Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Alignment: Evil
Class: Mage
Weapons: Demonic Kriss
History: Zhar is the latest incarnation of this "man"'s fractured mind. This very powerful undead mage wields a number of magics, but concentrates most upon the dark arts, in particular the forbidden practice of demon summoning. He lives in torment, having sold his soul to the demon lord in an attempt to gain the immortality he seeks, but found it only to be a false salvation from his greatest fear.
As a child the mage now known as Zhar lost his family to the plague. Orphaned, and terrified of death, the young boy turned to the wonders of magic in his quest to cheat death. As he grew he showed great promise. He learned of the healing arts, then turned to light magic, then earth magic. Each proved to be fruitless, in that they provided only partial fixes; what Zhar sought was true immortality.
Soon enough he turned to the more powerful dark arts. Here he made further progress, but unconditional immortality was still out of his grasp. Slowly the darkness of his art corrupted him and he became an evil man. He began to lose hope, and his fear grew.
His lifetime of work proved ultimately fruitless. His hair had long become grayed with age and his entire life's work, nearly four centuries' achievement, had been in vain. He had succeeded in merely delaying the inevitable, nothing more. He had grown to become a powerful dark mage, unrivaled in his age, but what benefit that if he was still doomed to the cold void of death? This was when his apparent salvation came to him.
He discovered the existence of a spiritual being, said to have power immeasurable: so great was this being that the Earth was said to have trembled in his mere presence. This being was known simply as the Lord of Hell, the greatest demon known to mankind. The demon had been banished deep underground, so far that dimensions twisted to bind him, betrayed by his own followers and sealed by the forces of light to remain enchained forever. His tomb was the most closely guarded secret of the Dwarven Paladins and the reason for their existence. They alone had been charged with guarding the demon's ancient prison.
It took a further twenty years for Zhar to finally fulfil his quest to reach the demon lord. He made a bargain with the Demon lord, immortality in exchange for the demon's freedom. His desperation made him foolish, his mind poisoned and clouded by the mere presence of such raw magic, and he believed the demon's word. For seven days he worked to undo the demon's bindings. This closeness to a force of such evil twisted Zhar further.
Finally the spells were broken, and the demon spoke once more;
"And now I grant your your immortality, an eternal damnation to surpass the very tortures of hell. You will serve me, mortal. In the end you will plead, begging me to take away that which you have so long sought to attain, and when you become of an age, when the years spell out the number that is my own, I will grant you your wish, and I will deliver you unto your true fate: in hell." The demonic laughter could be heard echoing around the then empty chamber.
What Zhar hoped was a perfect solution turned out to be much worse than the other alternatives that had been available before. All food turned to ash in his mouth, his body ached inside and out, and his skin was cold and corpse-like. Any pleasures in life had been taken from him, he could no longer love, or feel happiness, remorse, guilt, or contentment... Weariness settled over him, but he found that sleep did not restore his energy.
The only way to sustain himself came from an artifact found at the demon lord's tomb: a dagger. Vital energy from his victims would revitalize his body. If he did not do this he would decrepify at an alarming rate, and great pain would wrack his limbs. The only benefit he had over your common lich is that his mind remained intact... for now.
Now, though, even this is robbed from him. Over the æons Zhar played witness to much of Arsencia's history, playing his own part in it at times. As the years passed his torment grew, and his mind became unhinged. Now he is Zhar Cadavok, the insane mage, demon summoner of fearsome power, coming out of his hermitage at his demonic master's beckoning to seek the soul of one of the new age's most powerful magi, Winter Vayu.
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Update:
He joined a group of adventures seeking after the same goal, and eventually hunted down Vayu to his secret sanctum. Here an epic battle between the two magi took place. Vayu summoned a mighty demon, the Lord of hells direct servant no less, and the battle grew more desperate. It seemed Vayu had the upper hand, but Zhar was still determined to win. But before he got a chance to sink his knife into Vayu's heart and complete his mission, one of the others in his group, a Furya named Arngrim Herverar, caught Vayu by surprise with a decapitating blow.
While annoyed, Zhar atleast took comfort in the thought that his mission was still complete, dead was dead after all, what did it matter if he hadn't use the dagger to achieve this goal? But the Lord of Hell felt differently. Something intervened with Vayu's soul, and the Lord of Hell was robbed of his prize. Zhars punishment was great, and for a time thereafter he searched desperately and fruitlessly. Despite Therias insistence that Vayu was dead, Zhar knew that the lord of hell was not lying. Somehow Vayu had avoided his fate. If he had used the dagger then he wouldn't be in this mess, but as it was he was in deep trouble, the demonic lord was not tolerant of failures. And worse still, Zhar had absolutely no idea where to find Vayu.
He continued with the group, and It wasn't too long before Vayu resurfaced (well, for everyone else it wasn't. For Zhar it felt like eons), and it appeared as though he was better than ever. If failure and the punishment it ensured from the Lord of Hells wasn't motivation enough, Zhar had a second reason to seek the corrupt paladin leader. If Vayu had escaped his damnation, then perhaps Zhar could do the same. Zhar would find Vayu, and before killing him would learn how he had done it.
Edited by some_weirdGuy, 04 June 2010 - 02:55 AM.
