Eomandyx the Eternal
Wild God(?) of Undeath, Suffering, Names, and Final Stands
Interning the dead to grant them peace? Who does burying the dead serve? Does giving the dead last rites give them peace? Truly? Would those rites outweigh a lifetime of misery? Or are they simply smothering that misery? Burying it beneath so many feet of soil to soothe the minds of the living left behind? To force the dead to move on? If so, is it not purer to let the dead rise again? To let their miseries run their course in the world, for better or worse? Let those who die without regret be reborn in the cycle. But let those who die in agony find their place in Undeath.Titles: The Eternal, Eomandyx the All-Knowing, The Uberlich, Lord of the Last Stand, The Sepulchral 'Slinger, The Exhumed Emperor, Demon of the Doublebarrel, The Tombstoner, Grampa Gravedigger, Ol' Blind Pete, The Man with no name Favored Weapons: Rumors abound that Eomandyx's true Favored Weapon is no longer possible to find or create. In its place, the Tri-Point Double-Edged Sword has become his favored weapon of choice. Alignment: Void Elemental Lord: Supposedly, Hannoxyn, Duchess of the Abyss - though Eomandyx's ascension to Sainthood has not been confirmed. Obedience: Inscribe a simple yet heartfelt prayer to Eomandyx the Infinite in a small print alongside the lining of your favorite hat, bandanna, or headwear, alongside a list of your most recent grudges, hatreds, regrets, and sufferings. Once done, wear the headwear the prayer was inscribed upon until the next time this obedience is performed, removing it only when required or when wearing it would be impolite to a host, and burn the previous obedience's prayer with the tip of a cigar or other smokeable. Effect: Your are blessed with the fell power that once inhabited the body of The Exhumed Emperor, and become capable of seeing the suffering of others as if it were a real and tangible sight that manifests itself as a thin black fog that hangs about an area or a creature - telling you of a creature's general level of suffering or of an area's general level of "Necrolysis"(Defined as a measurement of the "negative energy" that permeates an area that will in time lead of the formation of undead if left unchecked) and when undead will begin to form, as well as from what or where such suffering is or has come from. Additionally, once a day, by spending an hour smoking a cigar, cigarette, or other smokeable, you can use the smoke produced to create an augury effect as per the spell. 1st Boon: Brand of Conformity 3/day, Bullet Ward 2/day, or Disrupt Silence 1/day
Divine Domains
Death, Knowledge, Luck, Magic, Trickery(Deception Subdomain Only)
Artifacts
As he is not a very widespread or well-known Elemental Saint, Eomandyx's artifacts are by and large known only to his followers - though chief among these artifacts is the legendary Seal of Eomandyx once housed in the Temple of Nox Erebhûl(Holy Temple of Xu-Jie said to be the source of The Exhumed Emperor's inexhaustible magical power both in life and in death. This seal, said to be semi-sentient even after its creator's death and subsequent destruction, has long refused to allow itself to be bonded to another creature despite rumors that whosoever accomplishes the bonding ritual with the Seal will gain access to the infinite power of Eomandyx himself - only in recent memory has Osmantha the Indomitable managed to claim the seal as her own and gain power beyond understanding...though concerns over what happens should she perish with such a seal bonded to her very soul remain.
Secondarily, the only other known artifact of his faith is said to be The Skull of Eomandyx - though information around it is vague(especially in regards to its location), the skull is said to grant the infinite knowledge of Eomandyx the All-Knowing to they who returns the skull(Said to have been stolen away from his sepulchre by champions of the Elemental Saints who defeated him before their ascendance) to its original resting place.
Any other artifacts, if they exist, are known only to his small and secretive faith.
Holy Books & Codes
The All-Telling Tombstones
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A pair of crossed revolvers with a crystal-topped stave in the center
Tenets of Faith
Defend the means of Undeath. Do not allow any being to interfere with the creation or formation of the Undead, nor the accumulation of Necrolysis in a given area.
Let suffering run its course. Suffering is a natural part of life and the cycle - do not exacerbate nor alleviate it. Allow it to take its course without interference, no matter what consequences it may bring.
Know the Power of a Name. Record and Know the true names and titles of both living and dead you encounter, and use them as your weapons; a whispered name or a name-engraved blade can easily fell nations.
Pursue the Study of the Self. Pursue the means and studies by which to elevate yourself beyond the norm, be it physically, spiritually, or otherwise.
Judge not the Unborn for their nature. The simple existence of something shall never be used as proof of a thing's crime or sin; let actions alone be its merit.
Holidays
The holiday known to be celebrated by the secretive followers of Eomandyx is the day of his supposed "death" believed by the general populace, on which both a mortal Oshihime the Unbroken and Radoslav the Redeemed slew him in the central square of his hometown, Copper's Canyon, in a duel so fantastical even the stories of it seem falsities even now.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
The Divine Goals of Eomandyx can only be speculated upon, as his following as an Elemental Saint is perhaps one of the smallest among all Saints that yet exist in the modern day.
Followers & Priesthood
As a general rule, the Followers of Eomandyx tend to be secretive and dress and carry themselves accordingly - though his faith is believed to be one of the smallest of all the Elemental Saints for the simple fact that, while he is an extremely well-known historical figure, most on Zheng-Kitar simply assume him dead. Despite this, his followers adamantly uphold not only his existence, but his ascension to Elemental sainthood - and while Eomandyx himself is not strictly a God of Secrets, his followers make a habit of hiding themselves from the general populace for the simple fact that, as a Saint of Undeath, most civilized areas of the world would likely outright reject Saint Eomandyx and his followers as proponents of villainy and undeath - or at the minimum, abhor and ostracize them for their creed and faith. In spite of or perhaps as a result of this negative public perception, the followers of Eomandyx are one of the most tightly-knit group of all the Elemental Saints, and especially so by the standards of the Saints of Hannoxyn, Duchess of the Abyss; for while their dress tends to be casual and conformist to the areas of the world in which they operate, they are believed to maintain strict organizational relationships based on breadth of service and experience in the pursuit of the Eomandian Creed, though flexibility in this hierarchy is also believed to be common as they are, by and large, followers who are forced to be able to adapt to sudden violent circumstances should their leadership be caught and imprisoned or executed. From what little has been gleamed by the few members of his priesthood who have been captured alive, the Followers of Eomandyx organize themselves into clearly defined organizational hierarchies based on primarily skill and experience in magic, necromancy, or even ranged or martial combat with breadth of service and experience in the faith weighed against these talents, with certain followers subordinated to other more experienced members for the simple fact that alone, they would likely be hunted and caught or killed. Outside of these tightly-knit groups, the Followers of Eomandyx keep in touch with other groups and even other more errant members of the priesthood through unknown and esoteric means even across vast distances - making it seemingly not an entirely innaccurate assumption to assume that even the furthest-flung necromancer in the most distant cave may in some way keep ties to the Followers of Eomandyx if only as a way to keep ties to a fraternity of fellows who understand and will support their work. In terms of dress, the Priesthood seems to have almost entirely eschewed identifying garments, symbols, or anything remotely resembling official garb or identifying marks in favor of unknown means of identification that current theories hold may well be specific code phrases used to identify the faithful, specific and complicated yet subtle signs woven into everyday clothing, and other subtle means of identifying themselves and distinguishing rank that are not immediately clear to any who view them. However, above all, it is important for all learning of the following of The Demon of the Doublebarrel to keep in mind that it has not been conclusively proven by and large that Eomandyx himself has, in fact, ascended to Sainthood - an incredibly niche and almost unheard of scenario(Only seen once before during the early years of Saint Yasuyo the Kaiju-Caller's faith when stories of his ascendance had not yet spread) that has caused the following of Eomandyx to ride an unsteady and uncertain line between small-time Saint Following and unknown cult. The truth remains unclear, unfortunately - though the followers of Eomandyx themselves seem to have a single consistent story of their Saint's ascension, it is currently undergoing active suppression by several other Saintly Faiths; a fact which makes verifying Eomandyx's sainthood currently difficult.Ethics
More important than any other edict to the followers of Eomandyx the Infinite is their views on the natural process of Necrolysis and Undeath itself in a larger sense - preaching a more naturalistic view of Undeath, the beliefs of the followers of Eomandyx revolve around a central and radical theorem that Undeath itself is not, innately, an unnatural process in the world. They hold that, in the far-distant days of antiquity a hundred thousand years ago or more, Death and Undeath were one and the same - that the natural, original way of the Cosmos before it had truly formed was a cyclical process of birth, death, and rebirth where the living who lived full lives and who died free of regrets or intense hatreds or other negative energies that naturally lead to undeath would pass on and be reborn into the surrounding environment and eventually reincarnated into new lives while the living who died with such things would linger and, through the process of Necrolysis(Described in the snippet in the sidebar of this page), be reborn as an Undead to resolve their grudges and hatreds of the living - after which they would collapse or be slain and pass on themselves. The Followers of Eomandyx hold and vehemently argue that this process of natural undeath is as much a part of this cosmos created by The Old Gods and subsequently upheld by The Spirit Kings as any forest, jungle, plain, or such - that the corruption of Undeath as a whole into what it has largely become today is a mortal failing, and not one that should be ascribed to Undeath itself, nor any who practice it inherently; even the practice of Necromancy, the followers of Eomandyx hold, was originally no more than the magical school relating to the study of curses and those same negative energies that gave rise to suffering and undeath - a distinctly mortal magical school that related to the sufferings and anxieties of mortality, and a practice of magic that even the Gods themselves did not originally give rise to. Regardless of their beliefs on matters of history, the faithful of Eomandyx the Eternal believe that Undeath, as a natural process, should not be shunned or hunted for the simple fact of its mere existence - they see the process of Necrolysis that naturally gives rise to undead through the accumulation of grudges, hatreds, regrets, and other negative emotions as a natural part of life, and the universe's way of rebalancing Karma on a cosmic scale; the dead rise driven by the regrets they had in life to find the peace they were denied in that same life, and so on into infinity. They are not so naive as to wish Undead to spread without end, and do not hesitate to destroy Undead if those same Undead seek to destroy the living, but instead mainly concern themselves with giving the dead the chance to commit such acts - the chance to rise or be created to act on those wills(or in the wills of their masters), rather than being turned away as an affront to "life itself" which they view as a narrow-minded and blasphemous concept for beings who claim to hold faith in the The Old Gods and Spirit Kings that created the entire world. Even the creation of Undead is not considered blasphemous to a follower of Eomandyx, as the notion of a "Lifestream" and The Soul's Journey is something they place little stock in in favor of a more naturalistic worldview - undead that are formed and given sentience are, at best, only loosely imbued with the traits and memories of the being they are made from and are thus of little consequence or heresy to the world at large. Yet, they maintain that even if such Necromantic Practices do take souls out of the cycle, it is no more or less blasphemous than resurrection or revival magics - often putting themselves on a moral highground as those who "enable a soul to express its sorrows in its truest forms". In line with this belief, followers of Eomandyx believe in the sacred art of "Suffering" - though not in the same way as followers of Reina the Broken and other more mad Saints might. Instead, they hold a sacred belief that Suffering, as a part of the mortal condition, is a thing that is naturally caused and should thus be allowed to take its course - they have little qualms with accepting the suffering they spread as a part of their actions, but hold a firm belief that beyond what is naturally caused that suffering should neither be exacerbated wantonly nor should it be helped or alleviated in others; to them, it should be up to the Sufferer themselves to resolve their issues in much the same way that many gods of Death believe in the staunch neutrality of death itself. To a follower of Eomandyx, the suffering they spread is a thing to watch and evaluate - those who fail to come to terms with it will return as undead, while those who overcome their tragedy will become better for it and pass on as normal. Finally, to a lesser degree, followers of Eomandyx respect and even encourage any who seek to elevate themselves beyond their mortal forms, or who seek to improve themselves in some way - making them not only fervent supporters of those seeking Lichdom or other undead transformations, but of all manner of tinkerers and mad scientists who seek to use themselves or "The Self" as a basis for improvement or alteration. They view these attempts as a degree of selfishness that any being should strive for - and often view attempts to slip the bounds of death as a thing to be praised and even admired; an innately holy and uniquely mortal act that is so often marred in intricate sorrows and fears and sufferings that should be allowed to run their course, holding to the central Eomandian tenet of "Let what is Unborn be born, and let its actions judge its fate". If rumors are to be believed, they are in many cases the owners of the only remaining copy of some forgotten rites of transformation that the world has all but forgotten...History
A history fresh in the minds of many, the history of Eomandyx the Eternal is one of suffering and tragedy - born around a century or two before the start of the War of Boiling Skies that would rock the world to its foundations in the small, dusty town of Copper's Canyon nestled in the Qui-Bai Savannah west of the Tianzhao Peaks, the Man with no Name who would one day go on to become the legendary Uberlich known as Eomandyx grew up in the unofficially notated era of history of a century or so before the start of the War of Boiling Skies known as The Iron West, where Ezdhûl inventions were slowly trickling outwards across the Savannah and into the world at large - promising a new age of industrial might and blackpowder weaponry. Making a name for himself as a marksman of superhuman skill, Eomandyx quickly combined his natural magical talent with a wicked propensity for the sins and sufferings of others and made his name across the rapidly growing towns of the Savannah as The Tombstoner, earning the first of many epithets as he masterfully wielded and merged the might of Arcane Magics with the weird science of the Iron West of his time and the unbridaled power of Blackpowder from the newly established Ezdhulian Factorums high in the Tianzhao Peaks. Though much of his early life and even his original name have been lost or never recorded in the first place, words of his accomplishments were legend in his hometown of Copper's Canyon - in his wake, entire Graveyards were upended at the end of a Revolver Barrel to make entire legions of Blackpowder Skeletons and Dynamite Bonemen(Both varieties of Undead extinct in the modern day) that marched on army and lawless gang alike, defending the town of Copper's Canyon even in the face of the brewing conflicts that would in time lead to the War of Boiling Skies. Yet, as would come to define his latter life, Eomandyx was utterly consumed by his desire to not only slip the bounds of death, but more importantly to attain knowledge - to peel open the secrets of the Iron West and all the wondrous technologies that were emerging during the day which he, in his infinite wisdom and insight, could see were a gateway to things that not even the brightest Arcane Minds in history could dream of...things that he himself hungered to learn of and claim for himself. With Infinite Knowledge, he reasoned, he could accomplish what all before him had failed to do - to absorb every grudge and curse in the world and let them run their course without interference; to let each grudge and curse and regret be born and enact its cries without suppression, that finally the souls of the Cosmos would be universally, totally, and wholly at peace. In the end, Eomandyx got his wish - driven to increasingly drastic measures to ensure his own survival in the increasingly volatile lands of the era of the Iron West, he is well-known to have innovated a dozen ingenius magical "automations" to drive his bodily functions and to automate his protection in the face of any threat, creating countless magical formulae so impossibly advanced that they were not only sentient, but could flawlessly re-create his thought processes and supplement the trappings of his old age even as his age began to take its toll on him. Many say that, in the end, Eomandyx's magical wards were so sophisticated that, after his death, he attained eternal life of a deeper, more twisted sort as all the automated protections and formulae that had been created to simulate and supplement his own thought processes took over his corpse and attained Lichdom of a different, unique sort as his unique form of Automated, Informational Lichdom entered The Akashic Record(Extraplanar Repository of all Knowledge in the Cosmos) like an informational superplague - rapidly absorbing, copying, and assimilating all it could find within the Record as an extension of his automated consciousness(As had never been encountered in the Cosmos before) until it was expunged by the Record's ineffable keepers; but the damage was done, and Eomandyx had done the impossible...and gained true and total knowledge of all things. With his newfound Knowledge, the legendary Gunman who had once been known as The Tombstoner, the legendary lone wanderer who had wielded the grudges of others as weapons and raised entire legions of the damned, began construction of his greatest creation yet using the infinite knowledge of the Akashic Record that now dwelt in his mind - a magical seal that would become The Seal of Eomandyx whose function, even now, remains frighteningly unclear; though many purported it to serve the function of ascending him into true and total cosmic power. Whatever the truth, the creation of this seal whose complexities only the Spirit Kings themselves could hope to fathom garnered the attention of Oshihime the Unbroken - who saw in the being now crowned The Uberlich a challenge greater than any other. In a response of utmost cruelty, Eomandyx the Eternal is said to have single-handedly crafted the first Blackpowder Lich and used it to lay utter waste to the temple of Oshihime the Unbroken's birth - a feat which only earned her furious Ire as she met the Uberlich on the fields of the Qui-Bai Savannah and slew him for the first time in a battle that forever changed the landscape of the area. But, it was not the end - for the hero of Copper's Canyon had, using the secrets uncovered in his creation of the Blackpowder Lich, bound himself to the very land of his hometown and had been reborn there, his infinite unholy knowledge returning him from death. It was not until Radoslav the Redeemed, newly saved from his life of Wickedness, teamed up with Oshihime the Unbroken and dueled the legendary Uberlich a second time in his hometown of Copper's Canyon, two demigods against a Gunslinger with superhuman skill and all the knowledge of the Akashic Record at his back, that they succeeded in stopping his plans to use the newly crafted Seal of Eomandyx towards whatever untowards and vile ends he had planned, scattering the town of Copper's Canyon to the winds to destroy his Phylactery and hiding the legendary Seal of Eomandyx, said to contain his infinite power, away forever. Yet all would tell the tale of the legendary Eomandyx - whose final stand had nearly slain two demigods and released such a deluge of grudges and negative energies that the entire Qui-Bai Savannah was plagued with Undead Superstorms for decades to come. However, it was not until centuries later that followers began to emerge - followers that claimed that, in his true and ultimate subversion of death, Eomandyx had ascended into Sainthood thanks to the hands of Hannoxyn, Duchess of the Abyss - who took the Uberlich into her court and made him one of her most powerful Saints...and while rumors of this ascension have yet to be conclusively proven, his followers remain adamant that his ascension is not only real, but a testament to their Saint's post-mortem vidication in the eyes of The Spirit Kings. Until such a day as the claims of his followers can be verified, Eomandyx has been as such tentatively relegated to the halls of the Wild Gods - a fact which has only annoyed and infuriated his followers.
...putting aside active necromancy for a moment, how could anyone deny that Necrolysis is a natural process? Necrolysis - the gathering of negative emotions and energies in a given area that gives rise to naturally-forming Undead; It is no more unnatural of a process than the growing of trees, or the blowing of the wind - another part of this world crafted by the Spirit Kings. Yet not a single druid, cleric, or scholar of any renown will admit to this truth - curious, is it not?
Divine Classification
His followers claim he has ascended into an Elemental Saint. This however, is unconfirmed, so he may be a Wild God.
Alignment
Children
Example Divine Oaths
Oath of Vengeance: Rest at nothing until the target of your revenge is slain. Forego all creature comforts, amenities, and similar comforts until you achieve your vengeance. Let no act or deed be beyond your means to achieve this revenge, and never let the flame of vengeance fade from your heart until the deed is done. Make the target of your revenge suffer as much as you have.
Oath of Eomandyx: Seek the means of eternal life by any means possible, no matter the cost in blood or suffering to achieve it. Hone your skills until they are without equal, and never turn down a duel or similar gauntlet when it is made to you.
Oath of the Final Battle: Having survived a battle in which you should have died, stay alive at all costs until you can throw yourself into odds even more overwhelming than before to die in a Final Stand of utmost legend. Let no death be as grandiose nor as legendary as your own when it comes, and never turn your back on a battle of overwhelming odds.
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