Faltine

The Faltine, or Faltinians, are extra-dimensional energy beings born from pure magic. They exist in a realm of their own, a very old and very dense universe that is also known as the Faltine Dimension.

ORIGINS

Sinifer spawned two children, Dormammu and his younger twin sister, Umar, in the dimension of the powerful energy beings known as the Faltine. They were born untold thousands—or perhaps even millions of years ago and unlike every other spawning in Faltine history, the two new beings (scions) were unlike their parent (genitor).

Unlike their kin, Dormammu and Umar craved the consumption of matter instead of energy and in doing so they defied Faltine tradition by gathering this matter to themselves, something that was considered to be the most obscene perversion by the other Faltine. When Sinifer tried to stop them, they transmuted him from energy into matter, essentially killing their parent. This angered the rest of the Faltine who then banished Dormammu and exiled Umar from the Faltine Dimension.

THE DARK DIMENSION

Wandering across dimensions, Dormammu and Umar continued to amass matter, incorporating it into their very beings. In their search the two fugitive Faltine eventually found a universe known as the Dark Dimension, the largest piece of a universe that was shattered into many planes during a conflict long ago, the other remaining pieces being known as the Archipelago of Anguish and Redemption. In the Dark Dimension the ruling social class were a group of wizards known as the Mhuruuks who were ruled over by a wizard-king dreaming of returning to the days of warfare and conquest.

Umar and Dormammu entered this vast realm with its natural warps into pocket universes. Believing it ideal for their ambitions, they used their accumulated matter to assume permanent humanoid forms. At that time, the Dark Dimension had been at peace for nearly 28,000 years, and was ruled by the wizard-king Olnar the First in its 28th cycle. The Faltine befriended Olnar and played upon his desires of conquest. Despite warnings from the Mhuruuks, his mystical advisors, Olnar welcomed Dormammu and Umar, offering them power in exchange for knowledge of how to break dimensional barriers and absorb other realms into his own. They eagerly took Olnar up on his offer and showed the wizard-king how to make conquest of other dimensions and bond them with his own. Olnar greedily subjugated several dimensions and added them to the Dark Dimension.

In time, during the 29th cycle of Olnar's rule, the rogue Faltine Dormammu led him whether by design or chance to the realm of the Mindless Ones, a horde of soulless brutes, unstoppable creatures of pure destruction that exist simply to destroy anything that lies in their path, and tricked him into shattering the barrier between his Dark Dimension and that of the Mindless Ones. The Mhuruuks were beaten back by the onslaught as the Mindless Ones rampaged through the Dark Dimension, and many were slain, including Olnar. Seizing the opportunity, Dormammu and Umar drove the creatures back and sealed them away, barred behind a great mystical barrier. In the ensuing chaos, they slew or exiled any of the Mhuruuk wizards that might oppose them thus securing their rule.

They were then hailed as saviours by the survivors of the Mindless Ones, and were declared regents of the Dark Dimension, with Olnar's infant son, Orini, left alive under their care as he posed no threat.

This battle weakened Umar, and she became subordinate to her brother. Dormammu ascended the throne as regent and ruler of the Dark Dimension. Dormammu took the title of Dread and partially reverted to his original Faltine form, his body wreathed in flames, but Umar chose to remain in her human form. He then merged his essence with the Dark Dimension's inherent mystical energies, magnifying his power to unprecedented levels.

Not much is known about Dormammu's early reign. Since the denizens of the Dark Dimension have millennia-long lifespans and exist in a universe where time may not flow as it does on Earth, estimating the duration of his activities is nearly impossible. He waged wars against various extradimensional rulers while forging alliances with others, including a pact with Jupiter of Mount Olympus. He even joined forces with the embodiment of Eternity to seal away the occult juggernaut Zom within a netherworldly amphora. Although direct clashes between Jupiter and Dormammu are rare in the Multiverse, Loki once claimed that Odin spoke of Dormammu in terms of comparison to himself—contrary to Dormammu's belief that Jupiter would regard him with "dread." Dormammu's power, when amplified by the Evil Eye, was sufficient to nearly collapse Earth 530 by merging it with the Dark Dimension, demonstrating his capacity to threaten entire realities given enough strength.

He seemingly observed Earth's dimension for millennia and supposedly influenced Satannish's development in ancient prehistory. Dormammu frequently clashed with Agamotto (the entity who became Earth's first Sorcerer Supreme) and his unnamed tentacled alien disciple.

Dormammu's knowledge extended to cosmic beings like the Celestials and Zeus, once boasting that he would "burn" the former while claiming his power equaled that of the latter. He also recognized the skill of ancient Atlantean sorcerers, abandoning the Hood in favor of Jennifer Kale—acknowledging her training under Dakimh the Enchanter. The Tome of Zhered-Na explicitly warns sorcerers against succumbing to Dormammu's temptations, implying that even Zhered-Na and the mages of Atlantis were aware of his existence and the threat he posed.

Throughout history, powerful artifacts such as the Eye of Agamotto and the enigmatic Staff of One (wielded by the Minorus, evokers of the Nisanti demon (and thus indirectly channeling Dormammu's own power) have been used against him. However, true defeat eluded him, and over time, he ascended among the ranks of mystic entities whose patronage was sought by mortal sorcerers.

When Umar descended into madness after bearing a daughter with Orini, Dormammu used deception to banish her to a pocket dimension, securing his position as the sole ruler of the Dark Dimension. Orini, completely devoted to Dormammu, raised his daughter Clea in service to the Dread One.

REPRESENTATIVES

Dormammu

Sinifer

Umar

Clea