Naran
The Wise Brother, the Piercing Eye, Lordly
Naran is the lawful evil god of cunning, tyranny, pride, slavery, plots, villainy, and conspiracies. He is the leader of the Three Brothers, and he seeks to move them into a position of world dominance. He trusts Asmodeus only as far as the Dark Pact, knowing its terms will not be violated. However, once the pact is fulfilled, he expects the self-proclaimed King of the Universe to betray him and his brothers. For this reason, Naran plans a multi-tiered war.
He stays hidden, manipulating the mortal races toward evil; he moves to take control of the earth pillar; he plans to topple the gods of the tree once the pillar is taken; and he plans to destroy Asmodeus once that war is won. Naran is capable of plotting so carefully because he is the most cunning of all the gods. He is perhaps as wise as Morwyn, but where she turns her wisdom to good, his is directed toward pure malevolence and control.
He is the lord of evil schemes. Naran, like his brothers, manipulates evil humanoids into believing he is their personal
god. To the hobgoblins, he appears to be a great hobgoblin general god, leading them into the great war in which they will conquer the world. Among mortal followers, he is known to be the patron of those who use cunning and a lordly mien to control others.
Naran is shown as an imperiously tall man with long dark hair, clearly a twin to Naryne. His gaze is piercing, like Maal’s, but he does not seem as noble. He has a wicked sneer, and in religious art, usually leads a thousand slaves on black chains. Naran wields a mighty three-headed flail. One head burns with the fire of desire for power and the heat of a cunning mind. One head moves with the weight and ponderous strength of self-control. The third head crackles with the lightning of the oppressor’s whip.
His followers use a metal collar attached to a black chain as their sign. This is the symbol of the slave master, and many of his worshipers make their living capturing and selling slaves. This symbol is well known to people who oppose the Naran. Those in need of a secret symbol of Naran wear two or more black metal rings on their fingers (two adjacent fingers, or two joints on a single finger is common) connected by chains. This is a secret symbol known only to followers.
