Fiction:The Firmament/Analuhati

"And in the blood-drenched libraries of Hell, where knowledge is power, the bat king reads from his tome, from which he learns everything. The world of mortals will serve as the testing grounds of his experiments."

- Irkallan Epitaph, describing Analuhati

Analuhati is the demon lord of forbidden knowledge, plots and schemes, and hubris, and is widely considered to be the patron deity of vampires; many evidences suggest him to be the original creator of the vampire curse.

Appearance
Analuhati manifests as a very tall and thin creature resembling a monstrous gargoyle. His skin is black and red, and his head is adorned with a pair of curved horns. A pair of large wings sprout from his back and a long tail trails behind him. He has prominent fangs which protrude from his mouth, like those of a vampire, except every one of his teeth is equally sharpened. He is typically depicted carrying his unholy tome, the Incircumscriptus, under his arm.

History
Analuhati is an ancient being. Primordial ruins state he was involved in the Great Gap as one of the demon lords unleashed into the Material Plane by Varagarash Narahil's planar breach; they tell of an immense, bloodthirsty bat creature who ruled over the night and terrorized the old Primordials, until he was banished back to Irkalla with the rest of demonkind by the greater gods.

The Lord of Bats is most famed for the creation of vampirism; the human lord Varelos von Aschenbrener and his wife, Anian Meidner, sought Analuhati desiring power and immortality for the purpose of ruling the lands of Nitchland, which the demon lord granted to them with a blood pact that transformed them into formidable undead creatures who would become known as the first vampires. As vampirism was spread across the world, the demon's influence grew tenfold, solidifying his status as a lord among his kind. Analuhati's followers claim he also inspired the creation of gargoyles (animated or otherwise) by subconsciously leading mortals into creating effigies of himself. The demon lord himself neither confirms nor denies this, but always claims it to be an "entertaining" thought.

Realm
Analuhati's realm in Irkalla is known as Sanguine Hill, a landscape drenched in blood where great libraries are maintained by demon scholars. It is said that this library has a copy of every mortal document ever written, from the most elaborated lore books to the most insignificant peasant notes. Below the library are the pits known as the Testing Grounds, where demons torment the souls of those damned into Analuhati's grasp and record the results for their master.

Cult of Analuhati
Analuhati is primarily worshiped by scholars, researchers, doctors and archaeologists who are not afraid to get their hands dirty to uncover ancient or eldritch lore, and by many clans of vampires, who treat him as their god progenitor; his is the state religion of the nation of Duskwood. He is a heavy believer that power should be acquired through force, and that the ends justify the means. However, he is also an exceptionally cruel deity, and often makes those who either fail or oppose him suffer unimaginable amounts of torment for eternity. Analuhati lacks a true church among non-vampires, and worship of him is typically done either by lone individuals or cell-based cults hidden away in dark corners of civilization; most of the civilized world considers the followers of his dogma to be criminals.

Priests of Analuhati are typically vampires, cultist lords or clerics who have gained favour from the demon lord and have been granted power as a result; a process which inevitably damns their souls to Sanguine Hill upon death. Analuhati demands utmost obedience from his followers, and while he typically leaves them to their own devices for (often very) long periods of time, he expects them to be available to do his bidding at all times. Followers of the demon lord are difficult to discern from the average person, as they make great efforts to hide their allegiances. The largest temple to the demon lord in Telamon is called the Bloodhalls of Analuhati, located in southern Duskwood. Many followers also create small shrines in order to commune with him, often taking the form of a small idol, drenched in blood and flanked by gargoyles.

Artifacts
A number of artifacts of Analuhati have found their way into Telamon. The most notable include the Haemophagist, a sword which causes permanent bleeding to those it strikes, the All-Knowing, a staff which can easily summon demons from Irkalla into other realms, and Natchland's Demise, the greatsword of Count Varelos which devours souls and transfers their agony to those it wounds later.