the Impaled God

Zataris seeks to reconstruct the Great Vault of Forbiddance on the Material Plane so that it might be better protected against the other celestials she believes are scheming against her. 

Zataris searches endlessly for a worthy successor who may ascend and take over her status as god of secrets after her death.

As Zataris slowly dies from a fatal wound, her mind has become frayed and her judgment clouded. Her paranoia has little basis in reality and her orders to her servants are increasingly nonsensical. 

Millennia ago, during the war of Boiled Blood between the agents of the celestial Court of Secrets and the demonic hordes of the Pact of Ten Thousand Screams, Zataris, god of secrets herself, was grievously wounded by the Flensed General, who drove his lance through her heart with his dying act. Zataris soon learned that the wound would eventually prove fatal, as the demonic powers of the Flensed General prevented her from removing the lance without destroying herself. As a result, its necrotic energy began to eat away at her life essence, putting her on a clock that ticked toward her ultimate destruction. Despite her appeals, the other gods saw no way to help her. Knowing that her end was near, Zataris set about putting her affairs in order. 

Though thousands of years have passed since Zataris’s impalement, this time is perceived much quicker by the gods than it is by mortals. The god of secrets knew that she must act quickly. As the overseer of the Great Vault of Forbiddance within Celestia, Zataris had to ensure that the conditions were in place for its continued oversight and maintenance after her death. For a time, Zataris proceeded with rationality and dignity towards her end. But as the centuries passed, the necrotic energies of the Flensed General’s lance continued to infect her mind and body. Zataris became despairing and paranoid and soon grew spiteful of the gods, who she began to believe were deliberately withholding the means with which she could be healed. The closer she approached her destruction, the worse the effects of the lance became. Eventually, Zataris lost her grip on reality and convinced herself that the war of Boiled Blood was a vast conspiracy designed to weaken and destroy her so that the other gods could plunder the Great Vault of Forbiddance. 

The Great Vault of Forbiddance is said to contain incomprehensible numbers of secrets both dangerous and mundane, as well as a vast wealth of forbidden knowledge so that non-celestial beings may be protected from their uncovering. Zataris, in her delirium, falsely believes that the Vault of Forbiddance must be reconstructed on the Material Plane so that it is further away from the other gods and thus more difficult for them to infiltrate. She has ordered her celestial subjects to begin reconstructing its walls, spires, and tunnels within a vast forest on the Material Plane. In her frayed state of mind, however, she has provided them with new building plans that deviate from its original architecture to make specific “strategic improvements” that have only resulted in a jumbled, nonsensical construction of labyrinthine walls and twisted towers that expand by the day. Though her celestial subjects might suspect that Zataris is not in her right mind, their first duty is to carry out her orders regardless of circumstance, and so they do so without hesitation. 

 in service to Zataris carry out the majority of the construction work of the new Vault of Forbiddance on the Material Plane. They funnel building materials through celestial portals, consult Zataris’ jumbled architecture plans, and lay stone atop stone to bring the plans to fruition. The abettors also conduct site preparation work, including clearing trees as necessary and ensuring that mortals do not wander too close and either interrupt construction or witness anything that they shouldn't. 

 help Zataris oversee the reconstruction of the Great Vault of Forbiddance and dutifully patrol its new chambers and corridors to protect it from any who would seek to assault it. The tutelaries are led by Prelate Teriash, who fought alongside Zariel in the war of Boiled Blood. 

 who serves as Zataris’s closest advisor and second-in-command. Sassar shares a great unrequited love for Zataris, and though he understands that the god of secrets is not in her right mind and that reconstructing the Vault of Forbiddance on the Material Plane is nonsensical, he has concluded that obeying Zataris’s dying wishes is not only his divine duty, but also the best and final way that he can demonstrate his undying love for her. He hopes that Zataris will nominate him as her successor so that he might ascend to godhood. 

Zataris is suspicious of any temples or churches nearby the reconstruction of the Great Vault of Forbiddance. In her paranoia, she believes that other celestial agents have posted spies in these locations to gather information on her reconstruction project. To combat this non-existent threat, she has sent 

 to infiltrate these temples and churches to root out these spies. In some cases, she has ordered the inquisitors to slaughter the worshippers inside. Despite the inquisitors never finding evidence of any other celestial activity, they follow Zataris’s orders to the letter. 

 assist with transferring secrets and knowledge from the vault on Celestia to the new vault being constructed on the Material Plane. Knowing that she is nearing her end and wanting to achieve as much as possible before she dies, Zataris has ordered the keykeepers to bolster their efforts in searching the Material Plane for keys that may be deemed dangerous to the preservation of life. 

 celestials that have loyally served Zataris as record-keepers for many millennia. Their efforts are focused on organizing the contents of the Great Vault of Forbiddance for movement from Celestia to their new home on the Material Plane and keeping track of inventory during transport. Each of them know by heart the layout and contents of both the old Vault of Forbiddance and the Vault being newly reconstructed.

The players may wish to stop the reconstruction of the Vault of Forbiddance for a number of reasons. A few of these reasons are outlined below.

A dryad, druid, or other protector of the forest has witnessed the reconstruction of the Vault of Forbiddance and has lived to tell the tale. Though the protector is obviously concerned about the disturbance to the forest as a result of the construction, they recognize the celestial servants and know that something greater is deeply wrong. The party is intrigued by the protector’s story of the mysterious expanding structure and is driven to investigate.

Either a patron of the party or the party themselves believes that a specific secret or piece of knowledge of great value is being moved to the reconstructed Vault of Forbiddance on the Material Plane. The party seeks to infiltrate the vault and bypass its defenses to take possession of what they seek. 

This God of Secrets dies slowly from a grievous wound, and is gradually losing her mind as she approaches her end. In her delirium, she believes that her secrets must be moved to the Material Plane for safekeeping. 

Zataris

The Impaled God