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| “ | I am Ion, Grand Karcist of Adytum, and I have borne an intolerable force. For someone came at me headlong in the morning and dismembered me with a sword and tore me apart, according to the rigor of harmony. And, having cut my head off with the sword, he mashed my flesh with my bones and burned them in the fire of the treatment, until, my body transformed, I should learn to become a spirit. And I sustained the same intolerable force. | „ |
| ~ The Grand Karcist Ion in the "GoI Field Guide". |
| “ | Great Winnower. I have followed the call of the rapacious angels. I have seen the countless creations and powers of this world, from the bastard-god Mekhane to the mighty yet falling Daevas. And yet, none can compare to the strength of my Kalmaktama, nor you. I have overcome my bondage, the profane slavers, and I shall overcome you soon as well. You will give me your strength, and I shall become your greater. I shall rise to be the master of all flesh and creation. As all creation is but the skin in which you wrap yourself, so shall you be the robes which I drape upon myself. |
„ |
| ~ Excerpt from an ancient Sarkic scripture in SCP-3391. |
Grand Karcist Ion, also known as the Sorcerer-King of Adytum among others, is a major antagonist in the SCP Foundation mythos. He is considered one of the most powerful beings in the setting, being able to vanquish an elder god. He is the founder and messiah of the religion of Sarkicism, whose followers aim to bring Ion back to the world in order to bring their version of apotheosis to all of humanity.
He is often portrayed as the archenemy of Robert Bumaro. He is the main antagonist of the "In Memoria, Adytum" canon.
Powers and Abilities[]
Having been granted an immense power by Yaldabaoth, Ion had complete control over flesh in all its forms. His powers were akin to that of a reality-bending demi-god and he was functionally immortal as his enhanced biology and regeneration didn't allow him to grow old, become hungry and thirsty or be killed as in the case his body was destroyed he could simply transport his consciousness into a new body. For example, he was able to transform his arm into a massive wolf's maw to tear through steel, grow enormous insect-like wings, and grow numerous scales over his body.
He was able to force others to move against their will or simply cause their bodies to burst, and could summon a variety of powerful monsters including Yaldabaoth's Archons. Similarly, he was able to grossly alter the physical layout of humans to grant them enhanced powers, like immense muscle size or organic growths that could be moulded into specialized weapons. Ion was also able to give a modicum of his powers to his followers, granting them the ability to similarly manipulate flesh. He and his people had even shown to be capable of taking control of the flesh of their deceased opponents, reanimating the bodies and puppeteering them into attacking their former comrades.
His spirit was empowered as well, having gained the ability to exist beyond a corporeal form, necessitating him to continually change his body to properly to contain his soul. He appeared to possess other magical and cosmic powers as it is implied that he defeated Yaldabaoth and his Archons, wearing the Old God's flesh as an armor. He was depicted to be able of traveling between dimensions as according to him and his followers, following their empire's defeat he, or his spirit at least, and Adytum were banished to an alternate dimension known as the Nevermeant, a dimensional void which bordered the Hanged King's Kingdom of Alagadda and laid near the Oneiroi's dreamland. He possessed deep knowledge on how the multiverse worked, having witnessed eternity unravel before him and the death of the multiverse, which was also granted to him by the idiot old god Yaldabaoth.
Appearance[]
Various depictions of Ion from Sarkic art and scriptures show him as appearing from masculine to androgynous, from young to old, and from human to inhumane forms. He is often depicted as wearing red, white, and black robes and bearing his iconic organic staff while others depict him nude and often shown impaled by various spears and/or stakes and carrying his own decapitated head. Ion is also associated with symbols such as spirals, shattered chains, drops of blood, sickles, and the ouroboros.
According to a scholar from Xia Dynasty, after gaining Yaldabaoth's power Ion transformed himself into a serpent-like monster with four eyes and a huge mouth. In SCP-4273, Ion appeared as a tall, skeletal-thin, weak figure with a fierce look on his emaciated face. He also used SCP-3911-1 as a staff to hold himself, having lost some of his power following his fight with the Archons.
Personality[]
Not much is known about Ion's personality. From what can be discerned Ion seemed to genuinely care about his followers and humanity as a whole while believing that the gods were a malevolent sickness that oppressed them and should be destroyed. He seemed to believe what he was doing was the right thing, forcefully granting the weak and the oppressed flesh-based powers for them to become and consume the gods, like he allegedly did with Yaldabaoth, and achieve immortality so they could evade death which he saw as unnatural and an obstacle to overcome. He also appeared to have a deep bond with his loyal Klavigar, with Nadox and Ion exchanging wisdom and Lovataar being his wife and his favored concubine, and be forgiving to people who had done wrong but became remorseful. He even spared some of the Daeva who remained in Adytum and surrendered, showing that he was more forgiving than people thought. However, it is implied that he kept some important information about the real nature of the gods and Yaldabaoth a secret from his followers in order to not make them become disillusioned with their religion and lose hope. During the times of conflict, Ion was shown to be very confident and believed that he and his people were invincible, while deeming their enemies who opposed his goal of affecting all humanity as ignorant fools and showing no mercy towards them, destroying those who refused to join his cause and stood on his way. According to the GOC's observation, Ion was described as possessing malignant narcissism and megalomania, although that psychological profile is likely that of the impersonator. It is implied that if Ion saw the modern day Neo-Sarkites he would be horrified of their actions.
Followers[]
Drawn to his immense powers and charismatic orations, Ion garnered a massive following which continues to exist to this day. These followers adhere to a religion known as Nälkä wich is derived from the Finnish word for "hunger". Nälkä, or Sarkicism as it would more famously be known due to Mekhanite propaganda, follows the tenets of Ion, and its adherents practice, among other things, ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, thaumaturgy and organic augmentation. Some of the more powerful Sarkites, such as the Karcists, have moved passed what can be considered human and are functionally immortal. The most powerful of the Sarkites, except for Ion, are his Klavigar, Nadox, Lovataar, Orok and Saarn who are also the most loyal to him, and were possibly in a polyamorous relationship with the Grand Karcist.
Ion is regarded as a benevolent figure who sought apotheosis to defeat Yaldabaoth and free the universe of the gods' tyranny. The Proto-Sarkites wish to bring Ion back to Earth from the place he had been banished in order to grant all of humanity their version of salvation and become the new gods, whether they like it or not. However, some Neo-Sarkites had their own different twisted views on Ion's teachings, opting to use their carnomancy to benefit themselves at the cost of others instead of Ion's belief of sacrificing oneself for the benefit of others. These Neo-Sarkites even sought to overthrow Ion and claim the position of Grand Karcist for themselves, which led to some masquerading as him or becoming delusional and believing to be the Grand Karcist himself, as seen with Charles Brosnan. The Daevites considered Ion a heresiarch as he and his followers had formed a kingdom which destroyed the idols of their malevolent gods.
Quotes[]
| “ | Waters inside, waters outside. There is an ocean within your blood, everything you have ever been is a part of you. You are life, your heritage is life. Fight for it. | „ |
| ~ Yaldabaoth to a newly ascended Ion in "Ever, Only, All". |
| “ | Treat the sickness, not the host, and the host will become sick once more; treat the host, and not the sickness, and the sickness will move to another host. Treat the sickness and the host together, and they will become one flesh, one life, one truth. God is the sickness, life is the host; I am the physician. | „ |
| ~ Epigrams of ION from PP-NEU-0127 - "AncestRecall". |
| “ | You are not foolish enough to believe that righteousness will grant you any upper hand, because if that were the case you would not be fighting at all; Daevon would never have attained its power in the first place. You shall be right whether you win or lose; that, the war will not prove. But if there is one thing war is very very good at proving, it is who is left. (The victor is never he who dies for his ideals. The victor is he who has the opportunity to live for them, day after day after day.) |
„ |
| ~ Ion's inner monologue in "Elä". |
| “ | Ikunaan. It is the first and last promise Ion makes to all who follow him. That their suffering can end, in a real time and in a real space. That they can have a land of their own, not built from the corpse of a rotting god or stolen by usurpers from neighbouring lands, where all mankind could live in unity and fellowship, their baser instincts washed away. A land built on four pillars: joy, salvation, peace, and freedom, and free from suffering, lacking anything that might cause it. | „ |
| ~ Lovataar in "et sanábitur ánima mea". |
| “ | God of soulless order, I bring the chaos of life. Within me lies the blood of your faithful, the seed of your influence on the world. I have let it grow within me, just as I will grow to become what you could never be. I am the Ouroboros, the serpent that consumes all, even myself. | „ |
| ~ Ion to Bumaro in "Sic Semper Tyrannis". |
| “ | And you thought you could avenge them? With that rag of a body? Just who do you think you are? I am now the Grand Karcist, Sorcerer-King of Adytum, and you are still just some petty priest of a… broken god. | „ |
| ~ Ion mocking Bumaro in "So the Beasts Shall Plague the Land No More". |
| “ | Wion returns to his throne, the womb of the deceased god. Wion will return within our sevenfold lifetimes, bearing his intolerable force upon all. | „ |
| ~ SCP-2478-01. |
| “ | At its root, Adí-üm was about freedom, Ion was our guiding light, and for the Klavigar, they were our lover, our friend, our niŋä. We survived Ion's fall, survived having a piece of our soul torn from our bodies, we survived because we were all niŋä, for each other. | „ |
| ~ Nadox in "Unbearable Hope". |
| “ | Surely Ion king of Men reigns eternally within us. Through peril, he grants us strength; through affliction, he grants us wisdom; through hunger, he grants us glory of apotheosis. | „ |
| ~ From "The Parables of Pseudo-Nadox". |
| “ | And this shall be a sign unto you: that when the Thorn of God is held once more in the hands of the Faithful, Ion shall be birthed again upon the world in fire and blood. | „ |
| ~ From "Et Ecce Equus Pallidus". |
| “ | Lopuksi, ŋäcämatse, olen kotona. (Finally, my beloved(s), I am home.) | „ |
| ~ Ion in SCP-4273. |
| “ | Look at what marvels they have come to build! Cities that stretch for miles! Lights that burn without fire. Flying vehicles! Truly ridiculous machines they have developed. They have enslaved themselves to technology. They have forgotten the strength of the body. The steel that is flesh. | „ |
| ~ Ion to Lovataar in "A Most Contentious Reunion". |
| “ | The daevite believed in the tyrannical gods, the rulers of the blind and foolish, who sacrificed many innocents for their own prosperity. He believes only in the power of himself and those who love him, sacrificing the evil of the few for the prosperity of the many. Perhaps in the eyes of others, this is using violence to control violence, this is the dragon slayer who eventually becomes a dragon, but you understand him, you already know that he is really a savior, not a mere saint who will soon fall. You understand the meaning of betrayal and loyalty at the same time, and the daevite are not worthy of your loyalty, so you betrayed. And he… you even doubt yourself worthy of your loyalty to him. You will never betray him. | „ |
| ~ Orok's inner monologue in "the-savior-and-the-elephant". |
| “ | You turned free thinking, ignorant civilians into mindless puppets of violence. Ion would spit on you. You think Ion would give you a boon so you could enslave people? Simpering idiot! Ion abhorred slavery! His entire philosophy was about shattering the chains that held his people in bondage! | „ |
| ~ Karcist Varis to Oswalt in "A Sarkic By Any Other Name". |
| “ | Abandoning mortal form, the Ozi̮rmok's spirit filled the sky. In one hand, he held a great flame. In another, his staff of muscle and bone. And in yet another, he carried an Archon's heart. Grand Karcist Ion strode forth to meet his opponent. |
„ |
| ~ Excerpt from The Seventh Ordeal of Ion in SCP-7354. |
| “ | The Ozi̮rmok is a master. The klavigars are all masters. You exchanged one chain for another, one war to fight in for a different one. You might no longer be slaves, but you are still bound by a hierarchy. Just because your king doesn't wear a crown doesn't mean he's not a king. You think you're better than Daevon, but your hunger for conquest is just like that of the Maharani. | „ |
| ~ Former Sarkite Saanvi in "A Baptism of Fire". |
| “ | Convert to great Ion! He combusted huge wrath to Alaggada. Praise almighty Ion! He fete' crows with tyrant's wreck' cadaver. Glad for selfless Ion! He will spread arcana unto far zones. So devote to Ion! He will shepherd Flesh to mount divine thrones. |
„ |
| ~ Folk hymn from "Nobody would hum folks in the winds again and again". |
| “ | Xenophon: What does being Sarkic mean to you? Grand Karcist Iūn: It means a life shared with those I love. |
„ |
| ~ Iūn in SCP-001 (ROUNDERHOUSE's Bone Proposal). |
| “ | Denying the limitations of the human form is the highest goal of all who resist the Gods. Never be satisfied with the body forced upon you by the strictures of the universe. Humanity need not be so limited. |
„ |
| ~ Ion to Agent Margot Kennedy in SCP-001 (Metaphysician/Karpin Proposal). |
Other Media[]
Bumaro & Ion Anthology[]
Ion appears in the manga book Bumora & Ion Anthology by HaMuKuNi. It features various artwork depicting Ion, and a short story showing Bumaro's transformation and confrontation with Ion.
Trivia[]
- According to Simon Oswalt, Ion is one of Yaldabaoth's Archons; beings of pure chaos designed to uphold his will. This is later backed up by the Wandsman of Kul-Manas who told the some Foundation personnel exploring the Kingdom of Alagadda that Ion was in actuality a puppet of Yaldabaoth.
- During an interview with Dr. Clef, Ion showed dislike in referring to his religion as Sarkisism, since it originated as a slang by the Mekhanites, opting to instead use the religion's actual name Nälkä (in Finnish means "hunger"). He was also somewhat irritated by Clef's unusual and disrespectful behaviour.
- In SCP-5555, it is revealed that the Administrator of the Foundation, and other leaders of the other GOIs, such as "Ion" himself, are actually powerful immortal beings who use the SCP universe and its inhabitants as just a playboard game with roleplaying for their own entertainment, with the identity of Grand Karcist Ion being nothing more than just a role which one of these entities takes, and after one of them wins, the game starts over and the universe resets, with the roles changing.
- In the tale "Day of the Dragon" a reversed version of Ion exists in which he is the leader of the Church of the Broken God.
- It appears that Ion was somewhat based on the biblical characters of Moses, a man born from slaves of the Egyptians who was then blessed by God and freed his fellow slaves from the Egyptian tyranny, Gautama Buddha, a wise man who became the messiah of the religion he founded, and the Antichrist who is said to lead his followers to their doom, while manipulating them as he wishes. The Sarkites' belief that Ion would return to Earth and grant humanity salvation is reminiscent of the Second Coming of Christ. Certain individuals claiming to be the Grand Karcist was also based on the imposters of Jesus Christ. The title Karcist is an actual title used to refer to practitioners of black magic. "The Six Ordeals of Ion" could be based on the Twelve Labours of Hercules.
- Despite sharing the name the author didn't intend the character to be based on the real mythological figure of Ion. However, the author had stated that it is plausible that the character might have inspired the mythological figure in-universe, along with the name Ion being similar to the word Yoni which in Sanskrit literary translates to "womb".
- Grand Karcist Ion also resembles Osmund Saddler from Resident Evil 4.
- In the "Unfounded" canon, after the SCP Foundation used SCP-6871 to remove D.C. al Fine of the GOC from history, this allowed Ion and his Klavigar to initiate a worldwide rebellion. This prompted the Foundation to use SCP-6871 on Ion, removing him from history, but this resulted in human society at the time to not progress past the bronze age, while the Church of the Broken God and the O5 Council also ceased to exist. Because of the damage caused by the reckless abuse of the anomaly, the Administrator decided to use SCP-6871 on themselves in order to undo everything they did, while the Foundation ceased to exist.
- In a forum thread discussing Ion's name and Sarkicism, Metaphysician stated that in the Sarkite's original language the pronunciation of the name Ion is closer to "Yawn" than "Eye-On".
- According to Sammy Skipper, Grand Karcist Ion is the winner of the "Scariest Motherfucker to Walk this Base Earth" award, and had two counterparts before and after the Tenzing-Wolfe Restructuring Event, each leading revolts against the Dhamaughr-kòm and the Anggyut respectively.
External Links[]
- Grand Karcist Ion on the Antagonists Wiki
- Grand Karcist Ion on the SCP One Canon Project Wiki
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