Whispered One
The creature who would one day be known as the Whispered One, started as a mortal man called Vecna.
Vecna's early life is clouded in legend and contradiction. Most accounts stated that he was originally a human wizard from the Northern Nomani Archipelago, although some reports claimed that he was a half-elf. After having become an extremely powerful wizard and starting to fear for his own mortality, Vecna was taught by Orcus how to achieve undeath, later becoming one of the most powerful liches ever in existence and becoming the Black Sheppherd.
During his reign, Vecna trusted his lieutenant Kas with most administrative tasks. He forged the powerful Sword of Kas as an instrument of his lieutenant's authority. However, Vecna's evil, manifested in the sword, seduced Kas into usurping and killing his master. Kas then battled Vecna, who banished him to his realm of Cavitius, but not in time to avoid his own destruction. The only traces left of Vecna's physical body were his left hand and eye, which still carried a fragment of the lich's will. Their latent power turned them into the artifacts known as the Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna.
Vecna's spirit, however, endured. After several centuries, he amassed sufficient followers and worshipers among ambitious wizards to reach the status of demigod. At this point, the threat of Vecna's ascension was known to many and was foiled by the Nightstalkers.
Some time later, Vecna once again attempted to ascend to the status of greater deity by organizing a centuries-long plot that culminated with absorbing the essence of the Grand Sage. His plans also involved an invasion of Sigil, from where Vecna then aimed at controlling the entire multiverse. Having his plans once again thwarted by adventurers, Vecna was expelled from Sigil with the help of the Lady of Pain and had his essence separated from the Sage, but the power he acquired through the process still allowed him to retain godhood and become the Whispered One. The Whispered One is the patron deity of those who seek the greatest evil for their own enjoyment or gain. Most common folk do not worship or propitiate him, although they fear him greatly. It is believed that any form of appeasement will merely draw his attention, something that is at all costs to be avoided by the sensible. The Whispered One seems, in fact, to draw power from the very avoidance of his name. Some of the peasants of Andalasia do propitiate him with minor rites, begging safe passage for the souls of the dead.
The Whispered One is often confused with the Reaper of The Eight, though never by Imperials.
The Whispered One is usually seen as a black-robed skeleton, with a rust-red body and green, ropy hair. He carries a staff called "Lifecutter" that at his command grows a scythe blade made of scarlet energy.
The Whispered One dwells in Carceri, either in its outermost layer or its innermost. According to On Hallowed Ground, his realm is called the Crypt and is a city inhabited by the dead and undead. There, Nerull consorts with fiends of all kinds, who wander the realm devouring the shrieking souls trapped under Nerull's power. His realm is also called Necromanteion, described as a citadel carved from black ice, where the souls of the dead are trapped within the walls, ceilings, and floors. Demonic clerics perform twisted experiments and recite ghastly litanies. His throne is within a wide hall called the Hidden Temple, and even more unspeakable horrors are said to be buried in tunnels beneath.
Unlike most inhabitants of the Red Prison, the Bloody Lich wasn't banished to Carceri; he lives there because he likes it.
Vecna's early life is clouded in legend and contradiction. Most accounts stated that he was originally a human wizard from the Northern Nomani Archipelago, although some reports claimed that he was a half-elf. After having become an extremely powerful wizard and starting to fear for his own mortality, Vecna was taught by Orcus how to achieve undeath, later becoming one of the most powerful liches ever in existence and becoming the Black Sheppherd.
During his reign, Vecna trusted his lieutenant Kas with most administrative tasks. He forged the powerful Sword of Kas as an instrument of his lieutenant's authority. However, Vecna's evil, manifested in the sword, seduced Kas into usurping and killing his master. Kas then battled Vecna, who banished him to his realm of Cavitius, but not in time to avoid his own destruction. The only traces left of Vecna's physical body were his left hand and eye, which still carried a fragment of the lich's will. Their latent power turned them into the artifacts known as the Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna.
Vecna's spirit, however, endured. After several centuries, he amassed sufficient followers and worshipers among ambitious wizards to reach the status of demigod. At this point, the threat of Vecna's ascension was known to many and was foiled by the Nightstalkers.
Some time later, Vecna once again attempted to ascend to the status of greater deity by organizing a centuries-long plot that culminated with absorbing the essence of the Grand Sage. His plans also involved an invasion of Sigil, from where Vecna then aimed at controlling the entire multiverse. Having his plans once again thwarted by adventurers, Vecna was expelled from Sigil with the help of the Lady of Pain and had his essence separated from the Sage, but the power he acquired through the process still allowed him to retain godhood and become the Whispered One. The Whispered One is the patron deity of those who seek the greatest evil for their own enjoyment or gain. Most common folk do not worship or propitiate him, although they fear him greatly. It is believed that any form of appeasement will merely draw his attention, something that is at all costs to be avoided by the sensible. The Whispered One seems, in fact, to draw power from the very avoidance of his name. Some of the peasants of Andalasia do propitiate him with minor rites, begging safe passage for the souls of the dead.
The Whispered One is often confused with the Reaper of The Eight, though never by Imperials.
The Whispered One is usually seen as a black-robed skeleton, with a rust-red body and green, ropy hair. He carries a staff called "Lifecutter" that at his command grows a scythe blade made of scarlet energy.
The Whispered One dwells in Carceri, either in its outermost layer or its innermost. According to On Hallowed Ground, his realm is called the Crypt and is a city inhabited by the dead and undead. There, Nerull consorts with fiends of all kinds, who wander the realm devouring the shrieking souls trapped under Nerull's power. His realm is also called Necromanteion, described as a citadel carved from black ice, where the souls of the dead are trapped within the walls, ceilings, and floors. Demonic clerics perform twisted experiments and recite ghastly litanies. His throne is within a wide hall called the Hidden Temple, and even more unspeakable horrors are said to be buried in tunnels beneath.
Unlike most inhabitants of the Red Prison, the Bloody Lich wasn't banished to Carceri; he lives there because he likes it.
Divine Domains
The Whispered One is a god of death. He is primarily responsible as the god of murder and magic. His clerics have access to the Arcana and Death domains.
Tenets of Faith
The Red Reaper's faithful believe they will be rewarded for acts of murder, for every living thing is an abomination in the eyes of the Reaper.
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