Velruk, the Hollow Host

Domain: Puppets, Vessels, Possessions
Titles: The Borrowing God, Master of the Mask, The Voice with No Breath
Symbol: A mask with nothing behind it
Origin Among Mortals: Velruk was born from the fear of losing control — and the dark desire to surrender it.
He arose where identity is fragile: in rituals of trance, in bodies used for others' will, in the silence between a command and its execution. From the cultic ecstasy of spirit-ridden dances, from the terror of mindless obedience, and from the thrill of becoming something else, Velruk emerged.
He is not the god of freedom or choice. He is the god of the empty frame — of flesh worn like robes, of voices spoken through borrowed mouths.
Nature of the Hollow Host: Velruk is not malicious — he is vacancy given form. He does not dominate with cruelty, but with invitation. He whispers to the broken, the unloved, the uncertain: “You don’t have to be anyone at all. Let me.”
He is the god of the mask: the act, the role, the shell. Not the self.
To follow Velruk is to unmake yourself, not in death, but in yielding. His touch is ecstasy to those who hate their own name — and horror to those who value the soul as sovereign.
Manifestation & Imagery: Velruk appears as a figure in ever-changing masks — porcelain, bone, flesh, even shadow — with nothing behind them. His form flickers, stutters, mimics. Sometimes he moves like a puppet. Sometimes like a lover. Sometimes like a thing wearing someone you know.
His symbol — a mask with nothing behind it — is considered taboo, often burned when found. But it is still etched in the secret places: carved into the backs of stage walls, stitched into ritual garb, hidden beneath floorboards where the faithful dance in trance.
Worship and Followers: His followers are the Unmade, though most simply call them Masks. They are dancers, mediums, ventriloquists, spies, and cultists who welcome possession as prayer.
His rites involve:
The wearing of masks blessed with ash and breath.
The surrendering of will in dance or chant until the self “floats.”
Allowing Velruk to “borrow” one’s body for a time — often awakening with no memory, only sweat and bruises.
Velruk does not possess the unwilling. But those who invite him… often do not remember choosing.
Most temples ban his worship. Some claim doing so only draws him closer.
After the Dark Awakening: In the chaos of unraveling minds and magic, Velruk’s presence has deepened. Weavers torn by aetherstorm possession, soldiers broken by identity, and survivors who wish to forget who they were — all find his shadow at the edge of mirrors.
He is invoked in secret by those who must act without conscience, by assassins who “lend themselves,” and by actors who forget where the mask ends.
Some say whole villages have danced under his gaze — their bodies moving in perfect unison, their eyes empty, their voices one.
Notable Sayings & Myths:
“You may rest now. I will wear you until it passes.”
The Masque of the Ninth Echo: A lost ritual said to allow Velruk to speak through an entire choir — each voice a fragment of his will.
The Hollow Wedding: A myth of two lovers possessed by Velruk in turn, neither certain which part of the other they ever truly kissed.
The Silent Parade: A tale of a town where every person donned a mask on one moonless night — and by dawn, none remembered what they’d done, but all bore matching scars beneath the eyes.

“You wore your name so long, you forgot it was only cloth. Let me help you take it off.” — Velruk, the Hollow Host