Varsthys

From The Seven Cities

Varsthys
Title(s)	The Undying, Soul Reaver, Veil of Shadows
Home Plane	The Abyss
Symbol	A grey-hand reaching out with a small red jewel
Colors	Ghostly-Grey, Pale Grey
Philosophy	Anarchy
Portfolio	Undeath, Ambition
Worshippers Philosophy	Glory, Ego, Anarchy
Cleric Philosophy	Ego, Anarchy
Domains	Death, Evil, Trickery

“Innocence is equated with the young, and the newly born. When one is born, they are thought pure, innocent, free of guilt...why then must being born incur the sentence of death? Justice is to be freed from this sentence, and that is what we bring.” – Lucien Balden from Whispers in the Dark: Secrets of the Undying a novel about undeath and vampires by Diane Oryza

The shrouded figure who lurks on the fringes of life and death, Varsthys the undying is the patron god of both the undead and of the exceedingly ambitious. More commonly known through mysterious and fanciful tales of living between death and life, unlike most gods, Varsthys remains a comparative mystery to the world, a state of affairs that he both covets and encourages.

Contents 1 History 2 Precepts 3 Relations with Other Deities 4 Worshippers 5 Dogma

History

The true origins of Varsthys is shrouded in as much mystery and shadows as the dark rituals made to create many of his followers. Rumors abound that he was once a powerful mortal mage obsessed with the pursuit of power beyond death, others that he was once a healer who despaired at the unfairness of death.

Whatever the truth, the reports of Varsthys existence began to creep into the mortal world early in the late Age of Crowns, as stories of vampiric cults and wandering, shrouded priests offering sweet promises of unending life. This has created something of a literary phenomenon as the popular imagination craves more information on the mysterious god, and to date most works about Varsthys have been purely speculative.

Precepts

Varsthys as a god believes in the power of unbridled ambition, and the use of any and everything to further this end. All constructs, from rules to laws, morality to even mortality are considered obstacles to be overcome and controlled with an iron fist. It is for this reason that Varsthys tends to focus upon undead, as sentient undead tend to take this mindset to its logical extremes.

For Varsthys, the living are merely objects to be used, manipulated and ultimately controlled. Fear of death is perhaps the greatest motivating influence of the mortal, even more so for those who value material wealth above all else. This fear can be tapped to force others to concede enormous gains, everything from property and lives of others, to their very souls.

It is for this reason that Varsthys favors and patronizes the sentient undead. The proof of their ambition and of their drive is apparent in their very existence. Only those who can become undead without sacrificing their souls are truly worthy of notice, and Varsthys sees these particular undead as his own chosen people, going to great lengths to secure their loyalty.

Relations with Other Deities

Few deities have ever met Varsthys, and even fewer have regular contact with his followers. Even Dagath, who most stridently opposes what Varsthys stands for has ever done more than interact with his followers, never directly opposing the god. This insular and isolated nature has left most of the pantheon puzzled over his existence, and few have taken concrete sides against him, simply content to remove his followers when they become a nuissance.

Worshippers

The worshippers of Varsthys are largely divided into two camps: the flock and the shepherds. The flock consists of lay-worshippers who, tempted with the offer of eternal life, chose to become undead followers of Varsthys, while the shepherds (or "the chosen") are powerful sentient undead who serve Varsthys in order to further their own agenda.

Contrary to popular belief, the flock does not include simple animated dead like zombies or skeletons. While eventually nearly every member of the flock does degenerate into a mindless, mad state resembling zombies, the flock of Varsthys more resemble vampires, being pale of skin and cool to the touch. They believe themselves to be alive, but their souls belong to Varsthys, who harvests them as eternal followers.

This state of living death often drives even the most grasping and material followers mad, and after several centuries most become rambling, incoherent walking dead. Madness, and even the destruction of their bodies do not free these souls from servitude to Varsthys, and he is one of the few gods on Avlis who can claim to hold eternally the souls of his converted.

The shepherds by contrast arrive at their undeath through their own choice, often being powerful, self-centered mages fearing the end of their lives, or extremely ambitious rulers seeking to cheat death through acquisition of power. These followers are given groups or regions of the flock to tend to, recruiting into their number and occassionally culling the more insane bodies to keep public notice away from their activities.

Dogma

Every living thing fears death, for every living thing eventually dies. Eternal life comes not from peity or justice, goodness or virtue, but from rejecting these things and taking control of your own soul. Seek to rob Dagath of his unjust harvest, the Harpinger of her illicit inspiration. Liberate yourself and enslave the others, for you are chosen to be free from death's embrace.