Krai

From Zok

Krai is the oldest god save only Zokthis. When Zokthis forced his way forth from the Void it was because there was nothing in the Void to oppose him, and he created the world as quickly as he was able, forcing order and form into the formlessness that came before him. The Void was greatly reduced as a result of this crystallization of Zokthis’ will. In an action which has since been described as a vengeful hatred of existence (though it was in fact a result of natural and magical law, a result which Zokthis was perfectly aware of when he was creating said laws), Krai was spawned. She is the mindless will of the formless given form for the sole purpose of returning all to its primeval state of nonexistence. For all intents and purposes, Krai is the Void which existed before Zokthis made himself, and which he did not have either the power or the inclination to destroy. Krai took on the form of the Eater of Souls and pursued Zokthis to the top of the Sky, where the two did battle for nine years. Finally defeated, Krai was cast down upon the world below, hurled bodily through the Lands of the Dead and into the Pit of Nulgith, which Zokthis created to contain her. There she waits, imprisoned by eight Chains of Nulgith and by the Name Zokthis gave her. A blot of sentient hatred and hunger, she consumes the souls of those dead not claimed by the gods or saved by their ancestors. Since her imprisonment she has been carefully manipulating events in the world of the living through her children (the Krakens, the Aboleths, the Neogi, and the Tsochar) and, through her pact with Hirzek, gradually weakening the fabric of reality. She awaits the inevitable day when her bonds are too weak to hold her, when she shall tear her way through the veil to the world of the living to consume it and everything within it.

Contents

Statistics:

The Queen of the Deeps, The Void, The Eater of Souls

  • Overdeity
  • Symbol:
    • Black sphere (The Void)
    • Deep blue sphere with black crescent at its bottom (The Queen of the Deeps)
    • Broken Chain (The Eater of Souls)
  • Home Plane: The Pit of Nulgith, in the Lands of the Dead
  • Alignment:
    • Queen of the Deeps: Lawful Evil
    • The Void: Neutral Evil
    • The Eater of Souls: Chaotic Evil
  • Portfolio: Evil
    • Queen of the Deeps: Intrigue, Madness, Ocean Depths, Aberrations
    • The Void: Darkness, Darkness, Destruction, Hate, Secrets, Madness
    • The Eater of Souls: Death, Malice, Underworld, Retribution, Aberrations
  • Worshippers: Krakens, Tsochar, Aboleths, the insane, assassins, evil cannibals
  • Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
  • Domains: Madness, Destruction
  • Favored Weapon:
    • Queen of the Deeps: Claw
    • The Void: Tentacle
    • The Eater: Bite

Dogma

Krai teaches one of the fundamental principles of the universe: everything that begins must eventually end. She reaches out to her followers through her children, the Princes of the Deep, and by sending avatars of her will to possess those believers she deems worthy. As the Eater and as the Void she teaches nothing but mindless and wanton consumption and destruction. As the Queen of the Deep, on the other hand, she teaches her followers to strive for control over existence so that they might better be in a position to consume it. Her clerics are the guiding force behind the Tsochar’s secret campaigns, behind the horrendous cities of slaves the Kraken keep in the darkest chasms of the ocean’s depths, and the subterranean dominions of the aboleths. Krai demands no loyalty or friendship between her worshippers, instead allowing them to battle for supremacy amongst themselves and devouring the souls of those who fail. She is not above allowing souls to return to the world of the living as undead horrors if they would be more useful there than consumed, and she teaches acceptance of undeath and alliance with the clergy of Hirzek, for the undead weaken the fabric of reality by their very existence.

In addition to her worshippers, Krai claims all those souls which go unclaimed by the other gods, or the souls of those who die in the Great Deeps or in the World of the Dead. Unless she finds another use for them, they are devoured and cease to exist.

Clergy and Temples

The Queen of the Deep:

Temples to Krai as the Queen are usually the centerpieces of Aboleth and Tsochari cities, and occasionally of Kraken lairs or Neogi settlements. The aboleths and the Krakens usually build her temple in the form of a labyrinthine system of tunnels leading towards a central chamber where rituals and sacrifices are conducted. The temple is invariably designed so that the lighting (while dim) is the strongest in the outer tunnels and gradually gets darker as one penetrates deeper into the temple. The central chamber is pitch-black and round, with a massive pit in the floor serving as an altar (and as home to a Prince of the Deep, if it’s one of the major temples) The clergy are usually guards enough to defend the place on their own, but it is filled with slaves of all sorts who also defend it. Surface-dwelling slave creatures are not uncommon, trapped in short airy stretches of the tunnels, and carefully hidden libraries and laboratories are secreted throughout the labyrinth. It is rare for any one creature to know all the safe passages through the tunnels, and oftimes individual clergy will keep secret lairs of which their fellows are unawares, in which they plot and scheme their way towards ascendancy. The Tsochari temples follow the same patterns, but their tunnels are filled with howling winds and darkness rather than water. Clerics of the Queen spend their time plotting against each other and against everything else, spearheading incursions of the surface world or attacks against the Sahuagin, Selkies, or Locathah.

The Void:

Temples to Krai as the Void are more common in the surface world or in the Underdark. They are usually hidden from the rest of the world, or placed in bleak and isolated landscapes far from prying eyes. Without any walls, it would be hard to recognize them as a temple at all save for the bloodied pit in the center of an open area. As in all Krai’s temples, this pit serves as a sacrificial altar and as the center of worship, symbolizing the Pit of Nulgith. Clerics of Krai the Void perform their profane ceremonies at night, preferably on cloudy nights. Surface-dwellers who worship this aspect of Krai often associate with clerics who revere her other aspects, and provide stealthy assistance to evil organizations willing and able to provide sacrifices.

The Eater of Souls:

Temples to the Eater of Souls are common among the Tsochar and Krai’s various progeny, and can also be found among certain dark and cannibalistic tribes in the arctic or the Wellian Isles. They are built of stone or of wood, and all edges are adorned with spikes and razors. These temples double as fortresses of war, from which the cult raids the surrounding area for sacrifices. Cults of the Eater mimic their goddess’ behavior, ritually devouring their enemies (often alive) in order to gain their strength and adorning arming themselves weapons made from the bodies of the dead. As the most brazen and violent of Krai’s worshippers, the Cults of the Eater are the first ones that come to mind when Krai is mentioned, and are the most widely feared. The temples, if located near civilized lands, are often built into mountainsides or ravines to provide better defense against crusaders wishing to end the threat they pose.

Servants/Allies:

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