Malac Gol

Every deal has its price.

Malac'Gol

Very little is known about the mysterious Malac'Gol other than his continued attempts to gain power over the planes connected to Oxum.
Being part of a small group of Old Ones that have set their gaze upon the world, Malac'Gol is by far the weakest and most ridiculed by his kin. Having failed many times to establish a successful cult over millennia, the deity resorted to petty thievery by trying to steal souls of the departed from several non-material planes, only to be defeated time and time again by the gods ruling over those planes.

"Malac'Gol? Oh I know him alright. That balding worm keeps on trying to steal souls out of my realm like a petty thief. But at least the occasional knuckle-sandwich keeps that scrawny tentacle-enthusiast at bay for a good while!" _{-Nazutepth, God of the Dead, addressing a group of planeswalkers in his office.}

After trying to get a foothold in the material plane for centuries, the deity tried to lower his scope, focusing on acquiring only one follower to personally guide along their journey to further their, and his, goals.
This eventually culminated into the Dohkterius Disaster where his warlock follower Warn perished during combat, prompting the deity to appear and personally claim his soul. However, due to the warlock also forfeiting his soul to the jackalfolk god of the dead Nazuteph, the two deities engaged in a violent fistfight, resulting in the complete destruction of the Kounélian capitol.

Nowadays, rumors spread of a strange voice luring in desperate folks into the vast caverns under the destroyed city. More and more strange beings have been reported roaming the local area at night or stalking nearby towns. It would seem that the old one has finally gained a foothold on Oxum.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Like most Old Ones, Malac'Gol came to be as the universe was being formed alongside his kin. And being en eldritch being not bound to the laws of space and time, the deity had to search for a suitable world filled with life to sustain his own powers.
Malac'Gol went from world to world, trying to find worshipers to strengthen himself yet he was met with failure every time.
Either outplayed by his kin, banished by the gods or defeated by the residents of these worlds, the deity continued to be pushed back, his energy reserves sapped millennia after millennia until he was left as a scrawny husk of his former self.

Arrival at Oxum

After roaming the universe for thousands of years, the deity arrived at the young world of Oxum. Intelligent life was still in its infancy and the gods were still young and inexperienced.
Having no strength left to travel any further, Malac'Gol decided to try his hand at setting up a following on this world. But as always, this wasn't as easy as it at first seemed.
Though they were inexperienced, the gods and goddesses of Oxum were fierce and fought back Malac'Gol's attempts of stealing their followers from under their noses, driving him away or outright banishing from entering their realms. Especially the deities overlooking the afterlives of mortals were pestered by the hungry Old One time and time again, yet he barely posed a challenge to these lords.
Once more, the deity was denied a faithful cult, forced to survive on the occasional stray soul lost in the outer planes.

A Faithful Fool

Decades passed as the deity drifted through the outer planes of Oxum, picking up the scraps and endlessly trying to think of ways to lure in groups of mortals to worship him. Then, during one of his brainstorms, the deity came up with a new plan. Instead of trying to convince a whole group of mortals, why not start with just one?
It would not take too long before the eldritch god had set his sights on a particular elf named Warn who seemed quite susceptible to his influence. Thus, Malac'Gol set his gaze upon this mortal and subtly influenced him throughout the years before eventually, in a moment of weakness, reaching out to him and lending the elf his aid.
And of course, he accepted.

Deity of Deals

With his first warlock under his control, Malac'Gol started to trickle more and more of his power over to the elf, granting him many boons during his initial adventures out in the Empire of the Golden Seas. While most Old Ones acted more distant towards individual servants and only really payed attention to greater rituals, Malac'Gol decided to use a more fiendish approach.
Instead of gradually increasing his followers power, he would occasionally appear in times of need, offering Warn a deal to resolve the situation in the warlock's favor... most of the time.
And in exchange, the deity asked the warlock to perform some deeds on his behalf, be it recovering an artifact to strengthen his grip on Oxum or a batch of souls to feed and empower the Old One.

"Hm-Hm-Hmmmm. Remember, a deal is a deal. Hm-Hm-Hmmmm." _{-Malac'Gol addressing his warlock after sealing another deal.}

It is through one of these deals the deity gained his physical form on Oxum, that of a sleezy, red-eyes cat. Though not his first choice, it was all his warlock follower could manage to find for him as a physical vessel.
Malac'Gol grew to like this form, as the sneaky and vicious nature of cats spoke to him, and thus he would shape his aesthetic around an eerie feline theme.

Ascension

Many sleezy deals and near-deaths later, Malac'Gol's follower Warn had grown to considerable strength, often making deals to save his skin from certain death.
Then, one day, when the warlock had business in the capitol of Kounélios, Dohkterius, something would occur that would forever change this part of Oxum and truly begin Malac'Gol's reign.
After a run-in with the guards of the local thieves' guild, a very unfortunate decision led to Warn getting mortally wounded by the thugs. Attempts to reach out to Malac'Gol were met with silence, as the deity had waited for this moment to come. Having made one too many deals, Warn's soul had grown particularly powerful by the patron's powers, but being several souls in debt with the Old One, his soul was now forfeit.
Appearing visible for all around, the deity reached out to claim the powerful soul, but right before he were to claim it, he was stopped by a booming voice in front of him.
As it would turn out, Warn had also forfeited his soul to Nazuteph, The Jackalfolk god of the underworld, during one of his party's quests in his realm.

"You again?! That soul is mine to claim, trickster, mine!" _{-Nazuteph addressing Malac'Gol in front on a crowd of confused mortals.}

Malac'Gol would not this final chance to gain power to slip from his fingers once again, so using the strength given to him by his warlock's actions, he pulled together into physical form and engaged the god in hand-to-hand combat.
The battle raged as the deities grew to titanic sizes, throwing punches and hurling powerful magic at one another with little regard of the city above. Their conflict destroyed many of the supporting pillars of the cavern below the city, causing the settlement to start collapsing and sinking into the depths towards the battling deities.
After mere minutes of fighting, the entire city had been turned into a massive sinkhole leading into the vast cavern systems beneath. Nazutepth had underestimated Malac'Gol by a long shot, soon forced to back off from the fight as his physical avatar had little power left.
Victorious, Malac'Gol claimed the soul of Warn and consumed it, granting the Old One enough power to get a solid foothold on Oxum and finally start his own cult of faithful followers.
Nazuteph looked in horror at the devastation his fight left behind, aware that his ego and temper towards the Old One had gotten the better of him. The jackal god swiftly left the material plane to return home, not uttering another word.
The last folks saw of the Old One was his titanic form slipping into the dark depths of the city, eerily humming with "joy" as he vanished from sight.

Rumors say he still lurks under the ruins of the city, amassing followers from desperate survivors of the disaster and scheming his next move.
Most likely growing his followers to a greater number and eventually, setting his gaze north, to a place where his powers flow to Oxum with ease. The Realm of Monsters.

Divine Classification

Eldritch Deity, Old One God

Age

Unknown, presumably as old as this cycle of the universe

Date of Birth

Unknown