Pentagram Organization in Gates of Eternity | World Anvil

Pentagram

Pentagram can be described as everything that is truly wrong with Reality (and Unreality) as a whole. A festering wound upon everything that was, is, will be or could be, one that cannot be truly closed no matter how powerful medicines are applied. It is a permanent and deadly threat, that seems to always lurk behind the corner, always trying to make things at least a tad bit worse.   Ultimately the forces of Pentagram are, like all Aberrants, a manifestation of collective 'unknowledge' and, thus, madness, on an elemental level existing outside mortal cognitive abilities. The war prosecuted against it by forces of Imperium of Karadia and its multiple subsidiary organization, states and religions is waged mostly by means of knowledge, as finding out and codyfing informations equals causes their physical (and metaphysical) weakness.   The most powerful servants of gods of Pentagram are Aberrants and Greater Aberrants, terrifying and mind-warping beings that are pure manifested madness. They tend to act through proxies though, as while simply seeing them is enough to break and warp most minds, it is also their Achilles's heel. Not all of them serve Pentagram, as many remains fiercely independent.   While most of beings would fall to their eldritch corruption, there are also those whose psyche would prove stronger than their influence. Even the most powerful Greater Aberrants can fell to mere mortals, especially one backed by gods (as proven in the most painful way by Nythrathril). All they need is to win in an unspoken contest of minds and be able to name what they see - even in their minds, as 'knowing' is a deadly blow against a manifested 'unknowing'. Thus they act through other means, tempting and breaking people into their mortal servants, spreading terrifying artifacts and incomprehensible books supposed to deepen their secrecy and so on.   Pentagram itself can be considered as a mix between a force of the nature and location, changed into organization by the fact that it is governed by four terrible powers... or so is thought. Malice, Discord, Extinction and Agony - four terrifying beings, considered Imperial Gods that even most powerful lords of Gehenna wage perpetual holy war against. Four terrifying beings... that use a symbol of pentagram to represent themselves, fifth top of the figure remaining forever unexplained, as one out of many secrets Pentagram hides behind.   The name itself comes from the symbol used by the Pentagram. That, in turn, comes from the hidden agenda of the four Enigmas that rule over it. There is a fifth Enigma in the making, a God of Atheism, Ignorance and Indifference. If it ends up born, it will twist the balance of power in the imperial afterlife, probably breaking it (since it would no longer be 20x20x20 Gods) in the process. This is a secret, however, as most of the people who actually know about Pentagram, believes that the lack of fifth god despite being called Pentagram is something done purposefully to confuse mortals.

Structure

Pentagram organization structure is mostly unknown. Its lower echelons consist of a variety of sects, all varied in terms of internal organization, goals and means to achieve them.   Many of their members doesn't even know that they serve Pentagram. Others doesn't know what that mean, while the rest simply doesn't care. After all, Pentagram is a manifested denial of the society and law, and this will often bring it the attention of all sort of outcasts dreaming for power.   At least those more notable ones can hope to gain personal guidance from specialized servile daemons of Pentagram. These daemons can be considered a nervous system, while sects as muscles and joints, with various servile Aberrants, daemons and so on being the bones of this collosal and abominable structure.

Territories

Pentagram has four chief 'hubs' of influence, each of them sometimes (all sources differ, sometimes substantially) attributed to one of the four Gods of the Pentagram.   Pandaemonium - An infernal domain of Malice, chief of the Four. It is told to be so terrifying and mindrending that merely catching a glimpse of it is enough to drive most minds completely insane. It is believed to contain many smaller domains of the vast number of powerful Aberrants that serve Malice, each of them more undescribable and malignant than the last. It's nature as a cancerous growth atop the Unreality makes it a centerpoint that holds Pentagram (as an organization) together, and a place from which Malice rules over the Four.   While beings that come from this place are considered be the strongest and most terrible of all already strong and terrible beings that serve Pentagram, most of them are perpetually busy locked in eternal war against other gods of Black Pantheon. A war that is supposed to be waged before Creation came into being. That's why they very rarely attempt to make crossing into Reality... but when they do, the effects are trully terrible.   Abyss - A domain traditionally attributed to Discord, hidden on the lowest levels of Labirynth, deep between the surface of the world. Noone knows how deep it truly comes, for those that dared to descent too deep didn't return. With only the strongest and most willful mortals actually capable of reaching the Abyss itself, after traversing haunted tunnels of the Depths. Inhabited by daemons, beasts and mortals corrupted by the influence of the Pentagram.   Abyss was created when the unknown lands deep beneath the surface by the collective fear of what might have lurk there, with both surface and Labirynth civilization contributing equally. Rather than organizing a coherent assault, the forces of Pentagram here are permanently in a state of infighting, Aberrants fighting against each other with only slightly lesser fervent that against mortals.   Rift - A domain traditionally attributed to Agony that lies inside the depths of the seas and oceans. Where light doesn't reach and life itself takes forms almost unnatural and terrifying to actually survive and thrive. What exactly lies there? Nobody knows, for nobody has ever reached the unfathomable depths where terrifying creations of Agony dream eternally, dead but still living.   It is unknown what exactly happens there, since only beings aquatic in origin (and hailing from the unknown depths beyond light's reach) can descent there... and all of them are automatically part of this damnable place. The only known mortals to ever live there are Synkardians. Whose emergence on the coasts of Alvaenan Isles started an almost century of Synkardian Wars that shattered power of ancient Kingdom of Alvaena... but finally led to Synkardians being wiped out to the last, even knowledge of their true form and their terrible tyranny wiped out from the history.   Void - Void is a domain that tends to be attributed to Extinction. It exists outside of the world in a more physical way, representing the stars that that can be seen from the surface of the planet and the infinite malignity that resides there. Cold and unnatural, transcending mortal minds and capable of obliterating everything accidentally and without paying care to the annihilation it caused...   Beings from the Void extremely rarely reach the Gates of Eternity, the sheer distance being a certain protection. Cultist that attempt that mostly focus on trying to actually attract their attention, since they are so much 'outside' the world they might have a problem to actually find it.

Cosmological Views

There is little cosmology in the Pentagram. It is a manifested denial of the world in its current state, going much deeper than the Shadow perpetual angst-powered rebellion. Pentagram seeks the unmaking of the Universe, and is ready to go to great lengths to achieve that.   It's main hub is a part of Imperial Religion afterlife, as a hateful beachhead of the Beyond on the far fringes of Gehenna, on the very border of the World Engine light. Pentagram has no claims about participating in the Creation (though Discord did participate in it, before being brainwashed by Malice. It simply wants to silence the World Engine and murder Reality.

Tenets of Faith

Pentagram has a single, central tenet of faith. Denial. Malice seeks to unmade the Reality (for reasons probably impossible to be understood by mortals), and to that end he is ready to grant power to mortals who want it. He cares little for their reasons, for the sheer act of using the Pentagram's powers (regardless of the type of it or the reasoning behind it) is already a travesty against natural order of the Gods.   Because of that, most of the Pentagram cults wish for chaos and societal collapse. The 'might makes right' approach is quite common, just as ambition beyond reason. Lack of countries following Pentagram as a state religion is caused by the fact that every country that'd try to do that would suffer inevitable collapse.   Pentagram is in most cases followed as group. But there are exceptions. Agony sometimes has a monopol on a cult of sadists, Extinction (rarely) finds a personal followers amongst extreme nihilists, and Discord sometimes find followers attracted to her might makes right mentality. Ironically, only Malice is seen as too detached to have personal followers.

Ethics

None, or twisted so much that it's impossible to be comprehended. In fact, acting against established ethical systems is a part of Malice personal crusade for unmaking the Creation of Gods (by denying them their control over mortals). Because of that, a cult that is aware of worshipping Pentagram, often considers murders, rapes and human sacrifices a 'pious' acts.   And that's when Depravity, a part of the Corruption spread by the Pentagram, kicks in. Pushing a cultist deeper and deeper into horrible evil.

Priesthood

Varies. As many cults are out there, as many names for priests. Other religions (and Imperium of Karadia) sums them up as 'heresiarchs'. Sometimes they are the only people in the entire cult to actually be aware that they are all following Pentagram. They are also always a powerful sorcerers or magicians (or are granted such powers right after becoming ones).

Granted Divine Powers

Summed up as a Corruption. Each of the four Gods of the Pentagram has its preferred Taints, however. All of them, weirdly, a purely mental ones.   For Agony, it's an intensification of felt pain, that is also heavily mixed with pleasure. A sufficiently Tainted worshipper of Agony can no longer differentiate between the two feelings, and - due to Depravity that follows - in most cases doesn't understand that for normal people being lashed almost to death (or to death) isn't a source of infinite joy and pleasure.   For Extinction, it's a growing nihilism and the pure hate for the Creation for existing, plus a growing feeling of inner emptiness and depression. On the other side, those under the Extinction taint are known to be extremely resistant to Mind Magic, due to their lack of intention to belief in anything, even if it's illusion or a mental trick.   For Discord, it's a growing lack of trust and loyalty, that is visible even amongst other depraved Pentagram worshipper. Discord followers can betray you even when it's not beneficial to them, simply due to their internal disdain of any sort of trust, truth and belief (that they see as lies). They also tend to follow the might makes right mindset, with ability to trick someone being considered might of sort as well, so when they have something to gain they will ALWAYS betray you.   For Malice, it's an ambition. An insane, boundless ambition, a search for power to break, change or control the people/society/world around them, regardless of the costs. It corresponds well with the Depravity slowly, but surely, robing them of all sort of leftover ethics and empathy.
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