Pnueax, the god

Background

Pnueax is a very unusual being, and Its origins are not entirely clear, but It seems to have arisen somewhere around 600 years ago as a spontaneous egregore that gained enough acknowledgement in order for it to ascend to a god of sorts. However many spontaneous egregores are usually very unstable which might partially explain why Pnueax is such a bizarre deity, even for a god. The entity called Pnueax is referred to as "It". The being appears to be genderless, even though It is thought of to be of vaguely "male" essence. Pnueax rarely manifests itself physically, but when it does it takes the form of what could only be described as a sort of monstrous, fleshy, "tree".

Pnueax's Peculiarities

In any case, Pnueax is a rather unwelcome addition to the currently existing deities in the universe. This is because Pnueax appears to be a god of "vitality", in a very literal sense. While there are other beings that are actively worshipped that represent aspects of health, healing, and medicine, Pnueax is the embodiment of "flesh and blood" at existential level.

The bodies of living creatures are indeed complex and the nature of how they function is not understood at some levels. However, Pnueax's domain is concerned with the idea of living matter as being an end in of itself, which comes off as being grotesquely off-putting to many people. Many of us who hunt animals do not relish cleaning the meat off of their carcasses, and seeing surgery performed makes the sensitive turn away. There are aspects of our bodies that make us uneasy when confronted with them because the inner-workings of our viscera are almost never seen in our daily lives, unless we observe ourselves or somebody we know become badly injured. The strange appearance and textures of our internal structures are both ugly and alien to those who do not work in the medical field.

Pnueax on the other hand has a morbid fascination with biology, to the point of elevating it to an artform in of itself. It feels that flesh is a medium with which to sculpt works of art and admiration taken to obscene levels. Bone and sinew is akin to rope and steel. Bodily humors such as bile and saliva are holy liquids. Muscle and skin has no equal or superior in the world of materials.

Needless to say, Pnueax is thought to be insane by most people, and It even makes other gods uneasy. For the most part, Pnueax appears to have an almost child-like understanding of many things, and It appears to be extremely simple-minded. However Pnueax has the capacity for higher thought when it comes to designing the workings of its bizarre creations and the diseases that plague them. This aspect of Pnueax could almost be compared to a divine "idiot savant".

Most gods have a certain degree of arrogance and pride as such personality traits come naturally to beings of immense power. Pnueax takes this to an extreme level. Pnueax excels in advancing Its goals or improving upon things that it has tried in the past and It is constantly trying to find ways to experiment with its resources at hand. However, Pnueax is very impulsive and has little patience for anybody or anything that gets in the way of Its objectives. Pnueax also has difficulty understanding the feelings or beliefs of others that disagree with It, and often ignores any and all opposition completely until It is forced to retaliate. Then, Pnueax will forcefully lash out at a threat like a child throwing a temper tantrum. After the perceived threat has passed, Pnueax will usually return to what it has been doing and act as if nothing has happened. Pnueax has little patience for politics, divine or otherwise. Although Pnueax does not appear to be intentionally malicious, Its tastes and their effects on people are often nightmarish.

Pnueax's Avatar

In Its physical form, the body of Pnueax is a grotesque sight. Its "trunk" and "branches" are formed from a material resembling bone or horn, while the "crown" of the tree looks something akin to a massive human brain that is covered in a reflective and clear membrane. Jutting out of Pnueax's brain towards the front are a pair of bright red stalks that connect to a pair of bright yellow eyes with horizontal pupils like those found in cephalopods or goats. Right below the part of the trunk that splits off into the branches that support the brain in the crown, is Pneaux's ovoid mouth. The mouth contains a tripartite, crushing beak, which is another oddly cephalopodan feature. Pnueax's mouth also has a very long and sinewy prehensile tongue which Pnueax lashes when It is feeling angry or annoyed. Curiously, Pnueax constantly gives off a strong odor of almonds.

Pnueax apparently cannot speak any recognizable languages or It chooses not to. It frequently makes long, ear-splitting squealing noises when It is upset or amused but that is the full extent of what verbal communication has been observed from Pnueaux. No temples or religious rites have been dedicated to Pnueax as It appears to be indifferent as to active worship beyond simple acknowledgement. However, It has granted many of its longtime followers improved physical resilience and vitality.

Pnueax's Guard

When Pnueax manifests Itself in is physical form, he is always surrounded by his "guard" of six "soldiers". They appear to be visibly human adult males, but their faces are all identical. They are dressed in identical military-style uniforms, consisting of a black tri-corner hat with yellow trim on the brim, black coat with bright yellow trim on the cuffs and pockets with brown trim on the button-holes, a bright yellow undershirt, black pants, yellow knee-high breeches, and brown boots. The "officer" of Pnueax's guard is dressed in a similar fashion, except he has yellow epaulets on his shoulders and yellow chevrons on his forearms.

All of Pnueax's guard is armed with long rifles of some sort, resembling muskets at first glance. They do not fire musket balls, but a blinding flash of some sort of energy that leaves many of their targets a charred and smoldering heap. They will also use their bayonets affixed to their weapons at close-range, but these appear to be just normal blades. The officer also has a rapier holstered at the left side of his waist which he will draw when ordering his "men" to attack.

Pnueax's guard is apparently not human. Their movements and mannerisms are oddly syncopated as if they suffer from some sort of tic, but they also move very rapidly. They are extremely accurate with their marksmanship, making them very formidable opponents. While they will bleed "red" when injured and they can apparently be incapacitated by things that will affect a normal person, Pnueax can create another one to replace a fallen guard within a half-hour and Pnueax's guard will change its tactics in response to how one of their ranks was defeated previously.

It is not known if Pnueax's guard has any degree of autonomy or intelligence or if they merely act on instinctual behaviors instilled by Pnueax. Pnueax's guard can speak in any ulgo or human language with perfect fluency when communicating with other beings. However, among themselves, they frequently shout out orders or commands in a foreign language that is only native to wherever they are from. (They speak in French.)