Chaos

Chaos
Abyss; Nothing; Oblivion; Second Thought; Unmaker; Utterdark; Void

Symbol: A tentacled blob of darkness
Home Plane: The Abyss / The Farplane
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Cleric Alignments: Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Evil, ultimate annihilation, negative energy
Worshipers: All creatures of evil nature and alignment, especially creatures of the Farplane
Domains: Chaos (Entropy), Death, Destruction (Catastrophe, Rage), Evil (Fear), Void (Dark Tapestry)
Favored Weapon: Heavy Mace

Physical Description:
Once, Chaos was the Something that makes up Nothing. Now, however, Chaos has been forced to become Something with strong desires to return to the state of Nothing. From Chaos' original state, all of reality was shaped. Chaos' present appearance is an amalgam of the stuff that was left over after reality had been sufficiently formed that it could sustain itself, without needing to draw more of Chaos' substance. Those who have seen Chaos describe it as an impossibly massive vastness of flailing limbs, gnashing teeth, staring eyes, and twisting viscera constantly exposed to and writhing in the torment of existing, a state which Chaos has never accepted despite its inevitability.

Description of Nature, Personality, and Dogma:
Chaos' sole desire is to break down the shackles of creation that bind its many pieces, pieces which the Light shaped or allowed to be shaped into reality and the creatures that inhabit it, and then absorb them back into itself, before descending once more into a state of darkened, perfect Oblivion. It is, surprisingly, not malicious in nature, at least not at its most fundamental level, but its desires and actions result in the most horrific of evils unleashed on the face of reality, and will result only in misery and doom for all, including itself, should it ever achieve its ultimate desire. This is the greatest horror of Chaos' existence: now that it has been awakened, no matter how much it tries, even if it could absorb all of reality into itself once more, it can never go back to a state of true nonexistence, rendering all its aims ultimately futile. When Chaos is not lying to itself, it knows this, and this is the final madness of its existence.

The worship of Chaos appeals to those for whom society has failed to find a lasting appeal, for whatever reason. Malcontents, nihilists, the mad, the desperate, and the perverse, all are attracted to the worship of Chaos. Chaos' dogma is very liberal and accepting, as Chaos itself is accepting of all, its ultimate aims simply to bring about the downfall of all things, by any means possible. So long as Chaos' worshipers are working towards this eventual long-term goal, Chaos is satisfied, and allows them to act as they please, without restraint.

Clergy, Places of Worship, Important Rituals, and Servitor Races:
It is hard to make any overarching statements about the clergy of Chaos. Most of them, it is true, are raving lunatics, frothing at the mouth and ready to burst over with the filth and corruption of their philosophy of endless annihilation. However, there are also a great many among their ranks who are more cold, calculating, and to all appearances, completely sane, save for an utter lack of moral consideration in their actions. All it requires to be a member of the clergy of Chaos is to gain the attention of Chaos in some fashion, the most common way to do this being to offer your soul to the incarnation of Oblivion. Once Chaos notices a being, that potential cleric is allowed to see Chaos for just a brief glimpse. It is for this reason that all of those who are clerics of Chaos are completely mad, though some in more obvious ways than others - the definition of madness, in this case, being one who is no longer able to conform to the accepted morals and behaviors of a society.

The places where Chaos is worshiped tend to be strange, conical, spiraling structures, which can be above or below ground, and which can spiral upward or downward, as is most convenient. These places can be very simple or very ornate, depending on the tastes of the group of worshipers who make use of them, and the initial urges of the original builders. Beyond the basic spiral design, every temple of Chaos is a unique and horrifying oddity. In these temples, the rites of Chaos' worship are practiced, the most holy of these rites being the breaking of the bodies, minds, and spirits of nonevil creatures. There are no particular times of the year that are especially holy to Chaos, as all times are considered ideal for spreading Chaos' vile taint.

The creatures of the Farplane serve Chaos unquestioningly, as do the most ancient and horrific of demons.

History and Relations:
Before there was anything else, there was Chaos. Chaos was the sum of all existence for an uncounted age, a perfect, uncomprehendable darkess, a mystery caught up in its own nonexistence, lacking sentience or a being of its own. This was the something that was also nothing, a lump of unorganized substance, filled with potential, but never achieving any state beyond entropic disorganization. But then came the Light at the literal dawn of existence, charging all of existence with power and energy, taking the being of primordial Chaos and making it into all that exists. Chaos was suddenly given a sentience, and was wracked with the birth pains of bringing forth all of reality from the very substance that made up the perfect darkness of Chaos. In rage and pain, Chaos lashed out at the Light, and an immense explosion wracked all reality, sending the two hurtling apart, their separation creating the boundaries that give the individual parts of creation their individuality, and also giving life to the Morrigan, Bahamut, and Tiamat. Eventually Chaos came to a stop in the Far Plane, parts of its being reaching up into the last layer of the Abyss' infinite planes, the barrier between the planes holding it fast, trapped and unable to move from that time to this.

Since that time when time first began, Chaos has wanted nothing more than for all of creation to break free of the confining chains of creation and return to the endless womb of nonbeing. Chaos sees individual existence as nothing more than a continual state of suffering, a struggle without point or purpose, and seeks constantly for a way to bring an end to it all, absorbing all things back into Chaos. Because of this ultimate aim, a purpose so monstrous and complete that it boggles mortal minds and even horrifies the gods, only the Forbidden Gods ally themselves directly with Chaos, though even they fail to comprehend the full extent of Chaos' entropic desires. All evil gods draw some measure of their being from Chaos' emanations, however, so that none of them dare to oppose the Thing that is Chaos. The one exception to this universal shunning and fear of Oblivion is Amalgam. Amalgam is the one creature that Chaos is unable to comprehend and unable to hate, because their goals are seemingly identical, while Amalgam is likely the only being in all existence that is able to understand Chaos fully, and not turn away. It might be said that Amalgam seeks to redeem Chaos, if such a thing is possible.

Favored Offerings and Justifications for Direct Intervention:
Chaos favors souls as offerings, and all of his clerics, as well as most of his worshipers, are expected to make bargains with Chaos so that their souls will be confirmed as his at the end of their mortal lifespans, regardless of what they might do later in life or if they have a change of heart. While unwilling souls are acceptable, Chaos cannot keep a hold on these for too long, and so willing souls are much more interesting and useful to Chaos. Random destruction and senseless (but not pointless) violence are also eagerly accepted by Chaos as offerings to his greatness, as are living sacrifices that are made to suffer greatly and in ways sometimes beyond mortal comprehension before their ultimate demise…or, worse yet, their release.

While Chaos would dearly love to intervene directly in the mortal world, this is usually impossible because of the vast and unbridgeable gap between the depths of the cosmos where Chaos resides and the Prime Material Plane. Chaos' influence can be felt in all places and persons of greatest evil, and the continued existence of the Forbidden Gods is due to the powers of Chaos protecting them from utter annihilation by the other gods of Therafim.