Set

🔀 For the Marvel Comics' take on the character, see Set (Marvel)

Set was a "dark" god (chaos, violence, fire, storms, etc) who was worshiped in historical pharaonic Egypt. In Egypt he was variously worshiped depending on the region of Egypt from which various cults originated as a red-haired storm god and uncle of Horus (Set), the destroyer of life, family and fertility (Sutekh) or as a violent but still ultimately benevolent god-pharaoh who was a member of the godly royal family descended from Ra.

In the Hyborian Age stories of Robert E. Howard, the god Set was originally known as Satha, the venomous giant serpent, who was worshiped by some cultures and demonised by others, becoming known not only as Set, but also as Leviathan and Satan (CIRCLE: "The Valley of the Worm"). He was the dark god / evil god who was worshiped by many of Conan the Cimmerian's sorcerer enemies as well as in the dark kingdom of Stygia. (CIRCLE: "The Phoenix on the Sword", et al)

According to one account, Set is a Great Old One, (EXP: Nameless Cults, Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of sourcebook) but according to another, Set is the same entity that would later become known as Assatur or Hastur, whose name is derived from "Ah-Set-ur". (EXP: "The Worm of Urakhu")

In the age of Conan, Set had already in times far distant even from that prehistoric era sired "monster-kings" known as the children of Set (CIRCLE: "The God in the Bowl"), described in Marvel Comics stories using Conan as the Man-Serpent species.

Father Set of the Underworld is also referenced in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of Robert Bloch, where he is identified as one of the seven main gods of Egypt, along with Osiris, Isis, Ra, Bast, Thoth, and Anubis. (CIRCLE: "The Opener of the Way")

Some sources depict Set as an avatar of Nyarlathotep which takes the form of a humanoid deity with the head of a Typhonian Beast. (EXP: Lurking Fears, Malleus Monstrorum)

According to one source, Set is one of the many avatars of Nyarlathotep documented in the Great Library of Celaeno. (EXP: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san)

Background[]

Set who is known by many names (Great Dragon, Yig, and Quetzalcoatl), is a slavering hungry deity. Set originates from the Outer Dark, and is a being whose physical form is rejected by the world, twisting reality around it. Relics which have been blessed or touched by him are no longer completely part of the physical world, which is the reason that they are endowed with incredible powers. Any priest who draws on those powers does so at great personal risk, as the forces that are unleashed corrupt the flesh and tear at the mind.

Apostate Stygians who speak blasphemies against Set often meet sticky ends. They mysteriously disappear, are found hideously murdered via the most inhuman methods, or they end up slowly turning into serpent men as their eyes turn yellow and their skin slips away. Those who tend carefully to serpents appear to earn its blessing. Human sacrifices are regularly dedicated to Set and so are the mysterious rites. It's believed that he is a Great Old One that is sustained by blood.

Gallery[]

External link[]

Set at the Conan wiki.