K'Niff
(a.k.a. The Enemy of Time, Old Esorin, The Stagnant God, The Endless Stasis)
K'Niff, sometimes referred to as Old Esorin, The Endless Stasis and the Stagnant God is the Travesty representing Stagnancy, and his domain includes order, preservation, determination, anti-time, stagnancy, ice and the cold. His realm is known as The Stillness.
As one of the few Travesties who was once mortal, K'Niff often enjoys engaging in mortal affairs, if only to expedite his own plots. He has waged war on Apa Axas throughout history, although it should be noted that he does not wish to rule or corrupt as many other Travesties do, but to instead return Apa Axas to The Great Stagnancy, the mythical ending of the world where even Time itself has died, ensuring Life's greatest enemy can no longer ensnared mortals in its foul web.
K'Niff's most infamous contribution to Apa Axas is the concept of Anti-Time, an energy that feasts upon time, reversing or accelerating the time in the world around it, or to bring it to a stop entirely. It is said that his very being is made out of this force, and that even other Travesties are powerless against its might. This power is so feared that The Vida Quda's entire crusade to create the most adaptive race is based upon preventing K'Niff total Stagnancy. As such K'Niff is thought to be the ultimate enemy of the Vida Quda, and many mainstream religions treat him as such. However, other, more covert sects, such as The Circle of the Stagnancy revere the Enemy of Time as the one true saviour of mortalkind.
Divine Domains
While K'Niff's main domains are Statis, Preservation and the Cold, he is also considered to oversee Mountains, Speed and Stone.
Artifacts
The most famous artifact produced by K'Niff is the The Chronostones, in both corrupted and pure forms.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
K'Niff has appeared in many forms, and is depicted as such. In several works of art, it has been described as a 'huge spider, with flowing sand for legs'. It has also been seen as a twitching mass of flesh and antennae, or as an impossible large metallic sphere.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
K'Niff is one of the few Travesties to have a concrete origin story, a bizarre feat for a creature who is so unrooted in time, although its efficacy and validity is often brought into question because of this. As detailed in The Legend of the Chronostones, K'Niff was once a wizard named Esorin, researching temporal magic in an effort to see a deceased lover once again.
He spent his years wasting his life on useless ventures and disappointing failures, before inventing The Chronostones. This allowed him to travel back in time and give his younger self the Chronostones, thereby avoiding wasting years of his life on pointless failures. However, Time itself sealed Esorin and the Stone away in order to prevent a paradox. Enraged by this betrayal, Esorin corrupted the Chronostone with Anti-Time and declared war on Time. He travelled through the multiverse for many years, absorbing Anti-Time and becoming the god-like entity, K'Niff. Once he had found his original home, he ravaged the time-lines in rage. He was eventually seperated from the Chronostone by a noble hero, and cast back into his sealed world.
K'Niff was thought lost, and was mostly forgotten by mortalkind, until the War on Mirikas. Due to disruptions on the time-space continuum commited by Curt Prices, one of Beheerous' most dedicated followers, the Stagnant King was freed from his bonds, and fled to his own realm once again.
His next steps are unknowable, as it is at this point where K'niff gained the ability to step through the veil of time as if it were a doorway. However, it is theorised that his three main appearances in modern times take place after this. First (from the perspective of mortals) was the creation of the Anti-Time region on Lucidity, soon after the island fell from The Far Realm. It is said that K'Niff was simply curious to explore the oppurtunities the island had to offer, however, he was repelled by the energies of the Far Realm, leaving only his impact.
K'niff was instrumental in halting the rampage of the Tarrasque, which decimated much of Murkys. The creature was only stopped when members of the Circle of Stagnancy invoked K'Niff for his aid. His response was to petrify the creature in stone, although even he admitted that the Tarrasaque bore enough power to one day escape this captivity.
His most recent appearance took place soon after the adventurer's guild known as The Red Tentacle invoked the Travesty to aid them after they were displaced in time by a Hag. He used their desperation to force them to look the other way as he froze the entire City of Spires in Anti-Time, forcing the Red Tentacle to travel the multiverse in order to find a manner to stop him. Although they were eventually successful, K'Niff was only delayed, now more eager than even to complete the Great Stagnancy.
Gender Identity
Like the other The Beacons & Travesties, K'Niff has no set gender, appearing in many forms and guises. However, it can be said that its original gender is male, due to its origins as Esorin.
Failures & Embarrassments
As a former follower of the Vida Quda while known as Esorin, K’Niff bares a particular hatred for the Lady of Twine and Vine, one that burgeons on mania. He blames the Vida Quda for the original death of his wife, or moreso, blames her lack of action to stop it. He will claim any atrocity committed by him is in her name, and should be attested to her. Despite this, he will often command his followers, such as the Circle of Stagnancy Druids, to attack towns containing temples dedicated to the Vida Quda, an act that usually alleviates any suspicion of their involvement in subsequent attacks.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
The motivations of a Travesty are unknowable and imperceptible to mortal understanding. However, K'Niff's actions in regards to The Murky Path may shed some light on his motivations. It is said that those who have led a stagnant, lazy life attract K'Niff in the afterlife, so Apa Axans try to stay active as much as possible, and to never allow themselves to become complacent. If K'Niff is attracted while traversing The Marshes Betwixt, he is said to freeze Spirits, leaving them as statues, unable to move. It is said that his realm within the Marshes is barren and cold, littered with many icy statues. Those who worship K'Niff claim that only a path of single-minded determination can allow them to progress throughout life, and dedicate themselves to remaining stagnant and unchanging. They can be difficult to convince of any dissenting opinion.
Relationships
History
Together, K'Niff and Zemer Epsh created the Stone Giants
Divine Classification
Travesty
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Current Location
Species
Realm
Age
Unknown
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Sex
Unknown
Presentation
Male
Eyes
Varies
Hair
Varies
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Varies
Height
Varies
Weight
Varies
Aligned Organization
Related Myths
Ruled Locations
Comments