Casir

Casir
Titles	Ra Lord of the Dark Desert The Great Black Flame The Usurper (derogatory)
Aliases	Zehir Set Nihurimacha Typhon Iyashkabar Nyssa (disputed)
Alignment	Neutral Evil (disputed) Chaotic Evil (disputed)
Associated with	The desert, darkness, chaos, storms, political violence, political change, foreigners, anarchy
Symbol	Snake coiled around sword Ouroboros Two red eyes
Pantheons	Saphorism Shassaii
Divine Rank	DeityPF Deity4e

Casir is the great black flame which burns inside the heart of every living creature.

—Rico Valenzo

Casir ("KASS-er") is a major god in Rhysian religion, believed to be god of the desert, darkness, chaos, storms, killing, violence, wrath, change, foreigners, and anarchy. He is one of the chief adversarial figures in all of Rhysian lore. He is a terrible god feared and hated across Teresis.

Casir is known by many names. According to Azaphiel, Casir is the god known as Zehir in the Nentir Vale and Set in ancient Egypt on Terra. Most jinn call him Zehir. The yuan-ti call him Iyashkabar. Sorhan claims that Casir is the Jihuthi god Nihurimacha and the dragon goddess Nyssa (AKA Tiamat).

Mythology

Casir is a central figure in the King's Myth, perhaps the most important myth in Rhysian religion. In most versions of the myth, Casir was the firstborn son of Shahra and Sonya, therefore making him the heir to Ra and the kingdom of the earth. However, because Casir was strangled immediately upon birth by the serpent Abakesh, he didn't take his first breath until his brother Ossur was born. Because Ogissian custom holds that a child is not "born" until they take their first breath, Ossur was therefore considered the elder, and he instead inherited the throne and was betrothed to his beautiful sister, Vaisha.

Casir was outraged. He believed Ossur to be a usurper and began conspiring to overthrow him. First, he attempted to steal Vaisha from Ossur, believing (a) that Vaisha would be delighted to elope with the god she was "destined" to marry, and (b) that together the two of them would overthrow Ossur easily and rule the world together. He was shocked to learn that neither was even close to the truth: Vaisha loved Ossur and hated Casir. Overcome with wrath, Casir resorted to violence, but he found that he could not overpower his sister, whose magical power was too great. The ensuing struggle forever wounded him—indeed, it sterilized him.

Casir then turned to plan B. He tricked Vaisha into leaving the capital city. Then, he journeyed to the capital to swear his allegiance to Ossur—something he was supposed to do upon his coronation but never did. He indeed gave his brother his oath of allegiance, but then, that night, poisoned him at the banquet, butchered him in front of all his guests, and scattered his dismembered body parts across the world. The next day, Casir organized his own coronation.

The gods were horrified at this cosmic shakeup. Many were so overcome with fear that they heeded Casir's call, came to Ogissia, and swore their allegiance. Vaisha, however, did not. Instead, she scoured the earth for the pieces of Ossur's body, and reconstructed him part-by-part. She then impregnated herself with the latent potency Ossur still had, and then "gave birth" by breathing life back into him. Ossur was then reborn as his own son—this was Mishra.

Knowing that Vaisha and Mishra were going to wage a cosmic war against Casir, the group of goddesses known as the Queens of Fate descended from the heavens. They told Vaisha of the future: that if Mishra were to fight Casir, Casir would kill him.

But Vaisha allowed Mishra to wage war anyway. Mishra marched on the capital, fought his uncle—and Mishra was in fact killed.

However, fate itself was turned on its head on that day. Whether it was Vaisha's love, or divine justice, Mishra returned from death. This time, he bested his uncle, cut him to pieces, and hurled his remains into Lashanti, the darkest of the hells. Mishra took the throne, and began the reign of his divine bloodline that continues to this day.

Relationships

Casir is hated by many Saphorist gods, most of all by Ossur, Vaisha, and Mishra. Vaisha despises him for murdering her husband Ossur and son Mishra. Mishra hates him for killing his father. Shahra and Sonya were outraged when Casir murdered Ossur, but they continue to love him. Casir himself hates Ossur for "stealing" his throne, Vaisha for spurning his advances, Mishra for killing him and hurling him into hell, and his mother and father for not handing over his birthright to Ossur.

Worship

Casir is worshiped all over Rhys. Most of his followers are in Phoena, where the Casiric Church—the largest institution devoted to him—is based. There, during the Eighth Occaria, many tens of thousands of young men swore themselves to Casir, with the hopes of obtaining power to use against the Alicantian Empire.

Known worshipers

• Mortzopholus, the eldest high priest of the Casiric Church.
• Sorhan, a high priest of the Casiric Church and one of his biggest fans.
• Zehr / Raysh, a high priest of the Casiric Church.
• Yadeen Azaro, at one point, but not anymore.
• Maz Morin
• Rico Valenzo
• Haqin
• Radek
• Vrilo
• Carick

Symbols

Perhaps the most common symbol of Casir.

Casir has been known to have many symbols. Possibly the most common in modern-day Phoena is that of a sword pointing downwards with a snake coiling down the blade. Another common symbol is the ouroboros. Lesser-known symbols include two red eyes staring forward (used by white Casirists) and a snake with a head for a tail.

Depictions

In ancient Ogissia, Casir was depicted as a man with tanned skin and the head of a sha; in addition, in at least one depiction, Casir is portrayed with the head of a cobra.

In modern-day Phoena, depicting gods in human form is far more common, and so Casir is usually portrayed as a muscular man with bronze-colored skin and short black hair, sometimes wielding a sword, scepter, or bident.

Casirists themselves—and non-Casirists who are feeling particularly edgy—will portray Casir very regally, for example in gilded robes, with a cobra headdress, or with a blazing sun behind his head.

Sacred animals

Casir's sacred animals are the sha, the vulture, the grima, and the serpent.

Gallery

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  The ouroboros, a common symbol of Casir.

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  The vulture, one of Casir's favored animals.