Zohronox, god of darkness
After Sazi gained sentience, there was no longer any chaos left to shape, all that remained was darkness. As Xassalt, his sons, and the elemental lords created the world of Thyr, this darkness attempted to devour and consume their creation, in response, Xassalt created the celestial bodies to combat the darkness. Because of this, the darkness was forced to retreat. The anger of being rebuffed festered within the darkness, and it fed upon this emotion. Finally, like chaos, the darkness gained sentience, and thus was born Zohronox, the god of darkness.
Zohronox hates all life and seeks to devour it whole; it was he who created the first undead, taking the life created by the other gods and filling it with his corrupting darkness. This blasphemous action earned him the ire of most other gods in the pantheon, especially Ashtar; the god of the sun and the Black One bitterly fight each other, their animosity towards one another having no bounds.
There is one god that Zohronox does not hate: Pleione, the goddess of the stars; she alone seems to have the ability to move the god of darkness to an emotion other than hatred. Unable to appropriately show his affection, he attempted to capture and hold her, but he was thwarted by the alliance of Ashtar and Celina. He still watches her from afar, trying to find a way to express his feelings, but always failing to do so.
Although he is a spiteful being, Zohronox understands the advantage of having allies, so he has a tenuous relationship with Kalusi; this relationship bore a child: Daluzin, the lord of lies. The three of them frequently convene to create new and inventive ways to make the lives of everyone and everything on Thyr miserable.
Religion and Dogma:
Nobody openly worships Zohronox. In the whole of Thyr it is considered taboo, and in some places it is considered a capital crime. As a result he has no permanent religious structures; the exception to this rule is in the Gaunt. There are altars crafted of bone and rock in some places there, where his devoted worship him and create more undead in his name. His devotees hold services underground, in total darkness, under the cover of night, frequently under a new moon.
His clerics and worshipers have no uniform vestments. They wear black cloaks of whatever fabric best suits their lives on the surface. These cloaks are fully reversible making it easy to change them in case of raids or investigations by authorities.
His holy symbol is simply a featureless black diamond; his faithful usually carry a flat diamond shaped piece of polished onyx to show their devotion and to channel his divine power.
He is worshipped by assassins, intelligent undead, evil thieves, members of the Dreadstone organization, and subterranean creatures. Worshippers use rituals involving blood sacrifices. Creatures of high sentience are preferred, but animals may be substituted when nothing better is available.
Appearance:
In whatever guise Zohronox appears, his eyes are jet black. He has no whites, no iris, no pupils, just blackness. Most of the time, he does not manifest with his own body as the other gods do, preferring instead to possess the weakest individual in the vicinity. When he has finished with his host, he takes the hapless victim with him to the realm of darkness. No one knows what happens to these individuals, though it is said that they are wholly consumed by the darkness. His divine appearance is a humanoid composed entirely of darkness with yellow, pupil-less eyes.
Divine Domains
Darkness, undead, assassins, murder, nightmares
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A featureless black diamond.
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