Nergal

Name	Nergal
Race	God
Type	Babylonian
Faction	Nergalian
Premiere	Cult of Corruption: The Summoning
Relative(s)	Not Applicable

Nergal

"I am the swollen corpse that bursts in the hot sun, and you are the carrion bird that feasts upon my bountiful flesh!"

Biography

Cult of Corruption: The Summoning

As seen in the novel, Cult of Corruption: The Summoning, Nergal sets a plan with Raymond Goldstein to manipulate Bo Wyatt to summon him. When this happens, Nergal corrupts Karen McAllen, and partially corrupts Bo. Now, he goes to spread his influence, and tear away at the purity of Bo Wyatt.

Desideratum: Blood Bonds

During a monster hunt in the Sewers, a disciple of Nergal tries to claim and convert Absinthe Van Gothen.

Appearance

Nergal has no set form, but legends see him as an amorphic blob, covered in tentacles and eyes.

Abilities

• Possession
• Corruption
• Immense Physical and Mental Attacks

Notes and Trivia

As with all other deities and spirits, Nergal came to be when the Babylonians first saw the concepts of war, pestilence, and death. The corruption and destruction they witness formed an entity that exuded and represented these very things. In some dimension of the Outer Darkness, Nergal looked at humankind through its countless eyes. From the time of Babylon, Nergal has sought a bride. She is a concept that has almost existed more than once. This vessel would be the culmination of Nergal’s corruption to give him existence. In ancient Babylon, his cult often fought with other cults like those of the moon goddess, Sin, or the god Marduk. However, at some point, Nergal’s servants managed to summon him into the physical world. The god is so large though that he fills an entire dimension, and thus, he could not remain on Earth. However, Nergal gave his ‘blessing’ to his present followers.

These men and women became corrupted and unliving. Their bodies would not die, black ooze ran through their veins, and the odor they excreted is said to have made mortals wretch. This corruption was a spiritual virus, and it warped the very essence of a human as much as it twisted the body, making them slaves to Nergal forever. Any physical contact could pass the disease onward, though the further from the source (Nergal) the less the effects. However, this is where Ereshkigal comes into play. Nergal needed to be birthed into the world, so that his form could grow around the entire Earth absorbing all life into pestilent corruption. His high priest that summoned him gave his wife, Ereshkigal, to the god and they both became Nergal’s most corrupted and mutated servants. It is said that for forty days and nights, the two copulated non-stop until, as taken from the Codex Gigas, ‘rivers of foul discharge (demon cum) flowed down the very steps of Nergal’s temple. All who drank of the ejaculate became soulless, cruel versions of themselves, and with unholy lust passed the curse on to others whether willingly or not’.

After so much semen filled the woman’s womb, she became pregnant with Nergal himself. Thus, he used her womb as a portal, and she would birth a tumor of eyes and tentacles that would then grow across the world like a cancer. However, history shows that Cyprus invaded the Babylonian Empire at that very time. Cyprus had already fallen under the power of the serpent god, Ophion, and as humans fled from Babylon away from Nergal’s corruption, they found themselves running directly into the reptilian armies of the snake god. Bitten and converted, they too changed into snake people. In turn, they marched with their new masters to conquer Babylon. The two armies fought a titanic war. Once a god enslaves a mortal’s soul, such a thing cannot be unmade by other demonic magic, and thus, both armies were immune to the powers of the other. Ophidian Demons and Nergalian Demons fought without fear or rules, and in the end, the more numerous armies from Cyprus won. They attacked the temple, just as Ereshkigal was about to give birth, and slew her, killing Nergal’s physical form while it still festered her womb. Then the snake people burned her body and collapsed the temple on top of it. So, Nergal’s greatest chance at conquering the world had been crushed… or has it? Time has no relevance to a god, and Nergal eagerly awaited another chance at claiming the Earth, and all life, for himself!

Bo Wyatt’s power and ignorance were a boon to the dark god. Ray used Bo’s infatuation with Karen to deceive Bo. As far as Bo knew, he and Karen would be in love forever, and an eternal peace would fall on the Earth. These things were true in a twisted way. Karen would become the Mother of Nergal, the new Ereshkigal, and she would forever worship and adore Bo, the man that corrupted her soul. Nergal would descend on the Earth ending all wars and ushering in a world united in peace under an evil, corrupted banner. When Bo summoned Nergal, the deity immediately saw Bo’s inherent spirit. Wreathed in bright, white light, Bo’s soul emanated only kindness and love. Instantly, the dark one had to concot a dire plan, for fear gripped Nergal. He quickly converted Karen, and knew that her taint would instantly enthrall and corrupt the goodly mage. However, Nergal had no idea of the Wyatt families inherent ability to dilute magic through some unknown resistance. The kiss infected Bo, but the mortal managed to fight off the corruption.

At every moment of weakness, Nergal tried to twist the man’s thoughts. As the mortal’s soul twisted, so too would his corporeal form, and, whether willing or not, Bo would be a puppet. Nergal would call him to the mansion and ensure that his foothold on the Earth would finally happen! However, even the immensely unfathomable intellect of a god could not predict that Bo would turn himself in to the BDA! When Nergal saw this through Bo’s own eyes, the god paused a moment in disbelief. It knew that by nature, life tries to survive, but Bo was willing to die to stop the god’s dark plan. He went to work having Karen create several Nergalian demons from the Nergalites (infected humans) that were in the mansion. These demons were capable of giving stronger doses of the plague to other mortals. Nergal also used Karen to change women into Maggot Mothers and Roach Queens to bear an army of even fouler demons. By the time of the BDA strike, Nergal felt confident that his cohorts would stop the mortal assault. However, the agents fought with technology and clear resolution beyond anything the god had seen in the past. Though his forces slew the army of insect demons, they would still have to fight through the Nergalians. Once inside the mansion, Nergal observed the battle and coordinated his demons with deadly proficiency. He also managed to abduct Bo. In a desperate attempt to ensure the demonic pact was sealed, he had Bo tossed into the highly infected summoning chamber. Not even Bo’s strange, inherent resistance would stop that- especially if he coupled with Karen.

Using his magical hold over Bo, Nergal created a false scene before the hapless wizard. Everything appeared safe, and Karen appeared to be deeply in love. Bo sensed something amiss, but Karen did all she could to help her evil Master trick Bo into impregnating her. Finally they succeeded and the ruse dropped. By this point, Bo was already warping into a demon, Karen had been bred, and with Bo’s immense power, Nergal’s new seed on Earth grew quickly! Nergal’s laughter echoed through the Outer Darkness, for after millennia he had all but won! However, just as he gained total control over Bo, the wizard recalled a spell of cleansing, and cast it, desperate to save those he loved from his own mistake. Nergal could not believe the power of this mortal, and Bo’s spell undid all the corruption that had been caused by Bo! However, at the very last moments before his corruption was dispelled, Karen birthed Nergal, and less than a second later, her body and soul reverted!

The small mass of eyes and tentacles scurried about, looking for a place to hide. It found refuge under some debris, and Nergal only sighed a breath of release when Bo and Karen left. While so powerful in the Outer Darkness, on the Earth, his paltry incarnation was weak and small. He needed souls and life, and quickly found a hole in the basement of the mansion where rats had come through. Following the tunnel led into the Dallas sewer system. There it found a pack of rats and fell upon the vermin, converting them into infernal beasts. Not long after this, Invaders from space attacked the Earth. Nergal, sensing this new threat, used his small minions to seal away a part of the sewers and there Nergal sits, waiting for its time to strike. Gods are patient and eternal. Nergal awaits the defeat or departure of the Invaders, so that he can claim the Earth for himself!