Count Ranalc

Count Ranalc

(Deity)

Titles

The Traitor

Realm

Was First World;
banished to the Netherworld;
now unknown

Alignment

Chaotic neutral

Areas of Concern

Betrayal
Exiles
Shadows

Worshipers

Exiles, gnomes, traitors, wayangs

Edicts

Work in shadows, hide your nature and motives, plot or revenge betrayals

Anathema

Ask for forgiveness, create long-lasting or permanent sources of light

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Chaos, Darkness, Nobility, Travel

Subdomains (1E)

Exploration, Loss, Martyr, Night

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Confidence, darkness, sorrow, travel

Favored Weapon

Rapier

Symbol

Eye with crescent moon pupil

Sacred Animal

Bat

Sacred Colors

Black, gray

Source: The First World, Realm of the Fey, pg(s). 18–19 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 78, 126–127 (2E)

Count Ranalc is one of the Eldest of the First World, and a divine fey creature of darkness and the chaos of creation. He was banished millennia ago to the Netherworld for unknown reasons, and has since vanished completely.

History

Count Ranalc was once the lover of the nymph queen Nyrissa. Even though Nyrissa was not a member of the Eldest, Count Ranalc granted her enough powers that she could claim her own realm in the First World. This angered the other Eldest, who sent the Tane known as the Jabberwock to destroy Nyrissa. The nymph queen fled, but was captured and stripped of her assumed powers. In doing so, the Eldest inadvertently created the bastard sword Briar from a shard of the power given to Nyrissa by the Count, infused with the passion the two shared.

Count Ranalc was banished from the First World thousands of years ago by the other Eldest, either for his empowering of Nyrissa or for another betrayal. Hobard's third volume of the Catalogue of Impossible Beings states that after his banishment to the Netherworld, Ranalc carved out a small barony from which he tried to influence the Universe. Records of these interactions date back all the way to the early years of the Age of Anguish, but disappear entirely by the third century AR.

Later records claim that he vanished (and some say was killed) in 166 AR, on the exact date in which the archmage Nex besieged the fledgling city of Absalom. Nex had long alternated between being a friend and bitter enemy of Count Ranalc's. The Zenj epic Song of the Fallen Briar first described Nex interfering with the Count, and Nex would later steal a bandersnatch from the Count's realm in order to defeat pirates besieging Quantium.

Whether there is a connection between these two events puzzles scholars to this day. Hobard claims that the shadowy creatures Nex used to besiege the city had some connection to the missing member of the Eldest.

Some believe that the sword Briar holds a key to restoring the Count, but since the sword has been lost for millennia, the theory has never been tested.

Servants

• Orsig: A violent ankou who searches for Vesper's Rapier, a magical weapon created by the Eldest named Shyka said to have the power to warp time itself. Orsig hopes to use the weapon to bring back his lost master. He and his minions now occupy a lair near Lake Silverstep in the Stolen Lands, where they have heard Vesper's Rapier occasionally appears.

Church of Count Ranalc

Despite his disappearance, spells continue to be granted to his worshipers, contradicting claims of his demise. His followers tend to build their temples in dark ruins, especially ruined shrines or places that have been witness to great betrayals.

Worshipers

Count Ranalc's worshipers are most commonly exiles, gnomes, wayangs, and traitors of all stripes.

Obedience

Certain dedicated worshipers of Count Ranalc perform daily obediences in order to receive divine blessings known as a boons from him. The obedience takes the form of a ritual in which the worshiper first finds a shadowy area and sits down. She then whispers the name of someone who has betrayed her, and whom she hopes to betray in turn, detailing the form this betrayal will take. If the ritual is performed correctly and Count Ranalc deems the worshiper worthy, she becomes more resistant against attacks performed while she is vulnerable, along with other boons dependent on the devotion of the worshiper.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.