Yogwilesh

(a.k.a. Lord of the Wasting, The Ineffable, Death Cloud, Prime Physician)

Yogwilesh is the Old God of the Salchyreon who rules the lower plane of Aegror. For most cultures, Yogwilesh is feared as the god of diseases, plagues and corruption, though there are some traditions that worship them as the god of medicine, science, and evolution.
Cults devoted to Yogwilesh have appeared throughout recorded history, most often during great plagues or pandemics. Followers of Yogwilesh have been known to practice intentional transmission of disease under the belief that the dark god will see this as an offering and protect them from the pestilence they spread. There are records of kings and warlords beseeching the Ineffable for its power to blight rivals with death and disease.

Tenets of Faith

Followers of Yogwilesh believe that medicine is the means by which a species can reach transessentialism, evolving into a form that is resistant to the natural processes of death, decay, and disease, and any actions in pursuit of achieving that state are justified. To that end, they will intentionally spread plagues and experiment on sentient creatures in order to study the effects of various diseases on the mortal form, often dissecting survivors of these ritual epidemics in order to study their physiology and extract immunities.

Physical Description

Body Features

Yogwilesh' appearance changes depending upon whom they are speaking with, though they always reveal themselves as a deformed, skinless face floating within a massive, roiling black cloud. They can extend long, multi-segmented appendages from the cloud, each covered in sutured muscles with exposed blood vessels that pump a sickly yellow substance through the deity's extremities, and topped with a skeletal hand whose fingers look far too long even for the size of their unnaturally lengthy arms.

Facial Features

Yogwilesh' face is a skinless skull covered in decaying muscles that appear haphazardly sutured around their skull. The muscles are a sickly grey-green color that oozes with yellow pus erupting from gaps in the stitching. Their eyes are sunken, atrophied pits with two bright white pupils hovering within the blackness of their ocular cavities. Below these hollows are three jaws, one in the normal position and two tooth-filled mouths opening on the cheeks to either side or, when Yogwilesh appears to species with less humanoid facial features, the secondary mouths can appear on their neck or above their eyes.

Mental characteristics

Morality & Philosophy

Yogwilesh wholeheartedly subscribes to the concept of eugenics, believing that disease and plague improve the world by killing off weak, inferior creatures who would otherwise compete for limited resources with stronger, better beings. Their ultimate goal is to create the perfect being impervious to poison, disease, and ultimately transcending death itself, which they can then subjugate and use to conquer the other planes.

Divine Classification

Old God

Alignment

Neutral Evil

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Ineffable (Primordial: Yagwot-gixilesh)
Lord of the Wasting (Dwarvish: Herramorna)
The Ineffable (Draconic: Putol'e'kampyunak)
Death Cloud (Eladrin: Nuru'ungo)
Prime Physician (Aegrorian: Yawgmoth)

Pronouns

They/Them

Aligned Organization

Prime Pantheon