Voice of Dagon
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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Psychic Assault
Contents |
An Excerpt From Ancient Ruins Found Near Atlantis
In the beginning there was only madness. No life. No order. No sanity.
Before Gaia, before the gods, before magic itself the world was little more than primordial slime, bubbling and boiling away in the oblivion of space. From the stars they fell, exiles from their own kith and kin, exiles from their own powers. Praise Father Dagon. Praise Mother Hydra.
Mother Hydra birthed first life. Father Dagon wrote first laws. From this slime, from this chaos they brought order. The Mal'yr rose, the black city ascended to the Heavens and all was well. But in the oblivion of the void, in the nothingness that came before all others stirred. Like moths to a flame they floated about this world, jealous of its order. These sparks, these ambitions which would bring the Great Fall. Praise Father Dagon! Praise Mother Hydra! Ia! Ia!
The jealous sparks grew in time, even as Father Dagon ruled, proud of his empire in exile. And when the first spark grew greatest she began the process of the Fall. Her name was Gaia and she brought life to the world. One stage after the other. First she spawned the Titans, who warred with the Mal'yr, toppling the city from the sky, casting them to the cold, cruel blackness of the sea. And when the Titans became uncontrolled she bore forth the Gods themselves. All of Father Dagon's work undone, his laws overwritten, his magics cast aside as new gods took his place. All of Mother Hydra's work forgotten, Gaia herself stealing the praise of life itself. Ia! Ia! Praise Dagon! Death to those of the air!
With the new gods the Mal'yr were forgotten. Swept to the deepest reaches of the seas, cast away from the stars. There Dagon slumbers to this day. There Mother Hydra lies, forgotten. There we grew older, wiser and far, far more hateful. Such hate for those who stole the lights. Such hate for those who stole the skies and cast us to the forgotten abyss. Their New Gods faltered, withered and waned yet we remained. Eternal. Forever strong, such was the pride with which Father Dagon made us. Praise Dagon! Ia! Ia!
Over time we waited. We struck when the moments were right, when the stars were aligned and the lost children of the first true gods stirred from their eternal slumber. It is we who first taught Man of fear. It is we who first taught Man of treachery. When hated Atlantis sank and began to encroach on our territories the wars of the Abyss started. We drove the Atlanteans back, away from what was forbidden and thrived until our own turned and sympathised with the weak ones. We cast them out and waited. Patiently so. Waited for the right time to rise once more.
Now is that time.
The Eye and The Maw
The Voice is an ancient and incredibly alien evil, the likes of which the world has not truly encountered before. Where From the Depths is an oddity amongst the hero community for his lack of understanding, broken and almost archaic communication techniques and cold logic, he is also very young. Much of the strangeness can be attributed to his lack of experience and to a degree his willing immersion in the cultures of others.
This is not so for The Voice. The Voice is ancient, even for his unnaturally long lived species and has had enough experience to become bitter, hateful and extremely xenophobic. He considers others to be utterly expendable, playing with them as though they were pieces on a chessboard, sacrificing friend and foe alike all in service of his greater purpose. Even more disturbing is his open and deep connection with a god that's not just forbidden and taboo but also largely forgotten. Where the deities of the Banished Pantheon are loathed and reviled they are at least still known, to an extent. Their actions and the actions of their followers are something that can be expected. Others will know of them and as such contingency plans can be set in place. Dagon remains a relative unknown. An ancient, eldritch horror from beyond the stars whose taint and corruption has been seeping slowly into the hearts and souls of all that lives.
As such his High Priest, who is also an elected member of the ruling council of 'his' people is almost akin to an avatar of sorts. And with alien motives, a complete lack of empathy or remorse toward other living creatures and an unnatural chill about his person he shows the god to be a cold, cruel and alien god at that.
Histories Untold
The history of The Voice stretches back aeons and as such is likely not to be discovered by mortal beings unless through very thorough, very precise research. Even then it will be piecemeal, with the only one knowing the true story being the High Priest himself. It is said he started life as one of the first Mal'yr spawned by Mother Hydra, one of the first ten to learn the Laws of Dagon. And of these ten his abilities were the greatest, most potent and with the most potential for development.
Such was his potential, such was his dedication to the laws set out before him that he was a natural choice to take the role of Priest and Preacher. Even the other nine spawned looked to him for guidance, setting into motion the events that would form the structure of the Mal'yr culture in the aeons to follow. Upon acceptance of his role he took the title of The Voice, eschewing his given name for duty, just as the others did. Over time the others faded with age, their positions being usurped by their favoured students yet this has never been the case with the Voice.
For generations he has remained constant, a High Priest of a forgotten god, a leader looked to for wisdom. His plans and actions often take centuries to unfold for he exists on a different scale of time from most beings. Where to some plans must occur within hours, days or months at most he is prepared to wait aeons.
The greatest betrayal in the long history of the Mal'yr and for the Voice in particular came with the defection of three of the Sects in favour of the Atlanteans. Civil War erupted between the Mal'yr and one of these Sects was utterly annihilated, the remaining two retreating to the protection of their newfound allies. The Voice's own personal insult was that one of these defectors was rumoured and strongly hinted to being descended from him, though this is unconfirmed. The intense hatred he displays towards this defector's particular sect - the Ash'yrsk implies that there may be some fragment of truth deep within the intrigues of the Mal'yr politics however.
The Black City - Home of the Mal'yr
The Black City is the primary residence of the Mal'yr, a jagged scar in the deepest parts of the world's oceans. It is here that the forgotten children of Dagon live, exiles from the surface world following the rise of Gaia and the birth of the Gods. It is a cold, cruel and alien place with geometries that defy logic, powered by the hidden essences of sleeping stellar nightmares that are worshipped as gods.
The Mal'yr are highly xenophobic and as such no living surface dweller has seen the city in its true nature. All information that has been gleamed has come from the survivors of the defector Castes following a brutal civil war and an alliance with Atlantis itself. The Mal'yr exist in a strict culture, ruled by faith in their unholy gods and a strict structure of castes and sects as set by a Council of Elders. At the head of this council sits The Voice, the oldest surviving Mal'yr, head of his particular Sect and the head of the Church of Dagon as a whole. Long ago ten seperate Sects existed within the black city though three split off, their natures turning out much different from the bitter and hateful creed preached by the Voice.
A brutal Civil War followed and the exiles fled, seeking refuge with the recently arrived Atlanteans who had the misfortune to sink into the heart of things.
Atlantis - Home of the Exiles
Atlantis has become the new home of the exiled Sects since the civil war that tore the Mal'yr apart thousands of years ago. There, amongst the peoples of the golden city they are viewed with suspicion and fear, for the horrors inflicted upon the culture by the Mal'yr when the city first sank were great indeed.
Var and the other exiles have found themselves at home and well adapted within the archives and mystic quarters, their abilities to absorb, understand and organise the vast libraries of knowledge proving a valuable asset, as well as their experience from their long lived existences. To the Atlanteans these Dark Ones have become welcome, though tales of their kin are still told to frighten children into behaving.
The Outside World
The Voice and a number of others of the Council have since surfaced within the Surface World, often in direct conflict with the Empire of Atlantis. Their motives are uncertain but almost always involve some sort of divine or arcane purpose, often connected to lore relating to the birth or death of deities and similar entities. It has been hypothesised that they are acting to restore Dagon and Mother Hydra to their former glory, possibly through the conquest or death of the younger gods. Or it could be something as simple as theological revenge against the younger races and cultures that have opposed them.
Following the repeated skirmishes with the Atlanteans and their allies the Voice himself started to search out other surface allies with 'similar' goals of conquest and domination. The less they knew of the Mal'yr's true intentions the better...likewise, the greater their hatred of the heroic opposition the better. The Voice did not have to search far. One group had come before the public eye following a number of skirmishes against heroic groups and he was in a position to barter.
He would offer them access to his knowledge, his people's knowledge and arcane support for their endeavours in return for support of his own goals and actions when the time was right. Such was the offer made to the United Underworld.
United Underworld - Allies or Pawns?
The Voice remains infuriatingly enigmatic and hostile, even to those he supposedly has allied himself with. The Atlanteans, if they had cared for the actions of a group of villains doubtless would have warned them off any alliances with the Mal'yr due to past experience with plots and treachery that had lay in waiting for over three thousand years in advance. There's certainly no doubt that the Voice and his kin plan treachery again at some point. It is the way of their kind. Xenophobia does not just disappear because of a fragile alliance.
However, it is also noted that the Mal'yr have made no efforts to hinder their newfound allies, offering their archives and knowledge as requested and a promise unlike any other. For in order to accomplish the Voice's ultimate goal their mortal allies will need to be infused with comparable power of their own to face off against gods themselves. Despite potential treachery the promise of godhood, however temporary is certainly not one to be overlooked.
The Voice has also started to strike 'pacts' with others, the one of most note being The Shogun Of Sorrow. In return for his arcane talents and the knowledge of his people for whenever the Shogun enacts his own schemes the Voice will take one week worth of dreams from the Mortal, for his own goals. A steep price, one which can and will ultimately lead toward the path of madness...madness which will feed the Maw of Dagon and strengthen his presence in the depths. As such each Pact comes with a price. Though the services and knowledge offered are most potent, so is the price to be paid. The Voice had no qualms with the effects this may have on others for all things have a purpose...
But whether his allies would be sacrificed in the grand scheme of the Maw as little more than pawns? That remains to be seen.
Allies and Enemies
The concept of 'friends' is naturally alien to an ancient xenophobic race, however the concept of allies isn't. Listed below are the known allies and enemies of The Voice and by extension the Mal'yr themselves, for such is his position within their culture.
Allies
United Underworld - The United Underworld are currently the closest allies of the Voice and the only 'outsiders' that the Voice is prepared to trust to any extent. That said it is not a solid alliance. It is by its nature fragile as doubtless his enigmatic and alien nature sets others against him however the promises he and his kind have made have made his eccentric nature well worthwhile. He also provides very potent divine and arcane support for the United Underworld's endeavours as well as psionic capabilities unrivalled by any other living creatures.
Nine-Ball - Nine-Ball was responsible for forging the alliance between the United Underworld and the Mal'yr. In addition he is a capable psion himself, something that the Voice respects for it shows a sign that this man is perhaps a higher evolved member of his loathed species. In addition he has demonstrated patience, another trait that the younger races seem to lack. And for a race as long lived as the Mal'yr patience is only natural, for who else can initiate a plot several thousand years in length?
The Shogun Of Sorrow - This human appears to be motivated purely by greed and other base instincts, dabbling with artifacts and relics that he has little understanding of. However, for all that he also was somewhat easy to lure into the first Pact with the Mal'yr, trading a week of his dreams for the Voice's service later on. This was most amusing and doubtless this human's response will be most entertaining when he realises the full extent of what he has agreed to.
Enemies
Empire of Atlantis - The Atlanteans are by far the greatest threat to the Mal'yr, for they are the only ones who know of their true nature, purpose and indeed the general location of the Black City itself. Theirs has been a silent war beneath the waves for countless millenia and only when the Atlanteans ventured to the surface did the Mal'yr follow. It is, in effect an arms race. As one side calls for allies so does the other, the struggle of the seas threatening to consume the surface in this way.
Varcy'th'shk - The Voice has a particular hatred for this one, the current leader of the traitor Sects who defected to the Atlanteans all those centuries ago. Worse still, this one is young and inexperienced, a concept that is infuriating for one that is utterly ancient and has ruled his people for close to an eternity.
Leviathas - The Atlantean King is another one particularly hated amongst his kind. The man is a complete polar opposite of the Mal'yr ways, headstrong, reckless, impetuous and warlike. How such a being can be considered a viable source of leadership eludes the Voice and the Mal'yr Council of Seven. There is no control, no wisdom and no implied knowledge beyond little more than conflict...surely a sign of a doomed empire.
Nikias Antaeus - As the current head of the Church of Poseidon, Nikias is the embodiment of the young usurper god that has encroached on Dagon's domain. As such his death would be symbolic, a strike against the heart of one god by the chosen of another.
The Challengers - At the moment the Voice knows little of this group nor does he care. All that is known is that his surface allies have a strong hatred of members of this group and such a thing should be mutual. He has been told their intents are heroic in nature and as such they'd be more likely to ally with the Atlanteans than the Mal'yr in any coming conflict. But other than that, there is no specific hatred present for them.
Sovereign Fist - The Voice had to unfortunately work alongside this so called 'Challenger' following the inevitable betrayal of Autosaurus Wrecks and his turn against his 'allies'. He found this man to be arrogant. Foolish, brash, impatient and irritatingly young, sticking to a dated and flawed ideal of heroism that The Voice knows full well to be a lie, having seen such ideals emerge and fall in the long war against Atlantis.
The Babbling of Lesser Minds
The opinions of others are encouraged to go here. Even the less evolved ones.
If I Was A Deep One...
- The Voice of Dagon, naturally, is something of a homage to H.P. Lovecraft, his vision of the unnatural fish god and the Deep Ones that serve him. There are some differences, mainly to help fit in with EoA Lore, even though Lovecraft's works are considered public domain.
- The Voice of Dagon has some inspiration in the stereotypical evil alien overlord concept that can be found in modern media. A very good example of the sort of schemes that he would come up and his mannerisms is Rath-Amon, from the Conan The Adventurer cartoon in the 1990s.
- The Voice has been around conceptually since early 2009 - admittedly as a shadowy background character and villain for the Empire of Atlantis. In time he has developed and with the advent of Dark Control there was finally enough to make an enjoyable PC version of him.
- There is a lot of background material on the Mal'yr. A lot. If you ask nicely I might either make a VV page for them or tell you the crazyness.
