Katashka the Gatekeeper

> "I am beyond death, mortal wyrm. Are you?"
>
>

**Katashka the Gatekeeper** is an Overlord of undeath from the Age of Demons.

## History

A massive battle between the dragons of Argonnessen and the forces of Katashka the Gatekeeper is said to have occurred during the Age of Demons in a region of the Light of Siberys known as the Harvest of Pain.

According to legend, 3,000 years ago he merged his soul with a mortal wizard named Kyuss, and the combined entity briefly became a demigod. Before Kyuss could gain his full power, the entity was imprisoned once more. Legends say, that if he is released again, he will bring forth the final age of the world, known as the Age of Worms.

## Appearance & Personality

Katashka is depicted manifesting as a massive skeletal figure wielding a scythe.

As with all Overlords, Tul Oreshka has no true fixed form, and can assume any shape of her choosing between Fine and Colossal size.

## Abilities

Katashka the Gatekeeper claims absolute mastery over the gates of life and death. His domains are **Deathbound**, **Undeath**,and **Evil.** He is a mighty cleric, wizard, and true necromancer.

Though he is truly bound by the power of the Silver Flame and only dimly conscious of the world, he can still observe standing ruins from the Age of Demons, his chosen servants among the fiends, as well as any location where his name or title is spoken for a short time.

Those born in the area near his prison may become tainted with an aura of death and decay.

## Servants

Katashka the Gatekeeper is attended by ancient undead in addition to rakshasa, and may be the origin of the first dracoliches, vampires, and various other unique undead in Eberron.

* **Kyuss, the Worm that Walks:** Kyuss is among his most powerful servants, and the two are said to have briefly merged 3,000 years ago. His release would herald an event known as the Age of Worms.
* **Mazyralyx:** Mazyralyx, the dracolich in the Lair of the Keeper numbers among his servants, and is either his chief servant, gaoler, or both simultaneously.
* Some of his rakshasa servants remain at large.
* His mortal devotees may draw on divine power from Khyber to access spells from his domains. He may have tiefling followers among his agents.

## Notes

Katashka the Gatekeeper and deals he struck with dragons such as Mazyralyx during the Age of Demons are one possible source of inspiration for various myths of the The Keeper, the Sovereign of Death and Decay of the Dark Six.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 ***Dragons of Eberron***.
Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Nicolas Logue, and Amber Scott (2007). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-4154-5.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "**Eternal Evil: The Lords of Dust**" (November 2005) by Keith Baker. *Dragon Magazine* issue 337.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 ***Eberron Campaign Guide***.
James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Keith Baker (01/30/2006). Eberron Expanded - Libris Mortis, Part One. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 11/01/2016. Retrieved on 02/11/2019.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Erik Mona and Keith Baker (07/16/2005). Age of Worms Overload. Archived from the original on 04/04/2018.
6. ↑ Keith Baker (01/03/2017). Eberron Flashback: The Lords of Dust. Archived from the original on 08/11/2017. Retrieved on 2/10/2019. “You’ve already made clear the differences between the Sovereign Host and the Overlords, but would you consider the Dark Six as a whole to be enemies of the Overlords as well?

I’m going to rewrite my original answer to this question, because I think it was unclear. First of all, a defending element of is that their existence cannot be conclusively proven. They are said to be omnipresent and to influence their spheres wherever events occur. The Dols are present anytime blades are drawn. And yet they cannot physically manifest. In this, they are concretely different from Overlords, who influence a limited area (even if potentially a very large one) and can physically manifest. An  Overlord can be bound, and an  Overlord cannot. So in some ways it’s a meaningless question, because the Dark Six don’t manifest, so HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? With that said, I’d argue that EVERYONE is against the Overlords. If I’m a medusa priestess of the Shadow, I’m not going to look at Bel Shalor and say “I dunno, I kind of like the cut of his jib.” Among other things, most cultures that revere the Dark Six look at their positive elements. You could say that Tul Oreshka and the Fury have some overlap, but Tul Oreshka is PURE MADNESS, while the Fury can reflect the positive aspects of passion and emotion.

WITH THAT SAID: Canon sources suggest that many of the myths associated with are drawn from the actions of dragons in the First Age, who may have somehow ascended to become the Sovereigns; this is the foundation of Thir and the Church of the Wyrm Ascendant. By these principles, Dol Dorn, Dol Arrah and Dol Azur were all martial dragons, and Dol Azur was flayed after betraying the others – suggesting that he, at least, was working with the enemy. The dragon who became the Keeper may have had an alliance with Katashka. The MYTH of the Shadow may have been inspired by Bel Shalor – even though the Shadow that is worshipped in Droaam ISN’T Bel Shalor.”
7. ↑ Keith Baker (01/01/2019). The Dark Six: The Keeper. Retrieved on 2/11/2019. “What makes The Keeper and Katashka: the Gatekeeper definitely different beings and sources of power to the dragons?

**Katashka the Gatekeeper** is one of the Overlords of the First Age, an archfiend embodying the fears of death and undeath. There’s certainly some overlap, and one of the common theories is that the inspiration for the Keeper was a of the First Age who bargained with Katashka and became the first dracolich—and that this entity could be the inhabitant of the Lair of the Keeper in the Demon Wastes. But there are critical differences between the two. Again, Katashka is a fiend who embodies our fears of death and undeath. If freed from his bonds, Katashka would create a blighted realm in which undead prey upon the living. Katashka is in essence a predator who strikes indiscriminately, spreading the influence of the dead across his domain. He is a source of necromantic power, certainly, but he’s an immortal fiend—not something a dragon could aspire to become.

By contrast, the Keeper is the embodiment of greed… it just happens that one of the things he covets is souls, and he uses death and disease as a way to acquire them. The Thir archetype tied to the Keeper is the Master of the Hoard; dragons who emulate the Keeper “treat life and death as simple negotiations and collect actual souls.” As a general rule, Katashka isn’t interested in bargaining or acquiring PARTICULAR souls; he’s all-consuming. The Keeper is a connoisseur who relishes his hoard and who’s always interested in a bargain. And of course, dragons believe that it’s possible for an exceptional Master of the Hoard to BECOME the new Keeper.”