Sünde
| Sünde | |
|---|---|
| File:God of Sin.jpg Artist depiction of a form of Sünde before being cast out of Hell. | |
| God of Sin, Deceit, Trickery, and Divine Justice. | |
| Symbol | Black robe, black fog, white mask. |
| Translation | Sünde comes from the German words for sin, offense, offense; ancient writings that depict various other names also include the meanings debt, blame, guilt, fault, liability, trespasses, sacrilege, sin, heinous deed, offend, outcast, disown, repudiate, infringe, contravene. |
| Affiliation | Three Princes of Hölle |
| Mantra | "He who has no true face. Who has no true form. He who brings just to those who sin. His name meaning sin itself, who has divine right to sin. He who casts blackness of justice. Sünde; he has no face, body, or voice of true origin; he who tricks and collects; he who is the source of all divine retribution to sin." |
| Weapon | Black Fog/Clouds |
Sünde [English: Sin] is the Commoner Angel of Deceit, Trickery, and Divine Justice; He is also 2nd Erzengel of Hölle and one of Three Princes of Hölle (Hell). He is most notably known as the Guardian of the Seven Deadly Sins for which he is depicted most associating with them. Most depictions, writings, and art, characterizes Sünde as the personification of the Seven Deadly Sins and society's depiction of justice on those who commit such sins. Sünde is also a trickster/deceitful deity that plays tricks on other divine beings (Angels, Gods, mythical creatures, etc.) and tempts mortals to commit sin; it is heavily believed that this is to devour them but other experts say it is to test their willpower. Sünde is usually characterized as having seven main forms but can shapeshift into anything & everything (unlike most Angels who can only transform into either mortal forms or their influenced objects, like a sky god transforming into a cloud), which has also brought on the name the ShapeShifter; each depiction he is introduced into, he is usually in a brand new form -- which confused scholars for ages until modern links were connected. Sünde has in the past been accredited to other names such as Schuld, Frevel, and Versündigung. During his reign in Hell (Hölle), Sünde took the form of a black robed prideful figure; his robe made of black fog and his hair is equally black and long in length; he had two horns similar to Hölle on his head that stretched backwards, tall, and extended from his forehead; his skin was also pale white and his eyes had no pupils (plain white).
It is said if you commit one of the seven deadly sins; wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony; Sünde will appear to you in the form of the sin you commit. He will then test you, and if you fail, he will devour you; soul, body, and existence. Sünde will then use that form whenever it suits him. In the Epic "Total Sin"; Sünde punishes Achim, a greedy and gluttonous lord, who was beyond saving -- after devouring Achim, Sünde impersonated him to order the deaths of his family, livestock, slaves, and closest friends -- Sünde also threw all the wealth gathered by Achim into the ocean and allowed himself to be captured so that he could be put to death for the sins the real Achim committed; Sünde's goal of course was to example the sinner's path. In the poem "Dealer", Sünde appears to the beautiful Adelheid. Adelheid had an extreme issue with being too prideful and lust (among other things); Sünde appeared to Adelheid in the form of Lust, an extremely attractive woman who was both mentally off balance and appeared to have frozen to death (jet black hair, pale white skin, and etc.), and warned her of her fate if she did not change her ways. To prove she'd had changed, she had to fall in love mutually with a man without using lustrous ways or without appearing prideful (dressed up/cleaned). She failed after she slept with a virgin after becoming desperate to accomplish the goal; she was immediately murdered by the virgin who had actually been Sünde from the start and was devoured just before death.
In the godly world, Sünde is deeply distrusted and despised by many. Despised so much that he was kicked out of Hölle by its ruler for his ways. Sünde was never written to have punished an Angel or other godly being -- many scholars believe it was not his duty to do so, but he did play cruel tricks on his own kind as a form of punishment. In the tale "Godly Pride", Sünde tricks the Angel of Riches (Wealth) Reichtum because of his prideful and greedy ways. Sünde appears to the other Angel as the Angel Natur, the Angel Mother Nature, and seduces the god; Sünde propositioned to become his queen if he were to donate half his wealth to mankind, which he did, bringing economic prosperity to mortal life for sometime. Sünde satisfied, turned into his Greed form and warned the Angel from exacting revenge on mankind or continuing his ways or he'd return again.
Forms (Deadly Sins)
Sünde, as a shapeshifting being, did not have a main form. But as the guardian that punishes all sins, he personifies seven main forms that exemplify the sin. Among these forms, Sünde can change into various other forms that were devoured in the past or that he had involvement before. A popular saying is that Sünde was always watching; a modern TECT abstinence campaign even used the Angel in its slogan, "Keep it zipped, Sünde watches." Throughout what works he appears in; Sünde has appeared as a mortal, another Angel, a tree, an old man & woman, the Emperor of TECT, a virgin, an attractive woman, and various other forms. The question of his gender has been posed by many scholars for centuries; most experts put him into the category of genderless since Sünde has no true form other than the deadly sins, which have both female and male appearances. Although, he is usually referred to as male in many stories when the subject comes up.
Lust
Lust or the sin of intense desire, is usually thought of as excessive sexual desire; but is also the desire for other objects such as money, food, or fame. Sünde's form is characterized as being an attractive black haired woman, around 5,6ft tall and skinny. Lust is believed by many scholars to have been an attractive female who was frozen to death, possibly by falling into deep ice too. It is not known why or if it's true that Lust is a dead woman, but depictions detail ice cold skin (usually pale) and jet black hair that appears frozen. It is widely believed the woman's story is that she was a lusty woman who slept with many men before freezing to death one dark night. Characterizing her popularity as being nothing but sexual lust since no one helped her or cared for her, no one found her body after her death. Though, scholars believe these stories are merely examples of the form Sünde takes; forms that example what happens to those who sin. In the case of Lust, the woman wanted everything including sexual conquest but died alone in a frozen field during a blizzard or died by falling into a frozen over lake.
In the tale of "Abstinence", Sünde appears to a young man who lusts after women. The man's taste in women varied and the list of partners was so vast that he was said to have slept with girls as young as ten to as old as sixty -- the number of women was boundless. Sünde posed as Lust to the young man, who flirted with the Angel without haste. Sünde, convinced the young man was beyond the need of warning, devoured the young man once they were alone together. Shameless was the term Sünde used when devouring the young playboy and the Angel also noted at how depraved the mortal was; "A beast who devoured women sexually does not deserve the gift of life."
Gluttony
Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. Gluttony is usually characterized with food or liquids but other beliefs state that over-indulging in other activities can also be characterized as gluttony. As Gluttony; Sünde appears in the form of mixed livestock. His appearance of the head of a pig, the body of cattle, and legs of chicken are commonly recognized from the tale of "Generous" -- a story about Sünde punishing a gluttonous nobleman. In the story, Sünde makes his form's appearance after the nobleman uses guards to forcefully remove starving orphans after they beg outside his estate's gate; he then has them killed after they return to beg for spare food. Sünde, in his Gluttony form, appears and forces the noble to donate all his food and wealth away before eventually being devoured by Sünde. Including being a mixed form of livestock animals; Sünde is also said to screech like a horse and stand two legged (around ten feet tall).
Greed
Greed, or the excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of material possessions, is very similar to Gluttony & Lust in much of its aspects. In the form of Greed; Sünde appears as a tall hansom man in rags, chained and shackled by chains made of gold coins -- the shackles are made of silver coins, a secondary currency in ancient Commoner times. He is often conceived as a rich and handsome noble who fell from grace and was imprisoned by the Wealth Angel, Reichtum. His golden coin chains and silver coined shackles represent the greed of money, because in life, the noble's sin of greed lead him to desire riches (namely gold and silver). The rags he wears are to represent his fall from riches when he became poor. On his hands were golden rings that remained from his fall; which are given to mortals who pass tests concerning Greed.
In the tale of "Greed Against Gods", Sünde appeared to a wealthy young man who attained his wealth from his governor father. In the form of Greed, Sünde warned the young man to change his ways and to give up greed or he'd resemble the very form that stood before him (Greed's form). The young son of the governor, instead of simply getting rid of his wealth, donated it into local businesses. He also donated to charities and temples around his home province. The young man even gave a tax break of his own to the people of his province. When (Greed) Sünde appeared before him once more the young man feared he had failed in his task, since he still had a substantial amount of wealth left. Sünde actually appeared to congratulate the young man on his efforts. The Angel informed the young man that others simply gave everything they had away in fear and failed to learn the true meaning behind the test; him on the other hand, had correctly shared his wealth with those less fortunate and therefore passed the test. As a prize of succeeding, the young man was presented a golden ring from Greed's shackled hands; a reminder to avoid greedy behaviors in the future and a trophy for good luck -- in fact, a divine artifact that brought good fortune and approval from the Angel of sins.
Sloth
Sloth is sometimes defined as physical laziness and spiritual laziness is emphasized too; sloth is also defined as a failure to do things that one should do. As Sloth; Sünde appears as a large, black furred mountain lion. It is widely believed that the Sloth form uses a large cat because cats are usually slothful when resting; if ancient Commoners knew of the African Lion, it would more than likely take that form instead. The fur is black mostly due to the heat absorption that the color trait is attributed too, making the person more comfortable when slouching in the sun (like a cat).
In the tale of "Sloth"; a lazy youth who refused to do chores became Sünde's target. After dropping noteworthy hints in the form of his parents and friends, the youth continued to ignore his duties. He also spent the majority of the day sleeping in fields and other brightly lit areas. One day, Sünde in the form of Sloth, crept up to the youth while he slept and laid down to take a nap. Almost immediately the youth awoke in fright that a mountain lion, especially of such size and color, approached him; he soon got over it though and fell back to sleep within a moment. When the youth woke up once more, the mountain lion was on top of the youth face to face; scared, the youth was too frightened to react. Sünde ripped the youth's throat out using his form's teeth. Before the youth died of blood loss, he immediately awoke in a bolt of fright at the nightmare he experienced; the cat was however gone, or never even there. Although the youth was warned twice, which is rare, he returned to the same field at the same time to sleep after ditching chores once more. When the youth awoke, he was paralyzed and could not move other then his head and eyes -- immediately spotting the mountain lion from the day before. Sünde told the youth he has been more than warned to change his ways, then he proceeded to rip off every limb the youth had starting with the legs. He told the youth before devouring him at near death that if he wasn't going to use the gift of life then he did not deserve to wield it.
Wrath
Wrath, or rage, may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. Wrath, in its purest form, presents with self-destructiveness, violence, and hatred. Sünde in the form of Wrath is a headless warrior; wearing damaged and beaten armor, he is usually depicted as a hard fought warrior who died trying to get revenge. His outfit is torn apart and armor damaged to the point that anyone would question him, if of course the having no head wasn't obvious before. The warrior had his head taken as a trophy to his killer and to exemplify losing one's head (figuratively) in rage.
In the story depicting Maximus Forelis' rise to power and the overthrowing of his parents; Sünde appears to Maximus shortly after he executes his parents and would also appear to his brother Antony. Sünde ambushed Maximus when the young leader was traveling by horse alone; Maximus was not unnerved even though he stood face to face with a sword wielding headless warrior. Maximus had actually expected the Angel for a long time, boasting: "What took you so long?" Instead of warning the young leader as he initially planned, Sünde decided to devour the would be Emperor before his Wrathful sin could be repeated. It was a first that a mortal stood his ground against an Angel and fought back, sword to sword. Though Maximus was skilled, he could not stand against the divine strength an Angel had compared to a mortal. Krieg intervened before either could land a blow against the other by sending his son, Schlacht, the Angel of Battle & Violence; the opposing Angel warned against targeting Maximus or his brother again or he'd strike down Sünde without mercy. Sünde was forced to give up on the two because of the other Angels intervention to protect the two brothers and their families; Krieg and his sons alone could crush the weaker Angel if it came to direct combat.
Envy
Envy is similar to lust and greed; to be jealous and to feel discontent towards someone's traits, status, abilities, or rewards. The difference is the envious also desire the entity and covet it. Sünde, as Wrath, appears as a ragged dirty peasant. His head is however that of a thirsty dog's head that has the tongue of a serpent. The form also sweats blood and is hunched over as if they've been working in the fields all day. The dog's head is to represent the attitude trait, "like a dog", and the serpent tongue is of spite and inner poison. The drenched in blood sweat, rough clothing, and hunched back represents the overworked peasantry.
The tale of "Envy Uprising" characterizes the peasantry and the danger of envy. In the tale, Sünde appears to a rich land owning nobleman of a farming fortress. The lord noble is guilty of other sins but he is the main subject of the story for being the cause of envy of others because of his sins. In the form of Greed; Sünde warns the noble to change his ways of greed and or else he faces both divine and mortal punishment. The noble, more enraged, takes the warning as a threat from another mortal that his peasants are planning to overthrow him. Blinded by greed and wrath, the noble orders the troops to begin killing suspect peasant workers who he feels will rise up against him. Seeing as the noble lord toke the warning completely wrong, Sünde appears to the farm workers in the form of Envy to use their envy and wrath to revolt against their noble ruler. The workers manage to overpower the guards and lead Sünde to the noble who's practically defenseless. As he begs for forgiveness, Sünde changes back to his Greed form and exclaims that he, the noble, made an error and took the warning through greed's ears -- Sünde then proceeds to devour the noble in front of the peasants who are both confused and horrified. Thinking they were tricked by someone who claimed to be one of them, the peasants became enraged at the deity. As Sünde turns to face the crowd, he changes back to Envy; he explains that the farmer peasants are justified for having some envy but have developed sinful envy and greed during the process of revolting. "You who envy the rich have become no better. You took what you envied and would have murdered the source of your envy if it was not I who had delivered this justice for you. Although you are just to have envy in this situation, you all have sinned by becoming envious with greed. Hypocrites. You have become the very thing you hated and envied. You have failed your own test." Sünde concluded their guilt of envy and greed and devoured the peasants who tried to resist fruitlessly; only those who did not participate in the revolt passed and also the guards were left alone since they were not guilty of sins.
Pride
Pride in almost every list, is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as believing that one is essentially better than others, failing to acknowledge the accomplishments of others, and excessive admiration of the personal self above even the Gods (Angels). Sünde, in the form of Pride, is a short impoverished child dressed in dirty robes and wearing a tall heavily decorated crown that clearly isn't his; he holds chains that connect to a man and woman who are richly robed and are wearing jewelry, clean, and are towering proud figures bound by chains of gold to each hand of Sünde. The main representation is the reversed roles the three have; the poor impoverished child control the chained towering rich adults who are towering proud figures. The two chained victims are the chosen worse offenders of the sin Pride that Sünde has come across; the man is the King of the Royal Civilization who served as the former head of the TECT Royal Family before Maximus Forelis -- the woman is Alheid Marlene, a prideful noblewoman who ruled part of the Homeland as one of history's first radical feminists.
In the story of the hero Kaspar ("Hero Kaspar"), Sünde appeared to the hero because of his pride. Kaspar was a hero who made his name in the glorious battles he fought with mythical creatures; he is the killer of many dragons and in fact fought the Angel of Battle, Schlacht and survived barely. His ego was so inflated that he openly challenged anyone and dared the gods to try and kill him again. When Sünde appeared to the hero in the form of Pride, he took offense to the very appearance of another prideful individual being near him; he dared the man victim to a battle who ignored him. Sünde, the child figure, addressed the hero of his sin and warned him to change his way or he'd be punished unimaginably. Taking offense to being talked down too by a child, one who looked on the very verge of death himself, enraged the hero enough to charge the three with his sword; he failed because Sünde had changed to black fog and vanished in a gust of heavy wind. Later the next day, after a fight with thirty mercenaries of a local noble, Kaspar rested in a brothel. He boasted of his "score", boasting his success in the fight and taking loot from the bodies that made him richer. Unbeknownst to him, the mercenaries were a test to see if he'd taken the advice and use diplomacy but he failed, and he was once more committing more of the same sin. Surrounded by women, he didn't notice the one he held between his left arm with the golden chain and robed richly. By the time Kaspar spotted the child he argued with the day before, it was too late; the woman victim stabbed Kaspar with a poison tipped blade. The hero was paralyzed before he could even react; a smirk on the woman's face brought by stabbing a man was unmistakeably a joy for her, even if she was an enslaved soul. She immediately began ripping open pockets to grab the coin riches he had gained from the battle earlier, inviting the other women to join in. Kaspar was robbed clean and couldn't do a thing other than watch. Now helpless, both victims began stabbing at the man with small knives to prolong the suffering before coming to the verge of death. Sünde repeated Kaspar's guilt of committing sin and exclaimed, "Pride be the downfall of Pride." before devouring Kaspar, the once great hero.
Other Depictions
Sünde did not only target mortals and Angels who were had committed one of seven deadly sins. Sünde also plays harsh tricks on Angels as punishment since he cannot easily devour them like mortals. Sünde also tested many mortals who did not appear to be committing sin, simply to see if they would sin; he acted as the tempestuous demon, trying to lead almost random mortals to sin. Many scholars are split on if this made him a hypocrite since he lead mortals to commit the very sins he punishes, which would make him just as guilty, while others think Sünde is the ultimate tester of morality in trying to tempt humans off the righteous path. Almost all scholars do agree that Sünde is a more evil character in TECT Mythology; simply put, his nature as a prince of Hell also constitutes his evil tendencies.
In the tale of Arno, a hero, Sünde is credited to bringing the hero down. Arno was a legendary hero who both protected people from danger and in health; he fought raiders and grew food for the poor. Sünde respected the man but he wanted to test the hero to be sure of his nature; so, Sünde set out to test the hero to the point that he fell from grace and was punished by Sünde after Arno gave into sinful temptations.