Gannish

Overview

Gannish is a member of the God-like beings known as the First. His name is derived from the word anguish and is supposed to govern his personality, however it is evident from the series that he can express a wide range of emotions. However, Gannish does seem to be slightly more anguished than other members of his race, as he has a special gift that allows him to see the truth in all things, allowing him to learn uncomfortable truths that many of his brethren would rather deny. Gannish is one of the first six members of his race, created after Altwaal , thus making him one of the most powerful members of the First. Soon after their initial creation, a type of civil war broke out amongst the First  as they tested their abilities by raging century long wars to see who was the most powerful and to simply help pass the time. Altwaal eventually ended their warring ways and allowed for an era of peace among the First. During this time, Gannish would pursue a relationship with the joyful War Goddess, Yala. Unfortunately, their blissful relationship would remain anything but when Gannish began meeting with a small group of First who believed that it was time for Altwaal to step down as the sole leader of the First, allowing a council to rule instead. When he explained these ideas to Yala, she claimed that they were treasonous and the two of them decided to take a break from their relationship. Things did not get better any time soon as the First held countless debates on the subject in their grand hall. These debates continued nightly, each First making the same arguments, until an assassination was attempted on Altwaal by the goddess known as Tulity. Soon after this, another age of civil war broke out among the First and lasted for centuries. This war not only destroyed much of their home planet (which is easily restored because of their power) but it also destroyed other mortal civilizations and worlds when they took their battles to other sections of the universe. Altwaal himself intervened to end the war by creating the Eidolon Rift. He used this energy to literally draw a line down the middle of the First’s home planet of Elysia, thus making it difficult for them to cross from one side to the other. On one side he created House Dexter, where Yala chose to stay, and on the other side, he created House Sinister. The First were allowed to choose which side they wanted to remain in, however Gannish could not choose between his ideals or his love and was permanently scarred in the creation of the Eidolon before he chose House Sinister.

Gannish soon placed himself on House Sinister’s High Council under the rule of Orium. This Council only seats the most powerful, as Sinister council members fought for their positions. Unfortunately for Orium, Altwaal cursed him with ‘true sight’, causing him to go insane after he was forced to see the truth in all of his visions. Soon after, Ingra created a plot to take over House Sinister and she personally informed Gannish of her intentions, stating that he was the only one with enough power to oppose her. Although Gannish did not deny that Ingra would bring true change to House Sinister, he refused to support her plan unless she allowed him to view her newborn child, thus revealing the identity of it’s father, which he accurately suspected to be her ex-lover Pyrem. Ingra refused and chastised Gannish for insinuating that she was still with Pyrem. She then threatened Yala’s safety by explaining that many of her old servants and students now lived in House Dexter and in Yala’s home, and although, they are loyal to Yala, she could easily convince them to revert to their “true” loyalties. This convinces Gannish to stay out of Ingra’s way while she proceeded to take over House Sinister. Through out the years, he would continue to serve on House Sinister’s council, although this may have been to retain his status as he seemed completely disinterested in House Sinister’s politics, especially when Ingra ultimately had the final say in current affairs. Gannish and Yala also continued their relationship over the years, however, Gannish refused to cross the Eidolon Rift out of fear. This forced the two lovers to meet in differnt locations, or Yala would have to secretly travel to House Sinister in order to be with him.

Centuries go by, allowing the FIrst to live in an unchanging lifestyle until an emergency meeting was called by House Sinister’s and House Dexter’s members of the Six, which includes; Ingra, Gannish, and Orium of Sinister, and Trenin, Pyrem, and Yala of Dexter respectively. The two sides discuss the sudden appearance of Sigil Bearers. These are mortal beings from the planets that the First govern, who have been given symbols by some other force. These symbols have allowed the mortals to access power in manners similar to that of the First, which threatens their way of life, as the Sigil Bearers have proven capable of killing some of the First already. Both sides admit that they did not create the Sigils, however, Gannish reveals what he sees only to his lover Yala, stating that it is an apparent sign that there are beings more powerful than the First, and that the Houses would be stronger if they reunited. Gannish was later convinced to finally cross the Eidolon Rift by the being known as Danik who is posing as the Secundae Enson of House Dexter. In the form of Enson, he informs Gannish that there are beings more powerful than the First and it is unfortunately his duty among his people to discover these truths. After returning to House Sinister, Gannish is met by Persha, the now grown daughter of Ingra, who also believes that the two Houses of the First must be reunited. However, she feels that Altwaal should be the one to reunite them, and although Gannish believed that Altwaal had died, he sees truth in Persha’s words and allows her to enter his home to discuss the matter further. Yala eventually accompanies the two during one of her travels to House Sinister. Although she wishes for Gannish to ignore his visions, he quickly departs on a journey that leads him to a planet that has been occupied by soldiers from a neighboring universe, known as the Negation.

Now knowing that a war is brewing between the two universes, Gannish quickly returns back to House Sinister in order to inform Ingra of his findings. However, when he returns, he discovers that Ingra has been deposed by members of her alliance, which include Braag, Orium, and Seahn a Secundae of Dexter. Gannish fails to see how the three of them could have managed to access enough power to defeat even a weakened Ingra, until Enson appears behind Gannish. Knowing that Enson is not who he says he is, Gannish receives another vision that compels him to take another journey in order to learn more information. This time however, he is unsure how long his trip will take, so he requests that Yala accompany him. She immediately accepts, as her Council in Dexter has been discussing politics for days and she is no longer interested in talking while her joy slowly fades. She admits that, as long as they are together, she does not care who she is, for she will always be happy with him. The two of them travel to the planet Earth, where they discover the Atlantean civilization and the origin of their species. They soon return to their respective Houses to inform both Ingra and Pyrem of everything that they have discovered on their travels. However, Gannish finds that Seahn has officially taken over House Sinister, and although he indulges in a brief skirmish, he claims to have more important affairs before transporting himslef to House Dexter where both Ingra and Pyrem are now residing. Unfortunately, as soon as Gannish informs Pyrem of his new found knowledge, both he and Yala, are attacked by the House Dexter’s Council, who believe that he is harming their empathic leader.

Afterwards, Pyrem, stops the fighting and states that he finally understands why Gannish keeps his scars after learning of his burden. Gannish and Yala have little time to rest after this, as the creator of the First, Solusandra, soon returned to Elysia seeking Altwaals Weapons of Power. Solusandra then revealed to the First that she had created them and that they were nothing more than her toys as she wreaked havoc on their planet. This drove many of the First to leave Elysia to live out their lives as gods on other planets, rather than someones toys on Elysia, however both Yala and Gannish remained on Elysia in order to help clean up the destruction that was left in the wake of Solusandra’s short return. Little else is seen of Gannish after this, due to the abrupt cancellation of the series when Crossgen comics filed for bankruptcy. However in the following issues, the First prepared for war with the Negation Empire and would have gone into battle against their version of Gods known as Lawbringers, although this issue was never released.

Power

Gannish is a member of the First, and as such, is privy to a wide range of abilities. However because he was one of the first six created after Altwaal, he is one of the most powerful members of his race, second only to Altwaal himself. All members of the First are capable of the same type of power which includes, but is not limited to, super strength, speed, self propelled flight, single or mass teleportation, extra sensory perception, weapon creation, magic, the ability to control a number of energy types in a variety of ways, regeneration, telepathy, empathy, and the ability to survive in the vacuum of space without the need for food, water, or oxygen. The First are also capable of changing their physical appearance including their clothing with a thought, but many of them choose their external features based on how they feel about themselves, although Gannish refuses to remove the scars he bears from the creation of the Eidolon Rift.Gannish is most often seen using energy based attacks and he is able to render himself invisible while observing a group of Atlanteans on Earth. Also, it can be assumed that Gannish is capable of performing powerful psychic attacks as he is seen using one on Yala during their second civil war, and a psychic attack is what Ingra accuses him of hurting Pyrem with. Although Gannish is extremely powerful, he does not seem to enjoy battle as much as the other members of his race, but would instead, rather avoid it. Gannish also seems to be one of the only members of his race who is mentally capable of handling the ability of true sight.