Nyarlathotep

=Overview= Nyarlathotep is the true name of one of the Archdemons of the Netherworld. In particular, he is Asmodeus' second-in-command. He is one of the archvillains of the Greatest Secrets story.

Nyarlathotep travels to many reaches of the cosmos to cause chaos and havoc among different civilizations. His goal is directly opposed to that of the Aesir - he seeks to corrupt civilizations that the Aesir wish to protect. In this sense, Nyarlathotep is more directly involved in the Great War than his master.

=Forms and Avatars= Nyarlathotep is infamous among the Aesir for his ability to change into a seemingly infinite amount of forms and avatars. This makes it incredibly difficult for the Aesir to track and identify him, as he can move about the cosmos at will and appear different in each location.

Some of his forms include:


 * Black Mass: A continuously shapeshifting cloud of black smoke.
 * Dark Man: Appears as a middle-aged Earthling wearing jeans and a leather jacket with various peace symbols.  His eyes are a dark black.
 * Black Knight: A towering figure clad in dark armor who ravages the battlefield with black lightning.
 * Obsidian Whisp: Appears to be a misty congregation of bones and smog.  Used when Nyarlathotep travels to different worlds.

=Activities= Nyarlathotep is responsible for the fall of numerous civilizations formerly under the protection of the Aesir. In particular, he was able to convince the Korellians that the Aesir were false gods who are a plague to the galaxy, thus putting the Korellians into direct conflict with the Aesir.

Many of Nyarlathotep's activities have gone unrecorded, either where he failed at his duty or where his influence has not been identified as a cause to a civilization's downfall. More importantly, his exploits on Borendil had a direct influence on the events of the Great Plague and the later Borendil Wars.

In particular, he entered the Elurian Unification War as the Black Knight, a mercenary hired by General Leonidas to help him in his rogue campaign. However, his goal was not to support the Empire, rather, he recruited a group of individuals by giving them the Black Crown Rune and the Pale Sword Rune, with the purpose of raising an army to conquer all of Borendil, a task Nyarlathotep considered to be relatively easy since it would take place during the Elurian Unification War when the Zamrian Empire and the United Colonies were already at war. Fortunately for the planet, Nyarlathotep's efforts proved to be wasted after a loose coalition of countries under the leadership of the Holy Kingdom of Arduran held back the demonic forces until the Beliskner arrived at the end of the Chaos War to destroy the source of the demonic army.

Nyarlathotep also had a hand in the Chaos War. After Uvatha the Horseman manipulated the Twilight Cult into unsealing the Twilight Alliance, Nyarlathotep appeared on the planet to mastermind the Chaos War. Under his leadership, the Twilight Alliance almost succeeded in annihilating the forces of the Island Nations Federation, until a group of agents from the Order of Lost Histories discovered Beliskner.

=Rivalry= Pursuit from the Aesir is often not a major problem for Nyarlathotep since he can easily evade them. However, interferance by the Elder God Vorvadoss has halted Nyarlathotep's schemes on multiple occasions.

In particular, Nyarlathotep's exploits in the Elurian Unification War were slowed down when Vorvadoss arrived on Borendil to help the Colonial Army. Both beings played behind the scenes, though the influence of both eventually negated each others' presence and the war was left in mortal hands.

The final duel between Nyarlathotep and Vorvadoss took place in 2049 AO in the Grand Cathedral at the end of the Borendil World War. The Aesir cornered Nyarlathotep on the planet and prevented him from leaving by using a magic field device crafted using Elven knowledge of magic, provided by Asmodan Numitari. Vorvadoss defeated Nyarlathotep and sent his essence into the Void.

=Reference= Nyarlathotep was inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft character of the same name.