Qywattz
by Marco Dalmonte English translation by Gary DaviesPatron of the Neh-Thalggu, The Great Devourer
Level, Alignment, Sphere: 20th (Empyreal), NE, Thought
Symbol: a mass of purple boils
Portfolio: neh-thalggu, knowledge, power, deceit
Worshipped in: Astral Plane, Nightmare Dimension and anywhere there are neh-thalggu communities
Appearance: a purple mass formed of cerebral matter from which emerge long pseudopods, whose wriggling allow him to move; and who communicates telepathically.
History: PROBABLE THEORY: a member of an ancient race of explorers originating from the Nightmare Dimension, Qywattz was particularly thirsty for knowledge that he would sacrifice anything on the altar of his quest, in the desperate attempt to understand the secrets of Immortality. His desire of knowledge was transformed into a limitless voracity, to the point that gathering the testimonies and the writings of ancient cultures were no longer enough for him. In his haunted mind he began to make room for the idea that in order to discover the secret of the Immortals it would be necessary to have access to the direct experiences and memories of every living creature. So he began to hunt the more erudite beings of the outer planes, and came up with the idea of removing the brains in order to conserve them, creating a magical connection between the brains and his own mind so that in the end he would acquire all their wisdom. His library of brains was always getting larger, but Qywattz knew that he would not be able to carry out this task by himself. So he created a servitor race that he called Neh-Thalggu (creatures with a vaguely spherical body full of humps, with a myriad of tentacles, an enormous mouth of teeth, four eyes and six crab legs, capable of saving the devoured brains in some dorsal sacs, absorbing the memories and abilities of the victims, and for this were called “brain-eaters” by the Mystarans) and instructed his flunkies at the end of gathering as many brains as possible to hand over to him. This attracted to Qywattz the attention of some particularly preoccupied Immortals, and the powerful Ouranos, after having assisted in the total destruction of one of the more peaceful and wise races of the outer planes of which he was patron, was brought to the presence of Qywattz, in his fortress of Jawwag-Uf in the middle of the Astral, to explain his (forlorn) actions towards the (forlorn) creatures. Here however Ouranos fell into the trap set by Qywattz, who up until that moment had provoked disasters in the outer planes with the deliberate intention of attracting an Immortal in his castle. Ouranos was imprisoned with an ancient ritual in a mini-dimension, and isolated from the rest of the Multiverse he was slowly deprived of his powers that flowed instead within Qywattz. Finally Ouranos vanished, and Qywattz having absorbed sufficient power and information by himself became an Immortal of Thought (seeing that this is the Sphere that dominates the Astral Plane in which the transformation took place). However, in fear that his subterfuge was discovered and that the Immortals could harm him, Qywattz prefers to barricade himself in the open area, the Astral, establishing his abode in the depths of his fortress. His neh-thalggu followers with the passing of the centuries converted the castle renaming it the University of Jawwag-Uf, and continuing their mission of gathering other knowledge in any form, amassing it in the university and making it accessible in this way to the ravenous Qywattz.
Qywattz is able to manifest in the dreams of his faithful where ever they are, and is constantly linked to their brains, thus enhancing his perception of the Multiverse. But his hunger was never placated, and for millennia sought a way for transcending Immortality to become eternal, for finally emerging from his hideaway and revealing to the Immortals his real power. For this the neh-thalggu roam all the Multiverse and the other known dimensions to search for new information and brains of every sort to give to their creator.
Patron: unknown [probably none]
Allies: none
Enemies: none
Alignment of followers: any
Favoured weapon: none (allowed all natural weapons)
Clerics’ skills and powers: +1 bonus to Intelligence, +2 bonus to all ST vs. mind-affecting spells
Domains: Thought, Evil, Knowledge, Deceit
Preferred weapon: natural weapons (crush)
Source: Dragon magazine 185