Rystil Arden
First Post
Espranachtis, Goddess of Corruption
The Dark Lady, The Queen of Shadow, The Creeping Malignance, The Heart of Darkness
Enworldian Greater Deity
Symbol: A blackened heart radiating dark power, sometimes Espranachtis's clergy members will also use corrupted symbols of other deities
Home Plane: ???
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Corruption, Descent into Evil, The Void of Darkness, Amphousa's Portfolio, Disnomia's Portfolio
Worshippers: Evil people and monsters, Traitors, Schemers, Villains, Those who seek power, Those whose hearts are full of Avarice or Lust
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Domains: Evil, Darkness, Trickery, Charm, (Corruption--if I make one)
Favoured Weapon: Tendril of Darkness (Dagger)
Espranachtis is an ancient evil deity in ENWorld. Her sacred texts tell that she was formed of the dark void of nothingness, before the world was even created. Angered by the act of creation and by the irritating and inimical goodness of some of its inhabitants, Espranachtis nonetheless delighted in the dark secrets and desires of mortals—she fed off these things and became more than a semi-sentient dark void. She became a goddess who began to take a shape more comprehensible to mortal eyes, but her unquenchable desire to restore the darkness of oblivion remained. She began a self-appointed crusade to corrupt the inhabitants of ENWorld and bring about a greater darkness, thus surrounding herself in the pleasurable corruption of blackened hearts and souls.
But she couldn't do it alone. Few would choose to worship a being of such unrelenting evil, and so she formed two aspects, wholly anthropomorphic daughters who could relate much more closely to human desires, and into her two daughter-aspects, she poured all the dark baleful blackness of her heart, like a twisted perversion of a mother's love.
But this was not enough to complete her two finest creations. And so she baited the ambitious young goddess Urdiga, newly spurned by Zephos and hoping for revenge, feeding the blackness in the goddess's heart, reinforcing Urdiga's evil, and tempting her to steal the portfolio domain of Temptation from Espranachtis's grasp. Urdiga took the bait, and Espranachtis took a piece of the goddess's life essence in return, which she used to complete the birth of her aspects. But Urdiga managed to escape intact with Temptation in her grasp, replacing her missing life essence with the foul essence of undeath, thus proving herself to be cunning and quick-witted—perhaps she had allowed herself to be baited in the first place. The clergies of Espranachtis and Urdiga disagree became bitter enemies over this point, and they disagree vehemently over whether Urdiga's theft of Temptation had destroyed a lynchpin within Espranachtis that allowed the goddess to manifest in her full form as a Greater Power or whether Espranachtis had planned even the success of Urdiga's theft for some other reason (had Espranachtis corrupted the portfolio domain subtly to gain an advantage against Urdiga later?). Either way, through choice or inability, Espranachtis has not manifested in her full form ever since, biding her time and continuing with her eternal, slowly-advancing plan to engulf the world in darkness.
Espranachtis's true form is a roiling mass of pure darkness with two black feminine eyes that stare with pure malice, a later addition due to feeding on the influence of mortals' darkness. But she either cannot or will not appear in this form as of late.
Aspects:
Amphousa, Goddess of Lust, Uncontrollable Urge for Power and Desire
Queen of Seduction, The Sigh in the Darkness, The Unfulfilled Desire
ENWorldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: Full red lips on a field of darkness
Home Plane: ???
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Lust, Uncontrolled Desire, Attainment no matter the cost
Worshippers: Powermad Dreamers, Megalomaniacs, Desperate Lovers, Spurned Lovers, Undisciplined Spellcasters, and anyone who desires power without regard to consequences
Cleric Alignments: CN, CE, NE
Domains: Charm, Chaos, Evil, Trickery, (Lust--if I make one)
Favoured Weapon: Kiss of Lust (Unarmed)
Amphousa appears as a voluptuous, scantily-clad mortal female of unparalleled beauty. The race and specific features vary, but her favourites seem to be human, either an delicate, innocent, and kind-seeming blonde form, a dark and mysterious raven-haired beauty, or a red-haired temptress designed purely to inspire lust. She is served by myriad succubi, all of whom typically have at least three such forms in their repertoire to honour their goddess—it is said that they are Amphousa's own joke at the relationship of the three goddesses, with the raven-haired girl standing for Espranachtis, the blonde Disnomia, and the red-haired temptress Amphousa herself. This belief has become widespread enough that red hair is taken as a sign of being close to the goddess, and so many of Amphousa's priestesses have red hair.
Amphousa herself does retain some of the subtlety of Espranachtis, but she is nowhere near as planning as Disnomia, preferring to give in to the passion of the moment, and encouraging others to do so as well, to give in to their primal urges and take what they want. As such, she can sometimes be a patron of love, but love spurred by Amphousa's lust always turns bad. Because of her nature, Amphousa truly enjoys herself as she corrupts others, and the thought of twisting pure hearts to evil fills her with glee. This actually causes her to sometimes be perversely protective and caring of her favourites—they aren't just pawns like for Disnomia, but instead, they are each individual expressions of the malignant growth of evil, obsession, and lust. This doesn't stop her from egging them ever onward to greater and greater heights of depravity until they destroy themselves, however, as this is her ultimate goal, but she will protect them almost tenderly until the evil in their hearts is ripe. Of course, should they turn from her bosom, she is both relentless and brutal as she exults in tearing them apart and drinking in their blood, so woe to he who jilts the Queen of Seduction!
Disnomia, Goddess of Manipulation, Gradual Measured Assumption of Power and Desire
The Puppetmistress, The Patient Smile, The Schemer's Mistress
ENWorldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A hand with strings extending outward, sometimes the hand is holding a chess pawn
Home Plane: ???
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Portfolio: Manipulation, Underhanded Schemes, Corruption from Within, Meticulous Plans
Worshippers: Corrupt Politicians, Unscrupulous Merchants, those who manipulate others to their own gain, those who pursue power through secret schemes
Cleric Alignments: LN, LE, NE
Domains: Law, Evil, Trickery, Charm, (Manipulation--if I make one, perhaps instead of Charm?)
Favoured Weapons: Spindle of Silken Puppet-Strings (Net)
Disnomia appears as either a regal and noble lady with a clear kind face who looks something like an angel among mortals, or as a lady at a masked ball with a full mask of some sort covering her face. Sometimes, she dresses herself in a gown of pure moonsilk, with strands reaching out to manipulate all around her. In either form, she prefers a blonde haired human, but she will appear as a member of any appropriate race and hair colour when necessary.
Disnomia views her elaborate schemes to manipulate and corrupt others towards evil as a grand game with moves from various players, and thus she gets along incredibly well with Jareth, often perfecting her skills at the game with the Keeper of the Labyrinth in hopes of also perfecting her machinations. Although the Grim Dealer almost never loses at a game, Disnomia thus considers herself to be the true winner, and she finds herself strongly attracted to him during the game, often acting more like her unrestrained lustful sister than like herself while playing with him. Secretly, she realises that as her rival at games, he some day will probably become an opponent at a game where the stakes are higher, and so she scrutinises his weaknesses for the day she must turn the tables on him. Disnomia favours convoluted plots that can barely be traced back to their source but are resilient to multiple failures, like a beautiful spider's web. Even her favourites are nothing more than pawns for her immortal plots, but she will still always choose to aid in promoting their welfare and their own goals when it suits her—better to promote her pieces now, so that they can buy her more when she needs to sacrifice them later. And of course, any mortal who can place herself such that she is indispensable in her current position will not only earn the Puppetmistress's continuing protection, but also her scheming smile of approval for a kindred spirit.
Espranachtis Lore
Knowledge Religion Check--You receive a +10 to these checks if you are a follower of Amphousa or Disnomia and a +20 if you are a follower of the Heart of Darkness herself.
DC 10: This name is unfamiliar, not encountered in your studies of common Enworldian deities
DC 15: Espranachtis is a name encountered rarely in obscure references among sacred texts. It is unclear to what the name refers, but it seems to be some sort of extraplanar entity.
DC 20: Espranachtis is an ancient evil goddess whose worship is uncommon
DC 25: Espranachtis is the Creeping Malignance, the Queen of Shadow, the Heart of Darkness. She is an elder entity from the time before creation who yearns for the darkness of the void and experiences pleasure as she revels in the evil that permeates the souls of mortals. She has two aspects named Amphousa and Disnomia (check below for Knowledge on them). Her holy symbol is a black heart.
DC 30: Espranachtis spawned her two daughter-aspects by taking life essence from the goddess Urdiga in an ancient gambit involving baiting the Lady of Undeath with the domain of Misdirection. Since then, the Queen of Shadow has been unusually quiet, at least as her true form. Her two aspects, more anthropomorphic and thus more connected to the mortals whose lives they touch, still play an active role in ENWorld events. Espranachtis's true form is a shroud of malignant darkness with feminine eyes. Sometimes, she uses corrupted symbols of other deities in place of her own holy symbol.
Amphousa Lore
Knowledge Religion Check--you receive a +10 to this check if you follow Espranachtis or Disnomia and a +20 if you worship the Unfulfilled Desire herself
DC 10: Amphousa is a beautiful goddess who offers mortals their deepest desires
DC 15: Amphousa is an evil temptress, the goddess of lust, who builds uncontrollable desires within mortals and seduces them to great lengths to achieve the object of that desire. Her holy symbol is a pair of lips.
DC 20: Amphousa prefers red-haired followers over others, and her minions are often redheaded succubi. Amphousa has a sister named Disnomia. Amphousa appears as a voluptuous, scantily-clad woman of unparalleled beauty, often with red hair.
DC 25: Though she leads them to destruction, Amphousa truly cares for the poor souls she nurtures into beings of pure evil, viewing their falls from grace as individual expressions of pure beauty.
DC 30: Aglaia, a powerful succubus temptress, is one of Amphousa's favoured minions. Once a kind and gentle ladylove of a noble knight named Kharisa, Amphousa led her lover astray and used jealousy to kindle the fire in Kharisa's heart, leading her to further and further depths of depravity after her love until she eventually destroyed him. Frothing with madness over her former lover's corpse and full of lust for more pleasure and power than her mortal frame could contain, she willingly embraced her own destruction with glee as her soul melted into Amphousa's warm caress. Feeling a kindred spirit in what she had made of the woman called Kharisa, Amphousa coddled, stroked, and nurtured the damned soul in an almost-motherly fashion, twisting Kharisa with her tainted love and leaving her a demon full of uncontrollable lust and an equal love for her mistress.
Disnomia Lore
Knowledge Religion Check--you receive a +10 to this check if you follow Espranachtis or Amphousa and a +20 if you worship the Puppetmistress herself
DC 10: Disnomia is a meticulous goddess who aids those who plan towards attaining a goal.
DC 15: Disnomia is an evil schemer whose plots always end in a net gain for her, and she favours those who make subtle and complex plans like hers that are impossible to trace to their creator. Her holy symbol is a hand with strings extending outward.
DC 20: Disnomia prefers blonde haired humans as priestesses, and her minions are often blonde Erinyes. She has a sister named Amphousa. Her holy symbol sometimes shows the hand holding a chess piece. Disnomia often appears as a regal noble lady with a clear kind face who appears as an angel among mortals.
DC 25: Disnomia loves playing games of strategy with Jareth, and they have an on-again off-again relationship as well. She considers the game a metaphor for plots in the real world, and thus considers her practise against Jareth crucial for keeping her mind sharp. She considers her worshippers to be mere pawns, but she still provides them what they desire, for a promoted pawn is worth more to sacrifice. Nonetheless, making oneself indispensable to keep around earns her favour at the worshipper's cunning. Sometimes, Disnomia's aspect will wear a mask like a lady at a masked ball. Her aspects always love engaging in debates and games of strategy, and against mortals, they always win.
The Dark Lady, The Queen of Shadow, The Creeping Malignance, The Heart of Darkness
Enworldian Greater Deity
Symbol: A blackened heart radiating dark power, sometimes Espranachtis's clergy members will also use corrupted symbols of other deities
Home Plane: ???
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Corruption, Descent into Evil, The Void of Darkness, Amphousa's Portfolio, Disnomia's Portfolio
Worshippers: Evil people and monsters, Traitors, Schemers, Villains, Those who seek power, Those whose hearts are full of Avarice or Lust
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Domains: Evil, Darkness, Trickery, Charm, (Corruption--if I make one)
Favoured Weapon: Tendril of Darkness (Dagger)
Espranachtis is an ancient evil deity in ENWorld. Her sacred texts tell that she was formed of the dark void of nothingness, before the world was even created. Angered by the act of creation and by the irritating and inimical goodness of some of its inhabitants, Espranachtis nonetheless delighted in the dark secrets and desires of mortals—she fed off these things and became more than a semi-sentient dark void. She became a goddess who began to take a shape more comprehensible to mortal eyes, but her unquenchable desire to restore the darkness of oblivion remained. She began a self-appointed crusade to corrupt the inhabitants of ENWorld and bring about a greater darkness, thus surrounding herself in the pleasurable corruption of blackened hearts and souls.
But she couldn't do it alone. Few would choose to worship a being of such unrelenting evil, and so she formed two aspects, wholly anthropomorphic daughters who could relate much more closely to human desires, and into her two daughter-aspects, she poured all the dark baleful blackness of her heart, like a twisted perversion of a mother's love.
But this was not enough to complete her two finest creations. And so she baited the ambitious young goddess Urdiga, newly spurned by Zephos and hoping for revenge, feeding the blackness in the goddess's heart, reinforcing Urdiga's evil, and tempting her to steal the portfolio domain of Temptation from Espranachtis's grasp. Urdiga took the bait, and Espranachtis took a piece of the goddess's life essence in return, which she used to complete the birth of her aspects. But Urdiga managed to escape intact with Temptation in her grasp, replacing her missing life essence with the foul essence of undeath, thus proving herself to be cunning and quick-witted—perhaps she had allowed herself to be baited in the first place. The clergies of Espranachtis and Urdiga disagree became bitter enemies over this point, and they disagree vehemently over whether Urdiga's theft of Temptation had destroyed a lynchpin within Espranachtis that allowed the goddess to manifest in her full form as a Greater Power or whether Espranachtis had planned even the success of Urdiga's theft for some other reason (had Espranachtis corrupted the portfolio domain subtly to gain an advantage against Urdiga later?). Either way, through choice or inability, Espranachtis has not manifested in her full form ever since, biding her time and continuing with her eternal, slowly-advancing plan to engulf the world in darkness.
Espranachtis's true form is a roiling mass of pure darkness with two black feminine eyes that stare with pure malice, a later addition due to feeding on the influence of mortals' darkness. But she either cannot or will not appear in this form as of late.
Aspects:
Amphousa, Goddess of Lust, Uncontrollable Urge for Power and Desire
Queen of Seduction, The Sigh in the Darkness, The Unfulfilled Desire
ENWorldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: Full red lips on a field of darkness
Home Plane: ???
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Lust, Uncontrolled Desire, Attainment no matter the cost
Worshippers: Powermad Dreamers, Megalomaniacs, Desperate Lovers, Spurned Lovers, Undisciplined Spellcasters, and anyone who desires power without regard to consequences
Cleric Alignments: CN, CE, NE
Domains: Charm, Chaos, Evil, Trickery, (Lust--if I make one)
Favoured Weapon: Kiss of Lust (Unarmed)
Amphousa appears as a voluptuous, scantily-clad mortal female of unparalleled beauty. The race and specific features vary, but her favourites seem to be human, either an delicate, innocent, and kind-seeming blonde form, a dark and mysterious raven-haired beauty, or a red-haired temptress designed purely to inspire lust. She is served by myriad succubi, all of whom typically have at least three such forms in their repertoire to honour their goddess—it is said that they are Amphousa's own joke at the relationship of the three goddesses, with the raven-haired girl standing for Espranachtis, the blonde Disnomia, and the red-haired temptress Amphousa herself. This belief has become widespread enough that red hair is taken as a sign of being close to the goddess, and so many of Amphousa's priestesses have red hair.
Amphousa herself does retain some of the subtlety of Espranachtis, but she is nowhere near as planning as Disnomia, preferring to give in to the passion of the moment, and encouraging others to do so as well, to give in to their primal urges and take what they want. As such, she can sometimes be a patron of love, but love spurred by Amphousa's lust always turns bad. Because of her nature, Amphousa truly enjoys herself as she corrupts others, and the thought of twisting pure hearts to evil fills her with glee. This actually causes her to sometimes be perversely protective and caring of her favourites—they aren't just pawns like for Disnomia, but instead, they are each individual expressions of the malignant growth of evil, obsession, and lust. This doesn't stop her from egging them ever onward to greater and greater heights of depravity until they destroy themselves, however, as this is her ultimate goal, but she will protect them almost tenderly until the evil in their hearts is ripe. Of course, should they turn from her bosom, she is both relentless and brutal as she exults in tearing them apart and drinking in their blood, so woe to he who jilts the Queen of Seduction!
Disnomia, Goddess of Manipulation, Gradual Measured Assumption of Power and Desire
The Puppetmistress, The Patient Smile, The Schemer's Mistress
ENWorldian Lesser Deity
Symbol: A hand with strings extending outward, sometimes the hand is holding a chess pawn
Home Plane: ???
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Portfolio: Manipulation, Underhanded Schemes, Corruption from Within, Meticulous Plans
Worshippers: Corrupt Politicians, Unscrupulous Merchants, those who manipulate others to their own gain, those who pursue power through secret schemes
Cleric Alignments: LN, LE, NE
Domains: Law, Evil, Trickery, Charm, (Manipulation--if I make one, perhaps instead of Charm?)
Favoured Weapons: Spindle of Silken Puppet-Strings (Net)
Disnomia appears as either a regal and noble lady with a clear kind face who looks something like an angel among mortals, or as a lady at a masked ball with a full mask of some sort covering her face. Sometimes, she dresses herself in a gown of pure moonsilk, with strands reaching out to manipulate all around her. In either form, she prefers a blonde haired human, but she will appear as a member of any appropriate race and hair colour when necessary.
Disnomia views her elaborate schemes to manipulate and corrupt others towards evil as a grand game with moves from various players, and thus she gets along incredibly well with Jareth, often perfecting her skills at the game with the Keeper of the Labyrinth in hopes of also perfecting her machinations. Although the Grim Dealer almost never loses at a game, Disnomia thus considers herself to be the true winner, and she finds herself strongly attracted to him during the game, often acting more like her unrestrained lustful sister than like herself while playing with him. Secretly, she realises that as her rival at games, he some day will probably become an opponent at a game where the stakes are higher, and so she scrutinises his weaknesses for the day she must turn the tables on him. Disnomia favours convoluted plots that can barely be traced back to their source but are resilient to multiple failures, like a beautiful spider's web. Even her favourites are nothing more than pawns for her immortal plots, but she will still always choose to aid in promoting their welfare and their own goals when it suits her—better to promote her pieces now, so that they can buy her more when she needs to sacrifice them later. And of course, any mortal who can place herself such that she is indispensable in her current position will not only earn the Puppetmistress's continuing protection, but also her scheming smile of approval for a kindred spirit.
Espranachtis Lore
Knowledge Religion Check--You receive a +10 to these checks if you are a follower of Amphousa or Disnomia and a +20 if you are a follower of the Heart of Darkness herself.
DC 10: This name is unfamiliar, not encountered in your studies of common Enworldian deities
DC 15: Espranachtis is a name encountered rarely in obscure references among sacred texts. It is unclear to what the name refers, but it seems to be some sort of extraplanar entity.
DC 20: Espranachtis is an ancient evil goddess whose worship is uncommon
DC 25: Espranachtis is the Creeping Malignance, the Queen of Shadow, the Heart of Darkness. She is an elder entity from the time before creation who yearns for the darkness of the void and experiences pleasure as she revels in the evil that permeates the souls of mortals. She has two aspects named Amphousa and Disnomia (check below for Knowledge on them). Her holy symbol is a black heart.
DC 30: Espranachtis spawned her two daughter-aspects by taking life essence from the goddess Urdiga in an ancient gambit involving baiting the Lady of Undeath with the domain of Misdirection. Since then, the Queen of Shadow has been unusually quiet, at least as her true form. Her two aspects, more anthropomorphic and thus more connected to the mortals whose lives they touch, still play an active role in ENWorld events. Espranachtis's true form is a shroud of malignant darkness with feminine eyes. Sometimes, she uses corrupted symbols of other deities in place of her own holy symbol.
Amphousa Lore
Knowledge Religion Check--you receive a +10 to this check if you follow Espranachtis or Disnomia and a +20 if you worship the Unfulfilled Desire herself
DC 10: Amphousa is a beautiful goddess who offers mortals their deepest desires
DC 15: Amphousa is an evil temptress, the goddess of lust, who builds uncontrollable desires within mortals and seduces them to great lengths to achieve the object of that desire. Her holy symbol is a pair of lips.
DC 20: Amphousa prefers red-haired followers over others, and her minions are often redheaded succubi. Amphousa has a sister named Disnomia. Amphousa appears as a voluptuous, scantily-clad woman of unparalleled beauty, often with red hair.
DC 25: Though she leads them to destruction, Amphousa truly cares for the poor souls she nurtures into beings of pure evil, viewing their falls from grace as individual expressions of pure beauty.
DC 30: Aglaia, a powerful succubus temptress, is one of Amphousa's favoured minions. Once a kind and gentle ladylove of a noble knight named Kharisa, Amphousa led her lover astray and used jealousy to kindle the fire in Kharisa's heart, leading her to further and further depths of depravity after her love until she eventually destroyed him. Frothing with madness over her former lover's corpse and full of lust for more pleasure and power than her mortal frame could contain, she willingly embraced her own destruction with glee as her soul melted into Amphousa's warm caress. Feeling a kindred spirit in what she had made of the woman called Kharisa, Amphousa coddled, stroked, and nurtured the damned soul in an almost-motherly fashion, twisting Kharisa with her tainted love and leaving her a demon full of uncontrollable lust and an equal love for her mistress.
Disnomia Lore
Knowledge Religion Check--you receive a +10 to this check if you follow Espranachtis or Amphousa and a +20 if you worship the Puppetmistress herself
DC 10: Disnomia is a meticulous goddess who aids those who plan towards attaining a goal.
DC 15: Disnomia is an evil schemer whose plots always end in a net gain for her, and she favours those who make subtle and complex plans like hers that are impossible to trace to their creator. Her holy symbol is a hand with strings extending outward.
DC 20: Disnomia prefers blonde haired humans as priestesses, and her minions are often blonde Erinyes. She has a sister named Amphousa. Her holy symbol sometimes shows the hand holding a chess piece. Disnomia often appears as a regal noble lady with a clear kind face who appears as an angel among mortals.
DC 25: Disnomia loves playing games of strategy with Jareth, and they have an on-again off-again relationship as well. She considers the game a metaphor for plots in the real world, and thus considers her practise against Jareth crucial for keeping her mind sharp. She considers her worshippers to be mere pawns, but she still provides them what they desire, for a promoted pawn is worth more to sacrifice. Nonetheless, making oneself indispensable to keep around earns her favour at the worshipper's cunning. Sometimes, Disnomia's aspect will wear a mask like a lady at a masked ball. Her aspects always love engaging in debates and games of strategy, and against mortals, they always win.
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As to the aspects' rank, Lesser is just right. It helps explain Disnomia's view of Jareth as an equal.
