Riddle's Keeper lore drop 2
Riddle's Keeper Lore Drop 2: Abdul of One-Thousand
When the Warriors of One-Thousand appear before Vera in The Lost Princess, there are six of them, all turned to Arlys’ service. Umr At-Tawil mentions later that the Warriors numbered ten in all. Today we will talk about one of the four who escaped Her influence: Abdul Al’Sahir.
Abdul was a wizard from the desert region of Sothis, notorious for his hunger for arcane knowledge. The lengths he would go in this pursuit were unsettling, to say the least, yet often resulted in pushing the boundaries of magic ever further. Despite the advances made by his hand, Abdul was too often dismissed as a madman by his peers. Rumours persisted that he communed with demons, djinn, and things beyond space and time…Perhaps those rumours were not entirely unfounded, for Abdul would be the first human to make contact with Umr At-Tawil, an extraplanar being in the flesh.
Legend has it that Abdul spent three days and three nights bartering arcane knowledge with Umr, even revealing the name of the ancient djinn who held the Silver Key in its possession. How Umr managed to track down the djinn and acquire the Silver Key is anyone’s guess; the fact is he is never seen without it in his hand. When he returned to Abdul, Umr spoke of his plans to gather the mightiest heroes in Jasconius to face the dark goddess Arlys, and requested Abdul be the first to join the ‘Warriors of One-Thousand.’ Abdul was more than happy for the opportunity to test his powers against a god, and accepted.
Abdul and Umr went their separate ways while the latter sought out more heroes. Abdul poured his hours into his books with a newfound purpose, and he learned of an ancient power hidden far to the north of Sothis: a tome called the Law of Cryomancy. Abdul made preparations at once to travel to the Asgardian Fringe and claim the tome. When he was about to leave, Umr appeared before him with the second of One-Thousand at his side: a samurai from the land of Seika named Yoshida Tenzen. At Tenzen’s hip was a cursed sword, and Umr had deemed it necessary to dub the greedy kami who lived inside, the sword’s namesake Susanu, as the third of One-Thousand. Umr bid Tenzen to join Abdul in his journey, and the two unlikely allies became fast friends.
In the Asgardian Fringe, Abdul and Tenzen walked the ruins of Hamelin Long-Gone in search of the tome, and encountered numerous Men of Aesir who had claimed the ruins as their home. The undead Aesir were no match for Abdul and Tenzen, but the same could not be said for the Balor-King Ghaull; a titanic battle rattled the ancient city, ending with Ghaull driven off and the Men of Aesir abandoning Hamelin forever. Before Ghaull disappeared into the tundra, Abdul stole a morsel of the Balor-King’s knowledge; a spell with a dark purpose. With the Law of Cryomancy in hand, Abdul wasted no time in delving its secrets when he and Tenzen returned to Sothis.
It quickly became clear that the power contained within the Law of Cryomancy was a force of nature not to be trifled with; to use it required the subject to abandon all other forms of magic. Abdul found a power beyond all others he had learned, but one that was all too happy to kill the user if they drew too deeply. Before Abdul could take the plunge, there was one more spell he would need to use, the very same he stole from Ghaull:
A ritual to cheat death; Abdul perverted his own existence and became a Lich.
With death no longer a concern, Abdul was free to delve as deep as he wanted into the magicks outlined in the Law of Cryomancy without consequence, and that was well, for Umr had finished gathering the Warriors of One-Thousand, ten in all. They all would convene in Old Cagliostro when the troubles within came to a head…
On that fateful day when the Warriors gave themselves to banish Arlys, Abdul unwittingly escaped the fate of his peers. While his body was destroyed, his soul was elsewhere, stored within Abdul’s phylactery: a warped notebook bound by blackened hide. While its whereabouts are unknown, it is likely Abdul’s phylactery still persists; Abdul was quite meticulous in choosing something durable yet fitting. One who finds the phylactery would become privy to most of the undead wizard’s secrets…and all of his rambling.
When the Warriors of One-Thousand appear before Vera in The Lost Princess, there are six of them, all turned to Arlys’ service. Umr At-Tawil mentions later that the Warriors numbered ten in all. Today we will talk about one of the four who escaped Her influence: Abdul Al’Sahir.
Abdul was a wizard from the desert region of Sothis, notorious for his hunger for arcane knowledge. The lengths he would go in this pursuit were unsettling, to say the least, yet often resulted in pushing the boundaries of magic ever further. Despite the advances made by his hand, Abdul was too often dismissed as a madman by his peers. Rumours persisted that he communed with demons, djinn, and things beyond space and time…Perhaps those rumours were not entirely unfounded, for Abdul would be the first human to make contact with Umr At-Tawil, an extraplanar being in the flesh.
Legend has it that Abdul spent three days and three nights bartering arcane knowledge with Umr, even revealing the name of the ancient djinn who held the Silver Key in its possession. How Umr managed to track down the djinn and acquire the Silver Key is anyone’s guess; the fact is he is never seen without it in his hand. When he returned to Abdul, Umr spoke of his plans to gather the mightiest heroes in Jasconius to face the dark goddess Arlys, and requested Abdul be the first to join the ‘Warriors of One-Thousand.’ Abdul was more than happy for the opportunity to test his powers against a god, and accepted.
Abdul and Umr went their separate ways while the latter sought out more heroes. Abdul poured his hours into his books with a newfound purpose, and he learned of an ancient power hidden far to the north of Sothis: a tome called the Law of Cryomancy. Abdul made preparations at once to travel to the Asgardian Fringe and claim the tome. When he was about to leave, Umr appeared before him with the second of One-Thousand at his side: a samurai from the land of Seika named Yoshida Tenzen. At Tenzen’s hip was a cursed sword, and Umr had deemed it necessary to dub the greedy kami who lived inside, the sword’s namesake Susanu, as the third of One-Thousand. Umr bid Tenzen to join Abdul in his journey, and the two unlikely allies became fast friends.
In the Asgardian Fringe, Abdul and Tenzen walked the ruins of Hamelin Long-Gone in search of the tome, and encountered numerous Men of Aesir who had claimed the ruins as their home. The undead Aesir were no match for Abdul and Tenzen, but the same could not be said for the Balor-King Ghaull; a titanic battle rattled the ancient city, ending with Ghaull driven off and the Men of Aesir abandoning Hamelin forever. Before Ghaull disappeared into the tundra, Abdul stole a morsel of the Balor-King’s knowledge; a spell with a dark purpose. With the Law of Cryomancy in hand, Abdul wasted no time in delving its secrets when he and Tenzen returned to Sothis.
It quickly became clear that the power contained within the Law of Cryomancy was a force of nature not to be trifled with; to use it required the subject to abandon all other forms of magic. Abdul found a power beyond all others he had learned, but one that was all too happy to kill the user if they drew too deeply. Before Abdul could take the plunge, there was one more spell he would need to use, the very same he stole from Ghaull:
A ritual to cheat death; Abdul perverted his own existence and became a Lich.
With death no longer a concern, Abdul was free to delve as deep as he wanted into the magicks outlined in the Law of Cryomancy without consequence, and that was well, for Umr had finished gathering the Warriors of One-Thousand, ten in all. They all would convene in Old Cagliostro when the troubles within came to a head…
On that fateful day when the Warriors gave themselves to banish Arlys, Abdul unwittingly escaped the fate of his peers. While his body was destroyed, his soul was elsewhere, stored within Abdul’s phylactery: a warped notebook bound by blackened hide. While its whereabouts are unknown, it is likely Abdul’s phylactery still persists; Abdul was quite meticulous in choosing something durable yet fitting. One who finds the phylactery would become privy to most of the undead wizard’s secrets…and all of his rambling.
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