Shax

Shax is a Lord of the Abyss, whose dominion over secrets, betrayals, vengence, and the quiet knife have earned him a variety of eipthets, such as The Blood Marquis, Consort of Lies, and Speaker of Murders. He was once a demon, born of the chaos of the Abyss, but has lived longer than some gods and has risen to a commensurate level of power. His worship is especially common among assassins; his commandments demand betrayal, and even his most devout servants know better than to trust him.

A chaotic evil diety, his symbol is a blooded dagger in a mortal's grip. Divine spellcasters inspired by the Lord of Forbidden Lore gain access to the Chaos, Evil, Charm, and trickery domains. His profane weapon is, unsurprisingly, a dagger. His sacrifices include most venomous or toxic animals, but scorpions are particularly valued.

History

Shax's origins are shrouded in the mystery of time and the volatility of his native realm, the Abyss. Shax is a Lord of the Abyss whose domain is expansive, and while his cult is extensive and he is generous with his gifts to his followers, the nature of his cults tends to attract opposition from more organized faiths quickly, making large and historic campaigns of his influence impossible. In point of fact, Blood Marquis intentionally encourages this distrust between and even within his cults, hampering their effectiveness by causing them to periodically expurgate themselves when his infernal purpose for them has been met.

Relationships

All of the Lords of the Abyss war with each other constantly, shifting alliances amongst each other in like manner to how mortals shift their clothes. Shax must stand alone in the Abyss; as the literal prince of betrayal, even demons refuse to trust him. Instead, he is a courtly and kindly demon (by their standards), quicker to treat with his neighbours than immediately war with them. This is bolstered by his obsequient behavior around gods such as San Verus or San Meteo, who view him as a useful monster and will occasionally support him against his rivals.

Appearance

Shax may well not have a "natural" form. He can appear as any manner of demon or creature he chooses - including the other Lords of the Abyss. He invariably chooses the form most likely to elicit the appropriate response in the viewer, very often appearing before them as a courtly member of their own race and culture, a favourable potential romantic partner, or whatever he supposes will most impress upon them his pseudo-divine nature.

Realm

Shax's realm is unmoored in space within The Abyss and is both redesigned and changed with every Firchliss. It is almost always palatial, and goes by the name of the Court of Shadows.

Providence

Shax is the Emir of the Upset. His providence is in the untimely demise of an enemy, especially where such a demise was delivered by a trusted ally or a sudden accident, and the enemy was otherwise untouchable. He is the Count of the Coup d'Etat and the Regent of Revolutions.

Servants

Many species of demon pledge their loyalty to Lords of the Abyss, among whom Abraxas is no exception. While Dretches are, as always, over-represented, he is also popular among the Contraverti.

Church

One can hardly call the followers of Abraxas a church. Occasionally, a cell of cultists may grow no larger than a half-dozen members in size. - beyond that, they often begin to tear each other apart. By far the vast majority of his worshippers are single individuals.

Worshippers

Shax's worshippers are like snowflakes - each different. They share, however, a great commonality, in that all seek deception. The vast majority seek the deceptive knife, the friendly smile that hides the fangs of a predator - some for gain, many for vengeance, and a few to satisfy some forbidden hunger. When cells form around him they often originate in - or become - conspiracies to affect change. His cults are as likely to be rogue members of the Order of the Obulus as they are a minority of villagers convinced their Lord has fallen to devil-worship.

Clergy

A rare few of Shax's followers survive long enough - or show talent enough - to escape his games against them and instead attract his (often fleeting) support. They become warlocks of his lieutenants or even clerics of Shax directly.

Shax creates rare oracles, usually as a form of trickery against followers who have outlived their usefulness. Such oracular children are imbued with power but cursed with rage and lies, ultimately doomed to slay until slain themselves.

Temples & Shrines

Shax's followers can rarely organize themselves well enough to raise a temple, which is just as well, as his worship is illegal throughout Wisteria.

Holy Texts

The Lords of the Abyss consider nothing sacred. No word, much less a facsimile of their word, may be used to bind them. Their only teachings are that which they or their lieutenants or priest pass along to the next generation, and their only law is their current demand.