Eberron Rising From the Last War

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
Dark Six

The Dark Six are the shadows of the Sovereign Host.
These dark gods shape the world and are present at all
times, speaking to those willing to hear them. Where
the Sovereigns govern positive forces, the Dark Six are
the source of fears. Arawai and Balinor reflect the posi­
tive aspects of nature. The devastating storm, the earth­
quake, the wildfire? These are the work of the Devourer.
The Dark Six and the Sovereign Host are opposite
sides of the same coin. If you believe in one, you ac­
knowledge the existence of the other. The only question
is whether you fear the Six or revere them. Those who
choose to follow these sinister deities embrace dark­
ness. A barbarian may thank the Fury for the gift of
rage. An assassin walks the path of the Mockery, while a
warlock's pact may be a gift of the Shadow.
The Dark Six inspire worship in different ways among
diverse cultures. Temples to the Dark Six appear in
Droaam, along with wild revels driven by the Fury. The
Dark Six aren't worshiped openly elsewhere in Khor­
vaire; the gods' shrines are hidden, and it's more com­
mon to find a cult devoted to a single member of the Six
than a temple dedicated to the entire pantheon.

T:aE Srx
These common names and attributes describe the Dark
Six as they are known in Khorvaire:
The Devourer governs the destructive power of nature,
both pure elemental force and savagery in beasts.
The Keeper snatches souls before they can reach
Dolurrh and hoards them along with his vast wealth.
Those driven by greed call him their patron, and his
priests often act as criminal fixers.
The Fury governs both passion and revenge, rage and
despair. She offers revenge to those who have been
wronged, but her vengeance often leads to suffering.
The Mockery is the patron of treachery and ofter­
ror in battle. He guides those who seek victory
through guile, both warriors and assassins. He was
once the brother of Doi Dorn and Doi Arrah, but
he was stripped of his skin and his name after be­
traying them.
The Shadow is the dark side of knowledge and ambi­
tion. It's said to be Aureon's shadow, given malign
life when Aureon mastered magic. The Shadow is
the maker of monsters and the keeper of forbidden
secrets, and it offers malevolent spells to warlocks
and wizards.
The Traveler asserts that chaos drives evolution and
that change makes us stronger. The Traveler is a
trickster and the giver of dangerous gifts. Some ar­
tificers worship the Traveler, seeing it as the lord of
innovation, but the gifts of the Traveler always have
unexpected consequences.

SYMBOL
The Hexagram represents the entire pantheon of the
Dark Six. The Deities of Eberron table lists the common
symbols of the individual gods. However, since the Six
aren't worshiped openly in most of Khorvaire, each sect


THE VOICE OF

lM�ANl


ARE YOU A


SIX FANATIC?


The Va ssals of the Sovereign Host have long condemned
the Dark Six as forces of evil. Ye t correspondents at the
Vo ice of Thrane have uncovered a shocking phenomenon:
long-standing cults that worship members of the Dark
Six alongside the Sovereign Host.
Most of you know of the Restful Watch, the priests
who tend Va ssal cemeteries. What you may not know
is that the priests of the Watch honor both Aureon and
the Keeper! They say that the Keeper snatches the souls
of heroes so they can be preserved from Dolurrh and re­
turned when they are needed once more.
Worse still is the Three Faces of War, a cult that wor­
ships the Sovereigns of War-including the Mockery,
whom they call Doi Azur. Followers of this foul faith say
that the battlefield holds a place for all of these gods, ex­
plicitly embracing a deity they acknowledge as the patron
of treachery and terror! This cult apparently began in the
Karrnathi military but spread across the Five Nations
during the Last War. So next time you're talking to a
Brelish soldier, remember that they might be a devotee of
the Mockery!

chooses a unique symbol based on the nature of their
god. Followers of the Devourer might carry a shark's
tooth or a piece of wood scorched in a wildfire. A Keeper
cult might use the nine-sided coin of Kol Korran with
the face disfigured. A particular sect uses these symbols
consistently, if not obviously.

RITES
The Dark Six are a mirror of the Sovereign Host and
their worship uses similar rituals, including formal ritu­
als conducted in song.
Each of the Six has their own rites. Followers of
the Fury engage in wild revels. Cults of the Devourer
gather around enormous bonfires. Cults of the Mock­
ery conduct ritual combats or gather to torture cap­
tured enemies.

TEMPLES
Temples and shrines of the Dark Six hide behind dis­
guises. A cult of the Mockery might gather in a slaugh­
terhouse, while a shrine to the Shadow remains con­
cealed in the deep stacks of a library. Dedicated temples
are built from dark stone, with six doors and the Hexa­
gram engraved in the fl�or.

CHAPTER 2 I KHORVAIRE GAZETrEER
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