Worship
Those elemental spirits are worshiped by certain creatures and cults. The methods for summoning elemental spirits remain hidden in forbidden tomes or inscribed on the walls of lost temples raised to honor the spirits. Only casters of superlative skill have even the faintest chance of calling forth one of these spirits, and the spellcaster is often destroyed by the effort. Thus, only the most unhinged and nihilistic members of Elemental Evil cults attempt such a summoning, in the hope of hastening the world toward some cataclysmic end.
When a zaratan is summoned from the Elemental Plane of Earth, the ground rises up to take the shape of what looks like a hulking, armored reptile, its shell composed of the landscape from which it arose. The zaratan plods across the land, each step sending shock waves through the ground severe enough to unsettle structures. Dim-witted, the zaratan lurches onward, expressing its rage through its trumpeting calls and the occasional boulder or blast of debris it spews from its cavernous maw. If seriously injured, the zaratan slowly retracts its appendages to gain shelter beneath its impervious shell, biding its time until it recovers and can resume its march.
History
Early History
In the beginning, the world that would become known as Toriel was ruled by the elementals. The five princes of the apocalypse, who each ruled over innumerable lesser spirits, constantly clashed with one another on the surface of the primordial world. Zaratan was the most reclusive of the elemental rulers, raising great mountain ranges to protect his minions from his enemies' assaults. Only after they had worn themselves thin against his barriers would Zaratan emerge, wrenching open giant chasms to swallow entire elemental armies whole and sending his most powerful servants, giants of crystal and stone, to crush those who survived.
When the gods arrived, the Elder Elementals saw the invaders as a threat to their dominion. For the first time in Toriel's history, the native spirits of the world worked together against a common enemy. Leviathan joined forces with Zaratan; while the Spirit of earth raised enormous rock walls to corral the forces of the ancient gods and shatter their citadels, the spirit of water and his minions would sweep in and crush the enemies with tidal waves
Eventually, however, the world could not stand the princes of the apocalypse power, and with the help of the gods, they were banned out of Toriel. The essence of these primordial beings fractured into the elemental planes, where they were reborn as elder elementals—now known as the Princes of the Apocalypse.
Unforgiving
Zaratan hasn’t forgotten the dawn war, and he views mortals and the gods as the greatest threat to the world.
Once every century, Zaratan travels to his reliquary, a tower built in the ruins of his failed war. Here, he takes time to remember and honor the departed, holding a month-long vigil surrounded by elemental guardians.
Comments