Esturk, The World's End
The Dragon God of Darkness
Esturk, known by the title The World's End, is the Dragon Deity of Nadiria, the Plane of Darkness.
Esturk is the master of Nadiria, a place of tyranny and domination. Though he slumbers, the great deceiver always works to gain what he covets. Evil creatures and monsters offer their devotion, and while none of the civilized races publicly worship him, in secret some make offerings to the god of greed when seeking to take what is not their own.
Esturk slumbers in his realm of Nadiria, recovering from his battle against the Zenethian Heroes and standing warden to the lost souls in the Black Prison. Surrounding this realm is the Labyrinth of Glass, deterring further any who’d seek to escape.
Esturk’s goal is to claim all that Chedae, The Heaven's Light, represents, and they are eternal enemies. Though he does not count any of the deities as his allies, he respects Barduumus, The Battlelord, as a beast of strength and war.
Description
Appearance
Esturk is shown in histories and tapestries as a black-scaled and horned Dragon of rage and fury, wings wide, piercing yellow eyes seeking to claim all around him.Symbology
The symbol of Nadiria is a black Dragon claw clutching a pearl. Esturk is associated with darksteel colors. His gemstone is the Black Pearl and his flower is the Black Pearl Lily. Offerings to Nadiria and Esturk are normally not public due to the stigma against this worship.Places of significance
Kingdom of Endor
Endor, the First Mountain
Doors of Goldroar – the primary entrance to the city, the Doors of Goldroar hold a depiction of the first battle between Zenthai and Esturk at the end of the Second Age.Queendom of Keeleon
New Keeleon
The Augurs – a collection of religious monuments for each of the eight Dragons, made of large shards of clay.Principles
As the Dragon of Darkness, Esturk represents the provinces of Tyranny, Domination, Greed, and Envy.Tennants
- Never forgive, never forget. Let no affront go unpunished.
- Take what you covet. Everything is yours is you have the strength to take it from the unworthy.
Holy day
Esturk does not have a day of worship that is publicly known. However, follows of Nadiria give tribute on the day of Dragonfall, Zenthai’s death day in early Avedar.History
The Second Age: The Age of the Severance
After the events of the Severance, the world of Azimuth was left without gods. However, so powerful were those entities that had occupied the divine realms, echoes of the gods remained. The people of Azimuth still prayed, and these echoes heard these calls. Flowering from the seeds left behind, new entities began to coalesce. In the Divine Planes, eight new beings were made, given form and function by the faiths of the mortal races and beasts. These eight, great figures of scale and wing and claw would be named the Dragons. During the events at the end of the Age of the Severance, Esturk attacked Azimuth, seeking to spread suffering and destruction. Zenthai, The Dragon King, descended to the Material Plane and battled Esturk in the skies above Azimuth for twelve days and nights, until Zenthai emerged victorious and Esturk fled to the Divine Plane.The Third Age: The Age of Zenethia
One thousand years later, Esturk again attacked, causing much destruction to the World Tree before being repelled by Zenthai once more.The Great War
At the end of the the Age of Zenethia, Esturk used the Power of Evolution to grow beyond his previous strength. In 3A 1992 Esturk attacked Azimuth once more. Zenthai alone was not enough to prevent Esturk causing much destruction to Azimuth, including the sundering of Gimora and Endor, resulting in the Great War. On 19 Adroth, 3A 2092, at the Battle of the Demons' Blood Marshes, Zenthai and the armies of Azimuth fought against Esturk and his armies of beasts and demons for days. During this battle, Zenthai carried the Zenethian Champions to Esturk and deafeated him. Esturk was set to a deep slumber, ending the Great War. Zenthai was greatly wounded in this battle and withdrew to Zenethia.The Fourth Age: The Age of Shadow
Campaign One: The Zenethian Heroes
At some point in the late Fourth Age, Esturk was approached by Psaro the Manslayer where he slept beneath Aktempto at a demiplane called Doravelzog. He had travelled to Tarteria and spoke with Esturk as he slumbered, and he asked the Dragon to work together with him to destroy Azimuth. Though Psaro had woken Esturk earlier than fate would decree, Esturk laughed Psaro away. Esturk worked to influence the countries of Azimuth during this time. His influence caused much turmoil in the lands of Santeem. As Esturk's power grew, demons were able to come forward into the Material Plane. Thus started the Tarterian War. The armies of Keeleon were routed and most of the royal family were killed, and the armies of Esturk fought against the forces of the Hobgoblin Khanate. At some point in late 4A 995, the power of Esturk began corrupting Rath, the Blackguard. In the Mausoleum of Dwarf Lords, Esturk drew Rath's attention to the last remaining piece of Steverossa, the Illithid's body. Rath took this tentacle with him, and in the Grand Bazaar, he convinced an old cleric to case Speak with Dead. Esturk overtook the spell and used it to interogate and torture the soul of Steverossa. In 4A 996, Esturk used Rath to alter a great spell circle in the Endor Tunnel, which redirected its gathered energies away from Psaro the Manslayer and to himself. In this battle, he overpowered Rath's will and used him to slay Trip, the One Who Fell. On 2 Avedar 4A 996, the Zenethian Heroes ventured to Aktempto and fought Esturk and his Dark Champions at Doravelzog. Though still wounded, Zenthai again faced off against Esturk but he proved to be not strong enough. He gave his divine life to protect the Heroes and give them the time to rally against Esturk. Through his sacrifice they were successful in setting Esturk to sleep once more.Quotations
- “You look tired, Zenthai! And you have more holy warriors this time. Frightened?” - at the start of his final battle with Zenthai.
- “You… cannot… beat THIS POWER!”
“Power itself is not to be feared. Fear those who know how to wield it!” - Esturk and Zenthai during their final battle.
- “Now the time of Zenethia is finished! The Age of Nadiria will consume this world!” - after Zenthai's death.