Vecna

"Find the seed of darkness in your heart and nourish it. That which is not dead cannot die."

- Vecna

At a Glance
Dark God of undeath, necromancy, and secrets, Vecna was a manipulative and scornful deity who stood in direct opposition of The Raven Queen and Oghma. Usually depicted as a mummified, desiccated corpse missing his left hand and left eye, during his appearances on the mortal plane he has actively sought to scour the forces of life and death and replace them with his own hegemony of everlasting unholy existence.

History
Speculation as to the origins of Vecna fall into three prominent retellings. The first, that Vecna was an ancient death god whose power was usurped in the pre-history of the world by the Raven Queen. There already exists a historical parallel for this in the story of Nerull, God of Hatred and Death, who was unseated from power when he was unable to learn the Raven Queen's true name.

Another myth tells that Vecna was born into the world by the black wishes of cultists who wished to cheat death. These cultists symbolized their order and dedication through the self-mutilation of their left hand and left eye, a depiction that dates back to ancient Tel'Quessir in the village of Socraeleum where a tapestry depicting a skeleton with one hand and one eye was found.

In more recent times, popular belief across the mortal plane is that Vecna is the ascended Stirlar the Imperishable, the first necromancer, whose power was so great that he created the first Undead on the mortal plane and waged the First Necrotic War.

Despite these numerous re-tellings of his origins, one quote from a fabled relic remains:"All power is within the grasp of his Hand"

- The Scroll of Mauthereign

Age of Adventure
During the Necrotic War Vecna temporarily passed into the mortal plane where he granted a sliver of his powers to the Cult of Vecna and began to work through mortal agents. This act angered the other deities who fought to drag him back into the abyss, but the damage was done. His powers had surged into the world and would forever shake the foundations of all realms.

Back to Black
Vecna made an appearance when the adventuring party Fortune's Triad travelled abck in time to stop the Cult of Vecna from changing the outcome of the Necrotic War. Appearing in the reflection of a scrying mirror, Vecna took the form of a small skeletal fetus within the womb of Gabrielle Revvan. Gabrielle was killed before Vecna could fully materialize, thus preventing his escape from The Shadowfell.

Even Death Can Die
By passing through into The Shadowfell a group of cultists loyal to Vecna led by Talmon Bott stormed into the Tomb of the Unforgiven and sought to release Vecna from his bondage. Opening the Red Door, Byron and Janus entered to find the body of Gabrielle Revvan twisting about in agony as the black soul of Vecna shrieked inside her. Entombed by The Raven Queen as a punishment, the pair were locked in a twisting entropy of immortal torture. Gazing back to the Red Door's engravings, a symbol of life, Byron realized that the icon that had held Vecna back from corrupting the land of the dead had been the spirit of Oghma herself. Missing for ages, Oghma had been too weak to kill Vecna but was strong enough to make the sacrifice to hold him back from the rest of The Shadowfell.

Walking towards the spectre of Undeath, Janus watched as Byron moved with due purpose towards Vecna raising his greatsword and cut the dark deity's chains. With one hand freed, Vecna quickly tore off his shackles and stretched out of Revvan's body, tearing her flesh apart into slabs of meat on the floor of the prison. Looming over Janus and Byron, the aura eminated by the black God of Undeath permeated the hall.

Racing to stop Vecna's escape, Oros charged the prison but as he brought his spear down upon Vecna's rebirthed form, the God of Undeath held its blade between his thumb and forefinger. With a quick slash, Vecna cracked through Oros' armour and sent the Revenant flying before cackling and phasing away from the Shadowfell back to the mortal plane.