The Worm that Walks (kee-OOS)

God of Worms, Vermin and Death - Kyuss

According to legend Kyuss was an extremely powerful tabaxi and a charismatic prophet in Tzen'ca who led his cult out of that city after persecution from the mainstream followers of Qotal. Kyuss and his followers founded the religious city of Kyssca in Valdyr. His cultists discovered ancient metal plates that foretold the future and confirmed every prophecy that Kyuss had ever made. Kyuss was personally visited by his god, Zyphus, who gave him a gift of a single green worm and tutored the man in the ways of necromancy. He began experimenting on the undead, creating such horrors as the Kyuss worm, the spawn of Kyuss and the avolakia. At this time, he gained the services of the red dragon, Dragotha, who he transformed into a dracolich to serve as his general of his undead host. He created a cult around the dogma of life being only temporary, the afterlife a lie, and undeath being the one true path to immortality. While his cultists grew ever more devoted by the apparent truth of his visions, Kyuss tried to fulfill the greatest of his prophecies. He sacrificed powerful magic items and built a massive citadel, the Spire of Long Shadows. At the top of the Spire, he created a monolith through which he channeled the terror, adulation and souls of his entire cult and achieved divinity. However, an alliance of couatls, beastfolk, and druids trapped him in the monolith, which prevented him from ascending to true godhood and relegated him to a historical footnote within a Obsidian Obelisk. The three races made a pact, creating the empire we know as Valdyr today, but whispers tell of Kyuss release, and the destruction of Valdyr is soon to come.