The Scribes

The Scribes are a group of deities who inhabit the planes of Tellus; they are known to the people of the Tellurian plane as benevolent entities, who shape and mould the fantastical myths and ancient mysteries of the world, because of their fascination with folk-tales and childish wonder, but any who know the truth of the scribes see through this guise of playfulness, and catch a glimpse of the darkness within.

In truth, the Scribes are petty creatures, vying for control and power over the planes, but unlike the cosmos and the abyss, they don't have the power to wage great wars of attrition, resorting to more subtle means of toppling the others, while empowering themselves in hopes of becoming the true lore-keeper of the planar realms. It is, however, in the best interest of the Scribes to maintain the opinion of them being benevolent forces of nature, as it makes converting people into followers a lot easier.

There are four entities known as the Scribes, each using a different source of untapped magical power;


'Phantasm, the Scribe of Memories' draws upon the memories of ancient heroes and villains of long past, bringing their spirits back to reality so that these vestiges may live once more under his command. Phantasm's power, although often mistaken, is not necromancy, it is more akin to temporal magic, a very narrowly explored field, which his followers are sometimes gifted with.
Phantasm themselves' form is often described as a shrouded horseman, seen one second, gone the next; they are as immaterial as the phantoms they control.

'Roc, the Scribe of Beasts' is capable of manipulating and conjuring biological creatures of beauty or horror; wondrous tales such as the griffin or unicorn are likely children of Roc, although, monsters of the darkest nightmares are certainly creations of his domain too. The followers of Roc are often gifted with druidic power, though he is not afraid to hand out blessings of lycanthropy onto the most loyal of followers, whom he deems most fit.
Roc's form is that of a colossal bird with the wingspan of a small city, often seen standing at the high peaks of mountains or ancient towers, a sighting of such majesty is often enough to spur a person into his followship, surely a deliberate mechanism.

'Izall, the Scribe of Curses' leverages spiteful negative energy to trap, bind, afflict and scar the world through the magic of curses; a plot of farmland which never yields enough crop, a quarry which constantly kills its miners in freak collapses, a dark forest which people keep entering, only to never return, these are the doings of Izall, the most subtle of the Scribes. Indeed, most of her presence is seen through individuals she has afflicted, those called witches, and, although rarer, vampires. Subjects that short-sightedly decide to follow her in hopes of gaining power, are known as hags or crones; disfigured beyond recognition, minds broken into utter submission... not a wise choice for anyone to make.
Izall, in rare cases where she shows herself, is depicted as a pale, mature woman dressed in a formal black coat and hat, with stark white hair.

'Skave, the Scribe of Pestilence' wields the uncontrollable tide of disease, vermin and plague. Skave is peculiar when compared to the other Scribes, as he holds no godly power of his own; he is not a deity, like the others, but instead a commander, a leader of an invisible army who's foetid winds elevate him up to false god-hood, so he may rival the others of his station through might alone. Legend has it that the lowly Scribe, through a cunning but dastardly trick, fooled Roc into making many clones of creatures in the image of Skave, small, humanoid rat-men who, seemingly upon seeing their mirror idol, obeyed him and ran off, where the band of rats began forming their hidden empire, researching into all sorts of magic, and undoubtedly swindling the other Scribes, as well as mortals, to gain more knowledge.
Skave and his kin-folk, the vermlings have power over pestilence not because of an innate power, but through research and technology, mainly into the volatile mineral known as blightstone, the source of their engineered spells and artifice which allows them to control the great vermintide; although, the common folk of Tellus rarely need to worry about this, as Skave, most of all the Scribes, knows that good public opinion is the most powerful weapon in his arsenal.
In truth, Skave should really be the Scribe of cunning...
...or the Scribe of trickery...
...Scribe of rats?