Gavathrak of the Teeth

When Gavathrak's brothers and sisters consumed their Mother, he found himself left with nothing but the scraps that fell to him. Among these remenants were his mother's teeth, and with fervor, he consumed them, absorbing their traits of repeated demolition and insatiable hunger. Believed to be poisoned by his siblings, Gavathrak grew angry, destructive, and violent, but his mind hardened and became wise.
Second only to Mahwar, Gavathrak is a divine of destruction. What divides him from his sibling in their apetite for decimation is in their approach. While Mahwar lashes out without purpose, seeking only to relieve his inner tempest. Gavathrak seeks measured destruction; his intelligence holding him from true annihilation. He realizes that unchecked rage, like Mahwar's, could lead to the oblitieration of everything, including himself. Thus, Gavathrak, in self-preservation, tempers his rage and instinct, planting seeds of renewal so that he may feast on destruction later.

"They speak of me as the harbinger of annihilation, that I am the all-consumer, that I leave nothing in my wake but sorrow and oblivion. Yet, you come. You recognize that I am not soley about obliteration but about hope. I am the fire that allows the seedlings to grow, the plague that raises the peasents to kings, the torrential rain that nourishes dying fields. You, with nothing but the desire for a better future, have come to me. I am salvation, hope, and renewal. Your choice has been wise."

— The Promises of Gavathrak

Description

A god of both destruction and renewal, Gavathrak represents a darker side of rebirth, revititalization and reincarnation. His singular drive in the world is to cause destruction to everything, but he is aware that, by his divine essence, if he truely could destroy everything, all that would be left would be himself, and he would destroy even himself to satiate his innate urges. Unable to quench his thirst, but intelligent enough to know his ultimate fate, Gavathrak has found balance by holding himself in check well enough to leave the seeds of growth left, so that he may one day return to destroy.
As a destroyer, he naturally finds himself isolated by most of his peers, as they see him as too dangerous or competition, but many mortals have made a point of worshipping him, if only temporarily, to gain his focused destruction. Though the majority of his followers tend to be destructively hedonistic, he has had within his flock numerous rulers seeing him as a means of rooting out all competition but leaving the foundation for thier new kingdoms. Though rarely openly known, his influence is often noticed when the Guardians become more active in mortal realms.
Appearing to worshippers often as a deep shadow that covers the world, or as storm clouds of deep red lightning, he rarely uses these forms as true avatars with his worshippers, as he is often watched by the other divines. In these dramatic moments, the prayee often finds Gavathrak as an overwhelming but seductive power, giving promises of absolution, in exchange for total servitude.

Abilities

Like all the Embodied Gods, Gavathrak possess the extrodinary array of powers enabling him to freely manipulate, control, create and warp any realm, especially in the absence of other gods and mortals with souls. With this power, Gavathrak can also create life. Despite this immense power, it is believed that, by his nature, that he has never created another realm or creature, at least not without immediatly destroying it.
When manifesting in the material world, the world darkens and time is said to stop. Unlike typical fiendish entities, Gavathrak seldom extinguishes lights or flames; rather, his presence alone diminishes their radiance. Empowered shadows will converge and clash, smoke rising from the violence and dark energies cackling off the shapes, before his form looms up taking up every inch of free space or looming larger than any beast, casting an ominious darkness over his followers.
Gavathrak rarly intervenes, but when he does his power is felt in two distinct ways - a soft whisper or unstoppable force. When his presence is subtle, the effects are negligible, with minor things found destroyed or missing. When his full might is shown, it is all but overwhelming, the aftermath is total destruction of the area. Large swathes of the affected area are obliterated, leaving behind a desolate landscape, believed to having been consumed by his insatiable appetite.

Mortality Level

Eternal - Deny. Gavathrak exists as a cosmic entity that is woven into the very essence of creation. He cannot be killed outright, only his physical form can be destroyed, leading to his reconstitution in another location of the cosmos. Despite his eternal nature, overcoming Gavathrak in a significant confrontation alters his abiilty to effect his opponent. Those that can best Gavathrak can have the power to deny him any influence over their lives.
The denial is absolute - it not only prevents Gavathrak from directly harming the victor but also negates his ability to plan or set up indirect machniations aimed at harming them. Victory over Gavathrak essentially erases him from their lives for eternity.

Personality

Profoundly intelligent and composed, Gavathrak would come across to the uninitiated as a thoughtful, contemplative, and seductively charismatic being. Despite his ultimate goals, Gavathrak is well known for being among the more honorable of the Embodied, fulfilling promises he has made and being true to his words. However, akin to a fiendish pact, those that put trust into the hungry god discover that their fate is inexorably woven to their own destruction at Gavathrak's hand.
As an eternal being, Gavathrak plots over the vast expanse of eons. Mortals catching glimpses of his plans may mistakenly believe that the extended timeline provides security in their transient forms. This is an illlusion of security foundational for his manipulations, enticing mortals into becoming one of his many agents in the world. Ultimately, they are all tools within his machinations, expendable rather than integral, and all with a short period of usefulness.
Suppressing his inner lust for destruction, Gavathrak maintains a measured demeanor in his interactions. While his rage and instinct always simmer beneath the surface, he refrains from succumbing to his baser instincts. Unlike his equally destructive brother, Gavathrak isn't likely to snap into rage at small provocations. To the hungering god, his rage is both a tool to use and an indulgence for achieving his goals. The storm inside him is kept in check until he chooses to unleash it.
Despite his grand plans and effective execution, Gavathrak is still viewed as one of the lesser Embodied Gods. His preferences for the shadows, reliance on covert agents, and a relatively modest following position him as a non-contender in the eyes of his brethren. Nevertheless, when he does emerge, Gavathrak commands respect and suspicion alike, as the divine recognize his capacity to eradicate even the most secure cosmic actions.

Divine Ambitions

Torn between his instinct and self-preservation Gavathrak yearns for nothing short of the destruction for all of creation. Not wishing to cease however, he is careful to set down the seeds of regrowth when his appetite is let loose. In this way, he ultimately aims to keep a balancce between creation and destruction, growth and decay, birth and death.
Achieving this goal is difficult for the black god, as most of the other gods seek the growth of their own power and realms. As he god's influence grows, Gavathrak's abilities diminish in relation to theirs. In order to fulfill his baser needs, he finds that he needs to establish his own power base while destroying his siblings and those other divines that would raise to challenge him.

Relationships

Gavathrak's relations have shifted over the eons. With exceptions from time to time, his general views towards the other gods has been one of covert anamostiy or avoidance, as they tend to treat him with distrust.
Birth Cycle

Born second to last, left with only the remnats of his mother to feast on, Gavathrak entered existence with a profound hatred and malice in his heart for his siblings. Even his brother, the Cannibal and his lost sibling, left with less even than him, made him rage, as they were of the same ilk. He settled into a distant hatred towards each of his siblings, his mother being the sole exception, to which he felt a loving shame towards.

Divinity Cycle

As the war with the Guardians escalated, Gavathrak's bond with his siblings grew closer, though it was rooted in tribalism and remained fragile. He operated with Bom of the Tongue and Mahwar on the frontlines, directly engaging the Guardians. When the battles were over, Gavathrak collaborated with Oroval of the Mind and Shunu of the Breath orchestrating a covert campaign to dismantle the Guardian order from within. This foundational relationship persisted, and stillconnects him with the siblings he found side-by-side.

Oblivion Cycle

Commencing with the Aspirith Age, Gavathrak, like the other Embodied, had been defeated by Alexor-of-all-Men and experiencing the denial of their powers on them. In response, Gavathrak, along with Yurona of the Eye, and Holona of the Womb, orchestrated the fall of mortalkind to reestablish divine rule. He released the Nullium Scales on the cosmic fabric, chasing the mortals back into divine arms. This severed the ties that Gavathrak had with Holona, who viewed the act as unnecessarily harsh.

Realm

Consumed Empires by Magenth via Nightcafe

Gavathrak's realm eclipses mortal comprehension, an enigmatic expanse that exists within himself. Those that venture into his home plane find themselves navigating the very essence of Gavathrak. While some speculate that his body floats within the Astral Sea, the nature of its existence - whether it possesses form akin to other planes - is a mystery to be unravelled.
As a plane, the few that have been there and back describe it as a surrel amalgamation of flesh and smoke, exhibiting a sophisticated yet eerie design adorned with the remnants of things he has consumed. Still, it is a true realm, crafted from the debris of his destructive apptites merged in a horrible visage with his flesh. Lost civilizations and cities dwell within his body-realm, gradually eroding into true nothingness.
In many ways, this corporeal landscape serves as a womb, holding the potential for a cosmic rebirth, or so it is believed. Speculations about that, if Gavathrak were ever succeed in consuming the cosmos and his voracious appetite were to be turned inward into himself, he would rip open and birth and entirely new existence. Some dismiss this idea as a coping mechanism as a way to deal with the fear of utter annihilation, but the undeniable evidence of his body-realm lends credence to the plausible idea that a new beginning can be forged from the decay of his consumption.

Shrines and Temples

A carefully layed pile of teeth balanced on one another in a rusted or fractured plate serves as the common shrine to Gavathak. During communion, the shrine is often lit aflame, the flames a pyre of devotion that calls forth the dark god.

Gavathrak does not have his shrine presented equal to the other gods in most embodied temples. When it is, it is oftten a false or simplistic shrine, an iron or black stoned bowl filled with teeth and accompanied by oil and a candle to light them aflame for prayer. From these shrines, his presence cannot be felt without great effort from him, and even then, he would not waste the effort without good cause. The truely devoted must ask for his shrine hidden in the back, or craft their own.

Rusted Shrine of Gavathrak by Magenth via Playground AI

The All-Maw's Full Shrine by Magenth via Bing Image AI

True shrines to Gavathrak are constructed by organizations for the goal of destroying their enemies. These shrines are built as a reflection of Gavathrak: Black spheres of stone on a base piled with teeth, often pierced at the top with a large fang. These pure shrines are typically found in ruins and abandon caves where their power is often muted but seductive. Most wanderers are wise enought to stay clear, but those obsessed with the end of ages and cults bent on destruction always find these refugees and rebuild them as centers of worship. From these shrines, Gavathrak doesn't always answer, but he always hears.

Rare in the world, a select few of hold deeper ties with Gavathrak and keep that covenant close with a symbol of their faith held close. These small symbols are often crafted in the form of necklaces that can be hidden beneath their clothing, but may take on other forms easier to hide, such as arm bands, tattoos, or even even embrodery on the inside of their clothes. Wealthy patrons will craft them from jewlery of a lost nation or people, the best being from a powerful realm that still exists in a diminished form. These pendants are the surest way of connecting with Gavathrak, but also the a guarentee to make the weilder an outcast if ever it is discovered.
A Pendant to Gavathrak

Worshippers & Cults

Gavathrak's destructive nature rarely fosters the development of cohesive groups among his worshippers, hindering the possibilities of enduring goals in favor of short-ended ones. Those drawn into true devotion towards Gavathrak often are broken in their mind, lost of all reasonable hope, and hurtling towards a path of destruction with little prospect for salvation. Among his adherents are raiders who have abanddon civilization, bloodthirsty hedonists, and power-hungry leaders.
Ever eager for operatives in the mortal realms, Gavathrak often bestows fragments of power and assistance in exchange for the loyalty of the most talented that seek him out. In this service, most succumb to the harsh trials that Gavathrak demands. Those that survive these trials ascend to becoming his true Agents, forged in two distinct ways.

Elevated due to their charimsatic nature, the Sigak's, also known as the fanged tongue's, serve as mortal ambassadors. Using their still-living bodies as proof to those on the fence, they seek to dispel the notion that worshipping Gavathrak is a path towards certain-doom. They whisper on behalf of Gavathrak and demonstrate his might in subtle, manipulative ways. Through their influence, Gavathrak corrupts those who put faith in others, and command the leaders of mortals.
Naliyax are mortal weapons of Gavathrak, bestowed with additional powers to champion his agenda. They traverse the world, executing Gavathrak's will in exchange for the promise of rebirth upon their ultimate destruction by their master. A select few of the Naliyax may elevate to becoming embodied, though the majority that agree to becoming a dire servant do so for their glorious rebirth, rejecting the allure of even more power.

A new Naliyax to Gavathrak by Author via Nightcafe

A Naliyax's Finale by Author via Leonardo.ai

The Embodied

Gavathrak, meticulous selective with what he embodies, often chooses objects over the capriciousness of living beings. Though generous with his gifts, he rarely takes the ultimate step of infusing something with his essence, preferring instead to offer powerful objects and dark gifts to those that he provides his power. The rare instances of his true embodiment always serve the same purpose: pure annihilation.
Artifacts
Most of Gavathrak's embodied artifacts are weapons, a reflection of the nature of those that worship him, but all re,aom instruments of doom. His tools, designed to hasten decay and orchestrate downfall, are often targeted by the Guardians and other divines who seek to destroy them. While many of the weapons follow their servants to an early demise, many of his subtler artifacts linger in the world, causing unknownable destruction in the hands of unaware laymen.
The Thinning Chisel - A set of stoneworkers crafts that release small fragments of itself into whatever is being crafted. The fragments then erode and eat at the object for years, causing monuments that would have lasted eons to crumble in decades.
Eradux - A great weapon that never forms into anything smaller than a longsword, this weapon was first documented in a rebellion against the Enrithee Empire where it was said to open up and rapidly feast on any creature that it struck. It allowed the rebellion to grow as if three time's its size before ultimately being crushed.
Ulk, The Chewing Arm - A glove with large fangs over the fingers and an empty void in the palm. This artifact was able to permenatly destroy anything that went into it, and even could open up large enough to feast on beasts, though the process was lethal to the user.
Persons
Gavathrak doesn't trust embodying individuals, but prefers to instead make pacts with them. In this way, they retain their agency and minds while being able to play his plan, and grants them far less leeway to take his gifts and use them against him. When he chooses to embody one of his followers, the purpose is almost always for their role to reach it's conclusion.
The few embodied that do manifest are generally so powerful and destructive that divine intervention becomes a guarentee. No embodied has ever gone beyond that final mission, though most have completed their final task, whether it was known or not.
Shallermul Dreamwave - An annurin who believed in the righteousness of the Embodied when Alexor-of-all-Men rose up to challenge them. Shallemul entered a garrison of 4,000 men led by Alexor's brother with only four other soldiers and left as the only survivor before being destroyed by a combined force of Guardians and Tinila Drovio, an embodied of Holona.
An exception to this rule is one unique category of embodied souls: Voidstalker Lycans. These are the pack leaders of werewolves that have embraced their chaotic nature and manage to survive against the cadre of hero's that would slay them. Gavathrak will take the strongest in their final moments and channel his hunger and might into them, turning them into a new form of terror that continues their dread rampage until higher powers intervene.
Places
Gavathrak's embodied regions wan and wax in their presence. Always centered on one of his elaborate shrines and never in an area reachable by casual pilgrims, these areas spend years void of any divine powers before waking to eat away at the essence of those within it. By their nature, they tend to elimate those that would feel most welcomed within the dark god's presence, causing these sites to be brought to rest by them, leaving them slumbering until awoken by great hunger or need. If ever discovered by the follower of another god, they often are instructed to desecrate the site, voiding Gavathrak's influence.

Embodied Sanctuary of Gavathrak by Magenth via Leonardo.ai

Servants

No otherplanar entities exist in service to Gavathrak. In place of this, he has various essences within hims expansive being that are primal extensions of his divine will and body. Much like ants that rally to defend a nest under attack, intruders that enter Gavathrak's realm will find themselves eventually being hunted by these silent and relentless pursuers. Sentinels of his body, they endlessly search for life within him and break it down into its basic building blocks.

Gameplay Mechanics

GMing Gavathrak Worshipping Gavathrak in D&D 5e
While Gavathrak is a good flavor choice to send prayers to for the agnostic worshipper when they wish to destroy something, few would devot their entire faith into him unless they've reached a point of needing his power or face total loss. Gavathrak will gladly give his power to those that he answers, though won't do so without an expectation of service. Those that survive his service and continue in their prayers and pursuits to Gavathrak will be pulled deeper into his service as an agent. Those that do so can gain creater power at greater risk, but even failure to Gavathrak is a promise of true rebirth in most cases.
Working with Gavathrak often employs his agents in long-term projects that don't always make sense. Often it involves the destruction or murder of random targets, with little understanding or explanation why. Worshippers of Gavathrak will often be commanded to diminish the influence of other gods, often through the destruction of their shrines. Public animosity is often avoided, as Gavathrak doesn't wish to draw attention to his plays.
Players that wish to take their faith to a closer level can be granted the oppertunity to become Sigaks or Naliyax, and should be granted quests or tasks appropriate to that undertaking.
Seeking out embodiement should not be considered unless it is as a final arc for a character, as a desperate attempt to complete a task, or otherwise as an epic way to write out a character, as the end result of embodiment is essentially always death.

Summoning of Gavathrak by Magenth via Bing AI Image Creator

Divinity

---

Religion
Embodied Worship
Pantheon
Embodied Gods
Power Level
Eternal - Deny
Titles
The Consumer
All-Maw
Obsidian-Toothed Fiend
The Black Smile in the Ash

Worshipers
Raiders, Hedonists, the Insane, Dark Rulers
Symbol
A tooth in a black circle with rough edges or teeth on the outside
Responsiveness
Weak - Shrines and prayer only

Intervention
Uncommon - Negligible or Overwhelming effect
Embodiment
Very Rare - Fatal
Realm
Gavathrak (his own body)
Areas of Influence
None

---

Physical Description

Associated Gender
Male
Avatars
Eternal Shadow
The Hunger Storm

---

D&D5e

Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Domains
Death, Erosion, and War
Response Rate
20%