Volkerh is the Elder God of the Realm of Black Magic maps in Quake Champions.
Description[]
Volkerh is the Elder God of the Realm of Black Magic. Volkerh is a mysterious and sinister Elder Being, adorned with an animated cape of living flesh pinned by a large ornate harness of thorns. Appearing as a thin, tall, floating, creepily ambiguous figure, his torso and chest are held together by thinly stretched strands of flesh reminiscent of ripped seams. Volkerh’s ‘face’ is entirely obscured by darkness in the depths of his hood. When angered or provoked, his robe & cape transforms into ethereal outstretched wings of dilapidated flesh, cloth, and ash, retracting his hood to reveal that his open hood is actually a mouth-like cavity. He possesses the Rune of Black Magic.
The Realm of Black Magic[]
An ethereal dreamland on the edge of chaos, the Realm of Black Magic was once ruled by the Lurching King, until Volkerh obtained the Rune of Black Magic. With the rune in his control, he led a violent coup and drove the old king away. In the battle, the king’s source of power, the Crystal Crown, was believed to be lost. Toppled from his head it fell into eternity and the king was driven into the outskirts of the realm at the very edge of Chaos, known as the Rift. Volkerh, hungry for more power now seeks the lost celestial blue Crystal Crown of the Lurching King. While the power of the Rune of Black Magic is immense, the the Realm of Black Magic is the vastest of the realms and Volkerh remains weak without the power of the crown. Without such a source of power, Volkerh relies heavily upon the Convent to maintain control.
Volkerh’s Blood Covenant was a blood pact formed with his followers, which allows him to convert the blood of sacrificial bodies into a dark energy that sustains his life force. This blood comes from willing devotees, forced ceremonial sacrificial lambs, and the blood of combatants forced to fight in his arenas.
Lore scrolls[]
The Wolf that leads the Flock lore scroll 1
“I gave a poorly attended sermon today on stewardship. Ms. Viola Mather was present, as always, and sought me after. “Pastor Phillips,” she always calls me, despite knowing me as Paul in our many years together in school. She requested a sermon about the Parable of the Lost Sheep, probably with the intention of bringing her sister Hazel, poor thing. I tried not to wince and suggested the Parable of the Lost Coin instead, but to no avail. She wanted the metaphor of the flock, for her family’s sake. I will grant her request, for she is a devout woman.”
The Wolf that leads the Flock lore scroll 2
“I dreamt of Father’s abattoir, as I know I would. The lambs’ bleating, the sound of the offal hitting the floor with a slap. The smell. Is it any wonder that he descended into drink? I do not expect Viola to know the horrors of that place and how they haunt me. I thank God she does not. Besides, I must overcome this aversion to the Good Book’s lambs and sheep, shepherds and flocks. The very word “pastor” means “shepherd.” Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David – all shepherds. The angel told the Messiah’s birth not to kings but to shepherds.”
The Wolf that leads the Flock lore scroll 3
“I awoke and resolved to write Viola’s sermon, but the words would not come. I decided to consult the family Bible, which always inspires me. But as I approached the old ebony bookstand, I spotted the edge of a page in a seam above its cabinet. I extracted it and the queerest sense of dread enveloped me. On it, a profane diagram covered with eldritch runes. At its center, the image of an eye with a flat pupil – a sheep’s eye! I dashed it into the fire. It did not burn like paper but shrank and crackled. Parchment! How ancient could it have been?”
The Wolf that leads the Flock lore scroll 4
“My nightmares have worsened since | touched that unholy parchment within the lectern. A perverse prank? | have no enemies. No one enters my rooms. The Book describes Damnation with flame: lake of fire, unquenchable fire, furnace of fire. But the Hell of my nightmares—flesh ripped from sinew, wet crunch of bones, viscera writhing and steaming —it makes fire seem a mercy. I must banish these visions and write the sermon! But the Parable of the Lost Sheep vexes me. If the sheep need the shepherd, then what becomes of the 99 neglected to find the 1 lost?”
The Wolf that leads the Flock lore scroll 5
“The flock needs me. I bring them together. I comfort them. I make them feel safe. The sheep fear the wolves. But the shepherd is the slow wolf. The one from whom they do not run. Raising, carrying, guiding, killing. Psalm 49 states it plain: the sheep are destined for Sheol. Bleat, bleak, weep, barren, gaunt, white, dirty white. The bleeding heart bleats. Even the good shepherd culls the sheep. Why would the flock follow? Who culls us? Who calls us? Oh, dutiful Viola. I know what I must do. I know what I will write.”
The Wolf that leads the Flock lore scroll 6
“have procured the Prussic acid and stirred it into the jug that fills the Cup. The sheep’s eye watched me from the fire. I will begin with the Parable, then ask the flock to pass the Cup. “The new testament is my blood.” Then to Revelation 7:14, their robes washed white in the blood of the lamb. And at last to Revelation 8:11, to explain the bitter juice in the Cup and to assure them that it cannot harm those who are washed white. I shall drink, too, as is my duty. Hazel won’t, unfortunately. Poor thing.”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 1
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one who seeks an ending for himself and others, who does not stand in death’s way but permits silence come to the injured and the sick, who leads the beasts that hunt two-legged prey.
2 For only he understands the atrocity of life, of individuality, of creation, and the purity of oblivion.
3 Only in becoming part of a greater whole on the path to oblivion, can anything that lives find meaning. And no greater consumption is there than to become feast to Volkerh, body and soul.”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 2
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 3
1 Many are the beasts that walk and fly and crawl, and all are as nothing.
2 Nor is man any higher than the lowest beast. Turn away from man and beast, for all are vile, abomination, without meaning or purpose!
3 All is false, even joy and fear and sorrow, and hope most of all.
4 Only in feasting upon and being feasted upon in turn is revealed the barest glimpse of the only true purpose. This the Lurching King learned only in death.
5 This is the gift of Volkerh, Ender of Toil.”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 3
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 4
1 You do not answer our call, oh Volkerh, Who Walks in Blood, for we are as nothing.
2 Yet your gaping maw is our eternal salvation! Our gateway into death with purpose, the only purpose to which we can aspire.
3 Your prophet M’yriah dreams of you, sings of you, as do we, your timorous flock.
4 Feasting eternally upon the Cenotaph Table, eating away at the root of creation,
5 Reveling in the song of revelatory final screams, and the silent baying of the Empty Hounds.”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 4
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 11
1 Only those beyond reproach may feed the Whispering One with their own mouths. Only upon them does Volkerh turn his ravening gaze.
2 Even as He walks the path to find the Empyrean Crown, you shall honor him with your own Path of Pain.
3 Walk your twelve thousand steps, with not a morsel to pass your lips, carrying with you the left hand of your most beloved.
4 Let no beast cross your path and live, yet of them you must not eat.
5 And on the twelve thousandth step shall you earn your ablution.”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 5
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 11
6 Then, oh then, shall you be seen! By an Ichor Mage, or by the Famine-Born, or, should you be truly blessed, by the Gaunt Shepherd M’yriah himself.
7 You will not see them, but there they wait, in the pain of holy starvation. It is beneath their gaze that you will stand.
8 Recite you then the Last Prayer of Flesh, and break your fast upon the hand of your beloved. Then upon you shall the great maw smile, and all you consume be consecrated unto him.”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 6
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 19
1 Let famine be the declaration of your truth, your glory, let fields lie fallow and crops smolder.
2 Let every tribulation be our voice, rising up in silent veneration,
3 To you and your Gaunt Shepherd, whom you brought to us, consumed and yet returned, one foot in death, to spread the joy of oblivion!
4 For only those who fatten themselves for your benefit, that you may feast upon them, earn the right to feed,
5 And all others left to waste away, as did the Lurching King without his Crown!”
Volkerh Lore Scroll 7
“From The Benedictions of Want, Psalm 33
1 Let my shrieks of agony carry my joy to your ears, Volkerh! Let my offal stain the unhallowed throne of the Lurching King! Take me, as I have offered myself through the Litany of Cries, and walked the twelve-thousand-fold steps!
2 I hurl myself upon the Cenotaph Table, and gaze upon the rent ribbons that were my flesh. I welcome the feast! I welcome oblivion! 3 Now, Volkerh, Whispering One, take of me that you might make meaning from nihil! Let me become a single step toward your Crown!”
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Paul Philips is a relative of Ward Philips from the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game.
- On the windows in Volkerh's maps, he's depicted at the time as being in anger or a provoked state.
- According to lore, Volkerh is a shapeshifter. His main form most races know him as are a faceless monk. However, this may not be his true form.
- Vokerh has nicknames such as He who walks in Blood, The Ineffable One, and The Ravening Shepherd.
- Volkerh and his worshipers in Volkerh's art are in the map Blood Covenant.
- According to official lore, it's stated that the Vadrigars are the only ones who care about Volkerh's worship, albeit for their own selfish purposes.
- The developers, or rather (Adam Pyle) syncerror, said in the official Quake Discord server in 2018 that Volkerh was inspired by Hastur and said that kinda like politician like Hastur, more look like in king of yellow form of Hastur outwardly, is the Lurching King.
- Volkerh's colours in his rune book and weapon shader are blue and red.
References[]
https://churchofquake.com/wiki/volkerh/ https://churchofquake.com/wiki/blood-covenant-lore/ https://churchofquake.com/wiki/npcs/