Lotan (pronounced LOW-tan) is the god of destruction, chaos, and anger.
Edicts and anathema
- Edicts
- Work to counter the influence of every other deity, corrupt and destroy order, destroy temples and shrines, sow panic and fear
- Anathema
- None
Description
Lotan is the World-Encircler, the Eater of Souls, the Father of Monsters, the God-Devourer, the End to All Things. Angered by their act of creating the universe, as the embodiment of primordial chaos he seeks nothing less than the complete destruction of the other gods.
Lotan's anger is deep and insatiable. Enraged at the order brought into existence, Lotan fought and slew Socharin after the first creation took shape. He retreated to the void after being driven away by the combined forces of the other gods, but only briefly. When Socharin returned to life and granted his domains of rulership and law to his sister Harinna, Lotan turned his anger to her instead. In the endless cycles since, he has fought Harinna and her allies, waging fierce battles in the cosmos in which he has only ever barely been kept from victory. There is much variation to these retellings. To some these battles occur every night, and in others every year or century. In some pantheons, other gods take the lead role against Lotan instead of Harinna. Regardless, all agree they will continue until the end of time, or until Lotan is triumphant. Most believe Lotan is eternal, with no birth or death, an indefatigable force that cannot be stopped, only temporarily held at bay. If the other gods were to be defeated, both his followers and his enemies believe he will turn to existence itself and destroy the world his divine adversaries spun out of the void.
Though considered a heretical belief to most faiths and churches, some claim Lotan has already succeeded in consuming other divinities, annihilating them so thoroughly that even their names have been wiped from existence.
By some, Lotan is seen as the progenitor of all evil creatures. As the legends of some pantheons tell, the first monsters sprung forth from droplets of his blood that struck the ground during one of his endless battles. Others grew from his scales or venom that hurtled towards Kishar after being lost during the fight. However, many intelligent beings who might be considered monstrous by others strongly disavow these tales, viewing them as little more than slander.
Followers
Small cults to Lotan can be found around the world, usually worshiping in secrecy. Though uncommon on the surface, his faith is one of the most widespread in the Darklands. Worship of Lotan is especially prevalent amongst abberations, who view him as a progenitor and patron. Those angered by the other gods, whether through their divine actions or inaction, sometimes turn to Lotan as well.
Church structure
There is no organized church of Lotan.
Holy text
Lotan has no holy text. Some incantations intended to invoke his involvement are passed around amongst his followers, but these can vary greatly.
Relations
The faithful of other gods and spirits universally abhor the worship of Lotan. Followers of Lotan are not tolerated in any major nation or settlement, leading many of his devotees to form their own communities in remote or isolated places, where they can conduct their rites and offer their sacrifices without interference.
Depiction
Lotan has many forms. Most commonly he is seen as a massive snake with a head on each end, often wrapped around and constricting a planet or star. Less typically he is pictured as a humanoid serpentine giant.
Variations by pantheon
| Pantheon | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chaskan | Lotan | In the Chaskan pantheon, Lotan is frequently depicted as some type of sea monster that resides in the dark watery depths of the sea. |
| Hellean | Typhon | In the Hellean pantheon, Typhon is often portrayed as already defeated, still a threat to the other gods yet contained, at least for now. He is widely depicted as a great monster made of magma that lurks within a volcano. |
| Khapeshan | Apep | In the Khapeshan pantheon, Apep and Harakhte fight every night as the sun sets. The next day symbolizes the temporary defeat of the great beast at the hands of the other gods. He has a very snake-like depiction in the Khapeshan pantheon. |
| Laurentian | Skohsla | In the Laurentian pantheon, Skohsla is commonly depicted as a massive linnorm that encircles the world, slowly constricting it. He is widely connected with linnorms and curses. |
| Draconic | Tiamat | Tiamat (pronounced TEE-ah-maat) is the dragon goddess of chaos, violence, and the night. She hatched from the same primordial egg as Marduk in the time before creation, before quickly turning to violence against her sibling as they attempted to imagine the universe that was to come in their own way. Through their struggles they tore apart the nothing and turned it into something, forming the cosmos as the ideals of both draconic deities were thrown together. After creation Tiamat retreated to the places out of the direct control of Marduk. She now resides in the night sky and the sea, untouched by Marduk's sun.
The draconic goddess' followers do not always agree as to what defines her highest tenets. Some consider her chaotic aspects to be the most important facets of the goddess, while others believe this role to be taken by her evil aspects. Though many of Tiamat's followers see her chaotic nature as liberatory, others observe her capacity for evil and wish to gain such power themselves. Still others venerate the goddess out of respect, even if they do not align with her ideals. As the embodiment of chaos, Tiamat has many appearances. To some she is a scar-covered dragon with two heads, one on her tail, while to others she is a shadowy illusion of a dragon or the sea itself. Followers of the Draconic pantheon tend to be far more concerned with conveying the idea of their gods through their depictions than with any notions of accuracy. |
| Dwarven | Vonduram | In the Dwarven pantheon, Vonduram is rarely given a physical form. He is instead seen as an encroaching darkness that cannot be illuminated, a creeping cold that cannot be heated. He is widely associated with the perils of underground life, and especially with rockfalls and unbreathable environments. |
| Elven | Voltumna | Voltumna (pronounced vole-TOOM-nah) is the Great Beast, a divine entity who would destroy the cosmos. He is a god of destruction and chaos in the Elven pantheon, like his other interpretations are elsewhere, opposed by Ais as he attempts to devour the universe in a hopeless attempt to sate his endless appetite for devastation. Voltumna continually eats away at the edges of creation, causing stars to go dark and the heavens to slowly but inexorably shrink.
His followers and clergy largely live in secret, hiding either themselves or their beliefs away from the world. They are as reviled and feared as their god for the damage they would cause to the world, and as such often live on the margins of elven societies. They maintain no holy text or organized church, and very few temples. To those that do not worship Voltumna, opposition to the Great Beast is seen as the fundamental basis behind all religious belief. Voltumna is widely depicted as an invisible serpentine beast that can only be spotted by a slight shimmer as he passes. Voltumna is often associated with meteors, comets, and other potential extraterrestrial dangers. |
| Orcish | Vemdu | In the Orcish pantheon, in addition to his other roles Vemdu is also associated with invaders who would seek to push people off of their lands. He is opposed primarily by Mortuga. Unlike most other depictions, Vemdu is not seen as a snake-like creature but rather as a grotesque, larger than life humanoid figure. |