Cyric
Cyric is the Neutral Evil god of death, murder, the dead, strife, tyranny, deception, and illusion. His followers are working to secure his position as a new god, and are in conflict with many worshippers of other deities. They wear black or dark purple robes, with silver trimming, and wear silver bracelets. Cyric's symbol is a skull set in a purple starburst:
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The History of Lord Cyric
Copyright notice:
The following information was taken from a number of sources, all property of TSR, Inc. Chiefly, his early life was taken from the Hall of Heroes campaign source book. Information during the Avatar crisis comes from the Avatar Trilogy by Richard Awlinson. Cyric's life as God of Strife and Intrigue has been taken from the Forgotten Realms Adventures campaign sourcebook (By Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb) and Prince of Lies (by James Lowder). Further details have been gleaned from Crucible (by Troy Denning) and the Forgotten Realms 3rd Edition campaign sourcebook.
Born in the slums of Zhentil Keep, Cyric (seer-ick) is the son of a Zhentarim officer and the
young woman who adored him. The officer openly denied the woman's charge of paternity and cast her into the streets. The homeless of Zhentil Keep cared for the woman, and helped her through delivery. After learning of his son's birth, the officer killed the young woman and sold Cyric into slavery.
A short time later, Cyric was purchased by a rich Sembian family, who raised him as their own in a life of luxury. A highly intelligent child, Cyric always felt that he was different from the other children he grew up with. His suspicions were confirmed at age 10, while overhearing his parents arguing over him. Cyric immediately ran away from home, but was stopped and returned by a civil patrol.
Cyric's complaints at the patrol's actions caused his true origins to spread throughout the city, forcing his parents to become social outcasts. When he again left home at age 12, no one stopped him.
Alone in an unfamiliar world, Cyric learned survival skills in the wild before moving on to life on city streets. Becoming adept at thievery, Cyric drew the attention of the
Thieves' Guild. Earning their approval and support, Cyric remained with the guild for four years. At 16, Cyric left to spend the next eight years pursuing his love of travel, and learning that people were the same no matter where he went. At the end of his travels, Cyric secretly returned to Zhentil Keep to
further explore his origins. He may have met his father there, but the man was killed before Cyric could question him.
Convinced that a life of thievery was wrong, Cyric became a fighter of little consequence. However, during a quest in the Jungles of Chult, he crossed paths with one Kelemvor Lyonsbane. It was Kelemvor who convinced Cyric to join the guard of Arabel, where he met Adon,
cleric of Sune Firehair. Together, the three worked for Myrmeen Lhal, protecting her lands, until confronted by Midnight. Thus began Cyric's path to greatness.
Cyric continued to follow the path of goodness until Lady Mystra's rescue.
Mystra offered the group anything they wished in appreciation for her freedom.
Kelemvor asked only for fresh horses and rations. Mystra found it strange that
they did not request god-hood. Upon hearing this, Cyric began to
think.
Following the battle against Lord Bane's forces at Shadowdale,
Cyric left the party and struck out on his own, leading a small group of Zhent
warriors on his yet unseen quest to become a god. During his travels, Cyric came
into the possession of a rose-hued, vampiric sword, which came to play a
significant role in Cyric's career. Crossing paths with his former companions
several times, Cyric was responsible for the death of Bhaal, Lord of Murder.
Having tasted the blood of a god, Cyric's new weapon hungered for more, thus
increasing Cyric's desire to destroy his one-time friends.
Concluding the
Avatar crisis, Cyric faced his final confrontation as a mortal atop Blackstaff
Tower in Waterdeep. There, he not only destroyed his second God, Lord Myrkul, he
also found his revenge against the hated Kelemvor Lyonsbane. (It has been
pointed out that Midnight actually killed Myrkul; a fact which Cyric
denies.) The sword drank eagerly of its victim's blood, and Kelemvor was no
more, for now... With the original quest of recovering the Tablets of Fate,
Overlord Ao, creator of the Realms and of the gods themselves, descended upon
Toril and spoke to its inhabitants. Lord Ao declared that all gods become
servants to their followers, that Midnight take Mystra's place as Goddess of
Magic, and that Cyric shall take control of what was left undone by the deaths
of Myrkul, Bane, and Bhaal. And, while Cyric found this responsibility quite an
honor, Lord Ao was unsure he'd continue with that reasoning.
Some time later, Lord Ao returned to resurrect the Lord of Murder in the
Moonshae Isles. Bhaal's second coming was short-lived, and Cyric became the
official caretaker of the Church of Assassins. Meanwhile, Cyric joined forces
with Mask (Lord of Shadows) to murder Leira, Lady of the Mists, giving Cyric the
powers of Deception and Illusion.
Ten years passed since the Time of
Troubles, and Cyric grew restless. His latest scheme involved a tome he called
The Cyrinishad. Three hundred and ninety-seven versions were created
until Cyric was satisfied. The tome, dubbed "The Book of Lies" by other gods of
the pantheon, outlined the "true" history (in Cyric's mind) of the "One True
God." But Cyric did not stop there. The Cyrinishad was a magical
creation, with the intention that anyone reading the tome would believe, without
question, that all other gods were false; even the gods
themselves...
Many gods could not abide by these actions. Midnight,
with the help of Oghma (The Binder) and Mask, The Cyrinishad's final
version was placed in protective custody, but not before it had been read by
Mask. Cyric had gained yet another follower.
In his final battle as Lord
of the Dead, with Bone Castle crumbling about him, Cyric's rose-hued sword (now
dubbed Godsbane) revealed that there was a traitor in his castle.
Realizing that it was, in fact, the sword who had betrayed him, Cyric took the
sword above his head and snapped it in two. Chaos ensued, and the soul of
Kelemvor Lyonsbane, trapped those ten years within the accursed sword, escaped
to exact revenge against his one-time ally. Another form also emerged from the
sword: The spirit of the sword itself – Mask, Lord of Shadows. Begging
for forgiveness as Cyric attempted to salvage what he could of the situation,
Mask followed his new master out of the castle. The City of Strife was no
more.
As the aftermath was sorted out, the tormented souls of Cyric's
former kingdom looked to Kelemvor for new guidance. Lord Lyonsbane looked out
across his new lands, and declared a new era of Law and Justice in the Land of
the Dead.
In the following years, Cyric became despondent, neglecting his godly duties.
Sadly, he was also driven mad by the powers of his own Cyrinishad,
completely believing everything contained within, unable to distinguish lies
from truth. Several of the gods, led by Tyr, placed Cyric on trial, charged with
Innocence by reason of Insanity. Around the same time, Cyric's precious
chronicle The Cyrinishad was stolen. Upon hearing this, one of Cyric's
most devout followers, one Malik el Sami yn Nasser sought out the tome, in order
to return it to his god. For this service, Cyric bestowed upon Malik the status
of "Seraph of Lies."
In a cruel twist of fate, Malik became the target of
a truth spell cast by the goddess Mystra. As such, Malik is completely
unable to tell a lie. Using this curse as a tool, Mystra called upon Malik to
read The True Life of Cyric as written by several good gods and set to
paper by Oghma. Naturally, Malik had no desire to do such a thing, so decided to
tell the tale of Cyric as all worshippers had heard it since childhood.
Unfortunately, this also counted as lies, and Malik was forced to read the book
as printed. Cover to cover. Upon completing the text, Cyric became calm, and his
sanity was once again restored. This, however, does not make him easier to deal
with.
Malik el Sami yn Nasser, Seraph of Lies, continues to travel the
world, spreading the influence of Cyric, within the confines of his curse.
With the introduction of Forgotten Realms 3rd Edition rules,
Cyric now has the following statistics:
Portfolio: Murder, lies,
intrigue, deception, illusion, strife
Domains: Chaos, Destruction,
Evil, Illusion, Trickery
(For a detailed look, visit <A
href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/fx20010620d">this page at
TSR</A>. They previewed the Cyric entry from the new 3rd Edition
book.)
Of important note, in the continuing history of Cyric, is the
return of Lord Bane. Some 600 years before his death, Bane spawned a half-demon
child, Iyachtu Xvim. For many years, Xvim was trapped beneath the city of
Zhentil Keep. Cyric's destruction of the city freed Xvim, and a new church was
formed, led by Fzoul Chembryl. For the next three years, the church grew, as did
Xvim's power, even taking control away from Lord Cyric.
Then, on the
night of Midwinter, 1372 DR, all of Iyachtu Xvim's priests received a vision of
their god, torn apart from within, by an armored warrior surrounded in green
flame. It was then that Toril knew the return of Lord Bane. Bane has reclaimed
the portfolio of strife, hatred, tyranny, and fear. There now exists strong
tension between Cyric and Bane. It is yet unclear how the balance of power will
shift as a result.
In a hope-forsaken tunnel at the heart of Pandemonium, Cyric awoke... There
was a new kingdom to build. After all, Cyric was still a deity -- God of Strife
and Intrigue, Patron of Murder. As such, he deserved a palace of suitable size
to accomodate his horde of worhipers, a mammoth treasure house to store the
spoils of his victorious war against Mystra and the Circle of Greater Powers...
As always, the pantheon had been puppets, playing the parts Cyric created for
them.
For an instant, the Prince of Lies heard the babel of voices in his
head chime harmonious agreement. None of them could deny his absolute supremacy
over all the gods in Faerûn. The Cyrinishad proved the truth of that, and
Cyric himself had read the tome very carefully.
All across the mortal
realms, a disembodied smile appeared in the most squalid alleys and haunted,
shadow-draped woods. Broad and sharp, glinting like a straight razor in the
moonlight, it hinted at the mad god's pleasure with a world well-suited to
become his earthly kingdom. The true meaning of the apparitions eluded even the
most gifted oracles. They wove dire but vague prophecies around the chilling
visions, but, as was their wont, the men and women of Faerûn heeded them little
and went on with their chaotic, mundane lives.
In the hope-forsaken
tunnel at the heart of Pandemonium, Cyric began to laugh. The world was doomed,
but it kept running anyway.
-Epilogue, Prince of Lies, by James Lowder