[hider=Ermus, Exarch of Domination]
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[center][h1]~Ermus~[/h1]
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Age:[/b] Ancient
[b]Domain:[/b] Domination
[sub][i]"All things have their place in this world, and that place is beneath me, groveling at my feet."[/i][/sub]
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[h2]~Personality~[/h2]
[quote]
Ermus is a being whose cruelty knows no end and tyranny no bounds, and his ambition is likewise. Despite this, he does not act blindly like some kind of animal, lashing out at those around him without reason or cause. Rather, he works in accordance with the Chain. The philosophical and - in the case of those who've been subjugated by or have sided with him - metaphysical construct by which all weaker beings are bound. As such, his conquests in the material plane are not some horrific travesty or necessary evil in his lifeless eyes, nor are his numerous acts of violence and destruction vile deeds. No, to him they are merely a simple fact of nature. One of life's many inevitabilities that will ultimately come to pass regardless of how hard mortals try to fight against it or the nature of their divine backing. When it comes to his feelings on his fellow deity, however, he does not view her as yet another link in the Chain. Instead, he sees her as a being that resides above it much like he himself does. A fellow master of the unwashed masses that reigns supreme over the worlds which lay blasted and broken at their feet, one who dispenses blackened omens from on high. It is in her that he finds a kindred spirit, one who has completely freed themselves of the slave mentality so many lesser beings fall prey to, what with their ceaseless pursuit of the baser animal instincts and other woefully short-sighted goals.
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[h2]~Appearance~[/h2]
[quote]
Ermus cuts a grim figure. Standing as tall as the highest mountain, sporting an oily cloak that unfurls to blot out the very sky, and wearing a suit of armor whose plates - although corroded, dented, and worn - could deflect the blows of even the mightiest god. When a mortal bears witness to his horned form looming on the horizon, they know their doom has come. Know that any and all semblance of hope has finally abandoned them, burned away by the white-hot flames roiling within his skull, while their meager excuse for freedom has been utterly shackled by the beguiling thorns crowning his head. Those who continue to resist in spite of all of this will be met not with cowardice but a blade. One whose loathsome edge can cleave the staunchest of dragons in twain, and whose bite can cripple even the most determined of foes, leaving them as naught but mindless puppets. Slaves to their better's - and by virtue of the Chain - Ermus' infernal will.
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[h2]~Biography~[/h2]
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Ermus is an incredibly ancient entity, having been birthed from the void mere moments before a majority of his siblings were to fulfill the role of its wretched firstborn. Even in those earliest of days he was an incredibly cruel and ambitious individual, and these traits were exemplified best by his immediate response to wage war against his fellows out of an inborn desire to subjugate them to his will, for such was his right as the eldest son. He'd failed in the end of course, and was hounded to the ends of the umbra for his treachery, but was not outright destroyed - for at that time the spirits had yet to war amongst themselves, and therefore lacked the knowledge required to accomplish such a herculean feat. As such he hid, biding his time and consolidating his power until the time came for his conquests to begin anew. It was then that he rose up once more to establish his dominion within the void, raising a cold and lifeless realm within the infinite expanse to serve as the stronghold from which a shadow most baleful would spread.

It was here within the accursed halls of Draelar that he plotted and schemed for the next eon. Gradually building up his armies in preparation for a second conflict with his siblings in the womb beyond. Only, such a battle never occurred. Instead, when Ermus and his hordes of hellish fiends first returned, they found two things of significance. The first was that their realm was not the only one to exist within the confines of the void anymore, having been joined by a multitude of others on top of many other worlds besides, and the second was that his siblings refused to attack him immediately - a behavior he found most strange given their prior animosity. It was only after they had expounded unto him the rules of their game that he finally understood their reluctance for bloodshed. Although he found such reasonings pathetic at first and dismissed them outright, they eventually grew on him over the years, following a few threats of uniform violence from his brothers and sisters anyway. For they were many where he was but one - and far more cunning than he was at that, several millennia's worth of infighting having sharpened their senses - meaning that for all his overwhelming might and power he would be little more than chaff in the wind should they ever decide to face him in fully unified throng.

Thus, with little choice but to participate in the grand distraction they had created for themselves or stagnate in isolation, Ermus found his attention turning inexorably towards the new worlds above and the creatures that inhabited them. Weak beings he determined them to be, and exceedingly fragile, but not totally devoid of every use. For one they proved themselves to be naturally obedient to those in positions of power and authority, and incredibly easy to subjugate on top of that. What's more, many of them were greedy to a fault, willing to do almost anything in their never-ending pursuit of power and security. These were the attributes that drew the attention of the dark god in full, prompting him to make his first move in centuries and invade one of the many utopias above. An act that not only served to further refine his view of existence into what it is now, a striking contrast to the purely reactionary instinct it used to be, but also established him as an official piece on the cosmological chessboard.

[i]What he hadn't anticipated at the time was the unlikely alliance he would go on to forge with another being of equal power...[/i]

But the great game makes strange bedfellows of us all, whether we wish it to or not.
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[h2]~Powers & Domain~[/h2]
[quote]
Domination, contextualized here as the subjugation and control of others through fear and rigidly enforced hierarchies, is Ermus' domain. As such his abilities tend to share a similar theme, and range from the physical to the metaphysical in terms of scope. Things such as mind control or mental compulsion as demonstrated by the Chain, inhuman strength, pain inducement and the like. Being a spirit whose nature is inherently dark, however, he also possesses the natural capacity to change his form and corrupt others through various means, though the former isn't a power he uses very often, not to mention the capability to consume other spirits provided they have been sufficiently weakened beforehand. Although this last attribute is a trait he shares with all of his siblings no matter their alignment or lack thereof. Furthermore, Ermus is immortal and exists in a state so above mundane life that it would take a god of similar power, or many working in conjunction, to end him permanently. And even then his essence - akin to a select few incredibly powerful or knowledgeable deities - will linger on in some way, shape, or form to influence the worlds and their inhabitants in various ways until it is reconstituted somehow or otherwise consumed. Although in the case of the latter, should the diablerist in question fail to win the contest of wills that ensues, they will find their physical form overtaken and consciousness subsumed. Added to the new whole that has just been created while Ermus himself lives on within new flesh.
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[h2]~Realm~[/h2]
[quote]
[b]Draelar:[/b] Ermus' realm is one of barren wastes and obsidian cities whose streets are as labyrinthine as they are simple. Both of which serve as the habitation of countless demons, foul spirits, and mortal followers alike; all of whom act as one beneath his will. Despite its desolate environs, Draelar is not a land of unbridled chaos but suffocating order. There is cruelty and excess to be found here still, yet all of it is conducted in accordance with the Chain. For just as a servant does not strike their master or mistress with impunity, so too does that same master or mistress fail to strike their superior. In many cases a higher ranking demon or spirit, although the same cannot be said of the reverse. Finally, no one - no matter how powerful or far up in the pecking order they may be - strikes or disobeys Ermus. Not if they want to avoid being tortured for the rest of eternity that is.
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