Lord of Darkness, The Primeval Chaos, The Whispering Shadow

Domains: Death, Trickery

Once upon a time, Chernobog’s malice was weak, spread too widely through the Sea of Chaos to influence anything. However, when order was given to the world and all primal elements separated from each other, Chernobog’s essence concentrated into a singular entity of disorder, chaos, malice, and corruption. Many sages argue how this immaterial and formless being influences the material world at all. But no matter the method, one thing is certain: from the deepest pits to the highest celestial halls, the Whispering Shadow spreads its maddening corruption. Each shadow or evil deed is a glimpse into Chernobog’s darkness, and mortal minds shatter when the Lord of Darkness whispers. 

The common folk don’t normally pray to, or acknowledge, Chernobog as a god. However, all know better than to mock the Primeval Chaos’s power. The corrupt cacophony of whispers emanating from this boundless force of entropy has plagued reality since its conception. The Lord of Darkness has a simple ethos: return existence to its primal state, the Sea of Chaos it was before Rod’s divine order. The Primeval Chaos has always been an intrinsic part of reality, for order exists in opposition to chaos, and only in darkness can light shine its brightest. 

Although there are no temples dedicated to the Lord of Darkness, nor is organized worship common, fanatical and sinister cults have formed to spread the whispers of this ancient entity throughout the world. A handful of wizards, witches, warlocks, and even divine beings have barely managed to resist Chernobog’s temptation and corruption while mastering the dark art of channeling the Primeval Chaos’s power for themselves. Among the untainted wielders of the Whispering Shadow’s chaos magic are Kostchei the Deathless and Baba Yaga. 

Followers of the Lord of Darkness wear masks made of flesh when performing their depraved, unholy rituals. The masks are marked with a branding iron on their stitched lips, symbolizing the whispers of Chernobog passed down as orders to its cult leaders and followers. Some have even built profane shrines in the name of Chernobog, dark altars that act as machines for misery and malice. 

The All-Consuming Void of Tiarn. The Lord of Darkness does not reside in any heavenly plane, nor mortal world. As Chernobog is the very evil of existence, the Primeval Chaos is everywhere at once. The traveling void of Tiarn, as it is referred to by scholars, reaches every plane of existence, even the heavenly ones. Tiarn is woven out of darkness, its surface covered by a semi-sentient black and sludgy blight. Only undead and fiends, Chernobog’s cruel children, inhabit Tiarn. 

This void of a plane was once used to hide the cosmic debris from the divine clashes between the gods and Chernobog’s corrupt minions. The Lord of Darkness took control of this plane, spawning agents of chaos and servitude, and now this soulless place is a reflection of the darkness and evil in every other plane of existence. 

To halt the Primeval Chaos is to halt reality itself— this is the eternal struggle between the Starborn and Chernobog.