Eiriogh

A wrathful deity of primordial fire locked away for his crimes against humanity, at least that is what people believed before he was forgotten and lost to time entirely. Centuries of being exiled and forgotten has reduced him to a dark creature that waits for the day someone calls upon his services, someone who will release him from his chains.

Not only controls, but IS element of fire in all its related forms (smoke, molten rock, ash, the sun and summer); apparent shapeshifting as he can take on a human and hybrid form but this ability responds to hi his outward personality, mental and emotional state.

Centuries later in the current era, Eiriogh is summoned, invited back to the material plane through making a binding deal with Eric - power/control over fire and resurrection from the dead in exchange for his mortal soul. His ultimate goal is to seek out and destroy those who betrayed him by engulfing the world in fire. In his hasty decision to posesse Eric, Eiriogh did not consider how uncooperative Eric would be, and spends most of his time trying to convince/manipulate Eric into letting Eiriogh take control.

Appearances

Centuries to millennia old and has has different forms - how human he appears is directly linked to the amount of humanity he has left in him:

  • About 6' when appearing human as well as his other humanoid forms, could be anywhere between 30-50 years old, golden piercing eyes, hair black as pitch, sometimes with horns, or horns representing a "crown," was known as Aeghan in this form.
  • his in-between forms range from mostly human with dragon-like feature to mostly dragon-like in shape and size. The Lord of the Bonfire had a hybrid form, so did Riogh Aeghan towards the end of his reign, before he was given the title Ever King to mock his indefinite claims to the throne.
  • As a dragon or beast, stands about 15' at the head, gray to dark gray with gilded "hot spots" which do in fact, give off heat. Scales have the texture of charcoal or molten rock; has a "mane" of smoke the seeps out between his scale. This could go as far as him being a creature made of pure fire in the shape of a dragon. This form is manic and single minded, cannot be reasoned with.
  • His elemental forms (fire, smoke, ash, molten rock) have limited sentience and are more like extensions of himself. This is mainly how he interacts with Eric Brennus since his physical being is trapped on another plane of existence. Eiriogh would be extremely vulnerable if his entire being was reduced to this state.

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Titles & Namesake

Has acquired many names and titles, most recently (and the only name he remembers) is Eiriogh (pronounced "EHR-ROG") or Everking. Has been the man Aeghan, an entity known only as Lord of the Bonfire, and before that, simply the aspect of fire, smoke and ash.

"eiriogh" and "eric" both mean "ever king"

  • Eric - "ever ruler", from the Old Norse name Eiríkr, derived from the elements ei "ever, always" and ríkr "ruler, king".
  • Ríoghan - From Old Irish Rígán, itself from rí "king" (or the derivative ríg "royal") combined with a diminutive suffix.
  • Eiriogh uses the element "ei" and the name "rioghan" with the diminutive suffix -an dropped since "ever king" is an ironic insulting title, not an affectionate pet name.

Background

more of a timeline of his early history, since thematically he's molded by his role in the narrative.

Eiriogh is a Fomorian, an ancient creature of chaos. At the beginning, he was merely a formless, nameless primordial being of fire, born from molten rock, playing their part in chaotic cycle of pre history. After humans appear, this entity is both feared and respected for its destructive nature; humans attempt to appease it with offerings/sacrifices to convince it to not destroy their settlements, with mixed success.

Control of fire by early humans was critical to their survival, which is what drew Eiriogh to humanity. People would call upon the Lord of the Bonfire to protect them from the dangers of the night, so long as they could pay the price of his protection (sacrifice or tribute). The Lord was a fae-like entity, that could be benevolent and helpful, but actively worked to trick people or pull them under his influence. It went on like this until one brave hero was able to best, outwit or trick Eiriogh into willing servitude. He became a guardian spirit, then eventually the man Aeghan. Aeghan would fight against the Fomorians, his own kin in the wars to come, marking him as a traitor to his kind but a beloved folk hero and true leader in the eyes of the people.

Aeghan is crowed high king, Riogh Aeghan, in the new era of peace ushered in by the defeat of the Fomorians who sought to wipe out all life. He is one of three high rulers who would rule in tandem. This marks the turning point and would lead to his eventual downfall. After a number of years, Aeghan begins to sympathize with the suffering of his kin and the fae folk at the hands humans, and his role in tipping that balance. Aeghan's lineage, loyalties are called into question, he is accused of favoring fae over humanity and looses public favor. What is a god, if they are not worshiped and beloved by the people? He becomes increasingly withdrawn, attacked by these accusations and becomes what people believe him to be - a cruel and cunning tyrant, something monstrous and reminiscent of the Lord of Bonfires.

As things come to a head, Aeghan in his mania slays the other two high rulers and takes the capital city by force, naming himself Ei Riogh, the forever ruler. After a long bloody siege, Ei Riogh is eventually laid low by powerful magicians, magically shacked and banished to the "space between." They did not risk killing him for fear of his next self returning to enact vengeance - this was the only way to truly have control over his fire.

Those that remember him, remember him only as a villain, Eiriogh the Everking.

Factions, Relationships & Connections

  • Eric Brennus - a reckless youth who accidentally “summoned” and agreed to let Eiriogh to possess him. Eiriogh exists between worlds and now he's stuck with Eric who is his only connection to the mortal plane. In D&D terms, Eiriogh would fit nicely in the role of a forgotten god and warlock patron in regards to his relationship to Eric. Another take on their relationship (mostly from putting them in different settings) is that Eiriogh is related to Eric by blood, either distantly or as close as being Eric's biological father, making Eric his eventual successor and steward of fire.
  • Cenn - is/was his closest friend/brother/kin who turned Eiriogh over to saboteurs in the interest of gaining favor with the new regime. Cenn is/was Eiriogh equal and in every way, but was born of the primordial elements of water, they were doomed to be at odds from the start.
  • The Goddess of the Hearth - brief association, perhaps even courted the Goddess of the hearth, as the hearth was the place in the home where the fire lived. This person was probably responsible for introducing and helping Eiriogh intergrate into human society.

Themes

  • The Hanged Man (tarot) - in a state of limbo, suspended in time and viewing the world from a completely different perspective.
  • The Devil (tarot) - oppression, obsession, powerlessness and limitation.

Other

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I'll usually draw him to a fit a specific theme or composition I have in mind because he's more of an amorphous concept to serve the narrative of the story in a mythological sense, so feel free to take creative liberties!

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Meredith Nolan © <% tp.date.now("YYYY") %>