Elder Evils

Illus. by M. Coimbra
128
he Worm that Walks is known by many names,
though of them all, Kyuss is the one true
name—the most common, the most reviled, and
the most feared.”
—Edwin Tolstoff
The Worm that Walks is a shifting mass of maggots
and worms filled with the psychic imprint
of a demigod named Kyuss. Slain in another age,
the Worm that Walks yearns to return and seize
the world in its wriggling grasp, ushering in the
world’s last age.
BACKGROUND
There are a great many uncertainties and contradictions
when it comes to the elder evil known as the
Worm that Walks. One thing all agree upon is its
identity: It can be none other than Kyuss, the sire
of many despicable creatures plaguing the world.
This name holds dreadful import not because of
any remembered atrocity attributed to his name, but
because of the things serving him still. His minions
are numerous, ranging from grotesque undead to
hideous aberrations. It is these servants mortals
have come to revile, and they extend their loathing
to the Worm that Walks for his part in bringing
them into being.
Scholars of forbidden lore claim that Kyuss walked the
earth in an ancient era, long before the oldest kingdoms
of the modern day. This time was one of great evil, when
humanity dabbled with the blasphemous arts and served
the dark gods. Kyuss was either a mortal necromancer of
considerable talent or an evil god’s ranking priest. (Knowledge
[religion] DC 25)
The most common theory claims that Kyuss was so wicked
even his decadent society exiled him, casting him out because
he dabbled in forbidden arts and spoke ominous prophecies
of an impending final age. Rather than languishing as an
outcast, he became a prophet and drew to him followers who
clamored to hear his grim words. They saw him as the gods’
servant, if not a god in his own right, and believed it they
curried his favor, he would shelter them from the horrific
age he promised would come. (DC 30)
Kyuss discovered the ruins of a dead civilization. The
structures that remained bore many strange writings, depictions
of human sacrifice, and six-armed tyrants ruling over
all. Kyuss claimed this site for his own and commanded his
people to rebuild the city from the wreckage. (DC 35)
Although he ruled as god and king, the disturbing visions
and his own discontentment urged him to seek greater
power, to find some way to transcend the mortal flesh and
become more than a man, to become a true god. His path
was clear when his followers discovered ancient metal
plates, which held terrible secrets but also confirmed every
prophetic word he had spoken. (DC 40)