Llazuth

The Return of Llazuth

This story begins many years ago, in the very first years of the Midnight Age. At that time, many things were yet unformed, and many dreaded creatures lurked unknown and unnoticed in the deepest parts of the world. One such being was a lady of great power, one who called herself Queen of the Underworld. Her name was Llazuth, the demonic mistress of many earth-dwelling beings. The personal servants of Llazuth were arachnids, for in that crafty, dark race did she find the greatest utility. It was said that to those arachnids which showed particular promise, the dark Queen granted special powers, allowing them the intelligence and even appearance of humanoids. One such being was the arachnid Suri, who, for her loyal service, gained the ability to form into an Atavian.

Llazuth did not dwell in her dark halls in peace, for but a mile below, another Lord of great power claimed domain over the dark realm. He was Zsarachnor, Lord of Vampires, and it was not long before the skirmishes between his undead and the spider armies of Llazuth turned into a full scale war.

Time passed, with much blood shed on both sides. From her position as the elite guardian of Llazuth, Suri watched in awe the undead Lord stride forth with his armies. And, as so often is the case, her soul cried out for the immortality he was able to give. For Suri above all desired power, and an endless life. To achieve this goal, she ventured to the lair of Zsarachnor, and put before his feet the very life of her mistress, asking in return the gift of immortality.

Zsarachnor was overjoyed that for such a slight price he might buy the defeat of his enemy. And so Suri was able to trick Llazuth to the lower dungeons of Azdun, alone and unprotected. There, the legions of undead fell upon her. Great was the power of the Dark Queen, and she would have succeeded in beating off her attackers, had not the traitorous Suri thought through her rebellion. Reaching towards her mistress, she tore away the sacred amulet into which Llazuth invested much of her power, and broke it upon the stones of the dungeons. Devoid of this source for her strength, Llazuth fell to the screaming hordes, and her spirit was trapped in the dense rock of the Azdun dungeons. To prevent her return to power, Zsarachnor scattered Llazuth's artifacts in the deepest parts of Aetolia. He then bestowed unto Suri the gift of Undeath, further granting her the status of his mistress in the darkness of the crypt.

Years passed, and the empire Llazuth once brought forth crumbled. The spirit of Llazuth was waning with every moment, despaired of ever finding a means to return. Until one day, a bleeding, half-dead woman stumbled through the echoing hallways of lower Azdun. Such was the state of the woman that the malevolent spirit of Llazuth managed to penetrate her mind, and learn of her story. For this young girl too desired immortality, and had set off to the crypt of the Vampire Lord harboring this tentative hope. Alas, she was instead beaten and cast out by Zsarachnor's mistress, who would stand for no rivals in her domain.

Yet within this broken body, Llazuth sensed such a brilliant mind and a thirst of power, that she knew at last her hour had come. Whispering within the mind of the girl, she allowed a portion of her spirit to flow into her, giving the woman enough strength to find her way from the dreaded dungeons. There, under the careful guidance of Llazuth, the girl performed a dark ritual, making her body a sanctuary for the demonic spirit. Her very form was transformed in the process, and it was at that moment that Lachesis, Mistress of Spiders came into this world.

For many years did Lachesis labor to rebuild the empire of Llazuth, and to find the means to set the dreaded queen free once more. Yet it was not until recently that rumors were brought to her by the industrious Rohan and Achavis, who spoke of strange boulders having been unearthed in Moghedu and Bloodloch.

Lachesis was not eager to act quickly. Instead, she sent out her minions to investigate. What her reports brought back shocked her greatly, for she now had reason to believe that the two missing artifacts needed to restore her lady - the Daegger of Despair and the Amulet of Llazuth - had indeed been found again! Immediately, she called all those upper worlders who had given their word to aid her in the quest. She quickly formulated a plan to raid the mines of Moghedu and retrieve the first stone. Achavis led the diversionary force of many spiders, which caused a great commotion in the mines. In the meantime, Lachesis herself joined a company led by Zephy, and penetrated the very depths of Moghedu where the stone was rumored to lie.

Unfortunately, they arrived to an unpleasant surprise. The Paladins, refusing to allow any harm to come to the innocent Mhunna, made a final stand in his defense. Led by Sir Koujin, they bravely fought the onslaught of darkness. Many perished in the battle, and blood flowed freely on all sides. Although he fought valiantly, the great Mhunna fell in battle, his body pierced with many wounds. But at last, the rock which caused all this commotion was loaded upon the back of a monstrous spider, and the forces of darkness retreated to the lair of Lachesis.

Yet here they encountered a problem, for the gigantic spider that carried the rock to Lachesis could not penetrate the cracks in the mountainside which led into the Blood Caverns - the resting place of the second stone. Still, the resourceful Vermillion did not falter. He set off towards the caverns, enlisting the help of Bloodloch's ally Urgh, the chieftain of lava daemons. Although Urgh could move the rock, he lacked the ability of destruction to break it.

Yet the key presented itself, for just as Urgh and Vermillion were pondering what must be done with the rock, the mad prophet of destruction Furf skipped into the room. Visited by an unexpected idea, Urgh handed the rock to Furf, who was so offended at this implication of his materialism that he tossed the rock into the volcano. The stone could not take such heat, and it cracked. Before the fragments could be re-absorbed into the lava, though, Vermillion dove for them, saving the freed Amulet of Llazuth from fiery destruction.

When Lachesis received the Amulet, she wasted no time in recombining it with its second half, which she had herself recovered many years ago. Using the newly restored artifact, she was able to crack open the second rock, thus freeing the Daegger of Despair. Lachesis explained that to complete the ritual of Llazuth's return, a sacrifice would be needed. For this task, Llazuth herself had chosen the once-traitorous Suri, now consort to Zsarachnor.

Vermillion and Mephiston hurried to the crypt in a desperate attempt to trick the vampiress from her lord's protection. They managed to convince her that they wished Lachesis destroyed, and enlisted her help in the matter - but not until Zsarachnor demanded that Mephiston stay as hostage until his concubine returned safely.

Alas, the Vampire Lord would never see his lady again, for as soon as she arrived within Llazuth's lair,she was accosted by a myriad of spider webs. In a dark ritual, Lachesis carved from the vampiress' body a new form for her mistress, and, calling on the power of the artifacts, infused the body of the vampiress with Llazuth's spirit.

Darkness fell upon Azdun, and a deep ringing filled the air. When the shadows cleared, the allies of Lachesis saw the brilliant figure of a proud woman standing where the bloody remnants of the vampiress had been.

Having been warmly welcomed by all those assembled, Llazuth was invited by Lachesis to step into the dwelling which, in secret, was being built for her for many years. As the Dark Queen strode over the drawbridge which now spanned the Azdun gorge, a hundred cheers erupted from the goblin warriors guarding the bridge as they welcomed their new mistress to her home.

Within the throne room of the Black Keep, Llazuth once again welcomed all her allies, and in a solemn ceremony pledged her gratitude and aid to the city of Bloodloch, giving as a token of thanks the Daegger of Despair to the Keeper, Vermillion. For his aid to Llazuth, Achavis also received an item of power, having been granted Llazuth's amulet. The Dark Lady then spoke to all those present, informing them of her past and intentions until time and duties forced her to retire to her work.

And so a new Queen reigns in Azdun, and the betrayed Zsarachnor paces his lonely crypt, for he knows that the return of the bloody wars of power is immanent. In Moghedu, the sonorous voices of Mhuns curse the name of the spider Queen as they mourn the death of their leader, and in their groves do the druids Esper and Sceverus watch over the fallen Mhun's body, hoping still to return him to life through the healing power of Nature.

Darkness gathers, darkness comes. What shall come of these conflicts, new and old? Only time can tell...