Perhaps the oldest known higher civilization is Sulm. So far back in
history was Sulm that almost nothing is known of it,
hence the tendency of the less capable members of the Sages Guild to
ignore
it.
Its end wrought by a great curse, brought on not by an enemy but by its
own hand, predates the
Invoked Devastation/Rain of Colorless Fire
(which this sage would argue was the height of Suel and Baklunish
civilizations)
by more than a thousand years... and it was around for quite some time
before
that. Not only is the antiquity of Sulm is an important fact to keep in
mind during
this discourse, but the nature of its termination is also significant.
While the Suel and the Baklunish were at war for some time, and large
numbers of its populace survived the cataclysm by migrating out of the
region in the years leading up to that moment, bringing with them
memories and histories, the people of Sulm had no such chance. Sulm was
extinguish like a candle, instantly and without any warning whatsoever.
Overnight, its entire population succumbed to the evil power of the greater artifact (Class 1)
known as the Scorpion Crown (see WGR3 Rary the Traitor page
32).
There is an ancient ruin from the Empire
of Sulm that is still exists today within the Bright Desert, that
wasteland that once was a thriving civilization. The Necropolis of
Unaagh. The Necropolis was first described within
WGR3 Rary the Traitor (page 27). Within the Necropolis, it is observed,
are Sons of
Kyuss! Their presence in one of the oldest ruins in the Flanaess
surely
cannot be co-incidental. It is my theory that around 3800 SD, the
creator of the Sons, the Flannish high priest Kyuss, performed his vile
experiments while serving at the Necropolis - a temple meant to
celebrate the dead, and not corrupt them..
"But Maldin... you insane idiot-sage.... the Sons could have gotten
there long after the destruction of Sulm..."
No. A quote
from WGR3 Rary the Traitor:
"The undead exist only in the region of the Necropolis. The undead that
move or are carried even a few yards from its buildings immediately
collapse
into inanimate heaps of bone. Whether the undead exist to protect the
riches
hidden in the Necropolis or as a further ghoulish effect of Shattados's
curse, no one knows."
The Scorpion Crown functions along a very specific theme,
and has no connection to undeath or undead, so the Sons of Kyuss could
not be a result of that artifact. Yet it is clearly obvious that the
undead are magically tied to the
site - a site that has existed since before the destruction of Sulm.
They are
not newcomers. Rather, they are original inhabitants! The only way for
a Son to
leave the area is for a new (non-Sulmish) individual (like an
unfortunate adventurer) to
become
infected, and carry that infection off-site. Hence my arguement that
Kyuss was indeed a priest working at the Necropolis when
he created the first Sons. Kyuss must therefore have almost certainly
been a
Sulmish priest of great skill. Which evil, perhaps forgotten god was
patron to the twisted Kyuss is not known. At the very least it can be
assumed that, as his research explored dark secrets that should have
never been explored, Kyuss turned from the teachings of the primary
Sulmish deity of death and the afterlife worshiped at the Necropolis.
He left Sons of Kyuss behind when he was banished from
the Necropolis, and from the empire, as punishment for his forbidden
research. When the empire was
later destroyed
by the Curse of Shattados, the "surviving" Sons did not get converted
by the Scorpion Crown because they were not
alive.
Perhaps he escaped just before the destruction, but it is more likely
that it was some time before. While the Necropolis has likely increased
its numbers of Sons
over the years by taking hapless victims that came to explore the
ruins, the incredible age of the original Sons deep in the ruins, and
the drying environment of the Bright Desert (not to mention its
inherently magical nature) likely means that those original Sons are
more powerful and more resistant to damage then the more commonly
encountered specimens.
Where did Kyuss go after he was banished? Evidence seems to point to
several locations based on the occurrence of primary infestations of
Sons.
It would appear that after leaving Sulm, Kyuss travelled south and spent some time in exile hiding in the impenetrable Amedio Jungle. Well, in actually, Sean K. Reynolds, when writing The Scarlet Brotherhood sourcebook, placed them there because he thought they were cool. Can't blame him for that, but I don't believe he had a grand plan in mind at the time. In retrospect, though, if Kyuss thought he was going to be hunted down by his enemies, the wild expanse of the Amedio might have seemed like a very good place to hide out for a few years while interest died down. A second possibility is that a teleportation spell or gate transported a Son to that "random" location. Perhaps an explorer at the ruins of Unaagh used teleportation on an attacking Son to get rid of it and that's where he ended up. Note that it would have to be a secondarily infected Son, such as an explorer to the Necropolis, or the foul undead would disintegrate once away from the Necropolis. Because the Sons so easily infest humanoids, that displaced individual would have initiated a new point of infestation which has been spreading ever since.
It appears that after spending some time in the Amedio, Kyuss felt
it was safe enough to travel again, and eventually settled in the
Wormcrawl Fissure (WGR5 Iuz the Evil, pg 54-55), an isolated extension
of the great Rift Canyon, in the region now known as the Bandit
Kingdoms. Whatever his reasons for relocating, it appears that his
research had continued beyond what he had accomplished at the
Necropolis. Experiments on giant insectoids produced the vile Hounds of
Kyuss (Dragon 270, pg 75). What other dark secrets lie in the Fissure
are unknown, but the ulgurstasta (Dragon 276, pg. 88-89) appears to
represent the pinnacle of Kyuss' research. This colossal horror may
have indeed been too much for Kyuss to handle, and may have had some
responsibility for his ultimate disappearance.
In addition to the undead presence, the Wormcrawl Fissure is also
known to contain an unusual number of very bizarre, almost alien,
species of life as well. Whether Kyuss collected these organisms from
elsewhere and brought them here as part of his research, whether they
were here already, or whether they arrived after Kyuss' time is
unknown. What is known is that the Sons of Kyuss wandering the Fissure,
known as "Favored Sons",
are exceptionally powerful. While these individuals may represent an
advancement in Kyuss' research, a few sages believe there are other
underlying reasons. Some have postulated the presence of an unknown
artifact that may be affecting the undead and attracting other strange
organisms. Yet others believe there is some ancient, buried arcane
force
in the area, something that not only is affecting the area, but may
have been the reason why Kyuss called the location home in the first
place. This mysterious force may be responsible for many of the unusual
features of the Canyon, including the arcane substance known as Rift flowstone.
The more
daring suggest that Kyuss may still be there, himself
affected by his own twisted research, and the presence of their
"father" strengthens the "children".
Whether Kyuss has achieved some level of immortality, either as
undead or as some form of deification (Living Greyhawk Journal #03),
what is certain is that the memory of Kyuss has begun attracting sick
and demented cultists. As these cults begin to grow and spread, they
will no doubt cause more and more trouble across the Flanaess. Unlike
any other undead, the incredibly virulent nature of the Sons allows
them to spread like a plague through populations, with the potential to
destroy entire cities. These cults must be watched very closely and
crushed without mercy whenever encountered.
For details on the infamous Sons of Kyuss, they were first described in the original (1981) Fiend Folio pg. 83, reprinted in the 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (1990), and updated to 3rd Edition in the Living Greyhawk Journal #01 (2000) and Dragon Magazine Issue 336 pg. 60 (2005).
If I may step outside my role as sage, allow me to comment on a
trend I do not agree with. Various authors over the past decade or so
have taken virtually every Greyhawk historical figure and deified them
without rhyme or reason. Are there any figures of history that have not
achieved godhood? It is my personal opinion that, in any world, magic
or not, there
should be far more normal historical figures then individuals who make
it into godhood. As for the Greyhawk: A Player's Guide reference naming
Kyuss a
Hero-deity... it
was done without any thought or logic, just for the sake of creating
yet
another deity, and for no real useful purpose at all. Why do we need a
deity for the creation of undead?? There are loads of dead, undead and
death
deities
in Greyhawk already! In my jaded opinion, Kyuss should have remained a
normal historical figure...
with rather unhealthy ideas concerning the selection of research
projects.
And that's how he has remained in my own campaign thus far. For those
insisting on
following Roger's deification, then he ascended after his research
reached its pinnacle at the Wormcrawl Fissure, perhaps after
discovering Wormcrawl's great secret. If you consider him to
be a normal historical figure, yet encounter priests of Kyuss in
products or wish to utilize cults of Kyuss, his priests are unknowingly
(or knowingly) being granted their spells by none other then Nerull
himself as reward for spreading undeath.
After hearing my unique theories on Kyuss' mortal history at
GenCon1999, and finding them both sound and believable, the Greyhawk
sages Erik (Iquander) Mona and Sean Reynolds agreed to canonize my
history (first in Living Greyhawk Journal #03 in 2001). For that, I
thank them.
Much of what is "canon" as defined by the many TSR/WotC authors over
the
years is in direct conflict with itself, often for immediate effect,
rather
then looking for any Big Picture(tm). This particular case (Kyuss) cuts
across products such as Rary the Traitor (which
has
precedence as far as I'm concerned) vs. The Player's Guide vs. the
Scarlet
Brotherhood. While Carl Sargent (in WGR5 Iuz the Evil) put a little
thought into the history of the Sons in Wormcrawl Fissure, Anthony
Pryor (in WGR3 Rary the Traitor) and Sean
Reynolds (in The Scarlet Brotherhood) both placed Sons of Kyuss in
their supplements (in the Bright Desert and the Amedio Jungle,
respectively) because they thought they were a neat monster,
without any real thought or reason. While it is great when "accidents"
of unplanned history can be officially given retroactive explanations
that make sense (such as the adoption of my own history of Kyuss), this
rarely happens. More often then not, Greyhawkian history (and the
history of other worlds also) remains filled with a growing number of
inconsistencies, particularly if one begins looking at the deluge of
Living Campaign materials. This leaves plenty of room for
interpretation by individual
DMs. The story I use in my campaign, as presented above, satisfies
canon
as I see it. Your mileage may vary. As Erik "Iquander" Mona continues
to
spin the Age of Worms adventure path, we will all see
how it plays out (look for Maldin to
appear in Dragon 337's "Wormfood") and I may, in the end, modify my
story of Kyuss as presented here. Check back here periodically!
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