Apocryph
- Demonym: Apocryphan
- Alignment: Lawful Evil
- Domains: Grave, Knowledge, Redemption
- Titles: The Hidden One; Thousand Faces; Misty Veil
- Holy Symbol: A hand making a shushing gesture.
From aristocrats in Monosios to street urchins in the Perani wastes, everyone keeps secrets, whether a benevolent one to comfort others, or a sinister one to cover past sins. But no secret escapes the veil of the Hidden One, who frequents the dreams of those guilty of hiding the truth. People have described them in many forms, as strangers from the streets, or childhood friends, or creatures that only exist in the wildest imaginations, but while no one can decipher the secrets of the secret keeper, the whispers assure one thing: what is hidden shall be hidden, and what belongs to the grave shall be brought to the grave.
Apocryph is often depicted as a cloaked shadow whose hand makes a shushing gesture. He keeps the secrets of sinners and saints alike, watches over the safekeeping of such secrets until the day it shall be revealed, if it comes at all. Followers of Apocryph view secrets as the most powerful kind of knowledge, and the keeping of secrets a sacred act. They help those who suffers the inconvenience or misfortune of secrets, to resolve their problems discretely and gracefully.
Cryphic Drow Worship
Apocryph is regarded by the reclusive drow clans scattered around Terre in underground cavern systems as their patron deity. These clans retreated from the upper world long before most other beliefs formed, and thus almost exclusively worship Apocryph. The Secrets of the drow people are sacred knowledge to Apocryph, and are kept by elders of the village, who vow to safekeep it forever from the outside world.
Relationship with other deities
Apocryph shares a portion of his power with Astarte, goddess of oaths, as they both enforce that promises are well kept. Oaths regarding secrets are often witnessed by both the presence of Astarte and that of Apocryph.
Apocryphan followers are sometimes shunned and even ostracized for their tendency to associate with evil, and often have to operate in secrecy themselves. They are similarly against beliefs of Paimon, the god of forbidden knowledge, whose creed is to probe and unveil these secrets despite their nature.
Drow following of Apocryph sometimes hold hostility against followers of Sylph or Faevan, the twin patron god of elvenkind, for their exile millennia ago.