Olyph (OH-liff)

According to the old tales, Olyph was once a mighty arcanist, notable for his magical talents even among the gods. Fascinated by dark and forbidden knowledge, he conducted ever more daring experiments into chaos magic. One of these experiments, commonly referred to as Olyph's Folly everafter, ripped the hole in reality known as the Pantesseract, source of Wild Magic in the world. The release of energies technically killed him, but Olyph simply refused to die and became some strange hybrid of undead and deity. He continues to exist via a combination of his mastery of necromantic arts and sheer willpower, and unlike the other gods who later left the mortal realm, Olyph physically remains.

Though Olyph's divine power is diminished by his undeath, his arcane puissance compensates. Baele and Th'sst have encroached upon his traditional domain of esoteric knowledge over the millenia, but there are still many divine and arcane secrets known solely to Olyph and only a fool would attempt to contest with him.

The Pantesseract is a tear in reality through which strange primordial magic leaks into the world, and some are born with an intrinsic affinity for it, tapping into and channeling wild magic without training or in many cases even intent. Called Wildlings, such an affinity is both a blessing and a curse, for wild magic is (to put it mildly) unpredictable. Consequently, Wildlings usually lead difficult and often short lives.

Wildlings are caused by the Pantesseract itself and have no actual connection to Olyph, but due to the origin of the Pantesseract there is an Olyphian stigma upon Wildlings nonetheless as few common folk are sophisticated enough to understand the distinction. Many assume Wildlings are in league with or somehow associated with Olyph or the suspicious cults who venerate him.

Olyph is unable to grant divine spells and has no clergy in the traditional sense, and he is an unpopular god with virtually no mainstream appeal. Worship of Olyph is actually illegal in a few places, but even where it isn't open observance or worship of Olyph would be considered baffling verging on profane by the general public. Nevertheless, some call upon his chthonic wisdom or enter into dark pacts with him, and various mystery cults and secretive practitioners of necromantic pursuits venerate him.