Kal Crist
The King of Fear, the One-Eyed Terror, the Creator of Curses, the Sundered One and the Thrice-Cut Horror (a.k.a. Kalan Cristomanaca)
Kal Crist, sometimes known as the King of Fear, is the Travesty representing Terror, Poisons and Primal Instinct. He is one of the rarer Travesties who have been identified in Apa Axas, with his cults being more specialised and not widely known. However, individual worship, and scary stories designed to instill fear in children and revellers of Kal Crist are common.
Kal Crist’s impact on the mortal races cannot be overstated. He is the source for all fear, and indirectly in all conflict and war, and is the subject of cruel cults, such as the feared Pin Needle Knights, his most exalted agents, who use hallucinogenic laced thin rapiers in combat, and in countless stories, usually acting as a trickster or demonic presence in fairytales. He has been seen many times throughout history, mostly in passing or indirectly. For example, he is supposedly the saviour of The Clever Folk after the destruction of Sarkic Elgris, although it is not known what he did with them.
Kal Crist is fairly socialable for the Travesties, and holds a close alliance with many diverse factions. However, his most notable ally is his fellow Travesty, Shubb'Ki the ScarKing. The exact relationship of their relationship is unknown, but they have routinely freed each other from magical sealings, and, at one point, founded the Triumvirate of Ruin alongside Thija.Together, this group launched The War on Death against Surm Tutdrug, although they were defeated when Thija betrayed the group, resulting in Shubb'Ki being sealed away while Kal Crist declared eternal vengenance on Thija.
Divine Domains
While Kal Crist's main domains are terror, poisons and primal instinct, he is also considered to oversee Hunting, Actors, Charm, Tyranny and Snakes.
Artifacts
Kal Crist's most famous of creations however, are The First Curses , words of dark power that Kal Crist taught to the Night Hag’s as payment for revealing the location of Shubb’Ki to him. The curses still inflict terror to this day on Apa Axas, and consist of the following: Imprecation , the curse of obsession, in which the bearer will become unable to think of anything other than a curse object or item type, Malediction, the curse of death, in which the bearer is given a timeframe before their inevitable demise, Execration, the curse of want, in which the bearer gains an insatiable envy, Malison, the curse of Transformation, in which the bearer assumes a new (usually horrific) form, Anathema, the curse of the unseen, in which the bearer becomes invisible, and Commination, the curse of love in which the bearer falls in love with one they were not supposed to. While these Curses are usually items or spells, their original and most potent versions exist as entities of their own, and they exist by Kal Crist’s side, willing to commit foul acts at their master’s whim.
In terms of artifacts, Kal Crist has many, usually in the form of cursed items, such as The Unblind Eye.
Yet more artifacts are merely attributed to Kal Crist, without him having sway over them. The most infamous of these is the Crystal Ball of True Seeing. This Crystal Ball gives the user a degree of truesight, and was once the eye of Kal Crist, plucked out by Retch and stolen by Cthothlast.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Like many other Beacons and Travesties, Kal Crist can appear in many different guises, depending on who he is talking with.
To The High Elven Pantheon, he is known as Kalan Cristomanaca, and takes the form of a beautiful Elven Man with skin that appears to be made of rags upon close inspection, said to contain the true fear that lurks underneath.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Kal Crist’s origins are a mystery, although he was present at the God Severment, feuding with Retch, and losing an eye in the ensuing fight. This bitter rivalry was the crux of both Kal Crist and Shubb’Ki’s ire towards the Ceaseless Storm, and led to Retch’s death, poisoned in a ritual devised by Shubb’Ki himself. While the exact nature of the Triumvirate’s relationship was unclear, it is known that Kal Crist and Shubb’Ki bear an inseparable bond, with some theorising that they are brothers, while others believe they are lovers. Whatever the case, Shubb’Ki reciprocates these feelings. During the early days of the post-Severment Severment chaos, Shubb’Ki came to the rescue of Kal Crist, after he was sealed away by Gloom Mona after he managed to infect the mind’s of the entire Human race. This alliance soon extended to form the Triumvirate of Ruin alongside Thija. The Triumvirate were responsible for The War on Death, leading an army of Undead to overthrow the Beacons, in particular Surm Tutdrug. However, their plans were quashed by the intervention and betrayal of Thija, who gave vital information to Surm Tutdrug that led to their defeat. As their punishment, Shubb’Ki was sealed away to The Far Realm. Kal Crist has never forgiven Thija for this slight, and endeavours ceaselessly to free his ally.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
While Kal Crist revels in his work, he does not simply do it for his own enjoyment. Kal Crist views himself as a Iudex of the Mortal Mind’s Innate Sin, and his purpose is to expose the world to their greatest fear, allowing the strongest among them to rise above their fears and move past them and achieve a higher state of being. However, Kal Crist is often treacherous and enjoys cheating, stacking the deck against the mortals in these trials and inflicts a savage fear to the point of death if the participants show any sign of faltering, merely to show that he can. Why he does this is unknown. Kal Crist is particularly interested in The Vida Quda's Most-Favoured and their descendants, such as Humans and Gnomes. Why his interest is piqued by these particular mortals is unknown, but it is said that Kal Crist created the Yuan-ti to test the mettle of the Most-Favoured.
Relationships
Divine Classification
Travesty
Religions
Species
Church/Cult
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
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