Zolsikar
Councilor Zolsikar
The leader of the death phase spiders formerly living at the southern edge of New Hallownest. Zolsikar is a gargantuan, scary spider capable of catching and eating a demon lord, though evidently not surviving that consumption without aid. Now a resident of New Hallownest alongside his many followers. He acts as a representative of his people on the city council.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
A very large, very scary spider that can phase in and out of reality. Wears a mask in the New Hallownest style.
Special abilities
Zolsikar has apparently acquired the divine potential of a demon lord as a result of eating Veragas and then being cleansed of the taint and possession. What this means for him is unclear.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Zolsikar's colony of death phase spiders predates the establishment of Darkhome and New Hallownest. The details of their prior history remain unknown, but they were first encountered by our protagonists when Knight and his party were investigating the area to determine whether it was viable as a settlement for the refugees of Hallownest. Initial contact was wary, but positive; not wanting to evict the spiders or harm intelligent beings that weren't hostile, the adventurers offered an ongoing food supply and noninterference in exchange for the safety of the settlers. Zolsikar accepted.
The deal was kept. The spiders, for the most part, kept to themselves, and the people of Darkhome provided them with food and left them alone. Zolsikar's kingdom of unworked caves and phase-spaces remained.
It was in late summer of 23 ARL that things changed. Returning from a visit to Cubit, an adventuring party consisting of Knight, Keel, Immori Greyhollow, William Sith, Ios, and Doyle Bellcroft arrived in the transport zone just south of New Hallownest and were immediately assaulted by a force of mages and their summoned minions. When those forces failed, a new challenger arrived: the demon lord Veragas the Unclean.
The battle that followed was a close one, but the combatants were unaware of several more pairs of eyes watching them. Suddenly, the demon lord found himself bound by nigh-unbreakable webs of silk, collecting around him from what had seemed to be thin air. The gargantuan form of Zolsikar desended through the ceiling, wrapped the struggling demon lord up, and dragged him back up into a convenient dimensional pocket for consumption.
Consuming a demon lord, however, is not just a matter of catching one. Over the next month, Zolsikar became increasingly troubled and erratic, manifesting signs that the demon lord's soul was still present and fighting; strange hair grew, Zolsikar had urges to lash out, the _hair_ tried to lash out, and more. It got so bad that Zolsikar sent his people to take refuge in New Hallownest for fear of hurting them.
Fortunately, Knight was told of the crisis as he returned from back-to-back ventures to Shisui and to clear out the new Darkhome mithril mining zone, and he had a friend with the perfect tool for the job: Eldrin Stormseeker, with the Axiomatic Blade of Purification. The redeemed ultroloth Anomenath held Zolsikar down, Eldrin cut away rampaging hair and held the blade to Zolsikar's side, and Knight and his party cut the demon lord down in dream combat inside Zolsikar's mind. The demon lord's consciousness was banished, and his power, apparently, remained.
While life could have gone back to normal after this, the arachnid refugees in New Hallownest found that they enjoyed living as people. They liked shops and architecture and civilized prosperity (limited as it may have been in those times). In the short time they'd spent in the city proper, they had taken up masks like most of the residents, protecting them from Lolth's manipulations and reinforcing their identities and personhood. And after his own crisis of identity and his rescue by Knight and his friends, Zolsikar found that he agreed.
After the briefest of negotiations, the death phase spider colony was welcomed into the kingdom and city of New Hallownest proper, with Zolsikar taking a new place on the city council as their representative. Locke Lee promptly constructed housing on the cavern ceiling with the spiders in mind, and this hanging district soon came to be known as the Webs, a home and refuge for all friendly spiderfolk.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Caught and consumed the demon lord Veragas the Unclean.
Failures & Embarrassments
Was almost overtaken by the consciousness and power of the demon lord he ate.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Leader of the death phase spiders of New Hallownest.
City council member in New Hallownest.
Amiable with Knight and the others who rescued him from possession.
City council member in New Hallownest.
Amiable with Knight and the others who rescued him from possession.
Alignment
Neutral Evil?
Current Status
Defending New Hallownest
Current Location
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
King of the Spiders (even if he's no longer technically king)
Council representative for the death phase spiders and the Webs
Council representative for the death phase spiders and the Webs
Children
Current Residence
The Webs, New Hallownest
Pronouns
He/Him
Gender
Male
Aligned Organization
Comments