The Ag’nagaruth are legion.
But above the hordes stand Twelve.
They are not merely commanders, generals or greater manifestations. They are the dominant intelligences behind the corruption — entities of such scale and influence that entire worlds have collapsed beneath the presence of a single one.
At their head stands Melvalluth.
Known as the One Above All, the Harvester of Death and the Bringer of Illumination, Melvalluth occupies a position of supremacy among the Twelve. Few credible accounts describe its physical form. Its existence is instead recorded through whispers, corrupted testimony and the final words of those exposed to the deepest levels of Ag’nagaruth influence.
Its name alone has become an omen.
Beneath Melvalluth exist entities whose methods are as varied as they are horrific.
Ernennath, the Taker of Will, attacks through desire. It does not require conventional armies to destroy a civilisation. Its influence corrodes restraint, loyalty and identity, turning personal impulse into collective collapse. Where Ernennath spreads, society destroys itself long before organised resistance can form.
Megloth, the Deceiver and Shapeshifter, is defined by uncertainty. Witnesses rarely agree upon what they saw. Beast. Storm. Humanoid giant. Living energy. Its appearance seems fluid, adapting to circumstance while its influence tears at perception and sanity. Those touched by Megloth frequently become increasingly predatory, warped into specialised forms built for pursuit and consumption.
Then there is Sath’ilth.
The Pestilence.
Where Sath’ilth manifests, corruption becomes disease. Flesh rots. Ecosystems collapse. Materials themselves appear to decay beneath its influence. Entire worlds have been transformed into diseased wastelands, their populations consumed by mutation, infection and despair.
Other names persist throughout surviving records.
And others whose records remain fragmented, contradictory or deliberately suppressed.
No two members of the Twelve wage war in precisely the same manner.
Some appear only rarely in the material universe, while others exert their influence across enormous distances without ever fully manifesting.
What unites them is purpose.
To encounter the lesser possessed is to face an enemy.
To encounter one of the Twelve is to face an event.
Armies have vanished beneath them.
Cities have changed shape around them.
Populations numbering in the billions have disappeared within days.
Humanity has developed weapons capable of killing almost anything it understands.
The Twelve remain dangerous for a simpler reason.
Humanity still does not understand what they are.
And somewhere beyond the Great Tear, beneath the darkness of the Hades Nebula, the Twelve remain.
Listening for the moment humanity begins to scream again.