Character Index
The SCP Foundation
——
SCPs
Series I (001 to 999)
Misters | Pitch Haven
——
Groups of Interest
Mekhanism | Ortothanism | Sarkicism
Other Recurring Characters
open/close all folders
The Church of the Second Hytoth
The emblem of the Church of the Second Hytoth, the resident Ortothan church of Earth
- Original creator: NatVoltaicDebut: SCP-2417 - Gods, the Universes, and Origami (2016)
Spread across the cosmos, the Ortothan beliefs were brought to Earth: in prehistory it thrived in the Earthen Ortothan Kingdom, but millennia after the empire's fall, it humbly lives on in structure of the Church of the Second Hytoth, designated Group of Interest #03088 by the SCP Foundation.
In general
- Ancient Astronauts: The original Ortothan religion was spread to humans by alien explorers around 11000 BCE.
- Anti-Hero: They can be utterly ruthless and fervent in their dedication to their god... but their actions are necessary for the survival of the universe.
- Arch-Enemy: To the Holy Seven, their eternal rivals are the Voruteut (who are heavily implied to be the "Pattern Screamers" oft-mentioned elsewhere).
- Arc Number: Seven. Their Arc Symbol is a seven-pointed star, they have seven primary gods, and the idea of seven flames is a recurring motif with their skips.
- Arc Symbol: The seven-pointed star and stars in general (likely in part as a reflection of their extraterrestrial origins). Notably, it's implied that sentient stars (such as our own Sun) are actually followers of the Church of the Second Hytoth, as evidenced by SCP-1548.
- Ascended Extra: Their popularity as a Group of Interest exploded first after they were featured in the rewritten SCP-1548 and then again after they became a central focus in the "Ad Aspera Per Astra" canon.
- Badass Creed: "We will not be like the Daevites in their barbaric bloodlust for their divine. We will not drive away and make enemies of those who mean us well. We will not ignore the blinding truth when it is before us. We will not falter."
- Blood Magic: Bloodletting rituals and the like need to be regularly performed to keep Rakmou-Ieusan alive, and most of their faith includes various blood-based thaumaturgic practices, letting them do things like call down lances of fire from the Sun to kill Voruteut.
- Bad Powers, Good People: They make use of Blood Magic fuelled by sacrificing parts of their souls, but the Church fights to protect The Multiverse from destruction.
- Church Militant: One of the core tenets of their faith is that of thinking strategically and using all resources available to defend oneself against the Voruteut. Ironically, they actually seem to be a predominantly pacifistic religion and abhor Alien Sacrifice outside of stuff associated with the Voruteut.
- Creepy Good: Invoked. As terrifying as they can be at times and how unsettling their Blood Magic can come across as, most members of the Second Hytoth seem to be Good Shepherds in practice and are completely right in that their actions are necessary to secure the survival of the entire universe.
- Dark Is Evil: The Voruteut are invariably associated with darkness, specifically the black void found between the light of life-giving stars.
- Determinator: While it's not always apparent in their associated articles, the Church of the Second Hytoth absolutely refuses to give up. Even with all but one of their gods dead, they strive to keep Rakmou-leusan alive, constantly working to spread their beliefs and aid in the fight against the Voruteut. They are certain they will win, and even in the face of utter failure, will still keep going.
- The Extremist Was Right: As brutal as their actions can be sometimes, more often than not they are completely justified in the face of The End of the World as We Know It.
- Fantasy Counterpart Religion: Their tenets on the importance of Blood Magic and Heroic Sacrifice, along with being based around the concept of a god associated with the Sun constantly fighting against alien enemies dedicated to the extinction of all life are all clearly inspired by Aztec Mythology. That being said, while the Aztecs were highly military-focused, aggressive, and practiced Human Sacrifice, the Ortothans are considerably more pacifistic, practice bloodletting rituals instead of actually killing people, and typically try to keep a low profile.
- Glory Days: During 11th millennium BCE, the "Eastern Ortothan Kingdom" had them at the height of their power on Earth, ruling over a mighty empire encompassing most of Central Asia and northern India. Unfortunately, the Daevites from SCP-140 came along and obliterated them, the few survivors fleeing into nearby groups like the Mekhane-worshiping Xia Dynasty (found in ancient China) and their faith's popularity fell into decline.
- Good Counterpart: Invoked to the Daevites. Both are anomalous Church Militant societies practicing Blood Magic who were founded in Earth's ancient history... and that's pretty much the only similarities between the two. While the Ortothans worship the Koru-teusa and prioritize the sanctity of life and feel that being kind & open to everyone they meet will secure new allies and the survival of the universe, the Daevites worship the Scarlet King, are Social Darwinists to a man, and regularly practice both Human Sacrifice and cannibalism. According to Word of God, the Ortothans were written from the start to be an inversion of blood cults (being pacifistic instead of violent and having a justified reason for blood rites beyond sadism) and the Church and the majority of Ortothan groups don't act in a villainous manner. This is even lampshaded in how their Badass Creed has the Ortothans making it clear that they will not let themselves be like the Daevites in their strive to secure the survival of life.
- Hold the Line: Their entire faith is based around the concept of their surviving god, Rakmou-Ieusan, constantly fighting against the Voruteut so that life can continue to survive.
- Playing with Fire: Fire is a common weapon associated with the Ortothans, likely in part from their association with stars.
- The Power of the Sun: Notably, it's implied that the Children of the Torch (a.k.a. the descendants of the Xia Dynasty) were largely inspired by the surviving Ortothans who fled to the Xia after the Daevites destroyed the Earthen Ortothan Kingdom.
- Shout-Out: They worship seven gods and represent themselves with a seven-pointed star, much like the Faith of the Seven from A Song of Ice and Fire.
- Star Power: Rakmou-Ieusan is often associated with stars and sunlight, and our Sun itself worships Rakmou-Ieusan.
- The Stars Are Going Out: Stars seeming to disappear from the night sky are meant to imply that the Voruteut have won on extrasolar worlds and consumed their suns.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Their actions can be ruthless at times, but they are almost completely justified by the alternative being the annihilation of the universe.
Ortothan Pantheon
Koru-teusa
Koru-teusa
The Koru-teusa, commonly translated as the "Holiest Protectors", the "Holy Seven", or the "Seven Holies", was a pantheon of beings from a dying Multiverse who lead an exodus to a second one which they vowed to protect. After eons upon eons of conflict and mysteries, only one of the seven remain.In general
- Alien Blood: From countless species, at that.
- Allegorical Character: One tale, Seven Children, is an Allegory of the Koru-teusa. In the poem, the children Zeru, Ursula, Eoghan, Rakhi, Nessa, Yorick, and Myron are meant to represent the Holy Seven.
- Ambiguous Gender: The sexes and genders of the Koru-teusa are unknown. Pronouns are used inconsistently in Ortothan scripture, with it sometimes being customary to use several contradictory pronouns within the same text.
- Ancient Order of Protectors: 13.82 billion years of ancient.
- Big Good: In Ortothan belief, the Holy Seven have been the front and only line of defense for the Second Hytoth for all of its inhabitance.
- Fantastic Honorifics: Whenever referred to by name, the Holy Seven are suffixed with -leusan, literally translated as "divine warrior of the multiverse".
- Fantasy Pantheon: The Koru-teusa aren't based upon any real world pantheon. In-Universe, the Holies are the highest in the Ortothan pantheon, which is omnist as Ortothans can share belief in deities from other religions so long as those gods are considered lesser to the Holy Seven.
- Forged by the Gods: Each of them had weapons that were either made by their hand, or are extensions of their minds and bodies.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: Justified Trope. Due to imperfections in their ascension process, the Koru-teusa were left constantly bleeding out. Ortothans propitiate the Koru-teusa by bloodletting on special stone altars, using teleportation to transfuse their blood over to their gods.
- Human Sacrifice: Defied Trope. While the Koru-teuse live through The Power of Blood, they only accept what is ethically sourced. If some unorthodox Ortothans launch a murder spree in the names of their gods, expect a crusade to put an end to that heresy.
- Kill the Gods: Of the six that are no longer, at least half of them were killed in combat. The others committed a Heroic Sacrifice or faced Uncertain Doom.
- Light Is Good: The Holy Seven are often associated with light; as an example, Rakmou-Ieusan is said to "bleed starlight" while fighting against the Voruteut.
- Numerical Theme Naming: Inverted Trope. In-universe, the Koru-teusa's names are the etymological roots of the Ortothan numerals (zey, ur, eo, rak, nes, yor, and myr)
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Despite their prowess as the protector gods of the Second Hytoth, they aren't All Powerful. They weren't TheMakers of the hytoth, and neither have they been able to circumvent death.
- The Power of Blood: Even gods need blood (or aímact, as it is in the Ortothan Extraterrestrial Language).
- Rule of Seven: There are (er... were) seven of them.
- Time Abyss: Having originated from the First Hytoth, the longer lived of them have existed for billion of years.
Zeyu-leusan
The Holy First. The one who discovered the Rituals of Ascension that allowed the seven to godhood, Zeyu-leusan was the founding member of the Koru-teusa. Their reign was short, as they sacrificed themselves to fell the First Invasion of Voruteut, the first of many tragedies to become the Ortothans.- An Arm and a Leg: Ortothan texts describe the Holy First as missing their left arm, from the bleeding stump of which they drew in the ambient energy of the cosmos.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The Holy First was the first of the Seven to die when a colossal horde of Voruteut followed them into the Second Hytoth. By performing a Suicide Attack, the Holy First vanquished one of if not the largest invasion from the Voru the hytoth would ever see.
- Physical God: According to one story told by SCP-3417, Zeyu could assume a physical form amongst the mortals, doing so to stop a rebellion of "defense towers".
- The Power of the Sun: Their right hand burned with the might of a trillion stars, the power drawn from the cosmos.
- Shapeshifter Weapon: Zeyu-leusan's Suicide Attack consisted of them directing their whole life essence into "a single holy lance" to annihilate the Voruteut.
Uron-leusan
The Holy Second. The formidable Uron-leusan was a warrior who stood at the forefront of battle. Their strength and reverence faded overtime and was replaced with jealousy and fear, culminating in their pyrrhic slaying of the Holy Third.- Blood Knight: They were renowned for their utter devotion to combat.
- Dual Wielding: The Holy Second wielded two swords. Accounts of their ascension describe them as having ripped their dual weapons from space's fabric, and used them to tear through and merge with higher realms of existence.
- Green-Eyed Monster: "Envy brought their demise".
- Master Swordsman: The second was proficient with the blade, as texts had described them as "the divine swordsman".
- One-Man Army: Uron-leusan Mutually Killed Eov-leusan, who was backed by a legion of their worshippers, and records make no reference of the Second leading any warriors of their own. And they're the one who brought swords to take on cannons.
- The Resenter: Uron-leusan grew jealous of how the other Holies were paid tribute, their resentment reaching the point that they went after the Eov-leusan.
- War God: The Holy Second was recognized for their bellicosity more than any other of the Koru-teusa. Tragically, Uron-leusan felt a lack of recognition that was deserved.
Eov-leusan
The Holy Third. The innovative Eov-leusan was an inventor that always saw to improve upon themself and their work. The Third saw endless praise and recognition from their followers, a treatment that brought the envious Second's ire and a betrayal most fatal.- A Master Makes Their Own Tools: More so than the other six Holies, Eov-leusan created their three cannons while they were mortal, and (unlike the others) continued to tinker on their weapons for the rest of their life.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Eov-leusan was an accomplished tinkerer. The most notable was their signature weapons: three Energy Weapons made from metal, dark matter, and blood.
- The Hermit: The Third would occasionally spend periods of turning recluse to ensure they were uninterrupted in their tinkering. As a god, these periods likely lasted eons.
- Interstellar Weapon: The only one of the Koru-teusa's weapons outright stated at such. It is said that the shockwaves of their first test fire was felt throughout every corner of the universe.
- Organic Technology: Eov-leusan's construction of their cannons involved the usage of their own blood (which itself was transfused from Ortothans).
- Our Dark Matter Is Mysterious: The Third's cannons were also constructed with dark matter.
Rakmou-leusan
The Holy Fourth. Having assumed leadership following the sacrifice of the Holy First, Rakmou-leusan guided the Koru-teusa for billions of years in the protection of the Second Hytoth. Now, following loss after loss, the Fourth has outlived their fellowship and became the only one left to protect.- Big Good: Rakmou-Ieusan, the last of the Seven, and who constantly defends mankind and all other life against the Voruteut.
- Extra Eyes: The Holy Fourth has four eyes.
- Four Is Death: Inverted Trope. Rakmou-Ieusan, the Holy Fourth, the last of the Holy Seven alive after eons of tragedy.
- Humanoid Aliens: Rakmou-leusan has the most detailed visual profile out of the Koru-teusa that the SCP Foundation has, who recognize him as a thin four-armed humanoid.
- Last of His Kind: After almost fourteen billion years, the Holy Fourth is the only Holy that hasn't either died or disappeared.
- Morph Weapon: The Four Spears can fold themselves into any shape and form necessary for combat.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Rakmou-leusan has four arms, with which he wields the Four Spears.
Nesren-leusan
The Holy Fifth. A master of psionics, Nesren-leusan was a mental mastermind that could blind mortals with their abilities. Inexplicably, during a time when Ortothans ran thin, the Fifth was somehow forgotten. By the time they were remembered, they no longer were, with no answer to why.- Brown Note: It is said that their psychic arm would "[blind] the minds that witnessed it".
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Not Nesren-leusan themself, but likely their believers. The common theory Ortothans have as to how they could have forgotten one of their gods is that the Nesren-leusan encountered something that made them forget the Holy Fifth until they were Remembered Too Late.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Similar to Rakmou-leusan, Nesren-leusan was of a species with four arms, as it is specified they had "a fifth arm of psychic radiance".
- Psychic Powers
- Telepathic Spacemen: They certainly were an extrasensory extraterrestrial.
- Uncertain Doom: Ultimately, it is unknown what happened to the Holy Fifth. All that is certain is that after ages without propitiation for them, any blood let for them would never be sent.
Yorun-leusan
The Holy Sixth. Revered as the Holy Mage for their utter devotion to thaumaturgy, Yoru-leusan made it their divine life's mission to learn everything the Second Hytoth had behind its existence. Yorun-leusan was the most recent loss of the Koru-teusa, as they died to protect the reality they were so committed to.- Badass Bookworm: As well as a scholar, the Holy Sixth was a capable defender of the Second Hytoth.
- Benevolent Mage Ruler: As the Sixth of the Seven Holies, the Holy Mage was a protector of the Second Hytoth and those in it, regardless of their belief in them.
- Exactly Exty Years Ago: Yorun-leusan was killed in 2000, exactly one hundred Earth years after their Second Messenger's arrival to said planet and the founding of the Church of the Second Hytoth in 1900.
- Extra Digits: Assuming SCP-5471 is meant to depict one of their hands, Yorun-leusan had humanoid six-fingered hands.
- Magic Staff: Yorun-leusan wielded not one but six of them.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: To hold the above mentioned staves (if they didn't use telekinesis for it).
- Myself, My Avatar: In their effort to learn everything the Second Hytothans had to offer, the Holy Sixth sent avatars across the multiverse in order to research all the teachings and philosophies they could come across. These aspects of Yorun-leusan spread Ortothanism with their travel, and for at least two separate occasions visited Earth, prompting the founding of the Earthen Ortothan Kingdom and the Church of the Second Hytoth.
- The Red Mage: The Holy Mage certainly learned many thaumaturgic practices in their many eons of life.
Myran-leusan
The Holy Seventh. Scourged from history, who Myran-leusan was is now a mystery to those who retain what little about them that remains.- Unperson: Nearly everything the Ortothans had on the Holy Seventh disappeared with no known cause. All that remains is "torn or burnt or blotted beyond comprehension".
Other deities
