Cistos

(a.k.a. the Rot)

Cistos, the Lord of Vermin, is a feared and reviled deity in many lands. His name is spoken in hushed whispers by those who fear his wrath, and reviled by those who have suffered at his hands. He is known to favor the company of all manner of vermin, from rats and maggots to vultures and carrion birds, and his followers often take on their likeness. Cistos' presence is said to be accompanied by the sound of skittering and rustling, as if the very ground is alive with swarms of insects. Despite his horrific reputation, there are those who worship Cistos and seek to curry his favor. They see in him a bringer of change, one who has the power to purge the old and make way for the new. In their eyes, his plagues are not simply instruments of death and decay, but rather a means of reshaping the world in his image. They believe that by spreading disease and destruction, they are carrying out his divine will. Cistos' powers are said to be strongest in places of darkness and decay. Swamps, graveyards, and abandoned ruins are all said to be favored haunts of his followers. It is said that those who venture too close to these places risk being infected with one of his many plagues. Some even say that his touch can transform the living into the undead, though this is dismissed as mere superstition by most. In some lands, Cistos is worshipped openly and his followers are allowed to practice their dark arts without fear of reprisal. In others, however, his worship is forbidden and those caught practicing it are subject to harsh punishment. Despite this, his influence continues to spread, and his followers grow ever bolder in their quest to spread disease and decay to all corners of the world. Some whisper that he seeks to bring about the end of all things, a new world born from the ashes of the old.