And yes, I know we don't have the answer.
But this is a god we've seen three distinct phases of - impartial judge of morality at the dawn of creation, savage creature of natural disasters in the time of Azlant, and the modern patron of assassins - which all seem to be wildly divergent portfolios. What's more, we haven't been told what led to any of those transitions. Anyone have any clue?
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And yes, I know we don't have the answer.
But this is a god we've seen three distinct phases of - impartial judge of morality at the dawn of creation, savage creature of natural disasters in the time of Azlant, and the modern patron of assassins - which all seem to be wildly divergent portfolios. What's more, we haven't been told what led to any of those transitions. Anyone have any clue?
This is a story that we've teased and hinted at, but haven't yet fully explored. I do have a story in my head that WOULD explore it, but it's still baking and it's not quite ready for prime time. But nevertheless, Achaekek is a character I've been doing stuff with for about 30 years now, and he's gone through a lot of different things in that time. Whether or not we get a chance to explore his history in the future... we'll see! At the very least, at some point I'll have decided enough to determine if the time's right to just reveal it in a blog or something like that if it looks like there won't be a good chance to have it featured in an adventure or something.
I’d love to see it! And my impatient self says “fire up the blog post,” but I know that’s not likely to be popular.
In the meantime, I’d love to see this thread fill with theories!
I actually see them having a consistent thread.
Phase one wasn't a god of morality, as mortals would see it. But the balance between various high-level cosmic powers, and keeping the universe spinning in a "natural" way as determined by whatever set of rules Achaekek was following.
I think mortals broke him/it. He was seen as a god of monsters, and destruction, but I think that was him getting lost/being driven mad by mortals messing with the original order, and determining that they must be destroyed.
The final, current form is a more nuanced (still horrifying from mortal perspective) version of making sure order is preserved by pruning the most seditious and out of order elements of the universe. He doesn't kill kings or gods, but particularly wants to destroy those who would become kings or gods.
That's how I read it. I put that way it makes a kind of sense. He's pre-mortal, and rigid, and probably didn't transition through the cosmic re-ordering from the beginning of the River of Souls and mortality's influence on the Outer Plane's very well. But to Achaekek each phase makes a sort of sense, just a very alien one to mortals.
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Anybody else find it interesting that the azlanti worshipped Achaekek as a god of natural disasters, and right when the last azlanti dies a perpetual natural disaster opens up off the coast of Achaekek's island? As if, with the passing of Aroden he cast off that domain forever and left it spiraling in the ocean
Achaekek has struck me as similar to the Mesopotamian Nergal. Nergal is god of war and natural disaster, but he's also the god the other gods send to deal with anyone who seriously violates their laws or threatens their position.