Hirzek
From Zok
Hirzek is the youngest of the war gods, brother to Dezzik and Mozik and Gulzek; he is consort to Kiana. Hirzek was once a sun-god, like his brother Dezzik, but when he sacrificed his own life and the lives of every one of his servants to fuel a dark necromantic curse that destroyed Mozik the fires of his sun were quenched in an instant, casting that day into darkness. Once a god of light and fire and hate, he is now an undead god of cold and darkness and hate. Hirzek is vilified by almost every civilized race, and by most of the other deities, for his betrayal and murder of his brother. He was the creator of the orcs and of the magical arts of undeath, and he is the only being (other than Zokthis) who can freely pass into and out of the Pit of Nulgith. Like all of the gods, Hirzek fears Krai, but unlike the rest he is willing to barter with her.
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Statistics:
The Cold One, The Night’s Eye, The Lord of Nightmares
- Greater Deity
- Symbol:
- Thin white crescent with black blot within a black sphere
- Black sphere in thin white disk
- Any bone formerly belonging to a sentient creature
- Home Plane: The Moon City, The Plains of Glass
- Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Portfolio: Evil, Moon, Orcs, Treachery, Undead
- Cold One: Cold, Malice, Murder, Stone, Destruction, Hate, War
- Night’s Eye: Arcane Knowledge, Darkness, Knowledge, Magic, Night, Secrets
- Lord of Nightmares: Chaos, Starvation, Discord, Madness, Massacres, Pain, Panic, Slaughter
- Worshippers: Orcs, Undead, Necromancers, Traitors, Assassins, Conspirators, Evil Barbarians
- Cleric Alignments: NE, CE, CN(rare)
- Domains:Undeath
- Favored Weapon:
Dogma:
Hirzek is a god of war, like his brothers, and like Dezzik he teaches his followers to take what they want by force. Unlike Dezzik, he also urges them to break treaties and pacts when they are no longer advantageous, and to betray anyone weak or foolish enough to fall for it. The only thing that makes one worthy of victory, Hirzek claims, is the ability to sacrifice whatever needs to be sacrificed to earn it. As the Lord of Nightmares he teaches his followers brutality and insane chaotic violence to achieve their ends by terrifying and torturing all who oppose them. In a sharp contrast, in the Aspect of the Night’s Eye he teaches conquest through subtle manipulation, webs of lies, and secret knowledge. As the Cold One, Hirzek promises eternal life to his followers, and exhorts those who listen to sacrifice their warmth and replace it with the eternal ice of undeath. In all of his aspects, Hirzek encourages the extension of existence by the consumption of life, especially cannibalistic practices or the feeding methods of the Undead.
Temples and Clergy:
The Cold One:
Temples to the Cold One are usually small and hidden if they are anywhere near civilized lands, with several notable exceptions in Nere or in places where the undead need not fear the crusades of the living. In civilized lands, these are not temples but shrines tucked away in the basements of small cults. They usually contain a crude altar of some sort, and are decorated with bones. The necessity to keep hidden, however, ensures that these elements are easily portable and hidable.
In the colder, harsher lands of the north, temples to the Cold One can be found in their true glory. Carved by insane priests and mages and by the howling winds into solid rock and ice, temples to the Cold One are massive tangles of jagged spikes, each as frozen as Hirzek's heart. The outer areas of the temple contain quarters for the clergy and myriad escape routes, and the inner chambers contain the great libraries and laboratories of the liches and vampires who wile away their eons studying the ebb and flow of magic.
The Night's Eye:
Temples to the Night's Eye are more common than those dedicated to either of Hirzek's other Aspects. The Night's Eye is primarily revered by evil spellcasters (especially diviners and necromancers), and it is in the peaks of their lonely towers and the depths of their dungeon-laboratories that shrines to this idol of knowledge best left undiscovered are constructed. Such shrines usually have an altar built in the shape of an eye with a crescent pupil (often designed to funnel blood down into the altar), and are decorated with crystal balls and magic mirrors granting a detailed view of whatever interests the cergy. Clerics of the Night's Eye are cunning creatures, using deception and false information and broken promises to gain power in whatever organizations they hide in. Their nights are spent in study, slowly unravelling the maddening secrets of the Void.
The Lord of Nightmares:
There is only one "true" temple to the Lord of Nightmares, though there are many areas sacred to him and many shrines to him. This temple is located in the Land of Dreams, and its altar is guarded by Kiana herself. It is known as the Pale Mountain, and its madly twisting passages are home to terrors beyond imagining.
Shrines to the Lord of Nightmares are simple and not carefully planned: this aspect of Hirzek is revered almost exclusively by savages and sadists and psychopaths, and they are not well known for their architectural prowess. Not dissimilar to shrines dedicated to the Eater of Souls, these shrines are usually found outdoors in clearings in dark forests or atop rocky crags surrounded by miles of frozen tundra. The clergy of the Lord of Nightmares gather on moonless nights, and one among their number wears a mask representing their dread god's physical incarnation. The rites of clerics of the Lord of Nightmares are filled with dancing and revelry and hallucinogens, and often end in fantastic orgies of violence. Sometimes cults to this Aspect will make contact with dark fey, and launch wild hunts across the land in search of sacrifices.
Allies:
Servants:
- Lin: The Werelord
- Uraik Thal: The Stalker
