Whispering Tyrant

Tar-Baphon, known today as the Whispering Tyrant, was once a mortal wizard.

History

Dozens of legends are remembered about his rise to power, That in life he was born of greatness, possessed of a brilliant mind that bore the cruelty of detachment, that this cold, calculating mindset that led him to the most inhuman of arcane arts, Necromancy, that he murdered his professors at his arcane academy and then brought back them back as undead so they might continue to teach him; that he turned an entire city into zombies overnight, that his undead could not be harmed by all but the most powerful clerics, that he could alter reality on a whim. His power began to rise, for with each horror he committed, his dead foes would rise up to join his ranks. Eventually, he began to amass an army that in turn began to swell into a legion. As the numbers grew so did his necromantic prowess. Furthermore, as word of his atrocities travelled, dark souls sought him out to learn from him and in turn teach him new blasphemies. However, as his power and might grew, so did his hubris. In an act of supreme arrogance, Tar-Baphon used his great magic to lure Aroden, the god of Humanity down to fight him – whether to simply destroy him or to supplant him is not known. The histories speak of a great battle fought on The Isle of Terror, many leagues south of here, a battle where the combined might of the-then-great nation of Taldor and the manifestation of Aroden himself came forth to battle Tar Baphon. Aroden is recorded to have mortally wounded the necromancer, but it is believed that the wizard king somehow used his magic to survive and to retreat to the depths of The Isle of Terror. Some say, particularly the Whispering Way, that Tar-Baphon succeeded in the end, and it simply took him a few millennia to accomplish his goal. Nonetheless, all trace of Tar-Baphon vanished for over 2,000 years until he conquered Ustalav in 3206.

3206

In his invasion of Ustalav and the centuries of atrocities visited upon its people, the Whispering Tyrant was seen to be challenging Aroden, perhaps seeking another fight to revenge himself on the God of Humanity. People were as chattel to be traded and fed upon at whim. Then for its inhabitants, the reign of the Whispering Tyrant was a life of constant horror.

3827

Aroden would not be drawn into direct conflict but in after two and half centuries, Taldor, the Dwarves of Kraggodan, and the Knights of Ozem united in the Shining Crusade, an invasion to drive out or destroy the Whispering Tyrant. At last, in 3827 AR, the crusaders reached Gallowspire. The Taldan general, Arnisant, fought the Tyrant and using the artifact known as the Shield of Aroden was able to withstand the lich’s magic. When the shield eventually shattered, it burned the lich with holy fire, weakening the Tyrant enough that the crusaders were able to imprison him beneath Gallowspire. The province of Lastwall (now an independent country of the same name) was established to watch over the Tyrant’s prison.