| The Daedra Lords |
|---|
| Ba'al (Prince of Daedra) |
| Suspira (Lust, Desire, Hedonism) |
| Revonos (Rage, Murder, Treachery) |
| Agemnos (Avarice, Ambition, Wealth) |
| Lilith (Nature, Lycanthropy, Undeath) |
| Klepnos (Madness, Trickery, Knowledge) |
| Tallakath (Sickness, Pestilence, Death & Dying) |
| Oblineth (Ice, Winter, The Void) |
| Nocturna (Dreams, Omens, Crossing Over) |
Tallakath (TÁL-lə-KÄÞ) is the younger brother of Akkala, and two people could hardly be more opposite. While Akkala works to bring about the health and wholeness of the mortal races, Tallakath is fascinated by the processes that cause mortals to weaken and die. Death is a foreign concept to the immortal members of the Pantheon, and Tallakath is committed to understanding it: what death is, what mortals experience in the process of dying, and the many ways that death can claim them. Because of this morbid obsession, Tallakath has become known as the master of sickness and pestilence. What would surprise many mortals, however, is that he does not hate mortal life or consider himself its enemy. On the contrary, death is a great mystery, and Tallakath is eternally grateful to the mortal races for supplying him with an unending supply of test subjects for his research.
Appearance & Personality
Tallakath's "truest" physical form is as a tall, emaciated man with pale skin and a dour expression, dressed in a dark brown robe. He can usually be found walking the earth at the sites of battles, famines and plagues, observing the dying with a scientist's professional detachment. He rarely speaks, except to ask questions of the suffering and so better understand their experiences. He does not possess even the barest shred of what we would call empathy; he is interested in the thoughts and emotions of the dying only in so far as it helps to further his research. Very few mortals who have witnessed him in this grisly work ever live to tell the tale, since he tends to single out those who are dying alone and far from help. The few who have seen his "research" and survived report that he offers no words of comfort to the dying, since he does not understand death himself and has no knowledge of which of the Nine Hells a given soul might come to rest in. He does, however, thank his subjects for their input, much as a pollster might thank a person for taking part in a survey — usually just before their souls depart from their bodies.
Divine Intervention
Boons: Very few seek to draw Tallakath's attention to them, much less to request his aid. Those who do call upon him are usually those who are bent on revenge and can think of no better way to carry it out than a slow, lingering death. The Moranasi use proxy spells from Tallakath to afflict their enemies with pain or disease; one such spell actually withers the target's limbs, rendering them useless.
Cost: The only thing that interests Tallakath is his own research, so any price he demands of his supplicants will be directed toward furthering his studies. He might require the supplicant to poison a well, or to carry a cursed artifact into a town that will unleash a plague on its inhabitants. Sometimes all he wants is the opportunity to study the supplicant's own death — and Tallakath usually arranges circumstances so that the supplicant's death is particularly unusual, interesting, and prolonged.
Disciples
Tallakath's servants are few; nearly all mortals despise him and his macabre mission, and even those who will readily bow their knees to other daedra lords will not deign to show him any but the barest degree of respect. The few souls who are depraved enough to call him master are usually necromancers1 who share his interest in death and dying and further his research in the process of conducting their own.
Known Disciples: N/A
Offspring & Servants
Tallakath is shunned by almost the entirety of the Pantheon; while Lilith shares his interest in necromancy and the two sometimes collaborate on research concerning the undead, their relationship is strictly professional. Since none of the other female deities in the Pantheon want anything to do with him, Tallakath has no known offspring. He does use fiendish vultures as servants, however, sending them roaming far and wide over the earth in search of potentially interesting sites for his research.
Symbology
Aura: Green-yellow smoke.
Holy Symbol: The Hourglass — two triangles, one inverted above the other, with their right and left sides forming an "X" shape.
Symbolic Creatures: Hyena, vulture.
d20 Notes
Lesser Deity
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Decay, Pestilence, Suffering
Weapon of the Deity: Strength-Sapping2 Scythe
