The Swarming God
Identity
- Title(s) – The Distant Voice, The Swarming God
- Influence – Vardar
- Appearance –
Attributions
- Symbol –
- Focus –
- Color(s) –
- Element – Earth
- Animal – Any Vardar
Cult
- Center of Worship – City of Nōyn Dag, Tiréwyr, Ælyri Ildûn
- Scriptures –
- Leader –
- Priesthood –
- Orders –
- Aspects –
- Touched –
- Holy Days –
- Friends – None
- Enemies –
- Sayings –
Introduction
Enn Vàrdaryk is one of the more obscure deities of the World of Teréth End.
The Cult
Worship of the Swarming God is believed to have originated in the Land of Tassèrus in the Takàlabhrū Empire of the Second Age. The Sha’ali god-king Kulàbrūlàhbra is believed to have discovered the god in the wilds of the Vast Untamed. Enn Vàrdaryk visited the god-king in the form of a thousand voices and promised great success to him and his people if a temple was built in his capital. Kulàbrūlàhbra agreed to this and constructed a great stone pyramid that rose above the jungle tree-tops. For generations the crops of the Takalabhru prospered and the Empire flourished. Centuries later the great Shirū historians wrote epic poems from atop the ruins of the ancient Empire, wondering how the great cities fell and how their people vanished into the jungles. Evidence was found of great battles that had been fought throughout the ancient lands, but no where was it recorded who the enemy might be. What force could have brought the Takàlabhrū Empire to such a sudden end? Over time, suspicion pointed toward the great pyramid, which still stood in the days of the Shirū. The belief that the Cult of Enn Vàrdaryk had somehow brought about the Empire’s demise became popular among the Sha’al, and remnants of the order (which survived in pockets centuries later) were banished, or worse.
The expulsion from southern Tassèrus had the effect of concentrating the surviving pockets of the Cult in larger numbers. Many of these newly formed sects moved northward into the lands of Ildûn and Vulmùra at the beginning of the Fourth Age. Though few sects ever amassed large numbers of followers, the Cult has traditionally been strong in the Ælyri capital of Nōyn Dag.