Myrkul
Lord of the Dead, Lord of Bones, Old Lord Skull, The Reaper
Myrkul, also known as the Lord of Bones, the Lord of the Dead and the Reaper, was the god of the dead in the Edarmyrnian pantheon. He was originally a mortal man, a necromancer named Myrkul Bey al-Kursi, who ascended to godhood alongside Bhaal, the god of murder, and Bane, god of fear, hatred and tyranny. For a time Myrkul's portfolio, and his home, the Bone Castle, were both usurped by the mortal Cyric and later passed on to the ascended Kelemvor. However, as that which is dead can never truly die, Myrkul was worshiped as the God of the Dead once more in the 9th century.
His influence in Edarmyrnian was inspired through the fear of death. Myrkul wasn't widely worshiped so much as dreaded, and even blamed for the natural difficulties that accompanied growing old. He had mastered the skill of sparking unease and fear amongst mortals through every action or mere word. His face, the white skull shrouded in a black cowl, was recognized across the Realms as the symbol of fear and death, the paragon of nightmares.
It was very important to Myrkul that mortals always kept him in the back of their mind. He never missed an opportunity to remind the world that he was waiting for them all. As a mortal, Myrkul's full name and title was said to have been Myrkul Bey al-Kursi, Crown Prince of Espetania. He was a powerful adventuring necromancer in his mortal years, traveling with Bane and Bhaal, each dedicated to a quest to attain divinity for themselves. The trio scoured the Realms for power and information to get closer to godhood and eventually managed to slay one of the Seven Lost Gods. Having gained some divine power, they embarked into the Gray Waste, and after slaying legions of undead, stood before the Lord of the End of Everything, Jergal. The ancient god had grown tired of his reign and freely agreed to hand over his dominion of the underworld. As the three could not decide who among them would sit upon the throne of the dead, they left the decision to chance with a game of knucklebones. Bane emerged the winner and declared himself "ruler for all eternity as the ultimate tyrant". Myrkul had come in second place and his decision seemed to out-maneuver the Black Lord. “ "But I choose the dead, and by doing so I truly win… All things must die—even gods. ” — Myrkul Bey al-Kursi So Myrkul ascended, or rather descended, as the Lord of the Dead, ruler of the underworld. While he would never have the predominant worship that Bane, or even Bhaal, had in Faerûn he became a symbol of fear that every mortal would recognize and remember. Years later, Myrkul again allied himself with Bane and the two dark gods conspired to steal the Tablets of Fate from the overgod Ao, in hopes that the loss of these tablets would weaken him enough that he could be overthrown. The duo never did steal the Tablets of Fate, though were framed by Mask and Leira. In response, the gods were banished from their respective Realms, forced to live on the plant in avatars that held a mere fraction of their divine power. After these actions the gods appeared in the Realm of Kasetia. While it was unclear where Myrkul first turned up, at one point he traveled to the Goldenfields, a temple dedicated to the Earthmother Chauntea, where he fought the High Priest Tolgar Anuvien. Myrkul was stopped from destroying the temple outright, but he left Anuvien dying on the ground after their battle. On Eleasis 13, Myrkul assisted Bane with their continued pursuit of the tablets and had his clergy work to create and cast a mass-scale death spell that, by use of their true names, killed all of the assassins throughout Kasetia. These souls were consumed by Bane and his worshipers in an ultimately futile attempt for the Black Lord to assault the Temple of Torm's Coming in the city of Ramunium, where one of the tablets was planted by Leira. It was unknown exactly when, but Myrkul learned of the location of the other Tablet of Fate and recovered it to his realm, the Great Waste. Remaining in his realm with his tablet, Myrkul sent his night riders to intercept the mortal Midnight at High Horn, as he knew her to be in possession of the other divine artifact. After Midnight and her companions arrived at Averum, Myrkul followed from Hades through the Pool of Loss beneath the Unwritten Passage inn. He rode through the city with a horde of undead and fiendish minions, finding Midnight, her allies and the remaining Tablet of Fate taking refuge in Blackstaff Tower. He briefly reunited the two divine slabs and ascended the spire towards the Celestial Stairway. A magnificent battle ensued on the tower's roof, and when the Lord of Bones was distracted by a swooping griffon he was disintegrated by the young mage whom he had been pursuing. The avatar of Myrkul was destroyed in an eruption of plague and death. Some of the dust from this explosion drifted far to the east, across the Great Maw and came to rest in the Mere of Dead Men, causing outbreaks of undead from ancient battles in the area. As Myrkul's avatar was slain, just before the majority of his power was transferred to Cyric during his ascension, the last remnants of his energy entered into the Crown of Horns, which was locked away within a vault inside Khelben "Blackstaff"'s tower. The ancient artifact held what was left of his personality and memories for a decade, after which it reformed its physical form on Edarmyrni. By Myrkul's lingering will, the crown transported around Kasetia to a number of hosts, allowing the god to maintain his influence among the mortals, as he ever did, sowing dissent and fear via suggestion and influence.
History
It was very important to Myrkul that mortals always kept him in the back of their mind. He never missed an opportunity to remind the world that he was waiting for them all. As a mortal, Myrkul's full name and title was said to have been Myrkul Bey al-Kursi, Crown Prince of Espetania. He was a powerful adventuring necromancer in his mortal years, traveling with Bane and Bhaal, each dedicated to a quest to attain divinity for themselves. The trio scoured the Realms for power and information to get closer to godhood and eventually managed to slay one of the Seven Lost Gods. Having gained some divine power, they embarked into the Gray Waste, and after slaying legions of undead, stood before the Lord of the End of Everything, Jergal. The ancient god had grown tired of his reign and freely agreed to hand over his dominion of the underworld. As the three could not decide who among them would sit upon the throne of the dead, they left the decision to chance with a game of knucklebones. Bane emerged the winner and declared himself "ruler for all eternity as the ultimate tyrant". Myrkul had come in second place and his decision seemed to out-maneuver the Black Lord. “ "But I choose the dead, and by doing so I truly win… All things must die—even gods. ” — Myrkul Bey al-Kursi So Myrkul ascended, or rather descended, as the Lord of the Dead, ruler of the underworld. While he would never have the predominant worship that Bane, or even Bhaal, had in Faerûn he became a symbol of fear that every mortal would recognize and remember. Years later, Myrkul again allied himself with Bane and the two dark gods conspired to steal the Tablets of Fate from the overgod Ao, in hopes that the loss of these tablets would weaken him enough that he could be overthrown. The duo never did steal the Tablets of Fate, though were framed by Mask and Leira. In response, the gods were banished from their respective Realms, forced to live on the plant in avatars that held a mere fraction of their divine power. After these actions the gods appeared in the Realm of Kasetia. While it was unclear where Myrkul first turned up, at one point he traveled to the Goldenfields, a temple dedicated to the Earthmother Chauntea, where he fought the High Priest Tolgar Anuvien. Myrkul was stopped from destroying the temple outright, but he left Anuvien dying on the ground after their battle. On Eleasis 13, Myrkul assisted Bane with their continued pursuit of the tablets and had his clergy work to create and cast a mass-scale death spell that, by use of their true names, killed all of the assassins throughout Kasetia. These souls were consumed by Bane and his worshipers in an ultimately futile attempt for the Black Lord to assault the Temple of Torm's Coming in the city of Ramunium, where one of the tablets was planted by Leira. It was unknown exactly when, but Myrkul learned of the location of the other Tablet of Fate and recovered it to his realm, the Great Waste. Remaining in his realm with his tablet, Myrkul sent his night riders to intercept the mortal Midnight at High Horn, as he knew her to be in possession of the other divine artifact. After Midnight and her companions arrived at Averum, Myrkul followed from Hades through the Pool of Loss beneath the Unwritten Passage inn. He rode through the city with a horde of undead and fiendish minions, finding Midnight, her allies and the remaining Tablet of Fate taking refuge in Blackstaff Tower. He briefly reunited the two divine slabs and ascended the spire towards the Celestial Stairway. A magnificent battle ensued on the tower's roof, and when the Lord of Bones was distracted by a swooping griffon he was disintegrated by the young mage whom he had been pursuing. The avatar of Myrkul was destroyed in an eruption of plague and death. Some of the dust from this explosion drifted far to the east, across the Great Maw and came to rest in the Mere of Dead Men, causing outbreaks of undead from ancient battles in the area. As Myrkul's avatar was slain, just before the majority of his power was transferred to Cyric during his ascension, the last remnants of his energy entered into the Crown of Horns, which was locked away within a vault inside Khelben "Blackstaff"'s tower. The ancient artifact held what was left of his personality and memories for a decade, after which it reformed its physical form on Edarmyrni. By Myrkul's lingering will, the crown transported around Kasetia to a number of hosts, allowing the god to maintain his influence among the mortals, as he ever did, sowing dissent and fear via suggestion and influence.
Divine Domains
Death
Divine Symbols & Sigils
White human skull inset into a black triangle.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
The avatar of Myrkul appeared as a skeleton of a man hidden in flowing black robes. His wrinkled, lesioned skin and blackened, cracked lips gave the appearance he was just on the verge of death. He spoke in a rather high whisper, though his words never showed enough inflection to convey feeling or concern.
Social
Contacts & Relations
From his mortal life and well into godhood, Myrkul maintained a complicated kinship, if not outright friendship, with Bane and Bhaal. He counted Shar as an ally and Chauntea, Lathander and Mielikki among his foes, though the latter was likely a much longer list. Despite his death at the hands of Cyric, whom his faithful referred to as Cyruk, the transition of Myrkulyte mausoleums to Cyricist temples was a smooth and painless transition.
Divine Classification
Deity
Religions
Alignment
Neutral evil
Children
Comments