Tharizdun

, the Chained Oblivion, is the mad deity of death and trickery. It is depicted, if at all, as "a creature of rolling, hungry ink and darkness".

Tharizdun is an ancient entity, possibly older than even the other gods. It was sealed once long ago in the Founding, back when the deities first began to give form to the world after the defeating and scattering of the prime elementals that previously walked across Exandria in its early days. The gods had thought to have banished Tharizdun but it was released once more onto the Material Plane during the Calamity, causing untold destruction and chaos. It was responsible for dealing a great wound to Ioun, from which she is still recovering.

The Rites of Prime Banishment were used for the first time to re-banish Tharizdun and end the war of the Calamity. During these rites, it took Pelor's full might to beat down Tharizdun, attach four Prime Trammels, and finally complete the ritual. Tharizdun was, however, successfully banished. It is said that six sets of divine shackles hold the Chained Oblivion at the bottom of Abyss, their power anchored somewhere in Exandria. The locations of each shackle fane are closely guarded secrets within the highest clergy of the The Dawnfather and the Knowing Mistress. It is feared that the nature of Tharizdun, being unlike the other divinities, could shatter the Divine Gate itself if unleashed. No one knows how few shackles must remain to keep it at bay.

Those who are foolhardy enough to follow such twisting destruction as the Chained Oblivion are often spurned, hateful, and chaotic souls who fall through the cracks of society. A bit of inherent madness left unchecked opens the door to the creeping Void that draws those who worship this entity. The characteristics of the Chained Oblivion’s influence are bouts of uncontrollable hunger, uncharacteristic aggression, and eventually violent mania. The higher acolytes of Tharizdun, as part of their ritual of ascension and to show their true faith, often remove their eyes so they can peer through shadow and light with his boon.

The Chained Oblivion and his followers often deceive other sects into aiding their efforts by creating a false idol entirely. Its intent, as best can be ascertained, is to consume and destroy.

Appearance
The Chained Oblivion is described as a creature of hungry darkness, a spreading cloud of lightless destruction. It is endless, black, inky, filled with teeth and malice, laughter and hatred. While the other entities in the Pantheon have different interpretations of how they are depicted in artwork, tapestries, and tomes, every record of Tharizdun is amorphous and without physical manifestation.