The Occult Lords

[Gryphos]

So I've been fleshing out the beliefs of the occultists in my world and I've come up with 'Occult Lords', beings of magic that entered the world through a door to a dark dimension. The occultists basically worship them as gods, but they aren't really. They can be killed like anything else, but they are immensely powerful. There are many of these Lords, but I've so far come up with six.

The King of Tails

A legendary creature said to reside in an immense underground complex of unknown location. It's a colossal rat-like creature with yellow eyes (like all Occult Lords) and rats crawling all over it. Primarily it's the king of rats, but it's also the king of cats, both rats and cats being heavily connected to the Occult. The King can possess any rat or cat at will and when possessed the animal's eyes will glow yellow. This has led to superstitions of yellow-eyed rats or cats bringing bad luck, while the occultists know that it means the King of Tails is watching.

The Bozu

A mysterious being that lives in the oceans off the country of Umiken. It's a huge black giant with features obscured by shadow other than it's glowing, circular yellow eyes. It sometimes emerges to block a seaship's path. When it encounters a ship sometimes it will attack and capsize it, but most of the time it just stands there and stares at the crew. Sailors who have met it talk about how they heard its whispers in their heads as it stared at them and some returning sailors have even been driven mad by it. Over time it's turned into a mythical boogeyman-like figure. Children in coastal towns are told to behave or else the Bozu will appear and turn its gaze on them. But occultists in Umiken worship it as one of their Lords, often actively searching for it in the ocean.

Gillderaire

Gillderaire was a real person, a wealthy aristocrat known for his dim yellow eyes, pale skin and the way he would dye his hair blue (atleast people assumed he dyed it). He would also never go out in direct sunlight unless his skin was entirely covered or shaded, thus he was also known for wearing a wide-rimmed hat.

The story goes that when he arrived in a city from a foreign land, there was a series of murders. Mostly prostitutes and homeless women, they all had their blood drained and had two puncture wounds on their necks. The murders went on for a year until by chance Gillderaire was caught red-handed by a group of constables. They tried to arrest him but he retaliated with great strength, killing one constable before they tried lethal methods. But the constables' guns had no effect, neither did their swords when they slashed at him. Only when the commander, the last surviving constable, stabbed him through the chest did Gillderaire fall down dead. He was due to be cremated three days later but when they went to retrieve him from the morgue they found that he had vanished, never to be seen again outside of whispered barroom claims.

It was a commonly held belief that Gillderaire was a vampire, but because of his apparent surviving a pierced heart, which normally kills a vampire, many occultists believe that Gillderaire is the original vampire, only able to be killed by direct sunlight. They worship him as an Occult Lord and when making a vampire they always sacrifice their victim on an altar to Gillderaire.

Mavetta

A folkloric figure in many regions. She’s described as a woman with yellow eyes who sits astride people in their beds and torments them in the night. She is worshipped by occultists as a patron of nightmares and illusion, two of their most valuable tools.

The Swordsman of the Aerie

A warrior said to reside in an aerie of giant eagles, though no one knows exactly where the aerie is meant to be. He wields a longsword and supposedly wears armour forged from the strongest and lightest steel. His eyes glow yellow through slits in his helmet. He is also known for travelling around by hanging from one of his giant eagle's talons with his free hand as it flies him around.

Stories were always told about him but his greatest sighting was at the then named 'Battle of the Swordsman', an aerial battle. He appeared suddenly and attacked both fleets indiscriminately, unable to be harmed due to his great speed and the strength of his armour as his sword sliced through the strong metal hulls as if they were nothing. His invincibility and power lead to the occultists worshiping him as one of their Lords.

The Fellfeather Keeper

The Fellfeather Vaults is a location of fairytale, said to hold immense power in its depths. But the fairytales are not extensive. The occultists know that not only does it hold power but it is also a prison to the Fellfeather Keeper. The Fellfeather Keeper is a shapeshifter, able to take many forms both large and small. His vaults are perhaps the most sought after location of the occultists, who wish to free the Keeper, who will then reward them with the contents of his vaults, the door through which magic flows into the world.


That's what I've come up with so far for the pantheon. I wanted to go for more unusual concepts than the usual 'god of water', 'god of fire' etc. I could use some more ideas for Occult Lords if any are had.

 

[ThinkerX]

Sounds like these Occult Lords are mostly of a less than benign nature. Still, I'll spot you one from my world:


The Waterman. A thin robed unspeaking figure who poles a long, narrow flat boat up and down an immense river system. He (?) is capable of traveling between any two points on said river system in the course of a single night, regardless of rapids, blockades and other obstacles. This entity has been known to transport the occasional passenger for the princely sum of two copper bits. While spotted mostly on the river, the Waterman has been known to quietly patronize riverside taverns, always claiming a shadowed seat, and always paying his tab in ancient copper.

 

[thecoldembrace]

I noticed that most of your Lords have the yellow eye thing. I don't know if this is something you intentionally did or not but it does seem to bind them together in someway. If you wanted them not to show properties similar to one another, I would at least change that. Also, I didn't know if you wanted all your Lords to be in the realm of... basically seeming to be evil or at least oriented towards that. You did say they came from a dark dimension, so it does have an influence that they might all be evil, but one thing I've tried to do in my own world was to make a few that came from basically Chaos to not fully orient themselves with "evil." It adds to the mystery and lore surrounding them all for one... if this guy seems kinda neutral and less evil than the others.. does that mean there might be one that is good? How do they view one another? How do cultists of one sect view others from a separate and so forth.

I wont go in depth on my own world, but I give a few of mine to give an example.

Three Sons: Born three times and killed three times, the son of three different gods of Chaos, he is referred to in lore as Three Sons, a man that while born of darkness fought against it in every incarnation, yet when he completed a great task in each life to rid the world of some powerful corruption or taint, he was always betrayed by those closest to him, those who walked in the light as he did. When he died the third time, he returned to the plane of death and there found one of his fathers, the Chaotic God Desedus, who returned the man to the world one last time to act as his personal herald. When he returned he brought Desedus's greatest plagues, a great pestilence, and undeath. Most scholars scoff at his story as nothing but a fairytale to frighten children, but followers of Chaos know he is real, and a very active presence in the world.

Dassa: The child of the Darkling God Siz, she is crafty, highly intelligent and has created a crude type of magic that the Darklings use as they have a natural aversion to the Shadow Weave, or the powers of Order. She rules next to her father and was the first to introduce the idea of working with Order against the forces of Chaos, or at least working behind the scenes to sabotage the workings of Chaos. Her from is a feminine version of her father, yet her flames burn an emerald green and her eyes burn black.
While humans know little of Siz or Dassa, it is the dwarves, who periodically come into contact in their deep tunnels with the Darklings, who often bring up lost, ancient treasure that was made by the dwarven ancestors, and trade it to the dwarfs for favors or things made and blessed by clerics of the Gods of Order to use in their war against Chaos.

I have many... many others, having dedicated years of time to the powers of Chaos and other in betweens for my world. I try and work in all spectrum's. I find it is best that even in the grey areas, there should be a lost power waiting... it invokes mystery, fear, and creates characters who are not just good or bad, but who drip colors of all shades to add to the intrigues.

 

[Queshire]

If we're giving examples I have one I've come up with. Feel free to tweak him if you want and use him in your story if you want but, eh, if you do decide to use a version of him can you give him a pretty minor role? I plan on making him a major character in my work so while a cameo would be cool, I wouldn't want anything more than that.
So here he is; Fat Ben. A character in folklore and rumor, everyone seems to have a friend of a friend that's had an encounter with Fat Ben. He's a giant of a man, ten feet tall and nearly as wide. Everything about him is BIG! His voice, his personality, his hunger and his thirst. He has a big beard of dirty, grey hair and eyes that are said to glow with mischief. (They don't actually) He wears layers and layers of dirty old clothing and at times you can glimpse styles of clothing in the shifting mass he wears that looks to be decades old.

Legends state that in the early years of the Empire, some 500 years ago, the Emperor defeated Fat Ben and now he's only allowed where no one should be, graveyards, woods, other places that are taboo to go to. If you should meet him he may give you a present, he may grant your deepest wish without you even have to ask, but take care. Fat Ben's gifts are cursed. Chaos and Misfortune is doomed to follow in their wake.

That's the legend though. In actuality Fat Ben is an immortal artificial human created by the Ancients some 1,000 years ago. He has Superman level strength and invunerabilty, but none of the flight or heat ray powers. His purpose is to exist, a living testament to the Ancients who made him and a witness to their fall. However he makes it a point to hunt down and investigate irregularities. His gifts aren't cursed. He just likes to help people out. The whole cursed aspect is completely psychological. He's not banished to the taboo parts of the world, but he and the Emperor did fight some 500 years ago. They ended up coming to an understanding an now Fat Ben breaking that understanding and showing up in civilization is a sign that the shit has really hit the fan.

Basically mix up Santa Claus with a Mountain Man and add in a pinch of the devil for his cursed gifts and you have Fat Ben.

EDIT: Just thought of another part of him. He's considered a figure of misfortune and chaos in general. Part of this is his gifts which can cause other people to get jealous of the gift and which people often end up just blaming their everyday misfortune and chaos on the gift. Other than that he's often seen at the scene of chaos and misfortune or where chaos and misfortune is about to break out. The problem us that people think he's the cause of it when he's just going where chaos is likely to break out or chasing after the chaos.

 

[Gryphos]

I noticed that most of your Lords have the yellow eye thing. I don't know if this is something you intentionally did or not but it does seem to bind them together in someway. If you wanted them not to show properties similar to one another, I would at least change that.

It's intentional. Yellow eyes and occult influence go hand and hand. All beings of the Occult have yellow eyes and when occultists do their magics their eyes often glow yellow. The most powerful occultists sometimes end up with permanently yellowed eyes from overexposure to the Occult.

Also, I didn't know if you wanted all your Lords to be in the realm of... basically seeming to be evil or at least oriented towards that. You did say they came from a dark dimension, so it does have an influence that they might all be evil, but one thing I've tried to do in my own world was to make a few that came from basically Chaos to not fully orient themselves with "evil." It adds to the mystery and lore surrounding them all for one... if this guy seems kinda neutral and less evil than the others.. does that mean there might be one that is good? How do they view one another? How do cultists of one sect view others from a separate and so forth.

The Occult Lords are mostly inherently evil beings. Mavetta psychologically tortures people for fun and the Swordsman of the Aerie revels in destruction. There are probably a few who aren't necessarily entirely evil, like the King of Tails, but all of them are certainly dangerous and unpredictable.

With regards to their attitudes toward each other, they keep their distances. Though they all came from the same place, they all have different goals, which more often than not are just to do their own thing, whether it be drinking blood or staring at ships. And occultists do acknowledge the existence of all Occult Lords, but the different sects will have a focus on a specific Lord. For instance one cult will be focussed on the idea of vampires and therefore be dedicated to Gillderaire, while another one will revere Mavetta for her power of illusions and nightmares. But, like the Lords themselves, they don't pay each other much attention, seeking their own interests above all else.

Feel free to tweak him if you want and use him in your story if you want but, eh, if you do decide to use a version of him can you give him a pretty minor role? I plan on making him a major character in my work so while a cameo would be cool, I wouldn't want anything more than that.

Oh don't worry. If there's one thing I hate it's plagiarism. I'm more just looking for inspiration for Lords as well as ideas for the whole relationship they have with their worshippers etc.

 

[Trick]

I have a character who fits the bill.

The super cliche part is that he is basically the Lord of Fire. Just wanted that out of the way. His mother had the gift of naming, insofar as she called it something and it became that something. She was made pregnant against her will by another figure of legend (he's the grandson of the Chaos god, who is viewed by humans as the devil, and thus he is half demon). So, the boy is born 1/4 demon and his mother names him Fire in her language. He has a volatile temper, unsurprisingly, and later travels with a half-demon wolf that he names Risk (the wolf can create illusions that multiply his number and imply that an entire pack follows him). He kills his own father by burying his black-nailed fingers into his head and neck and melting him from the inside out. He is generally moral but unpredictable due to his temper. He takes up residence in a forest overrun by demon hordes and sets about scouring them from existence.

He is tall and thin with long black and red hair. His skin is very pale and his eyes are deep brown but glow red when he's angry (you could do yellow if you want). He wears a cloak sewn of dragon leather that he stole from his father's corpse and his hat his reminiscent of the conical straw hats worn by Chinese farmers, though it is black.

He is also basically immortal, aging so slowly that no one can discern a change in him in an average lifetime (well over a hundred years). It is rumored that he is as powerful as the Chaos god himself and that even the god of Creation fears him. People invoke his name when they want protection from demons and whenever they must train a wild animal. He has been known to enter castles and other structures without the use of any door or window and to leave in a flash of smoke and flame.

It's not like you have to use him, I think he's awesome though (biased I guess)

 

[Gryphos]

He kills his own father by burying his black-nailed fingers into his head and neck and melting him from the inside out.

Ouch, that's grim.

But anyways, I've come up with another Occult Lord…

The Blind Huntsman

A bow-wielding hunter with no eyes who rides a black horse with flaming yellow eyes and also has a pack of fire-spitting hounds at his command. Though he may be blind, he can still navigate and shoot his prey with extreme accuracy. This is because, not only are his other senses extremely strong, enhanced by the Occult, but he also has the power to see through the eyes of his horse. Thus, he is never seen without it. He lost his eyes when the Swordsman of the Aerie took them to improve his own vision. Thus, the Swordsman and the Huntsman are arch-enemies, but they never openly fight because the Huntsman knows the Swordsman would kill him easily.

 

[Trick]

The Blind Huntsman

A bow-wielding hunter with no eyes who rides a black horse with flaming yellow eyes and also has a pack of fire-spitting hounds at his command. Though he may be blind, he can still navigate and shoot his prey with extreme accuracy. This is because, not only are his other senses extremely strong, enhanced by the Occult, but he also has the power to see through the eyes of his horse. Thus, he is never seen without it. He lost his eyes when the Swordsman of the Aerie took them to improve his own vision. Thus, the Swordsman and the Huntsman are arch-enemies, but they never openly fight because the Huntsman knows the Swordsman would kill him easily.

I like that a lot. I imagine a character so set upon his goals that he is driven to the extreme and never leaves his horse's back. This constant state of travel would leave him haggardly dressed but noble of bearing and he would definitely be someone you don't want coming after you...

 

[Gryphos]

Here's another one.

The Forgotten King

The once-mighty former master of all the Occult Lords. His appearance now is that of a decrepit, white-bearded old man. But he retains some air of power and dignity, wearing a crown upon his head and noble furs and silks (basically, think Gwyn from Dark Souls). He used to be the most powerful of the Lords, but now the only power within him is that which gives him immortality.

He used to rule over the Occult Lords and was the one who led them into the human realm through the Fellfeather portal. The Swordsman of the Aerie was his most faithful servant, along with the then not blind Huntsman. Together the two were like the King's left and right hands.

The King brought the power of the Occult to humanity. But over time the King began to realise the danger of the Occult and its corruption on mankind. So he sought to close the Fellfeather portal and stop the Occult energy flowing into the human realm. But many of the other Lords wouldn't let him do that. But they didn't figure out what the King was doing until it was too late. The King, after battling the later known as Fellfeather Keeper, defeated it and sealed the portal, the Keeper inside.

The few Lords that supported the King were crushed by the more powerful Lords that did not, including the Swordsman and the Huntsman. In the end, even the King was defeated, but not killed. He was imprisoned in an underground complex known later as the Crypts of Kings. The King of Tails also lives in the Crypts and is essentially the King's prison warden. Over time the King earned his name 'The Forgotten King', losing all of his power and turning into a husk of his former self, no more powerful than a human.