Anarazel
The earth below your feet holds wondrous treasures just waiting to be claimed by those with the courage to take them. Ancient, long-dead cultures tunneled beneath the ground when the world was young, scattering the riches of entire races in forlorn caves and mines. Natural veins of precious metals and countless gems and minerals line the world’s strata. But those caverns hold unthinkable terror as well, time-lost beings too dangerous for the world of light and unfathomable remnants of primordial cultures now sunken into morose insanity. Those who would gain the riches of the earth must also brave the evils of the world below, the servants of Anarazel who await explorers with gnashing teeth and terrible, clasping claws. Those who risk Anarazel’s wrath and escape with the plunder of the earth are rich indeed.
Anarazel represents the duality of the unknowable horrors of the Endless Dark and those who face such terrors in search of excitement or material wealth. Devotees refer to the arrangement as “the thrill,” a constant tempting of the depths for just one more gem, for another frisson of terror that much more exciting than the one before. To Anarazel and his followers, the abandoned underground cities and cisterns and mineral-rich caverns of the Endless Dark represent a great game board where risks are measured against possible rewards, with the advantage always going to those who tempt fate a little further than their peers. Adventurers, unsurprisingly, make up the bulk of his clergy.
Description
The Guardian of a Thousand Terrors is a massive humanoid with diaphanous wings supported by blood-red cartilage that thrums with the natural heat of the subterranean world. His demonic armor of plates an scales melds so well with his natural form that it’s difficult to determine which portions of his panoply are living parts of his body. Two impressive horns jut from his forehead; a mane of greasy black hair begins just above the horns and continues to the middle of his muscular back. Anarazel wears a veil of deep vermilion at all times, covering what is said to be the most horrific visage The Abyss has ever known.Realm
Anarazel’s lair, a sprawling underground complex of natural caverns and trap-filled corridors called the Caves of Chaos, is thought by many to comprise the most extensive dungeon works in the Lower Planes. Cult lore reports that a copy of every valuable ever sacrificed in the Demon Prince’s name can be found within Anarazel’s dungeons. Countless artifacts long thought destroyed are in fact secreted within the Caves, protected by a host of grotesque creatures born in the most wretched bowels of the lightless Endless Dark. The most honored souls sworn to Anarazel—those who died while seeking treasure underground without an ounce of fear in their hearts—are transformed into such guardians. Unworthy souls or those captured on the Howling Threshold are brought to Anarazel himself, who dwells at the center of the layer. There the Guardian of a Thousand Terrors reveals his true face to them, drawing strength from their horror in a metaphysical transaction that leaves Anarazel more powerful and that utterly destroys the souls.Worshippers
In the mortal world, Anarazel is served by the Demon lords Gaziel and Fécor, who cause earthquakes, ring bells at midnight, cause spectres to appear, and inspire countless terrors. Though he is honored by miners and prospectors, adventurers make up Anarazel’s greatest constituency. His philosophy of life as little more than a game appeals to those who seek vast rewards in exchange for great risk. Anarazelite adventurers tend toward brashness and favor spells or items that induce fear in others, partially to congratulate themselves on their own sense of bravery.Obedience
Since fear is central to the faith of Anarazelite thaumaturges, the obedience ritual of the cult revolves around causing fear in others. Each morning, the thaumaturge constructs a mask (usually of wood, but such materials as leather and flesh are not uncommon) of something terrible and frightening, which he then wears until his next obedience ritual. At the beginning of that ritual, the old mask is burned and a new one constructed using a wholly different, wholly original design. In order to inspire his followers to always innovate in the realm of terror, Anarazel forbids his servants from using the same design twice. Such visionary imaginings feed the creative mind of Anarazel, inspiring him to greater wickedness. When the previous day’s mask is burnt following the creation of a new mask, the thaumaturge’s spell selection for the day is replenished.
Divine Classification
Demon
Alignment
Chaotic evil
Current Location
Species
Realm
Children
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
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