Lore · Gods of the Pantheon
Innoruuk, Prince of Hate
Neriak exists because one god was not invited to a meeting. That is the most dark elf origin story imaginable.
Hate as creation
Nearly every dark elf calls Innoruuk “Father.” His followers believe hate is the creative force of the universe, that love and kindness are tools for those too ignorant or cowardly to take what they want, and that if they could hate hard enough they could destroy Norrath.
Sources: Allakhazam: Innoruuk · Library of Erudin: Innoruuk
Three hundred years
In a decrepit tower above the decaying alleys of his plane, Innoruuk stoked his hatred of the gods who had left him out of their pact. Then he struck. From Takish-Hiz he stole the first elven king and queen and, in his realm of pain, slowly tore them apart in body and mind for three hundred years.
He rebuilt what remained in his own image, a twisted mockery of Tunare’s children, and dropped these Teir’Dal into the underworld of Norrath. The manual says plainly that this sowed the seeds of his final revenge.
Sources: Library of Erudin: “The History of Norrath” (original EverQuest manual text) · Library of Erudin: EverQuest RPG Player’s Handbook: History of Norrath (2002)
His bargains
His reach did not stop with elves. On Kunark, the iksar emperor Venril Sathir abandoned his own creator, Cazic-Thule, and made a pact with Innoruuk, feeding the weak, sick and elderly of his empire to Innoruuk’s Cauldron of Souls in exchange for the secret of lichdom.
His daughter, Lanys T’Vyl, led the dark elf army at Bloody Kithicor.
Sources: Allakhazam: Venril Sathir · Library of Erudin: Battle of Bloody Kithicor
Where the sources disagree
- The manual says the king and queen were tortured for three hundred years; the RPG says “hundreds of years” and places them in the ruling house of Thex.
Keep reading
Retold in our own words from the sources linked under each chapter; short quotes are marked and sourced. The illustration is an original AI-generated painting made for this page alone, not from the game.