HOME | DD

Description
An estranged and elusive Demigod, Skornash appears infrequently in mortal folklore, but these few appearances offer a considerable amount of insight into his history. It is believed that Skornash was born alongside Rexillion, the Demigod of Willpoer, during the Reign of Hatred, most likely prior to the dragon uprising against the Four Beasts. Some scholars have asserted that this explains their draconic depictions and descriptions in art and writing, as the two were most likely exposed to the dragons while they were still in their protoform states. Whether or not the two participated in the ancient conflict is unknown. Details of Skornash's history become a bit hazy after this point, although it does seem that he joined a coalition of his fellow Demigods for reasons that are unclear. Research suggests that a universe-shifting anomaly appeared around this time, but the reason why the Demigods banded together has largely remained a mystery. Some claim that several individuals in immortal organizations such as the Order of Light and the Twilight Council know the answer, but there are no known official records on the matter.

Records suggest that Skornash was opposed to creation of the Duo Spheres Dynasty and one piece of mythology actually indicates he had a hand in its downfall, manipulating Ragnarok to turn against his allies. This has been mostly dismissed as mortal historical revisionism by scholars however, as all other evidence points to Skornash having little to no interaction with the organization. The first truly concrete piece of Skornash's past comes with the rise of Thegalyn, the Demigod of Destruction, and his quest to bring universal devastation through the use of a powerful army known as the Legion. Skornash joined with Fatalyze, the Demigod of Darkness, and Nyitis, the Demigod of Truth, in an attempt to sabotage Thegalyn before he could commit irreversible damage. Why Skornash would do this given his prior indifference to most universal conflicts is unclear, especially when the vast majority of Demigods up until this point saw the fight against Thegalyn as unwinnable. The three Demigods did not confront Thegalyn directly, but instead waged a more subtle brand of war, with Nyitis mentally and physically freeing the mortals enslaved by the Legion, Fatalyze employing his demonic spawn to take out Legion scouting units and supply convoys, and Skornash spreading dissent among the Legion soldiers and even turning them against each other.

Although the three did not manage to cripple the Legion, they did put a significant enough dent in Thegalyn's efforts to motivate other Demigods to join the battle against him. After a hard-fought struggle, Thegalyn was defeated by the Demigods and the threat of the Legion was seemingly put to rest. The scale of the conflict lead to Confucius, the Demigod of Light, proposing the creation of a new peace-keeping organization in place of the fallen Duo Spheres Dynasty, marking the beginning of the Order of Light. Apparently both Fatalyze and Skornash were invited to join, but both declined. This marks the start of another very mysterious period in Skornash's history, as he seemingly entered a very long period of solitude, with what little interactions he had with other higher powers being limited or not very well documented. Some evidence suggests that Skornash somehow participated in the highly controversial Great Arc of Infinity War, but this event is still so poorly understood and so frequently disagreed upon that drawing any major conclusions about how he was involved in it or how it affected him has to be built almost entirely on speculation.

The most well-known and best researched part of Skornash's history comes with the dawn of the Paradox War, in which Vyralask, the Paradox Demigod, along with Bru'terox and Veroidian, the Demigods of Dissonance and Antimatter respectively, waged war against the Order and the universe itself, sparking one of the most destructive conflicts ever recorded. The Order fought a losing battle against Vyralask and ultimately turned to outside Demigods for help, one of them being Skornash. It seems the joint efforts of Rexillion and Nyities convinced Skornash to ally with the Order. Skornash's history of manipulating the genetic makeup of non-sentient mortal races (an apparent hobby of his) paid off hugely, as he was able to breed an army of insectoid warriors known as the Kyzorai. The Kyzorai were the culmination of eons upon eons of genetic experimentation on Skornash's part, and as such proved to be incredibly potent on the battlefield. They were highly successful against Vyralask's forces and played a major role in turning the tide of the war in the Order's favor. Skornash led the Kyzorai alongside the Order's forces on the world of Celentios where Vyralask made his final stand. Furious with Skornash for his actions, Vyralask surprised the Demigod of Corruption on the battlefield and grievously wounded him. The other Demigods entered the fray and battled the Paradox Demigod, and after a brutal fight Fatalyze landed a finishing blow. Before Skornash could be helped, Vyralask used his remaining energy to turn his own body into a singularity in a desperate last-ditch attempt to destroy the other Demigods. While they managed to escape, Skornash was left behind and presumably killed by the singularity.

Records suggest that Skornash rarely got along well with his fellow Demigods thanks to him being deliberately abrasive and macabre, although he was seemingly close with his twin brother, Rexillion, and he had some positive interaction with Demigods such as as Crovan, Dylk Kydra, and Nyitis. Although he is sometimes portrayed as an evil figure in mortal culture, preying on mortals and manipulating them to sin and despair, his trend of joining those who are looking to preserve reality in universe-scale conflicts suggests otherwise. That said, history indicates that he was in fact a powerful manipulator and relied heavily on the psychological side of warfare when he engaged in such conflicts. This definitely affected his legacy, as many mortal races view such things as unethical.

There is still a great deal to be learned about Skornash. There are huge gaps of missing information in his history, and Lyecraft even thinks that the Demigod is still alive. While I think that claim is a bit dubious, Lyecraft has made a point of telling me that history is always changing, and accepting a single story as sovereign truth is not proper scholarly conduct. As a scholar, I suppose that I will just have to take his word on that.

~Sky'gera, Scholar of the Institute

[-+-]

Brief out-of-character note: I wanted to give this design a bit of a 'cosmic horror' edge to make Skornash feel more alien and godlike, as I felt that he had previously looked a bit too mundane for his own good. I referenced some deep-sea fish, especially viperfish, to get his serpentine body shape to feel more outlandish while maintaining its sleekness. I also really wanted to get the 'manipulator' side of Skornash out of the design, so I fit as many tendrils, limbs, and spines as I could without losing the aforementioned sense of sleekness and elegance. The wings really helped in this regard, as they really got across the sense of a 'web of influence' for the character while also looking graceful and almost regal.

Description
An estranged and elusive Demigod, Skornash appears infrequently in mortal folklore, but these few appearances offer a considerable amount of insight into his history. It is believed that Skornash was born alongside Rexillion, the Demigod of Willpoer, during the Reign of Hatred, most likely prior to the dragon uprising against the Four Beasts. Some scholars have asserted that this explains their draconic depictions and descriptions in art and writing, as the two were most likely exposed to the dragons while they were still in their protoform states. Whether or not the two participated in the ancient conflict is unknown. Details of Skornash's history become a bit hazy after this point, although it does seem that he joined a coalition of his fellow Demigods for reasons that are unclear. Research suggests that a universe-shifting anomaly appeared around this time, but the reason why the Demigods banded together has largely remained a mystery. Some claim that several individuals in immortal organizations such as the Order of Light and the Twilight Council know the answer, but there are no known official records on the matter.

Records suggest that Skornash was opposed to creation of the Duo Spheres Dynasty and one piece of mythology actually indicates he had a hand in its downfall, manipulating Ragnarok to turn against his allies. This has been mostly dismissed as mortal historical revisionism by scholars however, as all other evidence points to Skornash having little to no interaction with the organization. The first truly concrete piece of Skornash's past comes with the rise of Thegalyn, the Demigod of Destruction, and his quest to bring universal devastation through the use of a powerful army known as the Legion. Skornash joined with Fatalyze, the Demigod of Darkness, and Nyitis, the Demigod of Truth, in an attempt to sabotage Thegalyn before he could commit irreversible damage. Why Skornash would do this given his prior indifference to most universal conflicts is unclear, especially when the vast majority of Demigods up until this point saw the fight against Thegalyn as unwinnable. The three Demigods did not confront Thegalyn directly, but instead waged a more subtle brand of war, with Nyitis mentally and physically freeing the mortals enslaved by the Legion, Fatalyze employing his demonic spawn to take out Legion scouting units and supply convoys, and Skornash spreading dissent among the Legion soldiers and even turning them against each other.

Although the three did not manage to cripple the Legion, they did put a significant enough dent in Thegalyn's efforts to motivate other Demigods to join the battle against him. After a hard-fought struggle, Thegalyn was defeated by the Demigods and the threat of the Legion was seemingly put to rest. The scale of the conflict lead to Confucius, the Demigod of Light, proposing the creation of a new peace-keeping organization in place of the fallen Duo Spheres Dynasty, marking the beginning of the Order of Light. Apparently both Fatalyze and Skornash were invited to join, but both declined. This marks the start of another very mysterious period in Skornash's history, as he seemingly entered a very long period of solitude, with what little interactions he had with other higher powers being limited or not very well documented. Some evidence suggests that Skornash somehow participated in the highly controversial Great Arc of Infinity War, but this event is still so poorly understood and so frequently disagreed upon that drawing any major conclusions about how he was involved in it or how it affected him has to be built almost entirely on speculation.

The most well-known and best researched part of Skornash's history comes with the dawn of the Paradox War, in which Vyralask, the Paradox Demigod, along with Bru'terox and Veroidian, the Demigods of Dissonance and Antimatter respectively, waged war against the Order and the universe itself, sparking one of the most destructive conflicts ever recorded. The Order fought a losing battle against Vyralask and ultimately turned to outside Demigods for help, one of them being Skornash. It seems the joint efforts of Rexillion and Nyities convinced Skornash to ally with the Order. Skornash's history of manipulating the genetic makeup of non-sentient mortal races (an apparent hobby of his) paid off hugely, as he was able to breed an army of insectoid warriors known as the Kyzorai. The Kyzorai were the culmination of eons upon eons of genetic experimentation on Skornash's part, and as such proved to be incredibly potent on the battlefield. They were highly successful against Vyralask's forces and played a major role in turning the tide of the war in the Order's favor. Skornash led the Kyzorai alongside the Order's forces on the world of Celentios where Vyralask made his final stand. Furious with Skornash for his actions, Vyralask surprised the Demigod of Corruption on the battlefield and grievously wounded him. The other Demigods entered the fray and battled the Paradox Demigod, and after a brutal fight Fatalyze landed a finishing blow. Before Skornash could be helped, Vyralask used his remaining energy to turn his own body into a singularity in a desperate last-ditch attempt to destroy the other Demigods. While they managed to escape, Skornash was left behind and presumably killed by the singularity.

Records suggest that Skornash rarely got along well with his fellow Demigods thanks to him being deliberately abrasive and macabre, although he was seemingly close with his twin brother, Rexillion, and he had some positive interaction with Demigods such as as Crovan, Dylk Kydra, and Nyitis. Although he is sometimes portrayed as an evil figure in mortal culture, preying on mortals and manipulating them to sin and despair, his trend of joining those who are looking to preserve reality in universe-scale conflicts suggests otherwise. That said, history indicates that he was in fact a powerful manipulator and relied heavily on the psychological side of warfare when he engaged in such conflicts. This definitely affected his legacy, as many mortal races view such things as unethical.

There is still a great deal to be learned about Skornash. There are huge gaps of missing information in his history, and Lyecraft even thinks that the Demigod is still alive. While I think that claim is a bit dubious, Lyecraft has made a point of telling me that history is always changing, and accepting a single story as sovereign truth is not proper scholarly conduct. As a scholar, I suppose that I will just have to take his word on that.

~Sky'gera, Scholar of the Institute

[-+-]

Brief out-of-character note: I wanted to give this design a bit of a 'cosmic horror' edge to make Skornash feel more alien and godlike, as I felt that he had previously looked a bit too mundane for his own good. I referenced some deep-sea fish, especially viperfish, to get his serpentine body shape to feel more outlandish while maintaining its sleekness. I also really wanted to get the 'manipulator' side of Skornash out of the design, so I fit as many tendrils, limbs, and spines as I could without losing the aforementioned sense of sleekness and elegance. The wings really helped in this regard, as they really got across the sense of a 'web of influence' for the character while also looking graceful and almost regal.