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Mythos and History
Zorak Zoran was a god of Darkness, little-noted for any importance in early myths where he is, at best, mentioned as attending his sister, Xiola Umbar, or his friend, Kyger Litor. He is known to have taken some trolls to wife during Godtime and fathered some Mistress Race dynasties, but many gods did that.
Zorak Zoran came into his own when Death was discovered within the depths of the stygian Underworld. Zorak Zoran was watching, and conceived a passion for the "new power" which Eurmal stole for his friend, Humakt. Zorak Zoran followed like a shadow this power as it passed from hand to hand until, once, he saw and seized the opportunity which made his name known throughout the heavens. Seizing Death as his own, he cut down Flamal, a god most beloved by all the world. That act worsened the Lesser Darkness by bringing on the Great Hunger as well.
In the Darkness he fought and wounded Yelmalio, son of the Sun, and stole his Fire Powers for his cult. Later he feuded with Orlanth as well, and their fight made that air god decide to rescue the Sun and try to reassert the Gods Age. Zorak Zoran ever since has held a grudge against Orlanth for bringing back the Light.
Chaos entered into the cosmos along the same route of jealousy, fear, and death which was pioneered by Zorak Zoran, and that god was glad for his warlike prowess when the muck of the Void washed upon the world. He led in the struggle and grew to be favored by many trolls who fought with him. He was instrumental in halting the festering growth of evil before the return of the Sun. At that time he earned his title of Lord God of the Legions of Death.
The rise of the Sun was allowed only by the cosmic compromise, called Time, which demanded that all living gods must preserve one-half of their former or present rule in the new world. Zorak Zoran was among the great Darkness deities who made sure half the world would be Dark, and he was leader of those who opposed allowing the sun to return at all.
Zorak Zoran was a widely-worshipped deity at the Dawning, having been embraced by many ignorant and savage remnant peoples during the terror of the Darkness. He grew even greater in the Dawn Ages when the First Council reached its limit and became the warlike Second Council. The Legions of Death did much to assure the Council's supremacy, despite the losses it wrought among the worshipping population.
At the end of the Dawn Age the cult fought the infamous Gbaji cult, but the savage violence of Zorak Zoran broke itself against the evil god's subtleties, and only a few bands of survivors marched to Gbaji's final doom.
In the Empire of the Wyrms Friends, the Zorak Zoran worshippers formed a powerful council in Shadows Dance, and then held more power than Kyger Litor. They aided the dragons in the Dragonkill War at the end of the second age, but typically destroyed themselves in wars with the Aldryami of the Elder Lands.
In the Third Age of Prax the cult is not well-recognized, and it is disliked when encountered. Zorak Zoran worshippers were among the trolls who entered Pavis and closed it, and have had a large temple in the Big Rubble ever since.
True worshippers of Zorak Zoran have no fear of death. They know that when they leave their hacked-up bodies their souls will pass to Zorak Zoran's fortress in Hell, where they will join his fabled immortal Legions of Death to engage in perpetual warfare against the incursions of chaos.
Worshippers of this god hope that their funeral rite will be a Create Zombie spell. They hold no regard for their mundane shells after death. To be made into a fighting zombie or skeleton, even a ghost if possible, is an additional honor.
A Darkness deity, Zorak Zoran has that rune and also, as a major deity of Death, that rune as well.