Nebonyses the Great

"The Great," Zadeh XIV, CE 913

**Nebonyses**, also known as **Nebonyses the Great** was the son of a nameless queen of Mazadas and the god Moloch. He was the center of multiple heroic mysteries based on the mystery cult of Moloch, and was most known as the only god-king of the Muzdash Empire, which stood for at least one thousand years.

Around the year 450 NCE, the Thousand Schisms began to divide the Muzdash Empire and the rule of Nebonyses the Great was severely diminished. After the city of Mazadas was besieged by multiple usurpers, the gods of multiple subversive mystery cults stormed the Red Palace and killed Nebonyses the Great. His body was sat upon the throne, where it remains today, and his head was taken from Mazadas.

Nebonyses the Great is credited for unifying the Muzdash Empire and Jigoku, begetting the cambinoid race, and opening trade between the continents and cultures of The Old World. The Muzdash culture and arts are heavily inspired by his conquests, and the invention of writing was ordained by his support.

Nebonyses is speculated to be a central part of the mythical Diets of Dakar, religious ceremonies in multiple mystery cults wherein gods and prophets are contacted in specific circumstances to receive an "ambassador." Many belonging to the cult of Moloch and some of the cult of Alphar claim the Diets of Dakar are convened by the spirit of Nebonyses the Great.

## Biography

### Early Life

Nebonyses's mother was a violent, nameless queen who usurped the throne from her husband. It is believed she fooled him into becoming a sacrifice to Moloch, of which her magi assisted in the treachery. She had no children and desired a daughter, who would help her create a matriarchal empire. Some accounts also claim she poisoned him with balsam, stabbed him while he slept, and even that she drowned him in her own blood.

In any account, she was massively displeased with having a son, either by trickery on part of the magi, by the fact he was male, or that she was not seeking a child whatsoever. Nebonyses was very young when he managed to escape his mother's care, and legends state Nebonyses raised himself in the wild plains of Jigoku*.*

Nebonyses survived by killing wild animals with his bare hands to survive, and learned twenty languages to communicate with traders throughout Jigoku to acquire enough food to sustain himself. He returned at age thirteen to Mazadas, a city-state in Jigoku, and strangled his mother to death before ascending to the throne himself. The magi believed it was the will of Moloch that had brought
his son to return to Mazadas, and his reign was not contested for many
years. At age fifteen, Nebonyses began to conquer neighboring *muhaphos,* starting with Nassur and eventually conquering most of Jigoku by his twenty-second birthday.

### Uniting of Muzdas

As he grew older, Nebonyses grew to be of massive
 stature, towering at fifteen feet tall and being of impossible
musculature. He also had a strong resemblance to common depictions of
Moloch, with twisted horns, deep scarlet skin, and a long pointed tail.
Nebonyses would conquer the city-states of Nassur and Obela in
 a few short years, before reaching the age of twenty. His empire began to stretch across the seas as well, and upon arriving in Tyrrhos, forced Espios to submit two years later. The
agriculture-based *muhaphos* were not difficult for the new king to
 take, considering Mazadas advancements in metallurgy and opening trade
with the peoples of Neuphany. The bronze weapons and armor that
outfitted the Muzdash were leagues above the simple copper spears and
jerkins that other cities utilized. Nebonyses had learned the value of trade in his youth, and utilized trade with the Sasceri to build a formidable army.

Nebonyses the Great's ambitions extended into establishing a
multitude of cities all across the southern coastline of Neuphany, notably
 Perepolis and Nebopolis (now White Harbor). There are no
records indicating the nature of these sieges or how long they lasted, but
it is noted in reliefs in multiple parts of the Red Fort in White Harbor. Nebonyses flayed the nobility of his conquered alive, and saving the
 queen and daughters as consorts that he brought to Mazadas. At this time, a heroic mystery began to form around the king that would last for over one thousand years.

While Nebonyses had thousands of consorts, his most noted
consort was the One Queen of
 Perepolis, Zadeh I. She was described as being fearsome, as violent and
bloodthirsty as Nebonyses the Great, and was constantly pregnant during her long
life, perhaps extended by the long-lived Nebonyses. She developed a
minor circle of worship as well during this time.

### The Thousand Schisms and Death

Nebonyses ruled the empire for one thousand years and, in that time,
campaigned successfully and ruled efficiently. However, sources state that the empire had grown
too large, and that a vast majority of the regions were overtaxed. Also, the vastness of Muzdash
 land made it difficult to defend the borders. As great in number as the
 army remained, there were not enough men to keep garrisoned at every
significant fort or outpost. This permitted the influence of other entities to grow in cities outside of the immediate vicinity of Mazadas, particularly those that would eventually rebel against Nebonyses the Great.

In the latter century of Nebonyses's rule, it was becoming clear
that the blood of the god-king had changed the population into a mostly
cambinoid race. These descendants began to diverge in appearance as their religions and heritage grew independently. Most notable of these were the children of Zadeh of
Perepolis, who had places in the homes of every Perepolis citizen as
minor deities. The weakened administrative authority of Nebonyses allowed for deified entities such as Geryon and Orobias to become more like caliphs than local prefects. Local populations revered their god-kings, and it became
clear it was drawing away the strength of Nebonyses the Great.

Though his administrative and religious dominance was waning, it isn't truly known what Nebonyses was doing during his later years. Some speculate that he was developing the rites for the Diets of Dakar, however this has little in the way of supporting evidence. Neboyneses the Great had not conquered nor had he consolidated power in many years, and his actions as his authority weakened can only be speculated.

In the event known as the Thousand Schisms, nearly every city
revolted against Nebonyses the Great at around the same time, save for the city of Espios and
Perepolis. These revolts were fueled by the desire to install a new
god-king into the throne, for reasons that varied between each entity.
For instance, the city of Urjin wished for their king, a winged devilish
 caliph named Mephistopheles, to restore full worship of Moloch himself and
give more power to the magi, which Nebonyses had failed to do
effectively.

Eventually, the thousands kings collectively invaded and
razed the capitol, and killed the weakened god-king Nebonyses the Great
in the process. His head was taken to another location, and it remains lost to this day. His body was propped up upon his throne, where it stayed for many centuries until his obsidian bones were stolen piece by piece until his body had been entirely removed from Mazadas by treasure hunters. The bones of Nebonyses can sometimes be seen in the use of expensive jewelry, and later warlords would trade massive amount of wealth to obtain a genuine weapon made from the god-king's bones.

## Legacy

### Religious Worship

The emergence of the Caliphate of Perth was centered around the worship of Nebonyses the Great as their progenitor, and many anthologies, most of them likely fictional, depict Nebonyses the Great as a wise god-king who fathered the cambinoid race. The worship of Nebonyses is positively correlated with the accelerated pubescence and increased magical capabilities of cambinoids between the First and Eighth Eras.

Many of the rites to Nebonyses include identical rites to Moloch, as his heroic mystery is generally considered a more specific manifestation of the cult of Moloch. In general, sacrifices made to Nebonyses are women, especially widows, as well as a variety of grains, cereals, and bronze. Every ten years, worshipers of Nebonyses are obligated to make a pilgrimage to the site of Mazadas, and every one thousand days, they must have a month-long fast.

### Ties to the Diets of Dakar

Nebonyses the Great is claimed by many in his mystery cult, as well a number of scholars, to be the formative figure in the Diets of Dakar. Though there is little evidence to directly associate the two, circumstances point to most of these Diets of Dakar being convened by tieflings or cambinoids, as well as the fact that nearly every instance involves somewhat similar ritual practices to rites for the god Moloch.

Many caliphs of Perth have been vocal about Nebonyses being the host of such Diets of Dakar, notably the caliphs Banzal III and Haslen the Proud. However, later caliphs denounced the Diets of Dakar as idolatry and blasphemous. The truth remains unclear.