Ihys

Ihys

(Deity)

Titles

The First

Worshipers

None

Source: Princes of Darkness, pg(s). 34–35

Ihys was one of the first deities and the brother and equal of Asmodeus. According to the Book of the Damned, he was one of the two primeval entities with his brother; together, they are known as the First.

According to the Windsong Testaments and the Concordance of Rivals, Ihys and his brother were two of the first eight deities of this incarnation of reality, born when Pharasma used the Seal to will existence into being. According to the Concordance of Rivals, Ihys was also the first soul to be judged by Pharasma.

History

The Birth of the First

The Book of the Damned and Concordance of Rivals claim that the First were born spontaneously from the mysterious source of life known as the Seal and began as formless motes of energy. When the Seal birthed other, lesser motes, the First became self-aware. Eons passed, and slowly the First, and the lesser motes, began exploring creation. These were the first gods. One of the First uttered the first sound, discovering the power of speech and, thus, knowledge. He named himself Ihys and his brother Asmodeus.

Creation of mortality

Ihys and Asmodeus, together with the lesser deities, began to sculpt creation to their liking and slowly introduced the concept of order into reality, creating stars, planets, and the fundamental laws that bind them. Then Ihys forever changed their creation: he created the first mortals, discovering the concept of souls and worship, and the other deities followed his example. Amid the rampant creation and destruction of new life, Ihys felt sympathy for mortals, who as of yet were but puppets for the deities and granted them the right to forge a destiny of their own.

Ihys' gift of free will upon mortals caused the first schism of the gods. On the one side were those (like Asmodeus) who viewed mortals as mere tools and those (as himself) who desired freedom for their creations.

War in Heaven

According to the Book of the Damned, Asmodeus—devasted by his brother's act—showed Ihys the chaos and destruction that he had sowed, and Ihys became the first being to know regret; but according to the Book of the Damned the empyreal lord Sarenrae came to him and showed him that great good had also come from mortals' freedom and that other gods supported him. War tore the gods, the first conflict between order and chaos. Ihys defended the right of mortals to choose their own destiny with Sarenrae at his right hand. According to the Concordance of Rivals, Pharasma created the River of Souls to guide the souls scattered and lost during the battle.

Finally, on a distant world, Ihys and Asmodeus met for the last time on the field of battle. Asmodeus offered his hand in brotherhood, and then performed the first act of treachery, murdering Ihys with a great spear.

In a last act of sympathy for his brother, Asmodeus allowed Ihys's dream of freedom to stand. He then created Hell as a monument to the old ways of absolute, merciless order and as a warning of what he would one day make anew. According to the Concordance of Rivals, Ihys subsequently volunteered to be the first soul to be judged by Pharasma.

The Ihystear

Only one remnant of Ihys remains—the Ihystear, a fragment of the spear Asmodeus used to slay him. This artifact holds within it the final scream Ihys uttered. It has remained in the Catafalque for centuries, appearing only recently on Golarion.

References

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