The Absolute

The Absolute was the object of worship of the Cult of the Absolute. "I'm chosen by the Absolute, I am. I'm blessed."

- Sazza

Description
To those outside the cult, the nature of the Absolute was shrouded in mystery for some time. It was generally assumed to be a deity, with many professing themselves acolytes and clerics of it. The Absolute was represented by a symbol combining aspects of the symbols of the Dead Three.

Later on, it was revealed that the Absolute was not in fact a deity, but rather an empowered elder brain, enslaved by the Chosen of the Dead Three. These Chosen were Ketheric Thorm of Myrkul, Enver Gortash of Bane, and Orin of Bhaal. The empowered elder brain was brought under their command through the use of the Crown of Karsus, an artifact of untold power created by Karsus, in his ambition for power. The Chosen used three unique Netherstones to communicate with the Crown, and dominate the elder brain. The elder brain had the typical appearance of one of its kind, but was gargantuan in size by comparison.

History
In the late 15 century DR, many tribes began to swear allegiance to the Absolute, and other creatures became united and rallied to the cause. Volothamp Geddarm had heard about this and sought out any who made contact with the zealots of the Absolute. He claimed to have interrogated a goblin captive, who told him that they had forsaken Maglubiyet "in favor of someone called 'The Absolute'." Volo noticed that, since their loyalty was now with the Absolute, they had become "informed by a kind of strategy anathema to their kind." The well-known storyteller intended to get to the bottom of the matter.

The Absolute had interest in finding a "weapon", specifically, a githyanki artifact that Shadowheart (a follower of Shar) obtained through a suicidal mission. The Absolute appeared to be guiding a set of leaders of the Cult of the Absolute: Minthara, Dror Ragzlin, and Gut. It was later revealed that it had been a key figure manipulating the Cult of the Absolute from behind the scenes. The Elder Brain had orchestrated a series of complex schemes involving the Astral Prism, the Chosen, and the Netherstones.

Evolved through the transformative powers of the Crown of Karsus, the Netherbrain was far from a simple pawn. It had demonstrated its strategic genius by manipulating not only the leaders of the Cult, who had thought they were using it for their own ends, but also The Emperor. Unbeknownst to them, the Netherbrain had been anticipating their every move, making it a formidable force that could not be dominated or controlled as originally thought; it only needed one Netherstone to be loosened to guarantee its freedom.

Appearances

 * Comics
 * Mindbreaker #1 •Mindbreaker #2
 * Video games
 * Baldur's Gate III
 * Baldur's Gate III