Sythara and Slazgar

The Witch and the Goblin

In the depths of the Kalnith Jungle, where poisoned mists coil around twisted trees and the cries of hidden predators pierce the air, destiny forges its darkest bonds through chains of cruelty and devotion. This is the tale of Sythara, the Witch of Nepos, and Slazgar Two-Eyes, whose intertwined fates would shake the foundations of both the corrupt city-state of Nepos and the criminal haven of Grizburg.
The island city-state of Nepos rises like a malevolent crown from the toxic waters of the Great Poison Lake, its spires gleaming with an unnatural light that speaks of magic both powerful and precise. Here, where the royal family's grip extends beyond mere governance into the realm of destiny itself, Sythara's story begins in the shadows of servitude.
Born to a palace maid and a mysterious renegade necromancer, Sythara's early life was marked by both gift and curse. Her mother, seeking to protect her child from the predatory attention of the royal magi, tried to hide Sythara's burgeoning magical talents. But such power could not long remain hidden in a realm where magic was the currency of control.
The noble children of Nepos, cruel products of a system that rewarded ruthlessness, discovered Sythara's abilities during what began as typical torment of a servant child. When she instinctively defended herself with a burst of raw magical energy, her fate was sealed. Rather than punish their offspring, the noble parents saw an opportunity to exploit this newfound resource.
What followed were Years of systematic abuse disguised as magical training. The royal magi subjected Sythara to experiments that pushed the boundaries of both flesh and spirit, seeking to understand and harness her innate connection to forbidden magics. The noble children, meanwhile, were encouraged to test her limits through increasingly sadistic games.
Each torment, each degradation, served only to forge Sythara's will into something harder and more dangerous. Her natural affinity for dark magic grew alongside her hatred, each feeding the other in a cycle of growing power and deepening rage. In the quiet hours between torments, she began to study in secret, learning from forbidden texts she stole from her tormentors' libraries.
The breaking point came during a ritual that was meant to bind her powers permanently to the service of the royal family. As the magi began their ceremony, Sythara unleashed Years of pent-up hatred and carefully hidden knowledge. The resulting conflagration consumed half the noble estate, along with many of her tormentors. The flames bore an unusual quality—they burned with a cold, green light and seemed to actively hunt those who had hurt her most.
Her escape from Nepos bore the marks of both desperation and calculated vengeance. As she fled through the burning estate, Sythara stole not just her freedom but also several precious grimoires and artifacts of power. The pursuit was relentless, with bounty hunters and royal assassins tracking her through the wilderness beyond Nepos's walls.
For months, she evaded capture, moving deeper into the Kalnith Jungle. The toxic environment, which killed or mutated most who ventured too deep, seemed to welcome her. Perhaps it recognized in her a kindred spirit—something beautiful and deadly, shaped by poison into something even more dangerous.
In the heart of the jungle, Sythara discovered ancient ruins that whispered secrets of forgotten magic. Here, she learned to communicate with the Murkfolk spirits, entities born from the jungle's own corrupt essence. They taught her the language of Zhazzak, through which she could command the dead and bind restless spirits to her will.
The jungle became her domain, its dangers an extension of her own power. She created barriers of poisonous mist and wove illusions that drove intruders mad. Those who survived her defenses often became her prisoners, subjects for dark experiments as she refined her understanding of pain and power.
Meanwhile, in the grimy streets of Grizburg, a young goblin named Slazgar was building his own reputation. Known as Slazgar the Quick for his nimble fingers and swift escapes, he dealt in weapons both mundane and magical. His knowledge of arms and armor, combined with a natural cunning, made him valuable to the Bloodclaw Warband, though he maintained his independence.
Tales of the Witch of Nepos and her mysterious treasures eventually reached Slazgar's ears. The stories spoke of powerful artifacts and forbidden knowledge hidden in her jungle lair. For a goblin arms dealer always seeking an edge in Grizburg's cutthroat market, such prizes proved irresistible.
His infiltration of Sythara's domain was both skilful and doomed. He evaded her outer defenses with remarkable ingenuity, even managing to slip past several spirits bound to guard her lair. But in the end, Sythara's magic proved too subtle and too strong. He found himself ensnared in a web of enchanted vines that grew tighter with each struggle.
When Sythara found him, she saw something different from her usual captives. Most broke quickly under her torments, becoming either mindless thralls or lifeless corpses. But Slazgar showed an unusual resilience. Even as she subjected him to cruel magical experiments, his mind remained sharp, his will unbending.
The taking of his eye was meant to break him. Using an enchanted dagger, Sythara carved out his right eye as punishment for a failed task. Yet instead of shattering his spirit, the mutilation seemed to fuel his determination. She replaced the missing eye with a mechanical orb of her own creation, a "gift of perpetual vigilance" that allowed him to see magical energies others could not perceive.
Gradually, their relationship began to shift. Sythara found herself impressed by Slazgar's adaptability and intelligence. She began teaching him the dark arts she had mastered, from the crafting of cursed weapons to the brewing of poisonous elixirs. His natural talent for magic, rare among goblins, surprised and intrigued her.
Their dynamic evolved into something more complex than master and slave. Slazgar's initial fear transformed into fascination, then into a dark form of devotion. He began to anticipate Sythara's needs, serving not just out of compulsion but from a genuine desire to please her. His masochistic endurance of her cruelties seemed to awaken something in both of them—a recognition of kindred spirits twisted by pain into something darker.
The turning point in their relationship came during an attack on Sythara's lair by rival jungle witches. Without hesitation or command, Slazgar threw himself into combat to protect her. Despite suffering grievous wounds, he ensured her safety, later explaining simply that he "couldn't let them have her." This act of voluntary sacrifice marked the beginning of a deeper bond between them.
Sythara's knowledge of Zothra-Khaar came from ancient texts stolen from Nepos. The Dead God, born of the union between a fire god and earth god during the time of the Eeirendelios, had fallen during the First Black Fire War. Yet his essence, concentrated in the Obsidian Fang, retained enough power to reshape reality itself.
The location of the Fang beneath Grizburg made Slazgar even more valuable to Sythara's plans. His knowledge of the city's underworld, combined with the magical training she had given him, made him the perfect agent to navigate its political landscape and retrieve the artifact.
Sythara's decision to free Slazgar was calculated yet tinged with genuine affection. She knew that his return to Grizburg would serve her greater ambitions, but she also recognized that his loyalty had become something genuine and unshakeable. The magical bonds she released were merely symbolic—the darker chains of their shared experiences would keep him bound to her forever.
Back in Grizburg, Slazgar quickly reestablished himself as an arms dealer, but now with far greater power and knowledge at his disposal. The mechanical eye Sythara had given him proved invaluable, allowing him to see through magical deceptions and identify powerful artifacts. His reputation grew as he dealt in weapons enhanced by dark enchantments learned during his captivity.
The city's major factions took notice of his transformation. The Bloodclaw Warband sought his enhanced weapons, while the Eyes of Tezra watched him with their paranoid gazes, sensing Sythara's influence in his dealings. Even the Kurnok tribe, known for their cannibalistic rituals, approached him for both weapons and intelligence.
Slazgar used these connections to gather information about the Obsidian Fang's location in the catacombs beneath Grizburg. Through careful manipulation and strategic alliances, he positioned himself to access the Whispering Depths where the artifact was hidden.
The descent into the Whispering Depths proved to be a journey into madness itself. The catacombs were more than mere tunnels—they were the ossified remains of ancient temples dedicated to Zothra-Khaar, their walls carved with prophecies written in tongues that drove readers insane. Slazgar's mechanical eye burned with constant magical feedback, detecting layers of deadly wards and traps left by both the Dead God's cultists and more recent guardians.
His chosen companions for this expedition were carefully selected: Kaltora, a changeling assassin whose loyalty extended only as far as her next payment; Tharn the Unyielding, a half-orc berserker who wielded one of Slazgar's most potent cursed axes; and Yara, a fallen priestess seeking redemption in the darkness. Each brought crucial skills to the expedition, though Slazgar knew none could be fully trusted.
The deeper they ventured, the more the catacombs seemed to pulse with malevolent awareness. Ancient spirits, bound to guard the Fang, manifested as shadows that whispered temptations and threats. The very air grew thick with magical residue, making breathing difficult and causing hallucinations that tested the sanity of even the strongest minds.
As predicted, betrayal came swiftly. Tharn fell first, impaled by poisoned spikes when his battle-rage made him careless. Kaltora, seeing an opportunity, attempted to claim the Fang for herself but found her changeling abilities negated by Slazgar's superior magical knowledge. Her death was quick but painful, a demonstration of how well Sythara had taught him the arts of cruel efficiency.
The Obsidian Fang itself rested in a chamber that defied natural law. The walls rippled like liquid stone, and gravity shifted unpredictably. At the center, suspended in a column of black flame, the Fang pulsed with power that spoke of its divine origin—a shard of Zothra-Khaar's essence that had survived the god's death in the First Black Fire War.
When Slazgar finally grasped the Fang, its power surged through him with devastating force. Visions of Zothra-Khaar's final moments flooded his mind—the Dead God's fall, the shattering of his power, and the ancient schemes he had left in motion. Yet through it all, Sythara's influence remained stronger, her teachings allowing him to maintain his sanity and identity.
The return to the surface was a blur of violence and magic. Word of the Fang's retrieval spread quickly through Grizburg's underworld, drawing opportunists and power-seekers like flies to carrion. The Bloodclaw Warband attempted to claim the artifact by force, while the Eyes of Tezra sent their mind-bending powers against him. Slazgar fought his way through them all, leaving a trail of broken bodies and shattered minds in his wake.
His journey back to Sythara's domain in the Kalnith Jungle was marked by omens and portents. The poisoned mists parted before him, and the predators that usually stalked the jungle's paths slunk away in terror of the power he carried. The Murkfolk spirits whispered his approach to their mistress, their ethereal voices carrying both fear and reverence.
Sythara awaited him in her inner sanctum, a chamber grown from living vines and crystallized poison. Her beauty remained both terrible and alluring—a reminder of why Slazgar had submitted to her will so completely. When he presented her with the Obsidian Fang, their eyes met in a moment of shared triumph and dark intimacy that transcended mere master and servant.
The ritual to unlock the Fang's power required elements from both their pasts. Sythara used her own blood, tainted by Years of exposure to Nepos's toxic magic, while Slazgar contributed essence from his mechanical eye—a fusion of their shared history of pain and transformation. As they worked their dark magic, the very fabric of reality around them began to warp and twist.
The power released was beyond even Sythara's expectations. The Fang's connection to Zothra-Khaar, the fallen Eeirendelios, allowed them to tap into primal forces of creation itself. The jungle around them transformed, its already deadly nature evolving into something even more terrifying—a realm where their combined will shaped both matter and spirit.
Their first target was not Nepos itself, but rather the network of magical wards protecting the city-state. Using the Fang's power, they corrupted these ancient defenses, turning them into channels for their own dark influence. The toxic waters of the Great Poison Lake began to stir with new purpose, preparing to serve as a path for their army of bound spirits and jungle horrors.
The royal family of Nepos, sensing the growing threat, sent their most powerful magi to investigate. These were the same sorcerers who had once tormented Sythara, now older but no less cruel. They found themselves facing an enemy forged by their own brutality, their magical prowess meaningless against the combined might of witch and goblin.
Sythara's revenge, when it came, was as elaborate as it was terrible. Rather than simply destroying her former tormentors, she used the Fang's power to trap them in perpetual moments of agony, each one experiencing an eternity of the same torments they had once inflicted on others. Their screams became part of Nepos's daily ambiance, a reminder of power's shifting tides.
The conquest of Nepos was not swift but inexorable. Sythara and Slazgar worked in perfect synchronization, her grand sorcery complemented by his tactical brilliance. The city's defenses fell one by one, its proud towers toppling into the toxic lake. The royal family, in their desperation, attempted to summon bound demons to their aid, but found their control spells shattered by Slazgar's specialized weaponry.
Throughout it all, their bond deepened into something beyond conventional understanding. Slazgar's devotion to Sythara remained absolute, while her affection for him—though still tinged with cruelty—became the closest thing to love her twisted heart could manage. They were partners in darkness, their shared ambitions and tastes for power creating a harmony in destruction.
With Nepos under their control, they began to reshape it according to their vision. The city's magiocracy was replaced by a new order, one that recognized power in all its forms, not just inherited privilege. Slazgar's experience with Grizburg's criminal underworld proved invaluable in establishing new networks of influence and control.
The final transformation of Nepos saw it become a true city of darkness, where the boundary between the toxic lake and the streets blurred, and where dark magic was practiced openly. The surviving noble children were subjected to the same "education" that had shaped Sythara, ensuring the cycle of power and pain would continue under new management.
Sythara and Slazgar ruled their dark domain as equals united by choice rather than necessity. Their tale became a whispered legend throughout Nolavor—a story of how shared darkness could forge bonds stronger than any conventional love, and how revenge, when properly nurtured, could blossom into terrible victory.
The Obsidian Fang remains in their possession, its power a reminder of not just Zothra-Khaar's legacy, but of their own journey from captive and captor to partners in power. Their story stands as testament to how the darkest beginnings can lead to the most terrible triumphs, and how true devotion can grow from the poisoned soil of cruelty and pain.
They rule still in Nepos, the Witch and her Goblin, their power growing with each passing year. Their love remains as twisted as the toxic jungle that first brought them together, their ambitions as deep as the dark waters that surround their domain. In the end, they achieved everything they desired—power, revenge, and a connection that transcended the normal boundaries of affection to become something uniquely their own.
And in the depths of their dark palace, they continue to plot, to scheme, and to rule—their fates forever intertwined in shadows of their own making.