Cyric

Cyric is a fictional deity in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, a branch of Dungeons & Dragons. Cyric has many names, some of which include The Prince of Lies, The Dark Sun, The Black Sun, The Mad God and the Lord of Three Crowns. Cyric is closely associated with the essence of murder, conflict, lies, intrigue and illusions.

Though he is a freelance god due to his lack of superiors, friends and allies, he has made himself a wide variety of enemies. These include gods such as Mystra, Kelemvor, Oghma, Azuth, Mask, Tyr, Torm, Deneir, Leira (killed by Cyric), Iyachtu Xvim (now Bane) and many others. Cyric is recognized in Faerûn by his symbol, a white jawless skull on black or purple sunburst, and his alignment, Chaotic Evil. He is a Greater Power and he rules supreme in his divine realm, the Supreme Throne.

History
Cyric's story is a clear one. He became a divine being due to the events which occurred during the Time of Troubles. He won over many followers during that time, and he also stole the domains of other fallen gods, most notably Bhaal.

Cyric's power is immense, and he is considered one of the major evils in Faerûn. The destruction of Zhentil Keep is his doing, along with many unfortunate problems Faerûn has to deal with. Over a certain period of time, Cyric became utterly mad, believing he was the greatest power in all of the universe, superseding even Ao, the overgod. Cyric's sanity has since been somewhat restored with the help of his Seraph Malik, but the deity remains evil, unpredictable and egocentric. He delights in placing people in power through intrigue, then tearing them down at his whim.

Relationships
Cyric hates all other gods, especially Mystra and Kelemvor, but these enmities are dwarfed by the deity's brewing war with the returned deity Bane. Cyric believes in his own heart that every other god is a slave to his will and can easily be undone.

He has formed temporary alliances with dark deities (i.e. Mask in the form of Godsbane, used to slay both Bhaal and Leiira) but inevitably these are short-lived as he uses them wholly for self-serving purposes, and betrays all too easily (as seen by his weakening of Mask and subsequent stealing of his portfolio element of "intrigue").

The sinister demipower Velsharoon also despises him. The archnecromancer is well aware of Cyric's megalomania and of the deity's past; and considers him to be a bungling clod who has lost much of his power, and will continue to lose more. Cyric hates Velsharoon because of the latter's somewhat reluctant servitude to Azuth.

Company of the Ebon Spur
This fighting order established by Cyric has no leader yet. It is rumoured that the two clerics in charge of establishing admission standards into the order cannot agree on what those standards should be and are engaged in intricate plots to kill each other off, since each is convinced that he is right. They both pretend that Cyric appeared to them and gave them precise orders, but the orders given to the two priests are contradictory. When the order finally gets off the ground, Cyricist crusaders will certainly lead fighters against rival churches for the glory of the Prince of Lies.

Literature
Cyric features prominently in the following novels:


 * The Avatar Series novels
 * Shadowdale (1989), by Scott Ciecin
 * Tantras (1989), by Scott Ciecin
 * Waterdeep (1989), by Troy Denning
 * Prince of Lies (1993), by James Lowder
 * Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad (1998), by Troy Denning