Wakboth is the moral evil in the world. Let’s parse that out for a moment.
Most of the gods – Orlanth, Storm Bull, Lodril, Yelm, Shhorg, etc. – caused destruction and “bad things” during the Gods War. They were often surprised by the destruction they caused, and there is an innocent quality to it, as they become aware of their own power and responsibility. The story of Orlanth wooing Ernalda is a great example of this. Even Zorak Zoran, with his hate and anger, is something of a hurt child, burned by the Sun and forever resentful. The gods did not intend to destroy the world or its people, and in the end that motivates them to make the Great Compromise.
That’s not the case with Wakboth. He intends all of this. The destruction of the Spike, the suffering, the spiritual annihilation – all of it. And Wakboth is mightier than the gods. When the gods of Air and Dark muster against him, he blws them away. When Genert leads an army of Earth, Sky, and Water, the gods were routed to utter defeat. Their bodies were warped by Chaos and the souls scoured. The battlefield itself was forever polluated.
Wakboth’s greatest act of wilful evil was the destruction of the Cosmic Spike that held the cosmos together. That’s the Axis Mundi, the world pillar, the sefirot, Yggsdrasil, omphaloi, that rug that really ties the room together, etc. Wakboth destroyed that, and instead of something holding the cosmos together, a void was at the heart of everything. All intentional.
That’s why EVERYONE fears and hates the Devil. Many joined with Wakboth rather than be annihilated by him – but even that tainted and warped them. Vivamort, Bagog, Seseine, etc. are all examples of this.
Now remember there is no cult of Wakboth. You can’t contact him as he is dead (killed by Storm Bull) and buried beneath that Block of Truestone. Now I tend to subscribe to the belief that Wakboth was part of the reconstituted mundane world and the source of moral evil in mundane life. But as long as he is imprisoned beneath the Block, that’s all he can do. Which is why the Storm Bull cult gathers around the Block, hates all theft of Truestone, and may even be why the Lunar Empire used the Pavis Road for troop movements, rather than the easier to supply caravan alley.
How does Ron Edwards take on Thed fit in to this? It certainly wasn’t Greg’s. Thed is Thed for her reasons, not because of Orlanth or Orlanthi thought. In fact it is worth emphasising that Thed is not even all that important as an Orlanth foe – she’s more of a foe of Kyger Litor!
Here’s the story:
Prior to the birth of Wakboth, Thed was a fertility goddess married to the Ragnaglar the Mad God, one of the Air Gods. Their children were the Broos, who were originally untainted by chaos. All stories agree that the Mad God, Thed, and Mallia were motivated by jealousy and pride to usurp the functions of the world and to become its unchallenged rulers. Together they formed the Unholy Trio and brought Chaos into the world in the form of Wakboth. Thed was the mother of Wakboth, and his malevolence twisted and distorted his mother in childbirth – as a result, the Broos are twisted and distorted by Chaos, both physically and spiritually.
We know the rest of the story. Storm Bull killed Ragnaglar. Mallia left the conspiracy. Kyger Litor killed and skinned Thed, leaving only her ghost. Thed haunts the world, a twisted and distorted spirit, who still commands her hapless (and tormented) children.
So the Unholy Trio didn’t even really understand what they were creating when they brought forth Wakboth? Correct. Mallia, Ragnaglar, and Thed were motived by pride and jealousy to usurp the functions of the world and becomes its unchallenged rulers. They didn’t intend to destroy the cosmos.
Did Wakboth kill Ragnaglar? Again, Storm Bull killed Ragnaglar.
