Vin Diesel’s portrayal as criminal Riddick in the 2000 film “Pitch Black” is widely regarded as one of his favourite roles. The film’s budget may not have been large, but the plot’s sheer intensity, with all of its twists and turns, drew the audience in.
In terms of the plot, Riddick and a few others escaped a spaceship crash on an alien world, which was home to monsters sensitive to light. Because of his “eye shine” ability, Riddick was not only stronger but also capable of seeing in the dark, making him the survivors’ messiah for their stay on the planet.
The Necromongers and their Empire, which were created by David Twohy, were an important component of the Riddick universe. The empire was deeply religious, with its own religion, Necroism, which they practised and preached with zeal, but with a “bit of brutality” when it came to practising and preaching it.
Their beliefs about life were just at the polar opposite extreme of the natural condition that the cosmos is settled in, therefore fanaticism would be a better description. Any denial of the concept entailed death at their hands.
THE NECROMONGER EMPIRE: All About the Structure
Diesel and Twohy had actually taken a chance with the sequel to Pitch Black, raising their ambitions by following it up with ‘The Chronicles Of Riddick’. There’s an anime spin-off too, so you can look out for that! So, the 2013 silver-screen representation of Riddick in the self-titled film came freshly basking in the glory of the widespread success of The Fast And The Furious. It added to the already set tune of the popularity of Pitch Black and its sequel. Riddick, now the main character of a story all about him, was seen as a massive help in taking down the Necromonger Empire.
The Necromonger Empire was notorious for believing in only one good – their cause of professing and propagating their religion Necroism – and was on a merciless conversion-or-killing spree. Of course, the story also delved into Riddick’s origin story and where he had obtained his superhuman abilities from.
The Necromongers were essential to the thrill in the Riddick universe. Twohy made every feature of theirs worth paying attention to. They appeared as human-like creatures – but with skin far paler than usual and thin to the bone. The leader of the Empire held the post of Lord Marshal. The Underverse – a constellation of dark, new stars – was a land promised to them and the concept of their existence began there. Only the Lord Marshals have been known to have journeyed to and seen the Underverse in all its beauty.
Amongst them were the ‘Lensors’, akin to bloodhounds in our world. Feral and with no will of their own, they had viewscreens attached to their backs which allowed anyone controlling them to see what the Lensor itself was seeing through its helmet. The ‘Order of the Quasi-Dead’ was another organisation that formed a part of the Empire’s society. Their strength was psychometry or telepathy, which they used effectively as a method of communication, especially within a fleet or troops. It was quite important to the Empire’s military training and capabilities.
THE NECROMONGER EMPIRE: How Do They Convert People and Why?
The inhabitants of the Necromonger Empire had one principle statement given by their first leader Covu that they stood and ran by – “You keep what you kill”. It meant exactly what it said – any possession of a victim of a Necromonger’s violence belonged to their killer; including roles, positions, and other such societal facets.
Their victims were picked absolutely unbiasedly from the mortals as they wished to reverse nature’s order altogether – reproduction was never their ideal way to expand their kind. Instead, their target was to wipe all life forms out and have them be reborn in their dominion. Humans were filthy “breeders” to the Necromongers, their type being “add other humans to ranks by conversion post-induction and transformation”.
The conversion process of the Necromongers involved receiving a “mark of the Necromonger”. Two sharp spikes would be jammed into the sides of the neck of the individual being converted, the pain meant to overpower any other feeling. This “purification” would numb any nerves and drain all color from the skin and eyes of the converts. Their clothes would be changed to robes that were torn, burned, and/or simply decayed.
THE NECROMONGER EMPIRE: A Brief History
The Necromonger Empire was a slightly convoluted, but well-thought-out and structured idea from Twohy. Necroism did not just pop into existence; it had a history that went as far back as the Brotherhood of Austeres from the Asylum world. They were a group of people who desired to be away from any and every world that was inhabited by corrupt men. Disagreements were inevitable and philosopher-scientist Covu led the dissenting side, preaching radical beliefs far and wide. The center of that school of thought was the existence of multiple Gods – perhaps, as many as there existed Universes.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Covu the Transcended started his regime – the first of its kind. Covu was known to be fascinated by the Underverse. To him, any other form of life seemed to be an example of a big old blunder as any other unfortunate outbreak is. To him, death and the afterlife were the Natural State of things. If one pointed out that Covu or other Necromongers were themselves the results of such “blunders”, they would simply say that they saw the truth and were compelled to live until this Universe was devoid of human life. A few years down the line, Covu had chosen a successor to further his purposes.
Oltovm the Builder was Covu’s choice. Oltovm was Necropolis’ officer, a man of the land, and he had a hand in being there through the whole process of building Necropolis as it was known. Covu took Oltovm along when he was returning to the Threshold where the Underverse began, intending to show him the strings as the next to-be Lord Marshal. A few others accompanied the duo, but the journey was neither easy nor free of skepticism from Covu’s company.
Everyone at some point had wondered if Covu’s claims of having seen the Underverse were credible at all. The Threshold was found though – just like Covu had described it to be – “Surrounded by great tidal forces of space, treacherous to navigate near, but exotically beautiful, hinting at the dark wonders that lurk beyond”. Awaiting the tidal forces to ease out and open the door to the Underverse, Covu and the team were overjoyed as they approached.
Their vessel neared the open Threshold, and Covu asked everyone but Oltovm to turn their backs toward what lay ahead. The reason was simple – only Lord Marshals could lay their eyes on the Underverse. What they said to each other was never recorded. As Oltovm stayed where he was, Covu marched out into the Underverse, never to be seen again.
Oltovm led the Necromongers onto their next regime. He never intended to lose his way to the Threshold, so he put some marks along the whole way there. These marks were quite hidden and only helped navigate the path to the Underverse, making sure that he could prove otherwise to anyone who doubted his words about the existence of the mysterious place beyond the Threshold. To make things even easier, Oltovm began making a portal around the Threshold, so that they could manipulate and resist the forces around it.
The ultimate aim was to have it open on demand and not have to wait for the Threshold to open up to them. One officer – nicknamed Guardian of the Underverse – was deployed to keep away any prowlers and guard the area. Three meters tall and with quite intimidating an aura, the Guardian was given the liberty to choose some fierce stalwarts to work alongside him.
Their responsibility was to ensure that the Threshold or the Underverse was not open to anyone, not even a Necromonger. If at any time a Lord Marshal wanted to visit the Threshold as a pilgrimage, all those there – including the Guardian and his army – would have to turn their backs out of respect when the Lord Marshal wished to view the Underverse.
During Oltovm’s reign, a new debate on procreation arose. Necroism was entirely based on non-life principles and a detest towards breeding. As a result, breeding was banned but then came the issue of furthering their lineage. If they did not figure out an alternative, the faith would die out.
Their solution to that issue was “converts” – the only way their goals could be achieved without physical acts to stimulate reproduction. Oltovm unfortunately, had aged by now and had spent most of his time and attention on constructing the portal at the Threshold. What the Necromongers needed were more vessels capable of traveling larger distances so they could explore space and find individuals for conversion.
Oltovm was not the one to back down from a challenge though, and he made sure his people would get the biggest and best task force that he could manage. His demands of primarily starting off with the building of that task force were met by a follower of Covu’s, Baylock. Baylock was young, whimsical, fiery, and unconventional in his ways, but was greatly admired for being able to come up with just what was needed. And boy, did he deliver on his promise of providing manpower!
Oltovm chose to submit to the ritual of suicide at the Threshold before the day of the First Ascension when the new task force – the Armada – rose from the Asylum. Oltovm had by then, chosen a successor and announced that his time of death had come. According to him, if he did not adhere to that ideal time and moment for death, he would never be able to enter the Underverse. The Necromongers revered death and this representative characteristic of theirs is credited to Oltovm’s words about dying in “due time” to remain eligible to enter the Underverse as a Necromonger.
A cartographer who had assisted Oltovm when he was making plans to further the cause of Necroism and anti-breeding was named the next leader. The young man was called Naphemil and to his credit, his rise in the military ranks was quick. The plan he had quite dutifully assisted in was called the Campaign which sought to rid the Universe of whatever was known of human life. Naphemil decided that he would not leave Necropolis behind on the Asylum. Instead, he asked for the whole thing to be lifted and placed on the Basilica – a ship that was way bigger and could hold it all.
The Armada ventured forth into space on Ascension Day, and also led the first Necromonger church through space with them. The word of Covu the Transcended spread far and wide, attracting a lot of potential converts to the Necromonger society. However, the conversion process – which initially was only about bowing and taking an oath of dependability before the Lord Marshal – was declared outdated.
As per the new laws, a purification process and further efforts would have to be made by the eager converts. As described before, purification involved going through immense pain to the point of not feeling anything, thus attaining a spiritual bliss that could overpower any desire, materialistic or otherwise. A new office of the “Purifier Principal” came into being, made solely for the purpose of officiating and overseeing conversions to Necroism.
The conversions could not keep up with abrasions that happened by natural means, and the number of Necromongers began to dip again. This Second Regime saw a fair bit of resource investment and yet, the Faith was stumbling in its spread. The loss of faith became fatal for Naphemil, as a section of Necromongers saw him as a mere tactician and not someone who could take the lead and be an active warrior, fighting for them.
The period that Oltovm had left the Necromongers in was a perfect fit to be led by Naphemil, but he was unable to rise to the new challenges that presented themselves as society grew by and large. In a dispute with Baylock – who held the Commander’s post in the Necromonger Empire – Naphemil was killed.
The murder – first of its violent kind – was ridden with no guilty conscience, as Covu’s words “You keep what you kill” was carried by the winds of the Empire. That was also perhaps why the debate about Baylock’s right to leadership died down pretty quickly, as the society that bowed before him now knew and believed there to be two ways to ascend the throne of the Empire.
Baylock’s regime was Necromonger Empire’s fourth, and the ruler was known as the first of the modern Lord Marshals. He was also the last one born to Nercroism – but we’ll talk more about that a little later. He was not called Baylock the Brutal for nothing – his regime meant either acceptance of conversion or straight-up death. There was no room for refusal or negotiation; as Covu’s words “Convert, or fall forever” were brought to light again. If the aim of the Empire was anything to go by, Baylock was their ideal leader and would have met no opposition if not for the Carthodox.
The Carthodox race was much unlike the Necromongers – a mobilized faith believing in one God and procreation too. This powerful force of dread was also looking to expand their preaching and their people, thus looking for converts in the Neibaum planetary system. When they came across each other, Naibaum witnessed a battle to prove the worth of the superior beliefs. The Carthodox seemed to have several advantages over their Necromonger counterparts, including armament and the Carthodox’s ability to know of the Necromonger’s plans of attack in advance.
The Necromonger officers hinted that their communication was not aptly secured or encrypted, and that edged them towards incurring more and more loss by the minute. Baylock was advised by his people to come back from the Neibaum system or they would be overpowered. They needed to refresh and strengthen themselves, or at least increase their numbers. Baylock was not one to accept his fate in that way, and his words “They may count God on their side, but we count many Gods. It begins and ends in this system.
Within the Necromonger movement, another order was rising to prominence. They called themselves “The Order of the Quasi-Dead” a.k.a. the Quasies. Kryll was a technical officer in their ranks and foundationally in charge of this lot. The Quasies started out as celibates – almost monk-like in their behavior – willingly depriving themselves of any and every form of nutrition.
Their bodily function would thus cease to the point where their being was the thread holding life and death in the balance. Their fragility was not to be mistaken as a weakness though, as their lingering bodily energies were fully dedicated to their intellectual quest. Kryll solidified the order’s existence and offered Baylock and the Armada, the Quasies as channels of telepathy. Baylock was smart and saw the clear advantage in accepting their offer, so he did; at least one of their kind was deployed on every vessel on command duty.
This method of installing one of the Quasies in their capacity on command ships quickly became a norm and practice. The Carthodox’s scheming soon met the roadblock that Quasi-Deads were. They would have faced a complete turn of events with their standing in the war if not for another unfortunate event that fell upon the Necromongers – the death of Baylock.
Baylock passed away in an accident on the Neibaum Prime landing base. The Lord Marshal’s place was vacant, and questions were many. If the fight continued, there was no guiding force in prime command. Choosing the commander-in-chief was not an easy task as no one could come up with a reasoned answer as to who should lead the way. Turns out, Baylock was no fool even in his death.
His dead body was sent to the Threshold for passing on to the Underverse. When the Guardian did the honors of floating the corpse in an open chest of sorts towards the Underverse, Baylock stirred and uttered the words that Kryll was to take command after him. The Guardian relayed these words to the Necromongers on oath, also with a congress of commanders in attendance. Kryll took the reins and the Necromongers won against the Carthodox.
Any remnants of the Carthodox were either set aside or burnt, and those in their numbers were forcefully taken into the Necromonger society. It was later revealed through various documentation that despite the stark differences between the two faiths, the Carthodoxes were quite compliant with conversion; in fact, they went on to become warriors for the Necromonger Empire.
In what could be interpreted as an act of gratitude, Kryll overturned the ban on the materialistic acknowledgment of personal icons in the Nercromonger Empire. In that light, he took the step of making a tall statue of Baylock the Brutal. One could find it on the cratered relics that Neibaum Prime had become after the battle, a gentle reminder of Baylock’s tragic passing there. Furthermore, Kryll commissioned busts of all the Lord Marshals, past and present, to adorn the ancient interiors of Necropolis.
The Faith would never cease to face challenges from within and from outside forces – Kryll was well-aware of that. So, he worked on filtering the Quasies and created a new Order. As evolved as they were towards death, the five individuals he chose were highly capable of scanning through an individual’s mind at any given point in time. If put together, they could cause any resistant subject to lose their mind.
As is known today, these “Greater Quasies” serve the Lord marshal at his beck and call, while military and private deep-space communication needs are fulfilled by the “Lesser Quasies”. The Necromonger ships and vessels are now equipped with the advancements that Carthodox had, strengthening the Armada, and thus Necroism had the chance to spread to new worlds beyond the two faiths it had already managed to win over.
Kryll too met an unexpected death by voluntarily committing suicide as Covu did. The bitter, vindictive fight that succeeded his death was put to an end by Zhylaw, a trusted officer of his who found a “pyro-doc” close to Kryll’s dead body. As per the pyro-doc, Zhylaw was to be the upcoming Lord Marshal, and he took the role. Questions about the document prevailed though, and a tribunal was called upon amidst great public deliberation.
Since Kryll had passed so unexpectedly, people believed Zhylaw had a hand in it and just wanted to usurp the powers and privileges of Lord Marhsal. Zhylaw’s acquittal though, happened in little time as all tongues that rose against him fell one by one, being hunted down and killed “before due time”. The Necromongers had super-secure, heavily guarded vaults that Zhylaw hid the pyro-doc in, claiming it needed protection for and from all future generations that were to come, into the Empire.
Following the orders to invade the Coalsack System and Aquilan System planets, he gave his final order to attack Helion Prime. Here’s where Riddick’s tale comes in when Kyra – the runaway convict who worshipped Riddick – was used by Zhylaw to deliver a jibe at Riddick and provoke Riddick to engage in a one-on-one with him. Zhylaw was far more powerful than Riddick and was eventually able to overpower him.
Though that was not before Riddick managed to injure Zhylaw enough to make him bleed – something that had not happened in the longest time. When Zhylaw charged at Riddick, going for the kill, Kyra used his distraction against him and took a spear to plunge it into his back. Zhylaw was weakened, but not enough to be defeated. Vaako, Zhylaw’s favored Necromonger, and his commander was the next one to attack Zhylaw.
Vaako’s deed was fuelled by his striving wife, stemming from their desire for Vaako to assume the Lord Marshal’s spot in the Empire. Zhylaw was no less smart though, and he managed to escape that attack only to meet Riddick again standing in his path like a roadblock. Before Zhylaw could even think of a reflex, Riddick used a Necromonger’s knife to stab Zhylaw in the head, killing him and making Riddick the Lord Marshal of the Necromonger Empire as per the established laws since Covu’s and Baylock’s times.
For five years, Riddick remained the Necromonger’s leader. This man refused to go see or submit to the Underverse though and was also not concerned with battling to conquer new worlds. When his time came, he agreed to give Vaako the rights to the Necromomger’s world as Lord Marshal.
All Vaako had to do was give Riddick the directions for returning to Furya, Riddick’s home planet. Riddick’s bad days weren’t over just yet, as his betrayal came from Krone who was a commander in Necromonger Empire. Krone took Riddick to not-Furya to kill him, but only succeeded (or so he thought) on his second attempt when he threw Riddick off of a cliff. Krone was later killed by Riddick.
Vaako’s tale was short – he just turned the Armada towards the Threshold after he became Lord Marshal. Then he took his steps into the Underverse.
THE NECROMONGER EMPIRE: What Makes Them An Invincible Force?
Death not being a scary prospect, but a rather welcomed one is a different kind of unsettling drive. That is exactly what the military of the Necromonger Empire used as their biggest advantage. Additionally, they were unable to feel pain. The Necromongers also did not trust anyone with clean armor; according to them, more damage meant more greatness as a warrior.
Weapons that could assist in brawls were more favored than conventional weapons like guns, etc. The commanding ship Basilica was the foundation of their other equipment, as it was where the Armada itself was rooted. Indeed, the Necromongers traveled like comets through space – with their Poll Axe, Spineblade, Lensors, War Axe, Gravity Guns, Spears, and Sabreclaw in tow. Their vessels – that is, ships – were their identification mark and their biggest strength.
THE NECROMONGER EMPIRE: Closing-In
Fast And Furious or Guardians Of The Galaxy are some big ventures of Vin Diesel that he is occupied with almost all year-round. In an Instagram post from Diesel made around mid-May 2022, the star hinted at the long-promised comeback of Riddick. It has been four years since we last heard of a substantial plan for the fourth installment of the Riddick series with its tie-in TV series.
The title is expected to be ‘Riddick 4: Furya’ and shooting was supposed to start in 2021, with Daid Twohy coming back on board with his screenplay. The script in the storyboard image and video clip that Diesel shared appears to explore the notion of a Riddick successor, which is an intriguing concept Diesel has never mentioned before.
While the 2013 sequel – the third in the Riddick series – was largely a stand-alone piece of art, ‘Furya’ would most likely go deeper into Riddick’s backstory. It may possibly let us visit his home planet, which he was desperately searching for. The Furyans were last shown to be a tough warrior species known for their power and endurance in ‘The Chronicles Of Riddick’ in 2004. That plot had also revealed that Riddick’s “eye shine” was a natural talent rather than the product of surgery as he claimed in ‘Pitch Black’.
Fans are talking and waiting. We hope we will hear more on this soon, and hopefully find answers in Riddick 4: Furya, as and when it is released!