Fiction:The Firmament/Xhuulthanol

"From beyond the veil of stars, it watches. It cares for one thing and one thing alone; to consume. Attempts to appease it are fitule, for all you do is delay the inevitable. The Firmament is already doomed."

- Unknown

Xhuulthanol is the god of aberrations, the unknown, cataclysms and natural disasters. Considered the most illusive of the greater deities due to its lack of influence among mortalkind, it is nonetheless considered one of the more dangerous forces of the Firmament, bent on consuming all who cross its path.

Appearance
Xhuulthanol is an enormous invertebrate with a leathery dark purple hide. Its head resembles a cephalopod, with two pairs of glowing red eyes rising on top of five large tendrils where its mouth should be. Its bulky mass is armored with a spiked bony carapace and its body ends in a long, lashing tail. From its back, a mass of tendrils forms the vague silhouette of wings. An enormous scar crosses its midsection, received when Xhuulthanol was mauled by Varagarash Narahil during their greatest battle.

History
Xhuulthanol's involvement in the Firmament's history is very poorly documented, being arguably the least known of the greater gods. According to certain myths, it was a "by-product" of Aether's creation of the Firmament, perhaps serving as a counter-force seeking its unmaking. However, Aether's worshippers deny this theory, and instead claim Xhuulthanol is a being alien to the Firmament; a parasite outside of Aether's control who arrived to the Firmament by means unknown.

In the first eons of the universe, Xhuulthanol consumed many worlds and fought many battles against the gods, emerging victorious again and again. But when Varagarash Narahil, a creature as old and unfathomable as Xhuulthanol itself, rose into prominence, the two beings fought one another for dominance; Xhuulthanol was torn apart and practically slaughtered by Varagarash, and only survived the encounter due to the World Worm not bothering to eradicate its body. The Squirming Nightmare hid within the Ethereal Plane to heal its wounds, and most gods have only heard rumours of it since.

Realm
The Faceless One makes its lair in the Ethereal realm known as the Pit of K'tharn, of which little is known, for those who venture there generally do not return.

Personality
An unfathomable and malevolent entity, Xhuulthanol's goal in existence seems to be the complete destruction of the Firmament as it is known. Its motives are not known, though due to the existence of beings who claim it as their progenitor, it might be that the Darkness Beyond seeks to consume the Firmament and replace it with an universe more fitting for its tastes and needs. Other deities have attempted to interact with Xhuulthanol in order to either understand its motives or subdue it, and they have learned of it beyond its clear hostility.

Relationships

 * Allies
 * N/A


 * Ambivalent
 * N/A


 * Enemies
 * Aether - Xhuulthanol seeks to devour Aether and all she has created.
 * Varagarash Narahil - Varagarash once almost destroyed Xhuulthanol, and the Faceless One seeks retribution.

Cult of Xhuulthanol
Xhuulthanol does not seek mortal worship, but has been revered by some across history. Most of its worshippers are monsters and aberrations who consider it to be their progenitor, congregating their reverence around bone idols and bloody sacrifices. Members of non-monstrous races who worship Xhuulthanol generally only do so due to contacting it by accident or due to insanity, and they gravitate towards indoctrinating others to join them in their maddened pursuits. Cults dedicated to Darkness Beyond are extremely rare, however, as they are typically hunted down by all other faiths, including the cults of other dark gods.