Ethoar (CE)

“Lord of Agony,” “Soul Burner” (pr. Eth-oh-ar)

Domains: Chaos, Death, Destruction, Darkness, Envy, Evil, Fire, Hatred, Madness, Pact, Suffering, Wrath

Aside from Irindix, Ethoar the Lord of Agony is often considered the most potent Elder Bane; long ago he stole the secrets of fire from Arinna and mastered them for himself.  Intense, undying enmity exists between Ethoar and Arinna, and their worshippers usually attack each other on sight.  He revels in the fact that such a powerful goddess hates him so, for hatred and suffering are the meat and drink of his ideology.  Ethoar is the god of murder, rape, and violation of all sorts, and he encourages and demands such behavior in his worshippers.

Ethoar has many forms, but prefers to manifest physically as a huge, muscular humanoid male figure covered with sharp spikes and draped in a hooded robe made of liquid fire (similar to napalm).  His eyes are white-hot coals and his tongue is lava.  When seen by his worshippers or other residents of Prime Material Gaia, Ethoar is always seen in this form – known as the Soul Burner.  He exists to bring pain, agony, torment and violent death to all living beings, including his own worshippers.  He tells the faithful that in the final days, they will be burned into fine ash and recreated in his divine image, spared the agony and violation that all unbelievers will be subject to.  Practically all of Ethoar’s clerics and worshippers are thoroughly insane; he demands self-mutilation by fire through long and agonizing torture sessions, and will not grant spells to those who do not perform the self-torture.

Like the other banes, Ethoar obviously demands absolute devotion and unquestioning loyalty from his servants.  His priests and faithful gain favor by burning or otherwise violating other living beings, and are encouraged to commit horrible acts of rape, murder and torture on a regular basis.  Ethoar is far more concerned with torturing and violation of the innocent and weak than he is with corrupting them.  His priests and faithful are sometimes on good terms with those of Yshunor, Tyraudon and Irindix, but in their hearts they seek the destruction of all other deities and religions – even those of the other Elder Banes. 

Ethoar’s faithful have a small but effective presence all over the planet, on every continent.  His unholy symbol is a jagged blade dripping blood, usually adorned with a black flame wreathed in orange and blood red, and his faithful tend to wear garish clothing in similar colors.  Clerics of Ethoar must be Chaotic Evil.  His favored weapon is the falchion.

Faiths of Gaia