- "You keep what you kill."
- —Covu the Transcended, speaking to his followers after defeating the Austeres
Covu the Transcended was the first Lord Marshal of the Necromonger Empire. Born upon the world of Asylum, he would go on to become the founder of the order of Necroism, and would order the construction of the vast Necropolis, the first church of Necroism, and the holiest place in the empire. He would be succeeded by Oltovm the Builder after several long years of fairly stable rule, marching through the Threshold as Oltovm watched in awe, never to be seen in this ‘verse again.
History[]
Genetically at least, the Necromongers can trace their beginnings to a modest group known simply as the Brotherhood of Austeres. Devout themselves, they believed that all other known religions were too iconic, too idolatrous, their histories too soaked in blood, their teachings too dogmatic and without room for personal expression. Thusly, the Austeres founded a monotheistic and isolationist religion which called for them to set out across the stars, seeking out a place untouched by the corruption of modern man and his ancient dogmas. Though they numbered only in the thousands, the Austeres held strong in their belief that, in the end, theirs would prove to be the one true faith.
Traveling in ships with conventional drives, they lost many of their number to the rigors of the journey. But ultimately, the Austeres made planetfall and colonized a world that they named Asylum: a place of refuge. Quickly, dissension arose as Covu, an important scientist-philosopher, began to preach the then radical belief that there might just be more than one God— indeed, that there might be as many Gods as there were "universes." The Monoverse theory held great sway at the time. One God seemed ample for the job of overseeing one 'verse, large though it must have seemed. Covu decried monotheism as an unnecessary vestige of Jesusism. He believed that it should be shed with other Christian trappings already left behind by the Austeres. For this stance, Covu was persecuted by the Austeres.
When he declined to recant his positions, deemed heretical, the Austeres tortured Covu. Day and night, they worked their terrible abuse upon him, so relentless that by the time he finally escaped, Covu had lost the ability to feel pain; his nerves deadend and his skin paled by months of darkness and isolation. The man who went in to the crucible came out the other side changed, but unbroken…at least, at first.
Outcasting of Covu[]
Resigned to the fact that Covu would not recant, The Austeres soon turned their ire upon his family, torturing them as thoroughly as they had Covu himself before bringing an end to their lives as Covu watched in despair. Covu too would have died at the hands of the Austeres, had it not been for the few followers, Covulytes, that had been drawn to his teachings and who helped Covu to escape his prison, with the bodies of his wife and children in tow. Outcast, Covu wandered open space in a stolen ship with the cold corpses of his wife and children, lamenting his Ill fortune and wishing only for a second chance: to see his wife so that he may kiss her, to see his children that he may love and embrace them. So deep was his sorrow, it was said, that even the stars seemed to dim when his gaze fell upon them, drained of their life and vitality as he had been.
How long he journeyed through the void of open space is unclear, but eventually Covu made a discovery of unimaginable import: a rift in space and time that broke through the veil separating one ‘verse from another. Though he knew it not, this was the Threshold itself; the gateway to the Underverse. The Covulytes were afraid to approach this strange and turbulent corner of uncharted space, unwilling to put the ship and themselves at risk, but Covu pushed ahead despite their warnings and apprehension, driven by the need to lay his family to rest in a place that would remain undisturbed by the Austeres, or any other so-called “holy men.” And so, with the bodies of his wife and children, Covu crossed the Threshold.
Only minutes later, Covu returned. Yet something was different about him: he had aged visibly, and the light of newfound power blazed in his eyes. He was stronger, faster, and far wiser than he had been only minutes before, and when he boarded the ship, he told a miraculous tale. To the astonishment of his followers, Covu claimed that his family was no longer dead, that they had risen from death as though it were naught but sleep, and walked again in the 'verse on the far side of the Threshold, a glorious place he called "Underverse." There, he said, he had lived with them for countless eons, until finally compelled to return so that he may finish what he had started. Imbued with fantastic new abilities, Covu took his righteous vengeance against the Austeres who had cast him out and murdered his beloved family. He fought and killed their commanders one by one, claiming their heads as their bodies lay cold upon the ground. Looking into their newly dead eyes, he was overheard to whisper, "You keep what you kill." In victory, Covu assumed the new office of "Lord Marshal," the one rank that cannot be superseded. After forcing them to bow down before him and swear their undying fealty, Covu reorganized the last of the living Austeres into a more regimented, though still pre-military society. So different was this society from the one that had come before that it begged for a new name and a new place of worship. Covu termed this new ideological order "Necroism." As a powerful testament to it, and as thanks to the gods of the Underverse, he ordered Oltovm the Builder to craft the vast Necropolis, their most hallowed hall, erected upon the peak of the tallest mountain on the surface of Asylum.
The First Regime: Covu the Transcended[]
Covu had seen, firsthand, the beauty that lay beyond the Threshold. So compelling was the sight that he began to preach a new creed to his followers: he taught that all life in this ‘verse was simply "a spontaneous outbreak," an "unguided mistake" that needed correction, else all creation might falter. The Natural State of all life was death, and what came afterward. Covu and all Necromongers were also part of this "grand error," he preached, but having seen the truth of the universe, they were duty bound to remain alive until every star and planet in the universe had been swept clean of all human life, killed or converted, so that they might populate the Underverse. Some many years later, Covu chose his successor: Oltovm the Builder, the officer who had laid the very first and the very last stone of the Necropolis. Soon, Oltovm set out with Covu to return to the Threshold; a grand pilgrimage which came at a great cost, some in their company even wondered aloud if Covu had ever seen the Threshold at all, and they began to doubt his word.
But then, the Threshold was found. Oltovm describes the Threshold in his writings as being "Surrounded by great tidal forces of space, treacherous to navigate near, but exotically beautiful, hinting at the dark wonders that lurk beyond."
Days were spent waiting for these tidal forces to ease, and then finally the Threshold opened. Covu ordered all Necromongers aboard the ship, save Oltovm, to turn their backs upon the Underverse as approach was made, and that forever established how a Necromonger vessel nears the open Threshold: aftward first. Indeed, no living Necromonger except for a Lord Marshal may rest his eyes upon the beauty and wonder of the Underverse, not until the day comes when their time has ended, and they are called home to it through final death.
On the Threshold, the two men stood, the once and future Lord Marshals, both now gazing into the beautiful strangeness of the Underverse. What words passed between them was never recorded, but while Oltovm held his place, Covu simply smiled and strode on into the Underverse. Some legends say that three figures beckoned him from within the Underverse; that of a woman, and two young children, though none can say if this is merely rumor or fact. All that is known as that Covu entered the Underverse, and never returned.
| Preceded by None |
Lord Marshal of the Necromongers | Succeeded by Oltovm |
Behind The Scenes[]
- David Twohy has identified the statues as such.
Sources[]
- The Chronicles of Riddick (Film)
- The Chronicles of Riddick (Novel) by Alan Dean Foster, pp. 162-164