Null

Null (pronounced: /ˈnʊl/ NUL^[4]) was the dragon god of death and undeath with two aspects, The Reaver and the Guardian of the Lost. As the Reaver, he was worshiped by evil dragons and took lives, blessing those who served him in this capacity. As the Guardian, he ferried the souls of dead dragons to Dragon Eyrie and ensured they were no longer troubled by the enemies they may have had in life.^[2][5] The Guardian of the Lost was known as Chronepsis^[6] on other worlds and planes, while the Reaver was known as Faluzure.^[1]

DescriptionEdit

Whichever role he was in at the time, he appeared as an impenetrable region of blackness in the shape of a dragon. Legend also had it that to touch him was to instantly die.^[2] His voice was said to be the dusty croak of the undead.^[4]

RealmEdit

As a greater deity whose portfolio included the death of dragons, Null's realm in Dragon Eyrie was on the peak of the plane and no other draconic god contested that territory.^[5] He also had mausoleums in the Plane of Shadow, in Carceri, and in the Outlands.^[1]

PersonalityEdit

Null was prideful and arrogant, fatalistic and utterly humorless. Although he wasn't easily angered, he held grudges over offenses and attacks, whether real or imagined, and these developed into undying hatred.^[4]

HistoryEdit

It was widely believed among his followers that Null was the son of Asgorath and brother of Bahamut and Tiamat.^[4]

During the Time of Troubles, Null approached the Cult of the Dragon, in an attempt to counter Tiamat's efforts to incorporate the cultists into her own faith. Ill-regarded members of the Sembian cult cells whispered that Null was destined to rule the world with the Cult of the Dragon as his worldly vassals, but it was unknown if Null made such claims himself.^[4]

Recent HistoryEdit

Around 1480 DR,^{[note 4]} the black dragon Gryznath, a Chosen of Faluzure, was sent by his god to topple the theocracy of Elturgard. Gryznath took the chance to try to convert an orc horde to the worship of Faluzure.^[7] While his plans were thwarted when a band of adventurers killed the dragon, some paladins of Torm believe Gryznath was later revived by Faluzure as an undead, as his remains were never found.^[8]

WorshipersEdit

Null was worshiped by dragons of all alignments, living and undead, because of his dual role. Whether a goodly dragon wished to speed a lost loved one to the afterlife or an evil one wanted to attack a city with an army of undead, a prayer was said to Null.^[2][4]

ClergyEdit

Dragons and dracoliches who venerated Null and were capable of casting priest spells were considered Null's clerics, and were known as annihilists.^[4]

TemplesEdit

Temples to Null took the form of underground caverns that were cloaked in shadows and only dimly lit. Dragons of all breeds and alignments made their way to these places before they died, and their remains lay strewn across the floor, including whatever treasure the dragons had worn. The spirits of these dragons, as well as other spectral guardians, stayed to guard the temple from any who sought to steal from the burial pit.^[4]

Two Nullist centers of worship were of major significance to his followers. The Well of Dragons was a huge natural cauldron located due east of the Skull Gorge, and countless dragons visited the ancient temple to die there. It was believed the Dire Dragon had his lair in that temple. The Crypt of Dragons was an underground cavern-tomb somewhere near the town of Hilp in Cormyr. The shrine was dedicated to the Guardian of the Lost and was though to be the biggest remaining temple dedicated exclusively to Null's non-evil aspect.^[9]

DogmaEdit

The Guardian of the Lost taught that all life eventually led into death, which was simply a starting point to another kind existence. True death, on the other hand, was final and absolute.^[4]

The Reaver taught that death and decay were inevitable and omnipresent and that dragons should incorporate aspects of death into their lives in order to truly be strong. Embracing death in life heralded that one day the afterlife would be part of the living world as well.^[4]

RitesEdit

Null followers were preoccupied with necromantic investigations and the philosophical contemplation of death.^[9]

The Drawing Down ceremony was held no more than once every lunar month, commencing on the night of the waning half-moon and lasting for a fortnight, culminating at the new moon. In this time, dragons of every breed performed elaborate ceremonies of corporeal internment as they sent the spirits of the recently deceased to the Guardian of the Lost.^[9]

During total solar eclipses, followers of the Reaver celebrated the Nullification. At this time, followers of Reaver went on a rampaged throughout Faerûn, causing devastation and death. The one who scored the greatest number of mammalian casualties was said to be transformed into a Wyrm of Death and become high priest of Null until the next eclipse.^[9]

RelationshipsEdit

Null, as the Guardian of the Lost, was dispassionate and held no allegiances nor enemies, though Labelas Enoreth had an understanding with him.^[6]

Null, as the Reaver, really hated his siblings, Bahamut and Tiamat. Although he was once an ally of Tiamat, some rift in prehistory drove them into everlasting enmity.^[4] He also hunted Hlal, who, according to myths, once played a particularly elaborate practical joke on him that enraged him so much so that he did not give up the chase, also targeting Hlal's worshipers.^[2][4] Null resented Tamara's interference with the inevitability of death as well, and hated her with a special passion.^[4]

His only known ally was Kalzareinad, and the death of the demigod led scholars to speculate he sought others to replace him.^[4] Null may have been gifted with the secrets of creating dracoliches after Kalzareinad's passing.^[9]

AppendixEdit

NotesEdit

ReferencesEdit

ConnectionsEdit