged in the hands of the divine and the divine's chosen only, and True Magic would be far too powerful to be in the hands of every and any mortal. As a result, wizards were incredibly rare, and all other magic came from a species's inherent capabilities. Some scholars would argue that prior to the disappearance of Baza, there were no true wizards, and that all those given magic knowledge would be more closer considered warlocks.
Szaifudrus is considered Emrul's biggest mistake on that front - according to legend, Emrul both gave Szaifudrus a more wider access to magic and didn't hard press him into a contract that would physically prevent him from passing that magic. Why he didn't is a question asked by many scholars, but one with no current answer. After the evens that would cause the knowledge of magic and spells to begin to spread freely, Emrul found himself having to accept that it had broken containment. He stepped in to the position as the god wizards most often turn to, in hopes of at least trying to continue to control the use and expansion of mortal magic.
Religion & Dogma
Common Pantheon
Emrul is first and foremost considered a member of the Common Pantheon, and one of the central chief deities - though often of his own class and not in tie with Zwinwele, Ciurte, and Yalidil Rana. He is widely worshipped and accepted across Aanrah in all cultures and societies, and shrines to him can be found in every wizarding institution and in many private homes and libraries. Formal priests and followers have a heavy overlap in other magical fields, and his priests are often considered scholars and teachers first and foremost. Emrul is a active deity in his follower's lives, and frequently responds to prayers and offerings. His answers may not always be direct, but few have doubts of their origin when received.Emrul is also known to'filter' the prayers sent to Szaifudrus, as Szaifudrus cannot receive them, and will act on them himself if he feels the need. He makes sure that the receiver is plenty aware of who is responding, in part as a attempt to curb the worship of Szaifudrus towards himself.
Outsider Pantheon
Emrul is also considered a member of the Outsider pantheon. Though a vast majority of his followers contact him for otherwise mundane reasons, some who pursue Emrul do so in hopes of getting deeper knowledge from him - things that would be considered beyond the scope of what is consiered lawful or safe in most countries. It is said that there are rituals to summon Emrul in which he will deal with you 'off the books', as his true Outsider self. Those who are able to reach him this way are said to gain the more powerful and dangerous rituals, but the costs of gaining the knowledge are said to be brutal.Extra
Relationships
History
Kht'oth and Emrul consider each other allies on the point of being both outsider gods and First Gods, and Emrul deffers to Kht'oth as his superior. The two outsiders are cordial and polite to each other, but harbor dislike in private. Emrul finds himself particularly jealous over Kht'oths superiority, and envies the difference in power between them. Kht'oth is aware of Emrul's inferiority complex about not being a elder god himself, and finds the other outsider's behavior unbecouthing of him and their 'species'. Despite this, the two work together fine, and are more than capable of putting asied their differences in order to work as a team - especially in the face of the other gods.
History
Mgachyt' and Emrul consider each other allies as outsiders, but rarely interact. Despite their frequent overlap in worshippers and positions in societies, the two don't particularly care for each other. While their relationship is far from hostile, their opinions and interactions with mortals differ enough that they prefer the company of others over each other. Despite Mgachyt's seniority, Emrul does not usually defer to them as their senior, and Mgachyt' isn't particularly bothered by this.
History
Mglw'nochyt' and Emrul consider each other allies on account of being outsiders, but care little for each other outside of that. Mglw'nochyt' thinks Emrul is too restrained and a bit of a kill-joy, while Emrul finds Mglw'nochyt's ability dangerous and its personality just as dangerous - if not downright annoying.
History
Ariteng'h and Emrul consider each other allies by way of being outsiders and having a similar domain. Emrul defers to Artiteng'h as its superior, and Artiteng'h is happy to rub that in Emrul's face. Emrul deeply envies Artiteng'h's power and status, and doesn't always do the best job at hiding his resentment that Artiteng'h, for all its laziness, is the elder god with more power. Artiteng'h finds Emrul's jealousy funny, and uses it whenever possible to make jabs and get Emrul's goat. Emrul is willing to tolerate it though, maybe in hopes of someday surpassing Artiteng'h.
History
Szaifudrus came to Emrul as a mortal human king begging for aid. Though Emrul ignored him initially, Szaifudrus's persistence finally made Emrul give him a chance. His perserverence and charm earned him Emrul's aid. Emrul saw Szaifudrus as a good oppertunity to amass followers, and hedged his bets with the king.
Unfotunately, Szaifudrus's failure to keep his end of the bargin went catastrophically, and the resulting fall out infuriated Emrul beyond words. Worse was that he was ultimately unable to kill Szaifudrus thanks to Yalidil Rana's interference. Though he has found some catharsism in Szaifudrus's prolonged suffering in the heart of The King's Labyrinth, it hardly has balanced out his absolute hatred and distatin for Szaifudrus. Szaifudrus has caused so much humiliation to him amongst the other gods and mortals alike that Emrul would much prefer that he be dead and out of his sight.
Szaifudrus does not feel much better about Emrul, albeit he knows Emrul's hatred is deserved. He feels immense guilt for his mistakes, and though Emrul's cruelty and torment might be excessive, Szaifudrus feels he deserves them. The bulk of his hatred with Emrul comes from dragging others into it, and using innocent mortals to get back at Szaifudrus.
History
Drœðrookrokveiilz is a Ascended dragon who once sought Emrul to further his power somtime before Baza's disappearance. While not a particularly devout follower, Drœðrookrokveiilz was considered a valuable asset to Emrul. So, when the centuries after Szaifudrus's blunder began to roll around and dragons began to see a sharp decline, Emrul lured Drœðrookrokveiilz to Afl Wgluhchytʼ and ultimately sealed him away in the vault underneath it. Emrul sees Drœðrookrokveiilz as a valuable prize and a important relic of the past, possibly useful in the future of his species.
Drœðrookrokveiilz, of course, is not a fan of Emrul. Even before, he only saw Emrul as a means to a end, and had no desire to really follow him or worship him beyond what was needed to gain power. After being tricked into becoming trapped at Emrul's tower, Drœðrookrokveiilz's indifference quickly turned to burning hatred. He hates Emrul for keeping him starved and alone in Afl Wgluchyt's basement for over 4,000 years, and maybe even moreso for kidnapping his daughter San.
History
Originally 'hired' for maintainance and work on Afl Wgluhchytʼs grounds, Caesil grew to dislike Emrul rather quickly based on his treatement of Drœðrookrokveiilz. Emrul has grown to regret his choice in hiring her after she broke out with Drœðrookrokveiilz - even if he was able to rob them of a child. Caesil hates him for his treatement of her entire family, and like Drœðrookrokveiilz she would love to teach him a lesson.
History
Dain hates Emrul for separating San from his family before they hatched, and what he's done to San in the time he had her. Were it not for his parents, Dain likely would have tried to pick a true fight with him for it. Emrul finds Dain's fire irritating, but sees the boy as no threat - just as a pawn if he needs to get to San.
History
San and Emrul's relationship is convoluted, toxic, and complicated. While Emrul raised her for the first decade of her life, he was hardly a father figure to her. After discovering that she was stolen from her family as an egg and fleeing, her feelings towards Emrul became hateful - but their constant reconvineing has made it turn into something much weirder and much harder to put into words. Emrul similarly does not see her as a daughter - he never has - and though he is angered by her leaving him his own feelings towards her are difficult for him to parse.
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Domains:
Magic
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