Sotakh
| Intermediate Power, "Son of Nut; Lord of Lies; Master-Thief" | |
|---|---|
| Pantheon: Ennead | |
| AoC: Chaos, confusion, desert storms, foreigners, outsiders, wind | |
| Worshippers: Druids, outsiders, outcasts; evil beings, assassins | |
| AL: CN(E) | WAL: CN, CE, N, NE |
| Symbol: Sha | |
| Home p/l/r: Baator/Stygia/Ankhwugaht | |
| Allies: None | |
| Enemies: None | |
| Favored Weapon: Spear | |
| Domains: Air, Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Trickery | |
| Subdomains: Catastrophe, Cloud, Deception, Demon, Slaad, Wind | |
| Known Proxies: Nekrotheptis Skorpios (Px/♂ minion of Set/F13,T15/CN); Omikrostis (Px/♂ greater mummy/HD 10/CE); Irisiri (Px/♀ human/Sor13/N) | |
History
Sotakh (or Set, as he is commonly known) was born as one of the Ennead, the nine deities which form the core of his pantheon, on the third day of Pi Kogi Enavot, approximately akin to Veiled 15 in the standard Outlands calender. Son of the gods Nut and Geb, he is twin to Nephthys, and brother to the twins Osiris and Isis. Unlike the others of their family, he was born unexpectedly and with some slight degree of violence. Unlike past generations, his generation held two pairs of twins, an event not foreseen by either of his parents. Further, he was born not in the traditional manner, but rather bursting through his mother's side. Thus Sotakh brought confusion even in his first moments. As was tradition amongst the Ennead, he was married to his twin sister, but for Nephthys it was fairly reluctant; it was only a short time (for powers, at least) before she began a relationship with Osiris, if with Sotakh's consent.
In his youth, Sotakh was quite rakish, still lacking in wisdom and pursuing only hedonistic pleasures. He eventually formed a close bond with the god Heru, son of Osiris and Isis, that eventually became quite intimate. The two were long renown for their battles against the chaos serpent Apepi in defense of Ra; they were seen as so close, in fact, that many mortals worshiped them as a single being. They even bore a child of their own, Djihauti, if through a slight bit of trickery on the part of Heru involving Sotakh's beloved lettuce, one of many would-be aphrodisiacs he enjoyed indulging in.
Eventually, however, their relationship turned sour, thanks in large part to youthful debates related to their positions upon the Prime world on which they first arose; at the time, two major bodies of worship held each in highest esteem and oft went into conflict with one another, the violence rippling up and impinging itself upon the deities. This ill will almost led to one of the rare wars amongst the Ennead, but not wishing to see his kin descend to blows, Ra ordered Thoth to mediate an agreement between the two. Under his guidance, they were separated both physically and metaphysically, each receiving dominion upon various opposing spheres of influence; Heru the ground and Sotakh the sky, Heru the lands of papyrus and Sotakh the lands of sedges, Heru the lands of the river and Sotakh the lands beyond the river.
The separation worked, and Heru and Sotakh were both able to relax their ill will. Sotakh focused his attention on caring for those now under his wing on the Prime, bringing his word to them through the chimerical sha, a beast of his own creation often known beyond the worlds of the Ennead as the "Set animal". Heads cooled, and time passed, and finally, having matured much since his early days, Sotakh agreed to grant Heru full dominion over their people, if only to allow their friendship and relationship to resume once more. Unfortunately, it was not to last.
Upon the Prime, the first steps to Sotakh's downward spiral were set into motion. The people of the pharaoh began to grow insular, purging from their land the outsiders that had ruled over them for so long. They sought to find a soul upon which they could place the blame, and Sotakh, as he had been for centuries by this time, stood in protection of all foreigners. Against all efforts of his priesthood, opinion of Sotakh dropped across the whole of the land. And despite Sotakh's own will, he began to feel this taint himself, for the power of belief is great upon the powers. Though his brothers, his sisters, and his nephew all tried to stop the dark influence, powers cannot interfere directly in the will of mortals. Sotakh began to fall, and the further he went, the easier it was to ascribe dark deeds to him.
He reached his lowest point when, after a quarrel with Osiris over Nephthys's attention, Sotakh tricked him into a coffin and ended his life. Dismembering him, Set scattered Osiris across the planes. And though Isis, Nephthys, Nut, and Heru were able to reunite him and restore him to life as the first mummy, the damage was done. Sotakh was expelled from the presence of the others, and established the realm of Ankhwugaht, choosing Baator specifically because it was so ill-suited for him. The act was something of a shock to Sotakh himself, and he has spent much time sense trying to find his stability in the face of a large populace that finds him as bad as, if not akin to, Apepi itself, fearing greatly that Sotakh will wreak vengeance upon their souls after death and dismember their own ba in the same manner.
Though he still carries a darkness within him, Sotakh seeks to make Ankhwugaht a land of relative peace within Baator, doing what he can to atone for the death of Osiris. It is believed the creation of his minions of Set was in part a way of trying to externalize his dark essence — most (though not all) of the minions tend towards the darker side of things — though it's not known how successful that attempt has been. He has been known to speak with Tiamat, if reluctantly, on dealing with sharp distinctions in the nature of worship. Some even claim to have heard of him speaking with Semuanya, though why he would speak with her people can only guess. On occasion, he sends out overtures to try and repair the rift between him and the others of the Ennead, focusing especially on mending fences with Nephthys; she, however, continues to rebuff him at every front.
Priesthood
Due to the nature of Sotakh, his followers tend to fall into one of two camps. The first follows the old ways, seeing Sotakh as a benevolent warrior and trickster, fighting to repel the darkness. Causing confusion and chaos not for the sake of harm, but rather to give some unpredictability to life. Stepping in in ways that none would expect, and actively working to stop those that would bend chaos in destructive and horrific manners such as desired by Apepi.
The second, growing in number, worships Sotakh under the newer interpretation. They follow Sotakh as a violent, evil god that wishes nothing but pain for those that would stand against him, including those of the Ennead. A Sotakh that has changed sides and now stands with Apepi, perhaps even having become Apepi, and that believes intensely in "might makes right", wishing to take power over the entire pantheon. Unfortunately for all, this sect of Sotakh worshipers only grows in number, especially upon the planes where few have even heard of the first sect. It's believed by many theologians that should this rift continue, it may lead to Sotakh himself splitting, much as the division of Tyche.
Reference
- Deities and Demigods, Third Edition , pg. 136
- Seth, God of Confusion
- On Hallowed Ground , pg. 91
