Tharizdun

Symbol of Tharizdun

Tharizdun is the chaotic evil god who created the Abyss, but planting a shard of pure evil in the already chaotic maelstrom of the Elemental Chaos. In general the fact of his existence is not widely known. A few(?) scattered cults of demented followers revere him, calling him the Chained God or the elder elemental eye. It is said that Tharizdun doesn’t speak to his followers, so his commands are unknown, but his cults teach their members to:
✦  Channel power to the Chained God, so he can break his chains.
✦ Retrieve lost relics and shrines to the Chained God.
✦  Pursue the obliteration of the world, in anticipation of the Chained God’s liberation.

THE BIRTH OF THE ABYSS (as taught to priests and wizards around Draegor)
In the earliest days of creation, even before the gods and primordials began their terrible war, one god was not content with sharing power—he wanted absolute control over the nascent universe. This god, whose name is spoken only in panicked whispers, sought a source of power he could use to gain total dominion over the unfolding realms of creation. Somewhere in the infinite expanse of space, he found the weapon he sought in the form of a tiny shard of utter evil.

 The touch of the shard drove this god to madness, corrupting him so completely that he was no longer recog-
nizable as his former self. Never the less, he carried the crystalline fragment into the depths of the universe—into the lowest reaches of the primordial vastness that would one day become the Elemental Chaos—and planted it there.

 Evil took root like a foul seed of corruption, burrowing deep into the unshaped matter of the Elemental Chaos and spreading unholy tendrils far and wide. A yawning chasm of infinite gloom and despair opened up at the lowest pit of creation, swallowing all matter and light, defiling anything that drew near.

The Abyss was born.  The evil of the Abyss corrupted even some of the mighty primordials - Demogorgon, Baphomet, Orcus - and reshaped them into the likeness of pure destructive evil. The mad god hoped to wield these demonic princes as weapons in his war of conquest, but they would not bend to his will or any but their own.  So he left the Abyss and marshaled other elemental forces in his bid for domination, but the other gods overcame him, chaining him forever in a secret place known only to them. Now he is called the Chained God or, by his demented followers, the Elder Elemental Eye. His only desire is to escape his prison, and he rarely spares a thought for the realm he inadvertently created.

 But the Abyss remains, a festering cyst beneath the Elemental Chaos. Within its lightless depths, demons
erupt into birth, live out their short and violent lives, and are reabsorbed into the darkness. Demon princes rule their petty Abyssal domains, scheming to destroy the gods and all their works. The god Lolth hides in the Demonweb Pits, corrupted and perhaps driven mad by the same power that shattered the Chained God and made the first demon princes. And somewhere far beneath all imagining, the crystalline Heart of the Abyss still beats its unceasing cadence of evil.

THE  CULT OF  THE ELDER  ELEMENTAL
The Temple of  Elemental Evil: Nearly every sage, priest, or adventurer has heard its name whispered in rumors and legends. It has been destroyed more than once by  the forces ofgood. Just as many times, it has risen from the rubble to plague the world. The Temple of Elemental Evil  is but one symptom of a deeper malady. It  is  the holiest site of  the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye, a horrific organization not fully understood even by  its own worshipers. The cultists are not highly organized, and internecine struggles for  control of  the temple are constant. Still , if one sect can impose  its will on the others and raise the group to prominence once again, it can direct the cult's awesome resources to end creation in any number of ways.



The infamous Temple of Elemental Evil was the heart of  a religious  sect that terrorized the surrounding regions, north of Drahar. The group hired bandits, consorted with demons and evil powers, and caused much destruction before it was defeated.

The Cult of Elemental Evil arose multiple times, and  the temple was destroyed and rebuilt at least twice.

At one point, the so-called Cult of Elemental Evil was posing as a sect ofworshipers devoted to Zuggtmoy, a foul demon of  slime and fungus. The elemental trappings of  the sect were of course the most important aspect, even though downplayed.

When Zuggtmoy's aspect was slain during a raid on the temple, Zuggtmoy's followers lost faith, and the demon turned her attentions elsewhere.

As noted, Zuggtmoy was just a cover, merely a pawn in a larger game. She was not the true power behind the Temple of Elemental Evil. The Cult of  the Elder Elemental Eye was the ultimate threat, an organization pretending to worship a primordial entity of enormous power. The name of  the cult's master is unknown, but rumors indicate that other primordials have cooperated with it,  including Imix, Lord ofFire.

The title of  the Elder Elemental Eye  refers not to a primordial but to  the Chained God, Tharizdun-the mad, figurative father of  the Abyss. That he is  the power behind the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye  is a fact known only by the sect's highest members. Not all worshipers ofTharizdun are members of  the sect. The cult represents only one group of mad fanatics, albeit one of  the largest and most infamous.

With little organization and no unified  leadership, the Cult of  the Elder Elemental Eye has never reached
its full  potential. Still, its members work  tirelessly, clandestinely seeking ever more power for  their evil patron. Their ultimate goal is  to  bring Tharizdun into the world-a event that would be catastrophic for  the entire cosmos.

The Temple of Elemental Evil  is an enormous stone edifice with hideous carvings and demonic gargoyles, constructed and reconstructed in varying styles over the years. The temple contains multiple passageways to  the Abyss and the Elemental Chaos, as well several pockets of  the Plane Below made manifest in the world.
Legend  tells that the temple exists in both the world and the Elemental Chaos, two spiritual halves of  the same structure kept separate by planar boundaries. According to  the tales, if  the two temples were
ever brought into conjunction, they would  form a permanent, enormous conduit between the planes.

Dimensional boundaries for miles would waver and blur, opening the way for a massive invasion of demonic and elemental creatures.

The cult's hierarchy is  simple: Who· ever has the power leads. All worshipers are devoted to  the spread of elemental evil as a concept, even if some of  them direct that devotion to different enti­ties  than others do. This common goal keeps the cult operating. Although its readers are usually skilled warriors or elemental spellcasters, the cult accepts anyone. Worship ofTharizdun isn't required to join, nor does the cult incorporate only such worshipers. The selfish, the bitter, the ambitious, the anarchic, and those who dabble in forbidden  lore are all drawn to  the cult. Evil and obsessed, they seek power at the expense of nonbelievers and are welcomed with open arms. Many cultists aren't natural humanoids. They include elementaJs desiring power over the world, giants seeking the return of  their lost empire, and demons reveling in the chance to destroy.

When the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye  first arose is  impossible to say. Worshipers of Tharizdun, under
his various  titles, have existed since the end of  the Dawn War. When the temple was first built decades ago,  it appeared  to be dedicated  to  the destructive powers of  the elements, but was in fact faithful  to  the
demon Zuggtmoy. Even  then, some members secretly revered  the Elder Elemental Eye, working to steer the
sect to  their own purposes.  'Were  they instrumental from  the beginning, manipulating the demon into
founding the cult? Did they come along later to  take advantage ofwhat Zuggtmoy had begun? So secretive
is  the sect, and so varied the accounts of  its factions, that none can say.

The cult 's ultimate goal  is  to  fray the boundaries between the world and  the Elemental Chaos (or  the
Abyss) and  thus free  its dreadful patron. It seeks to increase the power of  its members, especially its leaders, while offering worthy sacrifices in hopes of granting its master enough strength to break free. What it  lacks in organization, the cult makes up for with determination and sheer power. As  a group, the cultists are extremely potent and learned. On more than one occasion, they have succeeded in sum­moning horrific beings to  the world. Cultists engage in various schemes. These plots have included imprisoning powerful entities and
indoctrinating them, using magic  to drive entire populations mad, transforming powerful creatures into elemental beasts, and weakening the boundaries between the world and the Elemental Chaos. All the while, they have deceived large groups , including other cultists, into worshiping and sacrificing to one entity while believing that they serve another.