Nyxras (pronounced NICKS-riss) is the goddess of hedonism, decadence, catharsis, and nihilism.
Edicts and anathema
- Edicts
- Enjoy existence to the fullest, surround yourself with luxury,
- Anathema
- Allow another to withhold your pleasures, restrain your emotions,
Description
Across pantheons, followers of Nyxras see cosmological or divine struggles as fundamentally meaningless and any involvement with them as pointless. To them, there is no purpose in life, no greater cause to champion, no way to tip the scales of the universe. From these views, they have developed beliefs that espouse the search for personal gratification as the only true motivation in life. Why make sacrifices for others, many ask, when you might not be repaid in kind? Why fight against the current when you could swim with it without exertion? There is nothing more holy to Nyxras than following one's own desires, the more decadent the better.
Followers
Hedonists and those that wish to fill all of their days with pleasure account for many of Nyxras' faithful. Though people from all walks of life follow the goddess, her devotees among the upper classes of societies around the world are perhaps the most widely known, in large part for their often debauched feasts and parties. Some of Nyxras' followers attempt to temper their indulgences, but most see no point in such arbitrary limitations - after all, if there is no greater purpose to be had, living one's life to the fullest is the true goal to existence.
Nyxras attracts many who seek personal gratification without regard for the consequences. Compared to the faithful of Tarhunz, who have a similar drive for power and personal gain yet restrain themselves from harming those who they would wish to rule, those drawn to Nyxras are much more likely to express a disregard for the lives of others. Necromancers commonly worship Nyxras, callously using the raised dead to further their own interests. Many alchemists follow Nyxras for similar reasons.
Some sects of Nyxras interpret the goddess as more of a deity of strong emotions and sensations than specifically one of pleasure. The most evil of these cults sometimes practice ritual sadism, body modification, pain worship, and cannibalism, though others are less extreme in their practices.
Church structure
There are few churches of Nyxras, none unified or following the same doctrines. Those that worship Nyxras ultimately do so for their own benefit - her tenets, already somewhat loosely defined, are invariably stretched to justify the actions the one already wishes to take. Any significant church would only serve to limit the activities of those within it, and they are therefore broadly eschewed
Holy text
Nyxras has no singular holy text.
Relations
Followers of Nyxras tend to be far too driven by personal interests to establish lasting connections with devotees of other faiths. Still, they sometimes find common ground with adherents of the religions of Tarhunz and Laverna, though they often conclude the drive towards power and independence espoused by each of those respective gods to be pointless when one could seek pleasure in the moment instead. Otherwise, Nyxras' faithful tend to look with disdain upon the strongly-held values of lawful or chaotic faiths, and those of Marya, Taliash, Harinna, and Malavisch in particular.
Depiction
Depictions of Nyxras can vary widely. Some cultures see the goddess as as primal figure who acts as she pleases with no restraint or subtlety, while others instead consider her to be more refined in her extravagance. Those that take the first approach usually portray Nyxras as animalistic, whether they see that as good or bad, while those that have adopted the latter position typically picture the goddess in an elegant humanoid form.
Variations by pantheon
| Pantheon | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aserdian | Nusakan | In the Aserdian pantheon, Nusakan is believed to tempt the aging with immortality, offering the "gift" of eternal life with one hand while hiding the consequences in the other. In this sense she is seen as much alike to Mothallah though perhaps even more dangerous, as her designs would interrupt the cycles of death and rebirth that drive the world. Making peace with one's mortality is seen as a way to drive Nusakan away from the material world, allowing it to continue to grow and shift without remaining stagnant. Followers of Nusakan often seek to see beneath the rhythm of the mortal sphere using alchemical, magical, or hallucinogenic means, in order to discover and right the flaws that in the universe that cause death. |
| Chaskan | Nyxras | In the Chaskan pantheon, Nyxras is widely associated with necromancers and the undead, and especially with the creators of intelligent undead. Nyxras' followers see the labors of life as distasteful or repellent, and therefore seek to force others to do their bidding for them. Many turn to the undead out of convenience, while others keep slaves or mind-control unwitting subjects. |
| Khapeshan | Nakith | In the Khapeshan pantheon, Nakith occupies an unusual status. Commonly known as the Half-Alive or the Serpent-Tarnished, she is believed to have been partially devoured by Apep in the first battle between the great beast and the rest of the gods. Though she managed to escape, in her incomplete form she can no longer feel pleasure and other sensations like she could before. Constantly driven by a hunger to recapture emotions she can no longer experience, Nakith now seeks to devour the mortal world just as Apep does the divine. She is widely viewed as an unwilling servant of Apep. Nakith's faithful see the world as theirs for the taking, something they deserve in compensation for the disregard the other divines showed to their goddess in allowing her to be eaten. |
| Dwarven | Sardora | In the Dwarven pantheon, Sardora is closely connected to pain. Those that do not follow the goddess see physical and emotional pain as the result of her curses, while those that do seek to glorify Sardora by causing agony to others or themselves. Ritual scarring and body modification are commonly practiced by her faithful. |
| Elven | Vanth | In the Elven pantheon, Vanth is the personification of blissful ignorance, the patron of those that choose to ignore the world in order to remain content. Unlike those that follow her other aspects, worshipers of Vanth often live in poverty or squalor. Vanth is typically seen as more neutral than evil. |