Variation of Man

A mortal man was born under the mountain and was raised to be a mighty Paladin for his king. He stood strong and proud of the kingdom he served and was sent on many escapades. On one such mission, he was joined by several other members from other kingdoms. While battling with these other warriors, he grew a respect for their ability and power, a respect which with time, grew into desire. He began a personal quest of his own making to gather more strength from each Deity from the other lands in secret.
He proved his strength for an Emperor but found that it was not enough. He showed his heart for the sun but found that he was still not whole. He became the guardian of a forest but found no peace. He tested his spirit for the sky but found no freedom. He matched his will with a champion, but honor was not enough for him to claim. He sought the secrets from a raven but did not want his time to end. He offered his treasure to the sea but found the waves too restricting. He pledged his sword to justice but found the morality too limiting. He showed that he was determined for a snake but found too little in the desert.
It was time for him to pledge his service to the Sovereign bookkeeper as well. He began to climb the steps of a great Ziggurat, the followers of the Sovereign stood aside as they were expecting him. The Paladin was undeterred as he continued to climb the steps and entered the inner sanctum. He approached the Sovereign with the intention of falsely pledging his loyalty as he had with the others and was ready to prove his intelligence. The Sovereign, who kept his back to the Paladin, spoke in a hushed whisper before he could even bow his head, "You who seeks divine power, would seek to deceive me"
"No" rebutted the Paladin, "and I would pass any test you could challenge me with of body, mind, or spirit"
The Sovereign turned to face the Paladin, "If you fail my test, then you will be cursed for the remainder of your days"
The Paladin stood confident, "I accept"
The Paladin was brought into a large room with a table in the center of it and a single book. The Sovereigns words rung in his mind, "You will have three attempts to tell me what the book says" The Paladin had been across all the lands and knew many languages, he eagerly opened the book to find all of the pages blank. In surprise he thought in his mind, "empty" a loud gong could be heard, the room shook and appeared to grow smaller. He gripped the book tightly and began to scan the pages once more. In his head he thought, "Invisible" a louder gong could be heard, shaking his bones and again the room grew even smaller. As the Paladin began to doubt himself, the Sovereign saw within his mind that he would not have the nerve to guess again.
The Sovereign himself appeared in the chamber and removed the book from the Paladin's grasp. "You do not follow any tenant but your own, you only seek power. I will send you to a place where you will feast upon power until it feasts upon you"
The Sovereign clasped the Paladin's head in his hands. The Paladin was transported to a realm of fire and smoke. The Paladin survived but he found that his skin became leathery and a deep red. He grew fangs on his teeth, horns on his head, a forked tongue, and a spaded tail. His eyes changed to cat like pupils and his legs to that of a goat. He found that he casted no shadow, he did not give off a reflection, and he smelled of brimstone.
Despite the Paladins curse and banishment, his lust for power never ceased and he never forgot his ultimate goal.