Sifkesh

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Sifkesh

(Deity)

Titles

The Sacred Whore,
Lord of Heresy,
The Whispered Doubt,
Demon Lord of Heresy and Suicide

Realm

Vantian, Outer Rifts

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Areas of Concern

Hopeless despair
Heresy
Suicide

Worshipers

Blasphemers, heretics, outcasts from other religions, survivors of botched suicide attempts

Edicts

Spread doubt among the faithful, discredit all religions, provoke the guilty to commit suicide rather than strive for redemption

Anathema

Spread hope, offer forgiveness, sincerely honor or call on aid from another god

Cleric Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Chaos, Evil, Madness, Trickery

Subdomains (1E)

Deception, Demon, Loss, Nightmare✝

Cleric Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Nightmares, pain, sorrow, trickery

Favored Weapon

War razor

Images of Sifkesh

Source: Book of the Damned, pg(s). 92–93 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 126–127 (2E)

Sifkesh

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)

CR

28

Environment

Vantian, Outer Rifts

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Images of Sifkesh

Source: Demon's Heresy, pg(s). 86f.

The demon lord Sifkesh's (pronounced SIF-kesh) goals differ from those of most other demons, in that she seeks to destroy not just the flesh, but to wholly corrupt mortals' souls as well. Her symbol is a pair of crossed female hands with slit wrists.

History

Some believe that Sifkesh was originally a powerful erinyes devil who was seduced by the power of the Outer Rifts and became one of the first of Hell's heretics.

Home

Sifkesh makes her home in the Abyssal realm of Vantian, the infamous City of Open Windows.

Appearance

Sifkesh appears as an emaciated human woman with deathly-white skin, limp black hair that constantly drips blood, and white bird wings. Disturbingly, her eyes and lips are sewn shut with rusty wire and her body is dismembered at the neck, shoulders, ankles, wrists, hips, and wings. Each body part floats independently, moving slightly out-of-sync with the others.

Beliefs and goals

Sifkesh differs from most other demon lords, in that she wishes to not just cause the bodily destruction of mortals, but wishes to corrupt their souls as well. Her highest ambition is the fracturing of a good, devout person's faith through careful seduction, leading them to apostasy. It is said her greatest joy is lies in witnessing the moment when a corrupted priest realises how far they have sank and seeks suicide as the answer, forever damning there soul to her Abyssal realm of Vantian. Because of her corrupting ways Sifkesh presents somewhat of a conundrum to most demonologists, combining elements of all three fiendish races: she corrupts like devilkind, feeds on souls like a daemon, but is still a demon.

Emissaries

Seraptis demons are the favoured servants of Sifkesh, though they do act for other demon lords, primarily Nocticula prior to her reformation and Socothbenoth.

Cults

Small groups dedicated to Sifkesh attempt to drive unsuspecting victims to murder and suicide. Their favorite weapon is the easily concealable blade called the war razor, said to be sacred to their patron.

The Path of Grace

In 4573 AR, a cult of the demon lord, calling itself the Path of Grace appeared in the Chelish capital of Westcrown. Their members were chosen from the city's wealthiest citizens, many of them fervent followers of Aroden. They began to ritually murder people, and caused widespread panic, a series of crimes soon labeled the White Plague. The response to these crimes eventually led to the formation of the rightly feared Hellknights. The cult was finally defeated in the spring of 4577 AR by the founder of the Hellknights, Daidian Ruel.

The Drowning Stones

A cult of Sifkesh-worshiping ulat-kini was recently discovered by Pathfinders in the Mwangi Expanse at a place called the Drowning Stones. They were led by a herald of the demon lord, a powerful succubus named the Razor of Sifkesh. Not only where the Drowning Stones a site of worship, but it was here that Sifkesh's worshipers created Sifkesh's Bane, magical stones that made people more suggestible to suicidal impulses.

The Way of Transcendent Bliss

The Way of Transcendent Bliss was brought to the small Irriseni town Belila by a charismatic woman named Minesqa Rovoyosh in 4711 AR.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.