Appearance

Physical Description

Zalazar is lanky. Most of his weight is centered around his head and chest while the rest of his body moves smoother than silk. His posture is very open, most times having his torso exposed with his chin held high. He has very slight muscle tone around his neck and upper torso.

Body Features

Zalazar has a few scars around his stomach and ribs from being stabbed that have healed nicely since his days running through the streets of Greyford. He has a few burns around his wrists, neck, and several on his back.

Facial Features

Zalazar lacks facial hair. He has a wide nose and eyes. Zalazar also has thick lips and thin eyebrows.

Identifying Characteristics

Zalazar has raised cheekbones and wide, sunken eyes similar to other tieflings. Likewise, his ears are pointed and a few of his teeth are sharper than the rest. His nose has an almost unnoticeable point due to his nostrils being wide.

Physical quirks

Zalazar occasionally clicks his tongue while he's thinking and will roll his tongue over his sharp teeth.

Apparel & Accessories

Zalazar has a black over coat, a dark grey top hat, baggy leather pants with holes around the ankles, and some leather shoes with holes in them. He carries a tan colored single strap satchel around his waist and a long seven foot tall staff.
 
The staff is made from the wood of the ship that carried his mother to the Empire and was used by her as a magical focus until she gave it to Kendrick Efreet as payment for taking care of Zalazar. The staff looks like little more than a large stick that has been rotted into something grotesque and beautiful.

Specialized Equipment

Zalazar specializes in the arcane, history, and religion due to his duties as an undertaker and wizard. As a wizard, he has a specialty in the school of necromancy.

Special abilities

Zalazar is able to talk to and bring spirits of the deceased back from death. He can control fire, move earth to create graves, create telepathic links, produce streams of acid, and learn forgotten lore that could only come from the whispers of the dead. In addition, Zalazar can peer into the fog filled echo plane called the Fugue Plane and can manipulate the mist to transfer lingering ghosts into the Void where his patron, Kuburan, awaits to be the final judge of where the soul goes.

Mentality

Personal history

Zalazar is a half Zouqulian/Human Greyford native.
 
His mother, Zahara, is a tiefling from Zouqulia and his biological father was "twelve steps past normal and seventeen hundred feet below the sea" after Zalazar was conceived. His mother was born with a "Touch of Shadow", a power that is passed down through generations and gives those who can harness the it mastery over shadow in all its forms.
 
First started when the Last Scholar of Kuth'Tonnan, Nei'Kara, refused to sacrifice herself in order to bring the Infernal God and used her mastery of shadow to conceal herself from Kuth'Tonnan's gaze along with the hunt for her head as retribution for her lack of sacrifice. The history of Nei'Kara after her disappearance has been almost entirely forgotten, but it is known that eventually some Zouqulians gained the ability to control shadows. Thus the phrase "Touch of Shadow" gained traction and became a possible indicator for those who may be descendants of Nei'Kara.
 
Zahara, as she is had a "Touch of Shadow" but was unable to use it, faced much discrimination due to her latent power but she did not have to patience to harness those powers beyond just making the surrounding shadows darker. Tired of the disgrace and ridicule, Zahara set herself to leave Zouqulia and took several family heirlooms in order to cover her trip. She stowed away on the first ship that was leaving the docks the next day and she was off towards Greyford.
 
While on the journey, she had a few conjugal visits with a man on board the ship and got pregnant with Zalazar. The two were separated when the captain of the ship threw Zahara's lover over board, presumably due to jealousy.
 
When she arrived at Greyford, she took on the guise of an emissary and sold her family heirlooms to indulge the lavish lifestyle she wanted. This life included paying someone to take care of the baby she never wanted and she eventually did one night at a tavern when she met an altar boy.
 
This altar boy, Kendrick Efreet, would become Zalazar's "adopted" father when he took the boy in after accepting to do so after Zahara paid him and even gave the boy his name in homage to his mother. Kendrick took Zalazar to the church of Aella where he was taught to worship Aella as the one true goddess. The child was unimpressed. Like his mother, the boy had a "Touch of Shadow" but, unlike her, he could use his for more than just darkening nearby shade. Before he was two, Zalazar was able to turn himself invisible and throw sickening bolts of magic towards those that would attack those he considered family. Kendrick was made aware of Zalazar's abilities and praised them to be gifts of Aella even though deep in his heart he could feel their less than divine origin. The man loved his adopted son and it was this love that compelled him to only see the best in Zalazar.
 
During his teenage years, Zalazar never lost contact with his mother. He first officially met her when he was six but the encounter was less than familial. Upon seeing the young boy outside of the Broken Thorn, Zahara offered the child a drink and indulged him when he asked for more even after being absolutely disgusted by the taste of alcohol.
 
With every night turning into a whirlwind of drink and laughter, the boy loved spending time with his mother but the experience cost him greatly. Zalazar was forcing himself to enjoy the drinks and the pipe smoke his mother found herself surrounded by. She didn't check on him to be sure he didn't take things too far. For both of them, excess was their normal.
 
There were many nights where Kendrick would have to pull Zalazar out of a dirty puddle or alley after the church's service. It became a nightly search for Zalazar much to Kendrick's dismay and his voice became hoarse having to berate the boy every day. In little over a month, Kendrick had completely lost his voice yet he still continued to bring Zalazar home. The mans' actions did not go unnoticed by his son. Would only be later, after Zalazar and Kendrick were both kidnapped by members of Merrek's cult, that Zalazar understood persistence.
 
In the moment a knife was held to his throat and he saw his father being drowned in sewer water, Zalazar remembered the sleepless nights he spent reciting the prayers of Aella and pretending that they were powerful spells like the ones he thought Nei'Kara would recite. He remembered how he would pose in front of the mirror in his small side room within the church. Holding the 5 feet of decaying wood which made of his mother's staff in one hand while holding out his hand towards the mirror with Kendrick's black, top hat on his head. In that moment when he was about to die, he remembered how he felt powerful. "I am powerful. Hone my potential, fill my mind, put the salve of experience on my ignorance. You will have spared two lives and recieved hundreds more as compensation," he told the cultists. Everyone believed him. Even Merrek, eventually being acquainted with the boy along with Tobias, was personally involved in Zalazar's indoctrination into the cult along with Kendrick.
 
While Kendrick was having his faith warped into seeing Merrek as the real savior against horrors he never knew existed, Zalazar was given full access to the library and was given the responsibility of recruiter. Zalazar would have to go out into Greyford and talk with people to increase the cult's numbers. The job wasn't taxing or that hard, but Zalazar was more interested in studying necromancy than performing his duties. Most times he would hand the responsibility to Kendrick so that he would have more time to himself. When he did do his job, Zalazar was a fantastic conversationalist, thanks to Kendrick's advice, and every person he talked to wanted to be part of the cult. However, they were less sold upon the ideals of Merrek and more on Zalazar's ideology. It wasn't long before several members of the cult started to create their own sect in secret, loyal to Zalazar's perception of the world and wanting to be in an everlasting party owned by the man they all perceived was more than a man. To them, Zalazar was a the closest thing to a god and he started to believe it too.
 
Zalazar started to ask himself," If they say that I am, should I not prove them right?"
 
This thinking fully brought him out of believing in Merrek's goals, seeing him for the mass murdering coward he was, and feeling in his soul that he could be better, but he did not know how. Zalazar believed that there was another way to become a god, he believed that there was a way to ascend beyond mortality without killing thousands of people. Power could be attained by asking, creating relationships, throwing weight around to get what you need, and gaining friends. Zalazar just needed to figure out how to do it.
 
Thus, in his free time, Zalazar began to do research into the gods. Locking himself away in his study room, Zalazar poured over arcane research focused on necromancy, historical findings relating to powerful cities, and religious texts evaluating the gods as people rather than divine. He interviewed the dead souls of a hundreds scholars, debated with priests about the peace they found in their faith, and relying on the words of encouragement from his growing sect of followers to give him the energy to keep going.
 
In those many days, Zalazar discovered something. A vision of Merrek digging his own grave, the cult crumbling, and a new god forming in the waves of his homeland. It was too much to process at the time for him so he smoked a few cigars to cloud the overwhelming headache he gained from the experience. Eventually, he did feel as if he was ready to fight Merrek for control of the cult but the man hadn't been seen in a while, and Kendrick was acting as the voice of leadership. Zalazar couldn't bring himself to usurp Kendrick or the other disciples. The resulting war would be catastrophic for both sides. Zalazar would need to try and sneak out with his followers. Peaceful and quietly. He didn't have much faith in it, but if it worked then there would be minimal causalities.
 
After smoking and drinking for the last few days of his isolation, Zalazar re-emerged from his room and began to tell his disciples to start getting their stuff. They needed to leave when the moment was right and Merrek would retreat back into his own room. When the moment came for Merrek to go into his study room for what would be his last time, Zalazar seized as the opportunity but Kendrick caught wind of the little excursion. The man orchestrated an execution of Zalazar's followers, a public display of power to try and put Zalazar in his place. Yet the man forgot a very important aspect of his adopted son: Never threaten family. In that moment, Zalazar cut Kendrick from his heart and saw him as an enemy. Thus began a war of subterfuge and shadow within Merrek's cult. Kendrick and other loyalists found themselves unable to summon undead, important items suddenly went missing, and many found their drinks replaced with acid. Death was plentiful. Retaliation was swift. With every life snatched from Zalazar's following, the machinations of Merrek's grand ascension were stalled by a few hours and Kendrick's resources rapidly dwindled.
 
The Game of Shadows raged on up until Kendrick could no longer expend resources. Keeping Zalazar and his followers under the sway of the cult had cost him too much. So, he let them go. He had to prepare for the troublesome group of people that had been hunting Merrek. In a show of surrender, Kendrick met with Zalazar and let him leave. The occasion was not bitter sweet, the two had been at war. Both parties had made mistakes. Yet only Zalazar raised to shake his adopted father's hand. It was not received. That was the last time Zalazar saw Kendrick.
 
"You are going to keep us imprisoned, we're going to tell you about the secrets of this cult, you're not going to kill us because you need multiple people to make sure you're getting the right information, and we're not going to kill you because we're more worried about the bigger threats. Sound good." would be Zalazar's winning pitch as to letting them be under witness protection while he smoked a cigarette.
 
He was initially surprised to discover that the guards seemed aware of the coming threat but, upon reciting the specifics to Althalos, Zalazar knew that they knew less than they were letting on.
 
Althalos immediately went out to investigate while the witness protected ex-cultists were detained. For being the ring leader, Zalazar was put further in the back, his belongings put in the barracks, and his face paint wiped away due to it's perhaps magical effects. They guards on-duty were adamant that Zalazar and his pack would never see the sun again.
 
Unfortunately, due to the undead horde, everyone was forced to see things they'd rather not see faster than they'd prefer. Zalazar and his crew were quickly freed from their cells to push back the tide of rotting flesh. The combined force of the Aella worshippers, Merek's ex-cultists, and the Order's guards pushed back the undead which made the prison one of the safest places in Greyford.
 
Though a few perished many survived, Zalazar and a handful of his followers included. Currently, Zalazar is locked in prison still, soothing his few followers to rest, and waiting for the time those adventurers would come knocking.

Education

Zalzar did not have traditional schooling when he arrived to Greyford. He was taught scripture by Kendrick as he was an assistant to the priest of Aella within Greyford. Initially, when he magical abilities started to surface, Zalazar taught himself how to control it.
 
When he transitioned to working in Merek's cult, his experience and power grew exponentially as he became a scholar. Again, he was self taught and gained so much knowledge by studying books Merek had on hand and talking to ghosts of dead scholars. He gained a expertise in the arcane but was still proficient in historical and religious facts.

Employment

Zalazar initially was an altar boy within the church of Aella along with his adopted father but he would eventually branch out to various dead-end positions in order to pay the cost of living within Greyford along with Kendrick.
 
When he was indoctrinated into Merek's cult, Zalazar began as essentially a magic battery. He would assist in performing rituals but was not allowed to learn about the rituals or to be autonomous. When presented with the chance to elevate himself, Zalazar seized it by walking up to Merek and putting forth the case that he should be higher in the hierarchy. Merek was amused and put Zalazar through several rituals to test his claims, all of which included burning of the skin. When Zalazar did prove himself, he was promoted to recruiter and became a distant point of interest for Merek which afforded him the luxury of having his own personal studies outside the interests of the cult.
 
He would eventually break away from the cult due to a vision he had and would actively participate in the self dubbed "Shadow War". The "Shadow War" was a civil war within the cult which started to stop some rebels, Zalazar's side, break away from the loyalists, Kendrick's side. The war came to a close when Donovan, Blodh, Risika, Valerie, and Isha made their crusade towards Merek's mansion which made the battles too costly for the loyalists to continue.
 
Currently, Zalazar has been appointed as Lord of the Manor in Targa which makes him an authority figure in the realms of magic.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Using the works of Merek and his cult, Zalazar
 
-Was able to bring spirits back into the world without the use of a body
-Was able to create a physical form for those spirits to inhabit while on the Material Plane
-Circumvented the more painful elements of speaking with the undead to where it is more bearable for the spirits
-Created a pseudo pocket dimension to house the spirits of people he has talked to
-Created a way to direct and bind spirits to said pseudo pocket dimension so that they go to the pseudo pocket dimension when they die
-Created a spell to talk to any spirits without using dead bodies as an anchor for the spirit

Failures & Embarrassments

Zalazar was captured by the cult after finishing his last drink of the hour at the Broken Thorn in Greyford.
 
Zalazar's mother abandoned him, gave Kendrick money to take him, and then met up with at several nights to drink with him before he turned 10. The last her saw her she was passed out in the crow's nest of a ship.
 
Zalazar lost many followers during the "Shadow Wars" as a result of his bad decision making

Mental Trauma

None

person.sexuality

Asexual

person.gender_identity

Male

Taboos

Zalazar refuses to kill someone who doesn't deserve it.
 
On his path to godhood, Zalazar follows certain rules as to legitimize his journey:
-Will not treat life or unlife as some tool. Both should be respected
-Will not bring a spirit back that does not want to be and did not give their permission
-Will not kill people just to further his own goals
-Will carry himself so that every action he does has a net positive for those who he considers family and the world

Known Languages

Common, Abyssal, and Deep Speech

Personality

Social

Birthplace

Greyford

Current Residence

Targa

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Lord of the Manor, Emissary of Kuburan