Cyric (SEER-ik)

Cyric, known as Sirhivatizangpo by his Gugari worshipers and as N'asr by the Bedine, was the monomaniacal Faerunian god of strife and deception, and the greater god of conflict and murder, as well as lies, intrigue and illusion. It was he who murdered Mystra and caused the Spellplague, throwing the cosmos into turmoil in an act that cost him much of his following.

Personality

Cyric was a petty and selfish man that believed everyone was truly alone in life. Placing trust in others was folly that would only end in suffering or in all likelihood, death. While he occasionally acted in the interest of others and once famously rallied the Dalesfolk in a terrific battle, Cyric was unfortunately overcome by the worst aspects of his nature. Cyric's selfishness, inability to cope with intense feelings, and unwillingness to rely upon others for support, led Cyric to isolate and withdrawal himself from people that actually cared for him. As a result, Cyric suffered and languished in a state of inner turmoil. His earnest but malnourished desire to do right by others remained at odds with his sense of self-preservation and a yearning to prove himself by appearing powerful.
Cyric's experiences as an adventurer accentuated the darker aspects of his persona, namely his perverse fascination with killing, the ease with which he spoke half-truths, his inclination to incite fear in others, the urge for bloodlust he harbored, and the pleasure he felt when exerting dominance over the weak. The worst aspects of Cyric's humanity were only magnified when he ascended to divinity. As a god Cyric was entirely egocentric, and took immense joy from manipulating mortals into ruining or ending their own lives. For a time Cyric came to believe himself superior to all other beings in the multiverse. As the youngest god of the Faerûnian pantheon, Cyric's self-absorption led to him often acting out like a child. He was irrationally impatient and became restless and moody when things didn't go his way fast enough for his liking. He formed petty, nasty, and sexist nicknames for the other gods and he insisted that courtiers in his divine court only refer to them as such. In truth, Cyric was terrified of the other powers, and was even put at ease by some demipowers, to the point that he became crippled with paranoia.
During his descent into madness, Cyric's unpredictability and erratic behavior became much worse. He was overtaken with a myriad of delusions and countless voices in his mind that some speculated were the remnants of the gods he had slain. He would fantasize horrors that could be inflicted upon those that wronged him, conflate those fallacies with half-truths and false memories, then accept the results as new reality that comprised glorious victories over his enemies. Cyric's cracked and chaotic psyche could barely hold back his myriad of conflicting selves. Cyric abandoned any precept of a polytheistic pantheon, and came to believe himself the only true god of the Realms, and demanded that all his followers appease and worship him as such.

Worshipers

The Church of Cyric was hated all over Achora, and for good reason: Cyric's church was pledged to spread strife and work murder everywhere in order to make folk believe in and fear the Dark Sun. It supported cruel rulers and indulged in intrigue in such a way that the world wouldn't be overrun by wars (thus falling under the sway of Tempus). His church was often beset by internal feuds and backstabbing, but this conflict decreased in recent years as Cyric gained better control of himself and consolidated the churches of the deities whose portfolios he took over.
Cyric's clerics, who often trained as rogues or assassins, prayed for spells at night, after moonrise. Cyric's church had few holy days and did not even celebrate the date of his ascension to divinity (this would also honour Mystra, called "the Harlot" by Cyricists). Whenever a temple acquired something, or someone, important enough to be sacrificed, its high priest declared a Day of the Dark Sun to signify the holiness of the event. Eclipses were considered holy, being accompanied by feasts, fervent prayers, and bloody sacrifices.
The religion of Cyric was widely and openly active in old Rork. It fit in well with their culture of ambition, lack of reliance on others, and "buyer beware"–type contracts.
Many outside the church viewed it as a twisted den of madness, trickery, and death. But its clergy condemned this outlook, preferring to see their religion as enlightened. It supposedly revealed that all societal bonds of friendship, family, and love were nothing but weak ties that always withered away, and therefore were useless, weak, and pitiful.

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Cyric the Mortal

Cyric was a mortal thief hailing from the streets of Zhentil Keep. He attempted to steal the Ring of Winter from a powerful tribe of frost giants, but was unsuccessful and became trapped in their cave. The opportunity to flee only came when a band of adventurers, including the mercenary Kelemvor Lyonsbane, attacked the frost giants' lair while also trying to find the Ring of Winter. Kelemvor's entire party, save himself, was slain and only he and Cyric managed to escape. Once back in Arabel the two eventually joined Adon, a young cleric of Sune, and they took work for the local city watch to uncover a traitor.
As the Time of Troubles began on the planet Toril in 1358 DR, they met Caitlan Moonsong, who beseeched the trio to help her on a quest to free the now-mortal Lady of Mysteries, who had been imprisoned in Castle Kilgrave north of Arabel by Bane. Along the way, they met Midnight, a beautiful wizardess. Once the goddess had been freed, she attempted to ascend the Celestial Stairway to confront Helm, the God of Guardians, with the information that Bane and Myrkul had stolen the Tablets of Fate. But Helm's orders were clear, and without the two Tablets he would not let Mystra pass, and thus the Lady of Mysteries attacked the God of Guardians in a bid to pass him and re-enter the planes. Helm, having retained his divine powers for just the purpose of guarding the stairways, easily slew Mystra. On Midsummer, her divine essence was spread over the nearby lands by a powerful explosion as her avatar was destroyed. Helm's mention of the tablets, as well as witnessing the destruction of a deity, did much to kindle the powerlust in the young Cyric, and when Midnight announced that the now-dead goddess of magic had instructed her to recover the tablets, Cyric was eager to help, planning to take the tablets for himself when chance came. Cyric the God On Marpenoth 15, 1358 DR, Cyric ascended to godhood. At some point after this, Cyric killed Leira, making himself the God of Deception, Murder, Strife, the Dead (a title he later lost to Kelemvor), and Intrigue (when he temporarily killed Mask). Cyric also released Kezef the Chaos Hound, and created a book called the Cyrinishad, a magical tome that proclaimed him the One True Deity. This last plot ultimately failed (though not before the book was written and read by both Mask and Cyric, which cost Mask most of his power and drove Cyric insane).
In 1385 DR, in retaliation for his murder of Mystra, which sparked the Spellplague, Lathander, Tyr, and Sune trapped Cyric in the Supreme Throne for 1000 years.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Cyric hated most of the other deities of Toril, but he particularly loathed Mystra, Wurzag, and Bane. Cyric had no divine allies, but he made himself a wide variety of enemies. These included gods such as Mystra, Wurzag, Oghma, Azuth, Mask, Tyr, Torm, Deneir, Leira, Iyachtu Xvim (deceased 1372 DR), Bane, and many others.

Divine Classification

Greater deity

Religions
Achorian Pantheon
Alignment
Chaotic evil
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Prince of Lies
The Dark Sun
The Black Sun
The Mad God
The Lord of Three Crowns
Lord of Four Crowns
The Fateless
The One
The All
The Face Behind the Mask
The Everything
The Most Mighty
The Highest of the High
Almighty
The One and the All
The Mad One
Dark Prince
Prince of Madness
Domains
Trickery
Portfolio
Lies