Hyana was once part of the Primordial Green and the Spirit of Life, the Goddess of the Gnolls, of Hunters and Huntresses, Tracking, Nurturing the young, Hunger and Predators.
Then, after eons of mastering and seeking the thrill of the hunt, the darkness within her lusting after blood and the moment of a kill, her thoughts twisted and changed, and she could never satiate the hunger in her heart for the death of all but herself, chasing after her victims, feeling the blood rush through her body, the excitement of closing in on the kill, the rush of murder. Her form truly transformed when she was banished to the Abyss, her shackles unleashed, her morality abandoned, and became the Prince of Ruin.
Church of Hyana
Worshippers
Predominantly worshipped by the gnolls before the goddess' fall to the Abyss, and all those that call themselves hunters paid homage to her - but now resides the patron of poachers, hunters, bounty hunters, those seeking to hunt their prey, even slave hunters.
Orders
One of the oldest orders of the realm of druids and rangers, is the
Eternal Pack - a disorganised and more familial surrogate group of hunters, rangers, druids and even green knights that were in service to Surrogate Huntress. Their aim was to preside over the lawful hunting of the beasts of the world, and not allow the extinction of other creatures, or voracious poaching of beasts - to preserve life, and to destroy all those that might hunt innocent creatures during their youth before they stood a chance to defend themselves. Not interrupting the natural cycle, but not letting them die out.
Temples & Shrines
Her shrines were once dens, burrows or caves within nature - signified by cave paintings of her old form, of gnarled wooden effigies in her shape and usually filled with trophy skulls. Places where the young beasts would be nursed and taught how to fend for themselves.
Realm
She once reigned dominant within the Feywild and in the Beastlands, in the
Savage Horizon. But her realm no longer stands there, now decimated by the other gods.
Divine Domains
Life - Nature - War
Divine Symbol
A white mottled hyaenodons head, biting into arrows.
Tenets of Faith
Dogma
- Protect the young and innocent beasts until they learn how to fend for themselves.
- Never stray from the pack, work as one, work together as family.
- Hunt to eat your fill, do not hunt to fill your selfish needs.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Her goal was to allow life to reach a stage where they could become independent and follow through in the cycle, to thrive, and not be interrupted by others - to remain undisturbed. To hunt and to kill to fulfil the need of hunger, and become stronger. To keep the balance of predators and prey and avoid extinction unless it was necessary.
Personal History
Physical Appearance
Appearing as a great blotchy-white furred hyaneodon with mange, great yellow eyes and sharpened white teeth and blackened paws.
YEENOGHU THE DEMON LORD
Yeenoghu, the Demon Lord and chief being worshipped by the demonic-lineage of gnolls. Dedicated only to destruction, the Ruler of Ruin sought the collapse of civilization and he would brutally butcher all that stood between him and his rabid slaughter.
"Yeenoghu is special because she embodies killing. She has few ambitions beyond the visceral thrill of rending the soft flesh of her enemies, and drinking deep the hot blood from their bodies. She craves nothing more than the utter defeat of all those who stand against her and is relentless in her pursuit of feeding the emptiness of her existence with the frantic screams of those she slays. Butchery is the provender of Yeenoghu, and her single-minded pursuit of annihilation makes her a dangerous force in the infinite layers of the Abyss." - The Demonomicon of Iggwilv.
The Cult of Yeenoghu
Worshippers
Yeenoghu's worshipers mostly consisted of gnolls, although he accepted servants from all races, known as
Fangs. Yeenoghu possessed a personal honour guard of sixty-six gnolls that he could summon onto the battlefield to aid him, although this small legion was primarily for show. The
Claws of Fury were his elite combat force, comprised of extremely capable gnoll warriors. He was also capable of calling upon various demons to serve his goals including the shoosuva and leucrotta creatures completely loyal to his wishes. Yeenoghu also had ghoul worshipers in part because of the consumption of intelligent beings was part of his doctrine and also because of his subjugation of the Ghoul King.
Shrines
Realm
Her layer in the Abyss, is known as the
Seeping Woods or
Death Dells. The plane was covered in barren hills, great ravines, wide savannas with poisonous and parasite-filled waters, and sickly yellow forests. It served as his own personal hunting grounds, where he played with mortals in cruel hunting games. There were nearly no structures in his realm, it being entirely devoid of civilization.
Divine Symbol
A hyenas skull silhouette portraying many watching beasts in the shadows of its skull, painted in blood.
Tenets of Faith
Dogma
"His demands are simple: kill. Follow her commands, and you shall know blessings beyond your dreams." - Zaiden, closest servant of Yeenoghu.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Yeenoghu's desires were savage in nature, wanting slaughter and destruction above all else. She took great pleasure in inflicting terror and sorrow before her victims' deaths, destroying treasured possessions and crushing their hopes. She despised civilization and if she were to conquer other realms, abyssal or otherwise, she would not attempt to rebuild their former structures.
To the Beast of Butchery, the gnolls were both her instruments and children, whom she sought to use to bring her ideal world to fruition. Such a world would be one of endless combat and brutality, where gnolls ruled supreme and all other creatures would be either slaves or food. Ultimately when the mortal world possessed one final champion she would challenge them to battle, slay them, and preside victoriously in her version of paradise; a wasteland of decaying corpses, in an absolutely ruined world.
Despite his savage nature, Yeenoghu was not stupid, being capable of subtlety and trickery, but merely choosing not to use it in most circumstances. She actively encouraged the arrival of new races into her followers, recognizing the lack of her people's unity. Counting among the Lord of Savagery's favorite demons were barlguras, dretches, hezrous, manes, and especially maw demons and Shoosuvas, all appreciated for their bestial natures. With any entity that did not serve her she would not waste any time on discourse, leaping boldly into battle unless she became bored.
Personal History
Despite not being the creator of the gnolls, Yeenoghu had the mysterious ability to create them from hyenas. It was widely believed that after subjugating most of Gorellik's followers he managed to kill him and consume his body, giving her the power to create new gnolls. Because of the gnoll's lack of care for their history and teh absence of a creator myth, Yeenoghu dominated the gnoll race as their supposed original creator.
Physical Appearance
Yeenoghu appeared as a gnoll-like creature, 12‒14 ft (3.7‒4.3 m) tall with a grinning skull-like face and a leering pair of burning emerald or amber eyes atop his seemingly emaciated form. A mangy, yellow crest of fur reached from her head to mid-back, with the only hair on her body being small scabby patches. The rest of her body was pale and gray, her leathery hide contrasting with her taut mane and a crest of blackened spines within it. Her canine chest was armored with a patchwork of discarded shields and breastplates held together with weighty chains, and decorated with the flayed skin of his enemies. She wielded a three-headed flail in her paws.
