Szek'Thuul

Szek'Thuul, a master of hellfire.

Szek'Thuul was a tiefling Hellfire warlock. He was the founder and head of the group calling themselves the Dark Coven , an order that was meant to be a counter to the Astrid Knights . He was turned to stone in 1411 by the warlock Summer .

Szek'Thuul is played by generalrykof.

History

Szek'Thuul's miserable life began in the freezing depths of Cania as part of something known as the Hellbrood Project.

The Hellbrood Project was a project set up by General Corin personally with Arch-Duke Mephistopheles permision. General Corin is one of the Dark Eight, the elite group of pit fiend generals who oversee the Blood War so that the Dukes can relativly focus their attention on the politics of hell (exeption being Bel ruler of Avernus (the first layer of hell) who stays out of politics and deals mainly with the Dark Eight and the Blood War). The idea behind the Hellbrood Project was to harness the power of hellfire and use it on the field, without having to reveal the secret to fiends who might be spies looking to sell out Mephistopheles's secret to the power of hellfire. Too many fiends could turn on him and sell its power or use it against him costing him his political advantage that it has been giving him against the other Arch-Dukes. However, half-fiends and tieflings would be secure in that they can be easily controlled, and would never worry about the politics of hell enough to plot against their father. With the paperwork done and other business to attend to General Corin put the operation into the hands of one of his trusted Cornugon luitenants by the name of Augan.

Augan immediatly set to work gathering willing mortal women to serve as hosts for their infernal designs. They took their women from the stock of many cults even those dedicated to dukes other than Mephistopheles, making sure to take those who have already proven themselves capable servents (slaves) and warlocks of potential.

Augan was aware that this operation if proven to be a failure, would had the potential to be disasterous if attempted on a large scale too quickly. He began with a few hundred woman, and set his minions to work on creating a future army of half-fiends who could weild the feared hellfire against their demonic foes.

On day one, Augan began recording his entries in a ledger that is now in Szek'Thuul's possession today.

Szek'Thuul was born into this operation he thinks around sixty years into the opperation, but there is no proof that he was not born sooner. Szek'Thuul was born by a human woman who was extremely resiliant and had been spawning half-fiends and tieflings for 32 years in Cania. Szek'Thuul, just like all of the other tieflings and half-fiends, never knew his mother, or even saw her, but her fate likely was akin to that of all the others who were slain during year 90 of the operation.

Szek'Thuul's first memory's were of a dark cold celler surrounded by hundreds of other tieflings and half-fiends being lined up for torture which would make them strong, and emotionless. The next years of his life were spent under the command of various fiends who began teaching him various skills in being a warlock. All of the students were trained in the same manner, however, the more spirited ones tended to advance to much greater heights of power. Among the most powerfull of these warlocks was a half-fiend named Cabal.

Cabal was among the first half-fiends to survive the birthing and training process. He was viewed as a great sucess yet as a great danger as he possessed a great deal of personality. And personality could only mean trouble.

Szek'Thuul first met Cabal when he was merely 16 years of age, and had only been a year into his study. Szek was lured to Cabal's side by his sense of purpose, and the fact that he gave Szek his name, something that the fiends despised was when their slaves named themselves. From then on Szek'Thuul was getting double the training most of his brothers were. He was working around the clock with Cabal to highten his knowledge of hellfire and what has been going on here and what their purpose was. Cabal would make deals with corrupt guards and got books that he shared with Szek'Thuul and Carcero, Cabal's second apprentice. This continued for over 20 years until in time their diabolical overseer's caught on to their activity. The years it took them to take notice reflects highly on Cabal's intellect. While they took note of Cabal and those who were working with him, they did little to actually halt his actions since they wanted to make a good presentation for Mephistopheles in the years to come and it just so happened Cabal and his group were the most promissing of all the part-fiends. They did however, watch him increasingly as the years went on for fear of an insurrection, but overall doubted the small number of followers Cabal could reach. Their doubts were underestimations to say the least.

Around five years after they began to watch Cabal more closely they realize that this plan would not work and that the ambition growing inside the half-fiends and tieflings was to strong to make for the slaves they wanted. Cabal through his network of informants recieved word that they had begun killing off tieflings at an alarming rate. He quickly gathered his closest consults and ordered his plan to be put in place. He had thought it up decades ago and had it planned out for a later date, but it was clear that it needed to happen before they arived to kill him and his brothers off. Amongst his closest consults was Szek'Thuul who had worked very closely with Cabal on making sure this plan was a sucess.

Szek'Thuul

The plan had many stages. First he had to use his resources to find out the exact date that they were going to march in to begin the extermination. After bribing a few devils who he had worked with before, he then looked to his outside sources and through the use of various contacts and magical invocations convinced many warlocks and cultists on the material plane to summon key devils to the material plane at just the right time as to ensure that most of the guards and that most of Augars forces would suddenly dissipate once the pens were open. This combined with the fact that the devils fire immunity would do nothing to spare them from their hellfire would ensure that they could get out of the pens. After this however, Cabal planned to make his way to a gate that should lead to a location on the material plane. Although even Cabal did not know where that gate would lead, or if it was open. It was a bold plan, to face off against all of Cania to escape, but it was either that or extermination.

On the 100th year they finally made their way to the isolated cell containin Cabal, Szek'Thuul, and the last of the hellbrood. Upon opening their pen door just before the troops of Cania charged in, Cabal's plan went into action. Nearly half the troops vanished immediatly, leaving the usually organized forces of hell dumbfounded, and shocked. Augan immediatly relized what was going on and called for a retreat and for the gates to be closed but it was too late as the hellbrood let loose a volley of hellfire turning most of the remaining troops to ash and piles of foul smelling brimstone slime. Seeing a chance for freedom the hellbrood broke rank and ran for it. This was not how Cabal envisioned it as he knew that if this happened it wouldn't be long before they were all picked off by the highly organized ranks of Cania. Most perished immediatly to the cold but those who survived that began to kill every devil in sight. Cabal, Szek'Thuul and Carcero were the only ones to stay together and they quickly followed Cabal towards the location of the gate. Not before Cabal had his chance to slay Augan at his desk of course.

Once they arrived at the gate things turned for the worst. It had been days and most of the others had been killed off. They knew that it wasn't long before they too were captured and killed. The gate itself was closed and the devils were within sight. Dodging the infernal bolts and spells Cabal used the rest of his power to open a gate and thrust a large tome into Szek'Thuul's hands and told him to run into it. Not thinking twice Szek ran and jumped into the portal which could have lead to any part of the Material Plane.

======He arrived and felt the rush of water. Something he had never felt before. Not knowing how to swim he struggled immediatly in the storm and blacked out. The next thing Szek remembered was being woken on a ship. And being told that he needent worry for they were headed to Beldin and that he would be fine there. Weak, and severed from the energy rich hell that he called home, he knew he had a long time before he would see his power return. But he was patient, and willing to wait. And so Beldin would serve just fine, for now.

Beldin===

For most of his time in Beldin, Szek joined forces with such groups as the Scarlet Cast, as well as any others seeking to eradicate the Valley's defenders - Siluvan, Beldin, and in particular the Astrid Knights- so as to further his own goals of gaining influence in hell and bringing forth its armies over the material plane. To this end, he formed his own order; the Dark Coven . However, the first incarnation of this group was destroyed during the reign of King Malark Lester, as was Thuul himself.

Szek'Thuul.

However, his actions - and the pacts he had made- resulted in his becoming a Horned Devil. For a few mortal years he danced the dance of Baetorian politics, while the lone survivor of the Dark Coven - Jan Osprey- attempted to gain the aid of the Death Queen to bring Szek back. This was successful to an extent, in that Thuul was summoned and bound into an artifact through which he possessed the body of former paladin Dusk . Great full for her aid, Thuul agreed to aid her agenda and helped mark the mythal capstones in preparation for the resurrection of Myrkul. However, after learning that the mythal would most certainly be destroyed in the ritual, he changed his mind and refused to aid her. Angered, she set her forces upon him, which overhelmed and tor his body to pieces. The crown he was bound in was then taken to Black Sun citadel, where the fiend within was torn out and thrown into a black pool that slowly disolved his very essence. By the time he was extracted by the Outbound Team of the Kareyn, every bit of him that was an ascended fiend was forever lost, and he was returned to being a mortal tiefling.

His aid to the Outbound team allowed him to return to Beldin with all past charges cleared.

Post Demongate Crisis

Szek'Thuul was granted his soul back by Kelemvore after aiding in the death of the god Myrkul and immediatly went to make his profit. He traveled into the heart of the 7th layer itself where he then ran into a partol and demanded to speak with Baftis (Baalzebul's primary consort). Naturaly they could care less about his claims... until he showed them hellfire... Baalzebul, being lord of the 7th has long coveted Mephistopheles position as lord of the 8th and wants it badly. He and Mephistopheles have one of the oldest hatreds amongst the hells. Seeing sombody with the power of hellfire however means nothing, for many mortals are granted hellfire in turn for worship. This is when Szek'Thuul promised that if he met with Baalzebul he could not only demonstrate that he knows how to use it, but that he can teach it. Baftis took Thuul to Baalezebul immediatly for having the knowledge of Mephistopheles most prized tool could give him the political edge he has always wanted. Baazebul was sceptical to say the least, but the more Szek showed him... the more he realized that this mortal spoke the truth. Desperate for this knowledge Baazebul asked the price. Szek'Thuul asked only for this. That a day after the end of his mortal life, he be garunteed to join hell as a pitfiend and could choose whichever lord he wished to pledge allegiance to. Knowing that promoting a mere mortal to the status of pitfiend straight away would take a great deal of the precious divine energy that runs hell he was sceptical but could hardly turn away such an offer. Adding in that Szek'Thuul must make no future politcal moves against his layer or Baalzebul's lordship. Agreeing in full Szek'Thuul left hell with one of the most powerful pacts ever forged by a mortal and archfiend. Upon death he would join the politics of hell at the top of the food chain. The only power he need work for being political. Pleased with this he left to return to beldin and enjoy the remainder of his life out smuggly comforted by how his life has turned out.

Szek'Thuul is currently an outlaw once again in Beldin after 15 years of lying dormant. Furthermore, Szek'Thuul is a powerful warlock skilled in the e

Szek'Thuul sitting atop a dark throne.

nergy known as hellfire and does not hesitate to weild it against those who anger him, more so he is a skilled arcanist who can use nearly any magical device and is the one of the few people in the valley to be in possession of an epic spell. The epic spell Hellball which he has kept a closely guarded secret, waiting for the right time to reveal the power of such a spell.

In 1412 Szek'Thuul, along with Ronin Eininfar, and Farnol D'Gren, were placed under the effects of a Geas and commanded to slay the Dvreeze family. While Ronin and Farnol struggled to resist this murderous Geas trick Szek'Thuul as per his usual self seized the opportunity and relished in their death and he evaded Ronin's attack just before destroying the entire family with one devastating Hellball. Thus also revealing to Beldin his high magic epic spell talent.

Shortly thereafter Vraeln, Summer, Zilvra, and Isang launched an ambush where Szek'Thuul, having no time to prepare, was hit repeatedly by Flesh to Stone spells. As soon and violently as he came into this world, he was put into stone and taken to Astrid.

Equipment:

Shaft of Pounding:

The Shaft of Pounding was stolen by Szek'Thuul while in Blacksun from a mysterious creature of unknown origin. It is incredibly long and hard even for a spear and very warm to the touch. It was Szek'Thuuls weapon of choice if he absolutly must engage in combat with more experianced foes.

The Vampire's Fang:

Also found in Blacksun this katana blade and handle are blood red, infact it was more than that as the blade seemed to flow as if it is forged purely of blood. It is a very prized posession of Szek'Thuul and he relishes in the opportunity to drain his victims life force with it.

Kala Hashashin:

Yet again found in Blacksun this Scimitar is masterfully forged and powerfully enchanted to silence spellcasters,

The Rod of Thuul:

This rod is formed of an ebony handle with a large ruby tip. Its powers allow Szek'Thuul to conjure a simulcrum upon its use. Its looks are forged in image of Asmodeus's own ruby rod an artifact Szek'Thuul covets dearly.

Dragon Bolt Repeater:

This is a very elaborate crossbow. It is made of a red tinted wood, with a large magazine chamber witha wheel mounted on its side, which when turned, reloads the weapon quickly. The front of the crossbow has a very well detailed dragon head with red ruby eyes. The top of the crossbow sports a snipers scope. The lath of the weapon folds onto both sides whena switch is released, allowing for the weapon to be carried easily wen out of combat. The ruby eyes contain powerful magic, engulfing any bolts fired through the dragons mouth in dragonsfire. It is another of Szek'Thuuls prized trophies and weapons as he recognized the previous owner as Marko Ta'an somebody who he killed in Beldin and again in Blacksun and who apparintly had died once before that even, a trait Szek'Thuul can relate to...

Rocket Propelled Grenades:

These bolts are tipped with insanely powerful magic giving them explosive power that only exists otherwise in the dreams of archmages everywhere. Szek'Thuul prizes these dearly and is always looking for a situation where ones use is apt.

Szek'Thuul's Ring Collection:

Szek'Thuul in addition to those weapons mentioned above sports a collection of rings that he himself enchanted. With these rings combined with his master over manipulating the magic of items Szek'Thuul can weild any weapon of any type, and wear any armor no matter what pathetic restrictions the crafter might have tried to place on them making Szek'Thuul all the more versatile. In addition to this Szek'Thuul carries numerous rings of powerful regeneration allowing Szek'Thuul to heal rapidly from the wounds he recieves many of.

Coat of the Damned:

For protection of the physical type Szek'Thuul turns to two items. One of which is the Coat of the Damned. This long coat, with several other peices of equipmenet, were found on the skeletal remains of Haradh Zaldhan, a tiefling warlock and follower of the demon Andherag'houl in Blacksun. This coat enhances Szek'Thuul's already impressive skills over magic and offers protection and regenerative effects.

Szek'Thuul's Gold Dragon Armor:

Found in Blacksun this suit of masterfully crafted Gold Dragon armor is Szek's greatest suit of armor worn in the most dire of combative times it can protect him from many sorts of harm worn as a mockery of the gold dragons standing for good.