Ieren

History

MIllennia ago, during The First Age, there lived a human named Ieren of Cellabank. As a younger son of family of famers Ieren had few prospects in his home village so when Guides from the Church of Seyr came to Cellabank to recruit potential acolytes he was only too happy to volunteer.
While not a true believer Ieren studied hard during his novitiate as he could see the opportunity for both power and comfort within the church. However, his plans were undone by his lack of daith, with his inability to channel Seyr's power making him ineligible for anything more than a scribe or porter. Unwilling to have his ambitions resticted by what he perceived as a corupt system where those from wealth families were given the opportunities thta he wasn't getting, Ieren left the church.
It didn't take Ieren long to fall in with a cult that worshipped one of the darker powers. In the cult he found something that fitted much more with his view of the world. Power was granted on an almost transactional basis. Those that performed deeds to support the group received power. Those with power advanced and gained more opportunities to gain more power.
After several years Ieren rose to become the leader of the cult, barely aware and not caring that he had traded his soul away in the process. Returning to Cellabank, Ieren converted his family and neighbours to the worship of his unholy patron before setting out to convert the nearby villages. A temple was constructed to honour the region's new patron with the foundations bathed in the blood of those who would not convert.
It was only a matter of time before the Seyrians and the Order of the Shield took note of this new bastion of evil and took steps to quash it. Ieren's followers were loyal and enthusiastic but untrained and underequipped compared to the forces arrayed against them. The cult was utterly destroyed and Ieren himself slain in the temple he had had built.

Ieren's return

Although the cult was destroyed relatively easily, the sacrifices made during the contruction of the temple made it all but impossible to destroy. Magical flames continued to burn red in torches and braziers throughout the structure and those foolish enough to try looting the temple had a tendency to disappear. Eventually a knight from the Order of the Shield discovered that the looters had been attacked by shadowy spirits that came from the temple. These shadows were considered a relatively minor threat to a well prepared group of holy warriors so an expedition was mounted to clear out the undead infestation.
The shadows that lurked in the nearby area were disposed of easily enough, but when the exterminators arrived at the temple they encounterd an alltogether more dangerous foe. Ieren's spirit hadn't moved on and it appeared to be in command of the shadows. The servants of the divine unleashed all their powers on Ieren's spirit but every time though thought him destroyed he reappeared from the shadows. With there seemingly being no way to defeat Ieren the knights and clerics of the expedition were forced to retreat.
Further attempts to purge Ieren and his shadows from the temple ruins also resulted in failure so the Order of the Shield established the position of Warden of the temple. The Warden was there to warn off treasure hunters and thin the ranks of the shadows, but each Warden ultimately fell to Ieren.
Following the end of The Second Age the position of Warden was largely forgotten about and Ieren solidified his control over the area. With none able to survive in the region for long, the one-time farmland has become a dense forest, making it difficult for any to reach Ieren let alone deal with him.

Other Names

The Conscious Dark

Species

Originally Human, currently a shadowy spirit,

Location

Derikal Ruins

Inconsistent form

Ieren spends most of his time as a simple blob of darkness. He can morph into whatever shape he wishes though he typically reverts to his original human shape when interacting with intruders.

Unlife in the Shadows

Ieren's unlife is sustained by the shadow in the temple. He can only be slain when there is no shadow cast in the structure. This makes him virtually impossible to slay during the day and extremely difficult at night given the lights spread throughout the temple.

The header was created in Flowscape and relates to Baramith.