Dagon

Dagon, also called the Prince of the Depths, was a primordial, an obyrith, and a demon lord. His realm was the Shadowsea, the 89 layer of the Abyss.

"There once was an isle dead west of the sunset, A place where the sun's rays danced carefree and bright. Its shores all a'sparkle in white shining beaches, And jungles aplenty with game day and night.

They say that the people who dwelt there were happy, They say that they lived their lives simple and fair, Yet one day a bitter wind rose from the ocean And took the poor folk by surprise unaware.

For ruin had risen in thunderous fury, A ravenous shadow fell over the shore. And when Father Dagon's black gullet gaped open The waves ran with blood and the isle was no more."

- A traditional sea shanty

Description
Dagon's form was a mixture of both octopus and fish. Dagon sprouted countless tentacles and was covered in black, rubbery skin that was punctuated with many red, unblinking eyes. Fish scales shielded his flesh, and row upon row of long fangs jutted from his maw. He stood more than tall and was considered one of the most fearsome of the demon lords.

History
In ancient myth, when the first primordials arrived in the Abyss, Dagon was already there, lurking in the depths. When Demogorgon went to claim the shard of evil, Dagon rose out of the Blood Sea to challenge him for control. Though they fought a titanic battle, the shard was claimed instead by Obox-ob. In later times, Dagon was the only one of the demon lords to be known openly as an obyrith.

Dagon's history on Toril lay below the surface of the Sea of Fallen Stars and the waters in the west of Maztica. He and his minions lurked for a long time in the Trench of Lopok and were only known as "Those who Sleep Below". They infested the dreams of those who swam in the Sea of Fallen Stars with nightmares. The most ambitious of the demons was Prince Dagon, who planned to overcome a pantheon of sea creatures and achieve their divine powers. To reach this goal he brought the depths of the Sea of Fallen Stars under the control of his servants and their forces. The next step was made with long-forgotten eldritch magic. He restricted the influence of the deities of the shalarin in the Sea of Corynactis, on the west of Maztica.

The next step was the creation of five "wild tides" to sweep large numbers of shalarin into the Sea of Fallen Stars, where his minions could slaughter them. The first wild tide began in with the opening of the Wildtide Portals connecting the two ocean realms. Many shalarin were swept into the Sea of Fallen Stars, where roughly 70% died under the attacks of Dagon's servants. The rest were only rescued by the intervention of enemies of Dagon, like merfolk.

Dagon repeated this tactic every 720 years and the last wild tide was in the. This time, the portal stayed and became permanent. The shalarin of Faerûn kept the portal a secret, fearing that others could use it for their own ends. But another fact was more disturbing for them. Between the fourth and fifth tide, the shalarin of their homelands near Maztica had all but abandoned their gods because they had grown silent. Instead of the gods, they began to venerate the demon Dagon and his cult became the dominant religion in the Sea of Corynactis. The shalarin of the Sea of Fallen Stars cut off the travel between their communities. But it was too late and the cult of Dagon had already taken root among their ranks and grew in secret.

Cult of Dagon
Dagon was served by aquatic demons, especially wastrilith, and was worshiped by aquatic races such as kraken, chuuls, sea hags, water nagas, and kuo-toa.

Progeny
Dagon also seems to have had heroic, "good" progeny in Faerûn, one for certain in the form of Captain Aulruick Thoster, one of the heroes attempting to stop the eladrin Malyanna from opening the Far Manifold with the Key of Stars in the. Thoster's heritage manifested itself in increments periodically during his quest; originally, he believed it to be of kuo-toa origin, but eventually it was revealed to him (via an extremely painful transformation) that he was in actuality a 'demon scion' and a direct descendant of Dagon.

The Outcast Dagon
The demon lord Dagon should not be confused with the exiled devil of the same name, who dwelled on Avernus, first layer of the Nine Hells. Originally known as Jaqon, Asmodeus forcibly changed Jaqon's name to "Dagon" to thwart attempts to summon the offender.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Throne of Bloodstone