Lord Grendazance
'History
Out of the West
Loezen is a harsh, doomed world. Steeped in magic, cloaked in shadows, this world and it’s people struggle against their own end. Loezen and it’s people are kept alive by giant monoliths created to amplify and harness the light of their dying sun. These monoliths were created millennia ago by wizards long since gone. Much of the lore regarding their creation is gone as well. Over time, the monoliths themselves fail or are maliciously destroyed. The remaining sorcerers of any great power are too busy fighting one another to do anything about it. The lands of darkness are dominated by fell creatures and laden with dire magics.
Some areas near working monoliths are protected by some of the more benevolent powers that remain, such as Rotazator the Sacred One, Queen Charsadda of Olm and Lord Grendazance. Though ‘benevolent’ may not be quite an apt description. Only the strongest and fiercest of wizards manage to hold any ground here. Though the wizards are fractious, they have long held the tradition of taking apprentices so that Loezen does not again suffer the loss of knowledge as it did in the ancient past.
It is said that Grendazance came out of the northwest from the lands near the Sunless Sea. Perhaps an apprentice of Old Sevanescu, or possibly Myzengance the Bright-Eyed. The legends go on to say that In his early days he wandered the western bright-lands with no apparent goal in mind. He seemed inclined to be helpful when it was called for, or combative when confronted. The legends also say that he never lost a battle, not with anyone or anything. His first real feat that achieved any notoriety was the restoration of the failing Ang Monolith. It was the first time in an age that a sorcerer had managed that particular feat. Grendazance however, did not remain in the area for long and gradually traveled east, but word of his accomplishment spread and challengers began to put themselves in his way. Eventually, he seemed to be at war with the world. Every victory only lead to greater challenges. If he ever had intentions to restore more monoliths, they never came to fruition.
Grendazance came to the Dobro Monolith near the Medial Sea and decided he would go no further. The area was nominally under the control of Queen Charsadda when Grendazance declared himself lord of the monolith and ruler of the surrounding lands. Though she did not yet have cause to fear him, The Queen chose to not contest territory so far from the center of her power. All of this was done beyond recent memory. Although Loezeni are naturally long lived, life tends to end shortly and abruptly in this dark world and few who lived in those days still do now. Much of what people claim to know about him is more legend than fact. Lord Grendazance built a great citadel around the Dobro Monolith and also took control of the Esfu Monolith to the south. He then set about organizing the settlements now under his control. He personally did battle with dark-land creatures when necessary, to protect his people around him. He did not seem interested in any further expansion and gained a reputation for offering safety while asking very little in return. Some decades later, the Onu Monolith to the west began to dim. The area had been a freehold dominated by a number of petty sorcerers that vied with each other for power. None of them however, had the means to save the monolith. Many of them left the area, abandoning the common people to their fate. Lord Grendazance moved against those that remained and took control of the Monolith and halted it’s decline. People began to flock to Grendazance’s domain. The Kiteran Confederacy, which bordered his lands on the south began to feel threatened and prepared for war. It was at this time that word began to spread of a terrible threat to all the peoples of Loezen.
Darkness Reigns
A vile sorcerer of considerable power and a love of the dark places was purposely destroying monoliths. That sorcerer’s name was Morthair. He had come out of one of the mountainous regions that had been in darkness for eons and began attacking monoliths in the far south, gradually moving east towards the other dark mountains and beyond, a growing army of horrors trailing after him. He was now in the west, threatening all the lighted kingdoms. Without warning or fanfare, Lord Grendazance, accompanied by his apprentice Garth, gathered a militia of willing fighters and sorcerers and moved southwest to meet this unprecedented enemy. They bypassed the broken Jerli Monolith and moved to protect one of the last unguarded monoliths in the southwest, Mun. With this position fortified, Grendazance expected Morthair to move further south and follow the dark lands to the Kiteran Confederacy. Instead, Morthair came against the Mun Monolith with his full force. No one could remember even the rumor of such a battle in the recent memory of Loezen. Not the battle between the armies, which were relatively small, but between the two sorcerers who, until now, had not brought their true power to bear. Lord Grendazance revealed a powerful new enchanted weapon of devastating power, his Ringz’ammer. It crushed his enemies as if they were dry twigs. Morhtair used powerful lore thought lost, eons ago.
In his ravings, Morthair revealed that he was after something other than the destruction of the Mun Monolith. He was searching for a gateway to ultimate power, something that would allow him to kill the entire planet. Grendazance tasked his apprentice with finding this supposed gateway, which he did. Beneath the surface of the near by Lake Sernzipol, a triseklion gateway appeared. Three days later, it disappeared, but there could be no mistaking it for what it was. The feeling of dread that oozed from it was inescapable.
After some weeks of fighting, the two forces began to settle into a stalemate. Then it was realized that Morthair had tried to push forward to capture the gate with only the vanguard of his army. The rest of it began to arrive and the balance began to turn against the defenders. Likewise though, help finally began to arrive from the Kiteran Confederacy, the Kingdom of Mieum and even the personal guard of the reclusive Rotazator. Loezen had not seen a conflict like this for many thousands of years. Even so, the defenders began to lose ground. Morthair had not known the precise location of the gateway before he arrived but his divination finally revealed it and he bent all his power to push for it. As the defenders began to give way, a new power arrived. It was a mighty sorcerer that none on Loezen recognized. He wielded tremendous elemental power, the likes of which no one had ever seen before. Between Grendazance and the new comer, they destroyed Morthair’s army and drove him back into his dark mountains. The new comer, Lord Vermiculus, told Grendazance the tale of the origin of the Triskelion Gate and why he had come. The gate was warded by a cabal of magic users that understood that the dark hunger shut behind it sought nothing less than the destruction of all creation itself. A bit of that evil was already the cause of Loezen’s slow death. The gate itself moved periodically, appearing in different places throughout the cosmos. The location here on Loezen had not been threatened in eons and so had been left unguarded for sometime. Lord Vermiculus invited Grendazance to join the Rune Lords, as they were called, and help defend the gate while it was here on Loezen. Grendazance agreed without hesitation. He relocated his main citadel to the Mun Monolith and began his watch over the Triskelion Gate.
A Life of Service
Lord Grendazance has since spent years in service to the Rune Lords, eventually becoming second only to Vermiculus in age and wisdom as their brothers and sisters retired or died. His duties often took him away from Loezen and he saw the beauty of other realms that had been stricken and ravaged on his own planet. He resolved to help his people by restoring the failing monoliths, though he could no longer do it himself. His lore had drifted far from that aspect of magic by the years of constant battle. By the same token, his evident power hindered his efforts to enlist the help of the other native sorcerers. They all feared him and looked on any proposal of his as some sort of ploy to conquer them, though he had not taken another inch of territory since the battle of Mun.
Lord Morthair also was an ever present threat. Grendazance learned that there was an opposing force to the Rune Lords, the Hex Lords. Morthair’s first attack had been an independent effort, after stumbling upon forgotten secrets about Loezen’s plight and it’s origins. Later, he too was approached, by the group that sought to open the gate and acquire the power within for themselves. Morthair was now a Hex Lord and they made regular forays against Grendazance’s defenses, seeking weakness. There was none. Morthair then suffered a startling transformation while in conflict with another Rune Lord, Lord Xanadu. In this way, he was reborn in a new form, with much of his evil nature purged, but not his greed or lust for power. He has since left Loezen for good but remains a member of the Hex Lords. The Triskelion Gate as it appears on Loezen, is safe as long as Lord Grendazance guards it.
In recent history, Lord Grendazance had an apparent falling out with his apprentice Garth, who left the Citadel at Mun for places unknown. In the years before the Battle of Mun, Grendazance had chosen apprentices from the most promising among the people he protected. Every ten years the people would hold a festival and competition for the privilege. Unfortunately, no apprentice before Garth had survived the full term of his apprenticeship. Garth however had proved a worthy student and Grendazance had expected him to join him in protecting the people of Loezen, as did everyone else. Garth however left without a word one day, shortly after the battle of Mun. The people chose to hold their decennial celebration as usual and chose a new champion, Tedrigan. When Tedrigan presented himself at the gates of the citadel, Lord Grendazance refused to admit him, claiming that he still had an apprentice. Tedrigan refused to be put aside and stood at the gates for weeks until a visiting colleague of Grendazance’s, Lord Xanadu, took pity on the young warrior and offered to take him as an apprentice until Grendazance changed his mind. So far, this has not happened.
Most recently, Lord Xanadu has requested that all of the Rune Lords join him on Earth where he expects a major battle with the Hex Lords to take place, soon.
'Powers and Equipment
By Earth standards, Grendazance is an alien with inhuman physiology. Though somewhat similar, Loezeni differ from humans externally by having orange skin, single color orange eyes, no ears or extended nose and no hair. They would not be classified as mammals. Grendazance is more or less a typical Loezeni in appearance, somewhat on the large side. However, he has a great secret. The general populace assume he is old, since his history is not well documented, but they have no idea just how old. By Earth standards, a typical Loezeni would live to be about 250 years old naturally. Grendazance is now 441 years old, ancient even by Loezeni standards. He has not purposely extended his life with any kind of magical supplement nor does he seek to prolong it. He appears to simply be extraordinarily long lived. As such, his body is extremely frail. He is in about the same condition that a 100 year old human would be. Therefore, he is entirely dependent on his magical weapons and especially his armor and shield in battle. He never appears in public without them and so no one is aware of his advanced age. He has sustained only one significant injury in his long career. He lost his right eye during the battle of Mun. Lord Morthair enjoys taunting him about it whenever they meet.
Even in his early days, Grendazance was outfitted with a serious assortment of weapons and protective gear. His first major weapon was known as the Moonrod. A gnarled staff with a metal crescent moon embedded in the top. It increased his strength and durability and struck blows filled with magical puissance. Presumably, it was given to him by his master. Later, after he claimed Dobro Monolith, he began wielding a great sword with runes carved down its blade, the Kaanz'ord. This weapon he then passed onto his first successful apprentice, Garth. His current weapon is the mighty Ringz'ammer. A heavy, hammer like weapon that can level a city wall or even a monolith with a single blow. It can also be used as a thrown projectile, enchanted to return to his hand when called.
His battle armor evolved as well. It is an intricate work that is incredibly durable and also empowers his frail body with strength and agility he would not otherwise have. It does not pass on any strain to himself at all which accounts for his continued success in battle. In human terms, it can withstand anti-tank rounds easily and is proof against most mundane attacks. It is also enchanted to protect him from a plethora of mystical attacks. At this point in time, Grendazance has imbued his armor to such an extent, it is practically an entity in it's own right.
In his youth, Lord Grendazance had a broad knowledge of Loezenian sorcery though with not much practical experience. His ability to restore failing monoliths was a particular bit of lore only his master had still possessed. Neither of them had the knowledge to resurrect a dead monolith, only bolster those that were failing. Grendazance's master also had great knowledge of combat magic that he passed onto to him. It had not been his intention to focus solely on combat but his natural aptitude and circumstances have forced him to delve deeply into it's secrets. Many of his other powers and spells have suffered from disuse. Including his restorative magic. In combat, no other sorcerer has proven to be his equal as of yet, though Morthair and Lord Vermiculus are very close.
'Affiliations
Garth
As a boy, Garth lived in the area of the Jery Monolith. The people of this area did not recognize any central authority. Communities were generally presided over by powerful clans that took responsibility for defending their people from the dark horrors. Each clan had it’s own lore that it guarded jealously. Garth’s father was head of the Leen clan that controlled the lands to the east near the Nasi darkness. Life was hard in this dim area and conflict was common, which made the family bonds all that much stronger. Garth’s clan lore was centered around forging strong enchanted armor. His father had a great suit of golden armor that had been passed down for generations.
About the time Grendazance claimed the Dobro area, Garth’s clan became the victims of a plot between a rival clan and an ambitious sorcerer from the Onu area. One of the primary goals was to steal their armor enchanting lore but Garth’s mother took him, and the secret tomes and escaped as her husband instructed her to. The Leen clan of Jery was destroyed, save for Garth and his mother, who fled to distant relatives living in Dobro. After a few years, Garth had grown to young manhood but the thoughts of revenge were never far from his mind. He trained hard for the next decennial games so that he might become the apprentice of the mightiest sorcerer in recent memory, Lord Grendazance, which he did.
Lord Grendazance’s former apprentices had all died either through misadventure or in combat learning to defend the bright-lands. Garth proved to be more driven and more adept than any before him. Lord Grendazance taught him to unlock the secrets of his clan’s lore which they shared in making new armor for each of them. Grendazance was not opposed to Garth seeking revenge for his clan and when the Onu Monolith began to dim, it provided the perfect opportunity. Together, they marched on the remaining trouble making sorcerers in Onu, Garth’s father’s killer among them. Garth cornered the coward in his sanctum, where he found his father’s golden armor being kept as a trophy, and slew him. He claimed his fathers armor for himself.
After their success in Onu, Lord Grendazance presented Garth with the Kaanz’ord as a reward and in anticipation of creating a new weapon for himself. Not long after this, the conflict with the evil Morthair began and master and apprentice marched south for war. Garth discovered when he donned his father’s golden helmet, that he could converse with his father’s spirit, who told him many things. Garth obeyed Grendazance during the war and fought valiantly but he became distant and solitary. Consumed with the war, Grendazance sensed what was happening but couldn’t spare the time to deal with it. After their victory, Garth abruptly left Lord Grendazance’s domain, apparently abandoning his apprenticeship. Grendazance was deeply troubled by this turn and at a loss as what to do about it. He consulted the seer among the Rune Lords, Lord Damson, who told him that one day, Garth would return.
