The Dark Pantheon
Not every god ascended with good intentions. Extremely powerful individuals with destructive designs caught the eye of the progenitor, Bartholomew, Arkus' cruel counterpart. Knowing he could never face the Bright Pantheon alone, he imbued his own chosen with powers beyond mortal ken. The dark gods now plot and struggle against what they consider to be the small-minded oppression of the kinder gods. Worshipped by the hopeless, the power-hungry, the mad and the vengeful, these gods sow mayhem and conflict, keeping their enemies busy as they work towards their own twisted designs...
Bartholomew
"I will break every one of Arkus' toys until Father returns. I will revive every demon, every vengeful angel, every creature that goes bump in the night until he hears my pleas."
Bartholomew is the evil half of Arkus. He is the rage incarnate that Arkus never let’s see the light of day. His devotion to family would be his one redeeming factor if it wasn’t taken to such extremes, processed so much through his rage that even that feeling became corrupted into another reason to hate. Immensely physically powerful, entire planes could be destroyed by his glaive if it wasn’t for Arkus’ intervention. He’s cunning in preparation, but largely relies on pure instinct and rage in combat. His race is unique, consisting of both demonic and angelic blood, adding to both his power and defenses. He wields time magic as well, though he uses it as a blunt weapon rather then a precise tool, letting the destructive nature of the spell go wild. Bartholomew has only ever had one goal: to see his family sitting around a fire, sharing a home cooked meal. And he’s willing to wade through an ocean of blood to see this dream come to reality
Asmodeus
"I think you'll find creating an empire is easier when you aren't wading through blood to do it"
Asmodeus stands as the devil at the crossroads, the man that all fools and desperate men eventually turn towards. In truth, Asmodeus is not even his true name. He’s told many names, to many people. But one thing remains true, no matter what he tells his victims: he is the devil that others mustn’t dance with. His contracts and deals can vary, and often can hold immense power, but he rarely asks for anything less then the victim’s soul. Once a progenitor, he shares a strong connection with Bartholomew and Arkus, with them often referring to each other as themselves. Asmodeus is a human, and a god of deals, his magic and abilities rarely stretching beyond what he can earn through barter. He does, however, own a powerful artifact known as Rayce’s Sphere, a simple metal orb around the size of a bullet infused with immense and mysterious power. In addition, he has a great deal of control of energy magics, dabbling in soul magic on the side. Despite his fearsome reputation, he’s one of the less evil gods in the dark pantheon. He has a strict honor code, rarely lies, and isn’t a sadist (which is more then can be said for most of the pantheon). However, despite this, he remains very selfish and greedy, wishing to amass as many souls and as much power as possible. But he’s smart, and actively tries to leave as many people unharmed as possible, both so that he can have more potential customers, and so he can stay off others radars. After all, a negative reputation is hardly conductive towards business. And that’s what Asmodeus is: a shrewd business man
Valistain
"Hurt you, darling? I wouldnt dream of it. No, im here to save you. To make you stronger. To give you the power to save yourself."
Valistain is the Dark god of Hunger, Curses, and Blood. His realm, Perdition is filled with monsters and horrors of his own creation. Anyone who ends up there exists in a constant eat-or be eaten struggle in which being eaten is unmercifully not the end. In this unnatural bloodbath, creatures grow more powerful in victory, creating a nightmarish hierarchy. Valistain himself wishes for absolute dominance over any who call themselves his subjects and even over most of those who don't. He's the strongest known vampire in existence and a very powerful Mortal magic wielder, second only to Illska, goddess of the cycle of life and death.
Re'ak
"Naturally, at some point down the line I'm going to need to split your skull open like a ripe melon. For now though, you're my customer. So what do you need?"
Re'ak was born around the same time the Valistain Crime Family was created in Durmo. The son of a drakhi and a killian, neither of which he ever knew, the life of a half-breed orphan raised by unsympathetic gangsters seemed to preordain him for a life of violence. Indeed, his oil-black scales and lack of a tail alienated him from his peers and he developed a sense of extreme self-reliance that would define him even as he grew too large to be bullied. He threw himself into Family work but quickly became disillusioned with the double-dealing and backstabbing. For a chance to play by his own rules, he started his own business as a loan shark who did enforcer work on the side.
As he became caught up in a battle for the future of his plane, he found himself becoming impossibly strong, his body turning to adamantite and his mind becoming impenetrable to reading or manipulation. The dark gods took notice and a strange descision was made. Although Asmodeus already embodied much of Re'ak's philosophy, the dark gods needed a powerful fighter capable of challenging Wyatt to gain an edge in their long rivalry with their counterparts. Therefore, Re'ak was offered the chance of becoming god, not of bargains like Asmodeus, but of wealth and coercion. Although he did not like or trust many of his prospective peers, he saw the chance of unfathomable power and influence and acccepted.
He is now the most durable of the gods, able to withstand nearly any attack. More than just an attack dog for his pantheon though, he makes deals much like Asmodeus. Rather than bargaining for absolute ownership of souls though, he asks for more materialistic things such as raw materials, labor or even massive enough amounts of gold. He makes good on his deals with the sheer manufacturing power of his plane, The Necropolis which exists partially physically and partially as an afterlife. Hero or villain, dark god or bright, any who can offer him an increase to the productivity of his factory world or to his own personal power is a potential customer to Re'ak. He likes to boast that unlike with Asmodeus, there are no drawbacks to dealing with him. He doesn't mind if the other party benefeits as long as he does too and so one can deal with him in good conscience. All the same, nobody really knows exactly what he's doing with that cosmic factory of his...
Atlas
"Look at you; standing there playing hero. It would be adorable if you weren't so pathetic. I'd tell you to wake up, but you're not going to."
There are a great many things to fear in this world. What comes to mind first when I ask for yours? Is it spiders? Snakes perhaps? And what of demons? In the sleeping mind of man, terrible evils lurk, and Atlas is no different. Born of a sadistic experiment, molded by terror and darkness, the Nightmare King came to life in the form of a little boy. Ever chasing the approval of a nameless woman in black, Atlas slowly found her hiding behind the eyes of those who had lost themselves to terror. Ever chasing her approval and later her hand, Atlas' cruelty knew no bounds. The very shadows around him writhed with murderous life, as they were his preferred form of torture. Once his performance was complete, and he could see his perfect Lady, the knife would fall and he'd move on to the next person. With age, comes knowledge, and with knowledge, came fury. Discovering his object of obsession to be nothing but a fragmented memory of his mother, Atlas flew into a rage, ending the lives of thousands. In a final battle with her, she was struck down by another hand. Struck down soon after, himself, Atlas was banished to his realm of shadows. Now he waits in the darkened corners of rooms, or under beds, whispering the fears of man into their ears and minds till they succumb to his Nightmare. Their last moments consumed by terror, any that fall to Atlas' Nightmares become a Nightmare themselves.
Angel
“Bow down to your Queen, beautiful and spiteful, whose beauty brings happiness and obsession into the world. All who hear me shall bow before me and love me!” Angélique is the cruel goddess of performance and beauty. A captivating display of grace, talent and allure masking a hateful and pitiless character. Although her beauty may seem a facile power, she weilds it with as much force as any other god. People do not fear her. They do not hate her. They do not revolt against her. They give themselves to her wholeheartedly. They put themselves in a trance. Their obsession to worship and serve her, body mind and soul for the slightest bit of attention is what makes her beauty powerful. Her voice, which is just as perfected as her appearance, has entranced men and women alike, their applause and love for her acting like prayers, their eternal servitude invigorating her.
In her past she started as a good yet vain elf. Having dabbled in Music, Sound Magic, Aura Magic and Light Magic, she was asked to join a group of handpicked individuals of various talent. This fateful group was to be Azelinus, a Dark Knight who served no god, Zefvyr, the blind storyteller and his street brawler companion Ace. Their task was to explore an ancient ruin, while protecting a cartographer named Robin. While down there, they encountered Asmodeus who aided the group after a fashion. After the mission, the King granted each of them on wish. Angélique asked for fame, and in return was granted a grand stage to perform on. For two years after that, Angélique performed and captured the hearts of all who listened to her. She grew in fame and in popularity, many suitors proposing themselves to her. However, she had formed an attraction to Ace, loving how he supported her and her dream through the two years, as he visited her shows often, looking on in awe at her performance. Little did she know that said love was unrequited. During the day of the Tournament she sang a song yearning for him after having found out that he and the princess had fallen for one another. On top of that, it was the day that he had been killed by Azel’s sword.
That day in her grief, Asmodeus came to her home and they simply talked and had wine. It cheered Angélique up very much, and soon after that they saw and talked to each other often. She fell in love with him, as he supported her music, and her interest in animals and fashion. He treated her like the Queen she had always wanted to be. Surprisingly he fell in love with her too. Tragically, by Asmodeus' nature as a Darkling, this thrust her into a conflict between good and evil. Even Asmodeus told her that if she was to stay with him, she would need to choose a side. Angélique never wanted to take a side, however, she knew she would be viewed her as evil, for loving Asmodeus. In her rage at the world's presumption of her, she decided that she would show them how villainous she could be. During the last day before Malakill consumed her, she had tried to take revenge on Ace for breaking her heart by attempting to takeover his being through her voice and make him her servant. She failed, but in doing this she had officially sided with the Dark Pantheon.