The Dark Other

Since a large part of the basis of this project are the fictional god characters I have created, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about them and explain them a little more.

Firstly, these gods are not part of the same pantheon and are not the only god's that exist, rather they are deities of individual ancient religions that have become aware of each other over the millennia. Each is very different in nature to the others, the term "god" here being a very loose term to describe immortal beings of great power and who are often worshipped by mortals. They can be quite co-operative at times and have even become friendly with each other over the course of they're interactions.

In this post I will describe the first of these gods, the Dark Other.

The Dark Other is a dark and mysterious god, and is by far the oldest of the three. He was worshipped by the ancient people of the cold northern lands but over the centuries he has fallen into obscurity and now has taken on a cult like status. Not much is known for certain about him as he prefers to maintain a high level of secrecy  but it is rumoured that he is as old as time itself and that he will live to witness the apocalypse. Those who choose to follow him become part of a hive mind, similar to a bee hive or an ant colony, and then devote they're lives to serving their dark master.

The Dark Other is primarily driven by curiosity, he wishes to understand and eternally seeks more knowledge. Through his followers he carries out grand and complex schemes, taking every factor into account and never leaving anything to chance. In fact, his ability to predict, plan and manipulate future events is so accurate that many believe that he is able to see the future. However, his origins lay deep beneath the surface of the planet and to operate in the world he requires a host to act as his body. Visually, the Dark Other tends to cloak himself in shadow. His eyes glow an eerie cyan glow and his voice is a deafening whisper.

Below is a myth that was written in the hopes of helping people understand the method of thinking that is behind this god and the motives that drive him.

At some point thousands of years before the creation of the Empire, the north was a brutal and harsh land. One day a man with glowing cyan eyes and cloaked in darkness as black as the night sky wandered from village to village telling dark and wondrous tales. The man called himself a prophet and claimed his stories were true.

He told of how while travelling through the dense pine forests and snow capped mountain peaks of his homeland, he came across a dark and foreboding cave.  Curious, he entered and followed the cave deep underground.  Eventually the cave stopped, leading him to a huge and shadowy cavern that stretched down for eternity. This presented him with a dilemma, he could turn around and leave as he had entered and live his life as he had always done, or he could follow his curiosity further and jump down. If he jumped down, he knew he may never see his home again.

He stood for a moment, his foot hovering indecisively over the edge of the abyss. He savoured the moment. He was calm. Closing his eyes and taking one last deep breath, he stepped over the edge and let the darkness of the chasm envelope him.