Kuvash
The Impaled One, Steelblood. CE demipower of treachery, cowardice (He/Him)
Pantheon: Orcish
Symbol: A burned hand with a hold in the palm
Realm: Carceri / Agathys (Imprisoned)
There are two subjects you should not bring up around Gruumsh—the loss of his eye, and where his favorite spear is. The former is said to be an inestimably powerful artifact somewhere on the Prime; the latter may be found on the dark and forlorn layer of Agathys, lowest layer of Carceri, nestled in the guts of the Impaled One. Gruumsh wanted a son smarter than Bahgtru, and that’s exactly what he received—Kuvash was possessed of both terrible cunning and surpassing boldness, but where his older brother lacked intellect, Kuvash lacked sense and respect. He goaded one of his father’s best lieutenants into challenging a dragon god for supremacy, which ended poorly; he then took that one’s role in the court of Nishrek, where he sowed division and sabotaged a line of battle so that he could miraculously be there to save the day when the goblins broke through. The One-Eyed God refused to see his perfidy—until Kuvash made a play for his remaining eye, having negotiated with enemies of the orcs for a weapon that could blind Gruumsh so that he could be toppled. Furious at his son’s cowardice and treachery, Gruumsh threw his greatest spear through the belly of his insolent child, a strike so hard it sent Kuvash through five layers of Carceri and cracked the endless ice of Agathys, where he continues to bleed divine ichor mixed with the molten steel of his father’s spear, white-hot after millennia from the undying rage of the One-Eyed God. This is the source of his other epithet, Steelblood.
Stories of Kuvash are used to underscore why treachery and cowardice are unforgivable flaws for an orc, but some few worship him in secret. It is believed by sages that Gruumsh knows and tacitly allows this in order to keep Kuvash alive and suffering, which also provides a chance to collect some of the steel that has ebbed from his eternal wound. As well, servants of Kuvash may undermine Ilneval and Shargaas, and attempts to conspire with either god only help the followers of Gruumsh more easily detect treachery. Ghouls are considered beasts of Kuvash, as they are known in stories to arise from cannibals.
Source: Afroakuma
