Nidryshim
The Many Faced Thing, Kaluuth, the Shifter Sovereign, the Flux, The Thing That Will Not Be
Nidryshim, also known as the Many Faced Thing, Kaluuth, the Shifter Sovereign, the Flux and The Thing That Will Not Be, is the Travesty representing flux, change and transformation. Nidryshim is the patron saint to all those who change their shape, such as doppelgangers and lycantropes, putting him at direct odds with Gloom Mona and K'Niff.
Formless, weightless and adrift in an ever-shifting, ever-adapting dominion where the laws of physics are barely comprehended drivel, Nidryshim coagulates in his own realm, ever transforming and never repeating the same form twice, ruminating on the nature of change in the universe. Nidryshim is a creature of no true image, for such stillness is the highest blasphemy for a creature of constant flux such as him, and he favours creatures who lack true form like himself, such as Oozes. As such, creatures who wish to pay homage to the Many-Faced Thing do not erect permanent monuments or temples, as Nidryshim teaches his followers that all things must change and all is temporary, even the Travesties. It is this testament that gives rises to the most bizarre of goals exhibited by any Travesty; the ultimate goal of any Nidryshim worshipper is to kill the Shifting God and don his power for their own, and in turn, welcome those who would murder them, allowing true change through their violence. Despite Nidryshim’s penchant for violence, it is a close ally of The Vida Quda, and is the catalyst for her Great Endeavour by revealing The Great Stagnancy to her, and convincing her to abandon her Elven children after convincing her that they do not possess the adaptability and resilience to inherit Apa Axas.
Nidryshim was the main cause of the Phase Wars, a bizarre event in which Nidryshim created thousands of empty alternate universes and unleashed them like a barrage of arrows on Apa Axas. This attempt was ceased by the combined efforts of The Vida Quda and Surm Tutdrug, who sealed Nidryshim away inside The Iron Flask. However, Nidryshim soon broke free using his new creation Universal Solvent.
Creatures who interact with the raw power of Nidryshim are said to be atomised upon nearly looking upon it. However, he has been said to send emissaries in the form of a coherent Gibbering Mouther, on the rare occasions that it needs to decree direct action. However, to most, the Thing That Must Not Be remains a mystery destined to never be solved, and that’s just how Nidryshim likes it.
Divine Domains
While Nidryshim's main domains are flux, change and momentum, they are also considered to oversee Lightning, Twilight, Air, Chaos and Butterflies.
Artifacts
Nidryshim has many artifacts, although they rarely stay in a single state for long enough to make an impact on history. However, some seem to stick around, causing chaos wherever they are found. Examples include:
- The Deck of Many Things; a set of cards that causes massively powerful magical effects when drawn.
- Universal Solvent; a powerful acid Nidryshim used to escape the Iron Flask after he was sealed away by Surm Tutdrug and the Vida Quda.
- Gambler's Dice; a set of dice that siphon luck from a user's future to improve their reason, at the cost of a violent reckoning soon after.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
There is no set origin for Nidryshim, a fact that he appears to revel in. This concept is so amusing to the Flux that he is said to alter reality while relaying his origin to mortals, thus making his utterances both real and unreal. However, the most likely theory is one posited by followers of K'Niff, who wished to destroy the concept of time before it existed, although their presence is speculated to be the catalyst for the start of time. To understand the theory, one must understand that Apa Axas is locked in a constant cycle of birth from the primordial chaos, death at the end of the universe where Apa Axas returns to the Choas, and rebirth once more after eons of feasting in The Far Realm. This cycle, taking place over infinite time scales, routinely exterminates every life form in that iteration of Apa Axas ready for the next variant. However, one creature was said to have survived the culling, the far realm and the latest Rebirth. Although descriptions of this creature have not been unearthed, the aforementioned K’Niff Worshippers were able to telepathically deliver a message to their ritual masters, before being atomised by the rebirth of Apa Axas. The only words they had managed to send back were: “The Suns… The Suns are splitting” followed by a single word “Kaluuth”, an ancient Elven name for Nidryshim. While the ravings of these madmen are untrustworthy at best, having been ravaged by time travel and the madness that comes hand in hand with worshipping Anti-Time, they represent the closest we have to concrete evidence of Nidryshim, and indeed Apa Axas’ origins. This extended time in the Primodial Chaos may explain some of Nidryshim’s attributes; as its eldritch energy bursts form and rips time and space, giving it a constantly shifting form.
While Nidryshim may be unknowable, possibly by its own design, his impact on Apa Axas is almost unprecedented when compared to even the Vida Quda, if one were to believe all the stories. Not only is he said to be the oldest of all creatures (apart from Kahiladman, his dark shadow), but his presence in the new universe was said to have caused the first Spark of Magic, igniting the flaming wreath of raw magic that Apa Axas leaves in its wake. This magic, also known as Wild Magic, can be harnessed by certain individuals in its raw form, but it can also be refined by spellcasters to enact wonders upon the world through their magical prowess. Despite this revelation, major religious bodies of Apa Axas are slow to treat Nidryshim as the Travesty of Magic, preferring to believe that Feny Lekki and the Vida Quda weaved the first spell into existence.
Nidryshim was also said to have formed the first fleeting mortal out of his own flesh, creating the creatures that would become The Clever Folk. These simple creatures were the first to witness the First Event, The Splitting Suns, shown to them by Nidryshim is fervid visions, and depicted it in a simple cave painting, inventing the concept of art. If true, this would imply that Nidryshim invented the concept of mortal races centuries before the Vida Quda, and may have been the inspiration for the first Elves, Dwarves and The Most-Favoured. In addition, he is said to have created Cloud Giants , the strongest and first of all giant kind, alongside Zemer Epsh after being seduced by the Lustful God. However, Zemer Epsh managed to seduce a creature whose sentience cannot be proven is unknown, and is debated to this day.
Relationships
History
Together, Nidryshim and Zemer Epsh created the Cloud Giants.
Divine Classification
Travesty
Religions
Species
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
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