What is Chaos?

What the Wind Lord Teaches

originally published in Lords of Terror

Where did chaos come from?
Can you tell me the truth about...?
The Evil Gods

Where did chaos come from?

The world grew from nothing, created by Umath and his family, and nurtured by Orlanth Lifebringer and his companions. Chaos came from the Outer Void, to harm the eternal Silence we can never know. It seeks to return the world to nothing, for that is what it is, the emptiness inside each of us.

Where does chaos come from now?

Chaos comes from all around us. The greatest source of chaos in the world is Dorastor, the cursed land, and we must guard against it with our lives and souls. Broos are everywhere. Chaos also comes from the north, when the Crimson Bat comes at the Emperor's call. Chaos comes from the West, where the atheists refuse to believe in evil. In my homeland of Dragon Pass chaos comes from a place named Ginijji, which outsiders call Snake-Pipe Hollow, and from Delecti's Swamp, and from the invading Lunars.

Why do we die?

Once the world was a perfect place. Everyone was happy, and no one ever got angry. Then the evil gods grew jealous, thinking that only they should be happy, and so they released death into the world. When death did not grant them the power they sought (for Orlanth's deadly brother tamed it), the Unholy Trio released chaos as well, and the old world was destroyed. Only Orlanth and his companions saved us, and you should praise them every day for saving us, and look joyfully to the day when death, servant and brother of Orlanth, sends you to our Lord's Hall.

Why am I here?

You are here to guard against our enemies, of which the greatest is chaos. You must destroy it, whether you seek it out like the crazy Uroxi or defend against it in your home like the brave farmers of Barntar. If you are like me you will follow the winds, and they will take you where you are needed the most. As long as you follow Orlanth you need never fear death at the hands of chaos.

How does chaos do magic?

All chaos magics are evil, and require the conquest or death of other entities, whether gods, spirits, or men. If you ever find one of the broo fetishes you should bring it to the Storm Voices or Kolati, so that they can heal or release the poor souls which the evil ones have enslaved. If you ever find one of their foul altars you should come tell me, and I will lead you in destroying it.

I have heard of other evil things. Can you tell me the truth about ...

...dwarfs?

Mostal is hollow, but he is not chaos. The Mostali are greedy and empty, and are like undead in many ways, but they are alive. They do not know joy or love or the free winds, but they do not work to harm the world. However, their works can let chaos back into the world, as they did in the First and Second Ages, but if you stay away from their machines and do not go underground, they will not bother you.

...sorcerers?

The Emptied Ones have sold their souls for evil magic. They do not care for honor or truth, sacrificing everything in their lust for knowledge and power, perverting the gifts given to all men by Orlanth Lawspeaker. They seek to master the world, but cannot even master themselves. Most of them are not of chaos, however, and some fight against it even as we do. But we can never be friends.

...trolls?

Kyger Litor is evil, but she is not chaos. Her children the trolls are always hungry, and will eat you as soon as a cow, but they are not chaos. They fought against the Devil with Orlanth, and bore the worst of the fighting after our Lord left with the Lightbringers to redeem us. Avoid them when you can and kill them when you must, but do not hate them, for they hate chaos even more than you do.

...werewolves?

The Telmori were originally as natural to the world as our Yinkini brothers. But they followed Gbaji the Deceiver and took the taint of chaos to strengthen themselves, and now they are all evil. Sartar tried to tame them, and even allowed them into his kingdom, but they betrayed him, and now guard the Lunar puppet in Boldhome. They are only a little chaos since Laughing Talor cursed their chaotic powers, but you should stay away from their homes on the Wolf Plateau, for they would eat you as soon as they would a deer.

...the Lunar Empire?

The Lunar Empire is the new source of chaos in the world. The Lunars try to convince people that chaos has the potential for good, but only the Appeasers believe them, and they will learn their mistake soon enough. The Evil Empire has driven us from our homes, stolen our property, and tried to keep us from worshipping Orlanth, but they will not be able to bind us forever. Here in Riskland we are free to worship, and they think themselves generous to allow us this. They are fools to do this, for we are not Deceived. Soon we will rise up and drive them back into the Void, as we must all chaos.

The Evil Gods

Bagog, Scorpion Queen

This monster is the mother of the Scorpion Men, and long ago sold her children into the slavery of chaos. She is the Devourer, worse even than trolls, for at least what they devour stays eaten. Her meals turn into foul parodies of the things eaten, and I once had to kill my own cousin when I saw him returned from death as a foul scorpion hybrid. I have never faced so deadly or tragic a fight, but I liberated his soul to return to Orlanth, bless the winds.

The Crimson Bat

This creature is the greatest chaos monster in the world, second only to the Goddess in its evil and horror. It was banished by Arkat the Savior, but the Red Goddess brought it back to prove her chaotic nature. The Evil Emperor keeps it always in our lands, to oppress us and humiliate Orlanth for his failure to kill chaos at Castle Blue. It was killed at Boldhome, but returns at the Emperor's call, to devour our bodies and our souls.

Gbaji

The Deceiver almost destroyed the world in the Dawn Ages because foolish people would not listen to our ancestors. The people of that age dreamed of recreating Yelm's stagnant kingdom, and tricked many others into following them. They wanted to rule the world, and turned to chaos in their wickedness. Gbaji was beautiful to behold and spoke pleasantly, but his face and words were but masks for his evil ways. Arkat slew him, but was destroyed in the process, and together they let chaos back into the world, not just once now but many times. Beware those who ask strange questions, for they allow the Deceiver to come in whether they know the answers or not.

Lokamayadon

Lokamayadon is our greatest enemy and our greatest shame, for he was an Orlanthi who conspired with Gbaji to let chaos into the world. He replaced Orlanth's clean winds with the foul winds of Ragnaglar, and enslaved his own people for personal power. He betrayed his own Ring, and so Orlanth Lightbringer sent Harmast to save us and kill the Mad God once more. Beware your inner voice, for it can lead you to evil if you let it drown out the teachings of Orlanth Goodvoice.

Malia, Foul Mistress

Malia is the Mistress of Plague, and she and her followers breed disease in the world. The broos revel in her foul sacrifices, and those who let hate burn out their souls sometimes follow her as well. She is the great illness, and when blessed Chalana finally cures the world, we will be free from her taint forever.

Ragnaglar, the Mad God

This evil god was the Father of Wakboth the Devil, and it was he who first traded his soul for the powers of chaos. His twisted broo children turned on him, and so gained the blessings of chaos as well. Mighty Urox slew him with his horns of iron and so we are free of his madness, but the evil that first came from him infects the world, and will until his last child is dead. There are secrets of the Mad God which I will tell you when your souls is strong enough to face the terrible truth.

Shepelkirt, the Red Goddess

Everyone knows of this evil goddess, for the wound in Orlanth is visible in the sky to all. She claims to be able to master the terror of chaos to serve life, but she uses Gbaji's lies to enslave the souls of her misguided worshipers, and she will destroy the world if not stopped. We fight against her with every breath we take, and with every prayer to Orlanth. She is afraid to face us directly, and so uses her chaotic tools to conquer us: the Crimson Bat, her son the Red Emperor, and the Land of Doom.

Thanatar, the Severed God

This god is a headless monster with no mind or magic of his own, and so he steals the heads of others to bring terror into the world. He was beheaded and almost slain in the Darkness by the sons of Urox, but was brought back to unholy life by Gbaji, and his followers still hunt the heads of others to steal their magic and knowledge. His victims are doomed to a tortured undead existence, and only the desecration of their already-violated bodies can free their souls.

Thed, Mother of the Broos

Thed was wounded by Urox in the Storm Age, but turned to chaos to gain revenge on the entire world instead of just her enemy. She is the best example of the torment of chaos, for she lost everything she had when she gave birth to Wakboth. She was turned inside out, and now haunts the Spirit Plane, spurring her children to ever greater acts of evil and horror. She was abused by her child the Devil, and each abuse she allowed brought more chaos into the world.

Urain

Violence has always been a tool and strength of Orlanth, for war and death can be used as tools of life. But when violence knows no restraint it becomes a tool of chaos and destruction, creating nothing in its wake. This first happened when the black clouds of chaos dropped the Bad Rain into the world, but it has happened often, whenever a warrior or berserker allows the violence to completely fill their soul. Do not let violence take control of you, for even the blessed healers cannot calm the soul of Urain, and any warrior with the battle madness must be put down like a rabid beast.

Vivamort

Vivamort created the first vampire, and those men afraid of death sometimes turn to him to defy the natural ways of the world. He gained evil powers from the Devil, at the cost of his soul, and any vampire which is destroyed is gone forever, into the void of chaos. He is the source of the evils of the Upland Swamp in my homeland, for the Necromancer Delecti is a master of his undead powers.

Wakboth the Devil

Wakboth the Devil was the greatest manifestation of chaos in the world. He was the child of the Unholy Trio, and he embodied the fear and hatred of Ragnaglar, Thed, and Malia with an unholy glee. His presence doomed the world, and only the actions of Orlanth and his brothers saved us then. Urox the Berserker rallied all of the forces of life to slay him, and Humakt the Sword used the powers of Death to slay the Void that remained. Then mighty Orlanth rallied all of the forces of the world to trap the hollow shell that came to destroy even the dead, grinding it into dust and liberating Arachne Solara to reweave the world. Wakboth can never come back, though pieces of him are sometimes found and used to create new forms of chaos, such as Gbaji, Zistor, and Shepelkirt.

Zistor, the Machine God

Zistor is a foul parody of life, a created being with the powers of a god but no soul. He was created by the God Learners in the Second Age, when the atheists of the West ruled the world. He taught his empty secrets to many people before he was destroyed by Orlanth, and remnants of his evil can still be found in the machines of the dwarfs, who allowed his release in the first place. He is worse than undead, for he is empty even of the will to live again, since he was never alive in the first place.