Part one: The Split
The night was black as the heart of a Balron, lit only by the furious bolts of lightning from the storm that raged outside. It was another of the terrifying storms that the southern isle of Serpent�s Hold is famous for � blindingly bright lightning, deafening thunder, and torrential rains.
It was shortly after midnight, and Pazuzu was in his newly erected research lab, trying in vain to divine the secrets of Necromancy. The sound of the rain pounding the roof and the thunder shaking the earth and the foundation of the building served only to spur him on and drive him further into magickal trance.
The still-warm, lifeless corpse of a poor local beggar lay in the center of the room, surrounded by a pentagram drawn with her lifeblood. At each point of the evil symbol was placed a skull candle, the only sources of light besides the lightning.
Kal Xen Corp!� chanted Pazuzu. Nothing happened. The corpse did not even twitch.
KAL CORP!� Pazuzu tried, half chanting, half yelling. Still nothing. He�d been at this for an hour now, and had been at this every night for the past month.
Oh fudgicles all this!� he said in frustration, �It�s all a crock, Necromancy is but a fantasy!�
At that moment, the room went hazy, and the scene before Pazuzu�s eyes changed completely.
He found himself in a large cave � much resembling a dungeon, yet terrifyingly different. Flames were everywhere, and the heat was unbearable. The walls of the cave itself were molten lava, held up by some evil force. In front of Pazuzu was a vast chasm, filled with burning oil and unimaginable creatures of evil. Spanning this chasm was a narrow bridge constructed of rope and wood.
"Cross the bridge, Pazuzu!" a deep voice boomed.
Frag this! I need a pint...� thought Pazuzu to himself, reaching into his pack for a recall rune. Not surprisingly, he found none. With no other choice, he started across the long, narrow, and very unstable bridge. All the while, he expected the creatures of the chasm to fly up and rend him limb from limb, but they merely hovered above the burning oil, watching. Observing.
If thou dost turn back, they shall slay thee!� the voice boomed again, seemingly reading Pazuzu�s thoughts.
He kept going, slowly though, to avoid causing the collapse of the bridge and his own demise. Eventually he reached the other side, and stepped off the bridge into a huge cavern.
The cavern was apparently the throne room of the owner of that booming voice, for on a large throne of molten lava sat a huge creature of evil. It much resembled the daemons that had become so common throughout Britannia, though it was at least three times the size of those fiends. The creature had three horns upon its head, arranged in a triangle. Its eyes were the color of a raging inferno and indeed seemed to be made of fire.
"So thou dost wish to learn Necromancy, fool?" the creature said.
Well, yeah, I was hoping to learn its secrets,� replied Pazuzu, all traces of his Britannian dialect vanishing in awe of this awesome creature.
"Then thou must become pure evil,� came the reply.
"But I wish to use the power of Necromancy for good!" Pazuzu told the creature.
That can never be, fool. Necromancy is the magick of evil. One must be completely evil to have any success at it. Thou art a unique mortal, Pazuzu. Half of thine being is good � more noble than the noblest Knight. The other half is evil � more evil than the fiend Ba�al,� the powerful being told Pazuzu.
"Then forget it. I'll pretend I never heard of Necromancy," he replied, appalled at what he was being told.
Nay, tis not an option. Thou hast already set thine feet upon the path of Necromancy. Thou must either renounce thine goodness and embrace thine evil nature fully, or suffer the consequences,� the being said grimly.
No way!� Pazuzu thought to himself. He reached into his pouch, digging around for some reagents, and again came away empty-handed.
I see thou hast made thine choice. Now pay the price!� the being bellowed. He stood up, towering high above Pazuzu�s mere six feet of height, and began to utter some totally unintelligible incantation of evil magick.
Rays of pure magickal energy traced lines joining the beast�s horns into a triangle, then outwards toward a center point, forming a pyramid shape. From the apex of the pyramid, a beam of energy shot forth and traced a line directly up the center of Pazuzu�s body, beginning at the crotch and continuing up his entire height, dividing him exactly in half.
The pain was utterly intolerable; Pazuzu felt as if the beam was cutting through flesh and bone. Through the haze of his pain, he looked down at his torso and saw that this was indeed the case � the spell of evil had divided him neatly into two halves. He could see clearly all of his innards � entrails, lungs, heart, everything. The shock of it all overcame him and he lost consciousness just as the two halves fell to the floor, spilling entrails all over the floor.
The fiend who had caused all this then began uttering another equally arcane spell of evil, and each half of Pazuzu�s body began to grow the missing half. Bit by bit, two complete people grew from the halves.
When the magick had run its course, the two Pazuzus stood up�two identical copies of him. Or were they...
Now thou hast paid the price for thine insolence. Thou wilt never forget the pain of this day, and both of thee will always feel the loss of thine other half. I have split thy dual natures in two � one the Evil side, the other the Good side. Both of thee will have to live apart, for each will have friends allies who could never accept the other,� announced the daemonic creature.
Thou,� he continued, pointing at Pazuzu�s evil half, �shalt still be known as Pazuzu, while thou,� indicating the good half, �wilt be known as Pazuzu of LLTS, since thou art a member of that guild. Now both of thee, leave my sight!�
The world went black.
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Pazuzu awoke to find himself on the floor of his Necromantic research lab. The blood pentagram had dried and the skull candles had burned out long ago. The previously dead beggar had apparently been resurrected, as she was walking about the room.
"Damn it all, I'll have to kill her again!" Pazuzu thought to himself.
Noticing he was awake, the beggar turned to him, and it became obvious that she was not her former self, but instead a magickally animated corpse � a zombie, if you will.
She began speaking to Pazuzu in what would sound to normal humans as nothing but grunts and groans, but Pazuzu understood clearly. What is thy bidding, Necromancer?�
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Pazuzu awoke to find himself in a bed in the Vesper Youth Hostel, a familiar place to him, a place where he spent most of his nights when he wasn�t at home. He walked out to the large dining hall to get something to eat.
Recognizing him, another adventurer called to him � �Hail, Pazuzu! What canst thou tell me of Necromancy?�
"Nothing. It seemst thou hast the wrong Pazuzu, friend," Pazuzu replied.
Part Two: Final Death
"Kal Tym Corp!" intoned Pazuzu, gesturing at a beggar he had chained in the small dungeon constructed beneath his Manor on the mainland of Britannia
When he began the last syllable of the incantation, he cast a mixture of reagents � blood, a Wyrm's Heart, and the bone of a daemon � at the beggar. A blinding burst of orange magickal energy stuck her, and she slumped in the chains, dead.
Quickly invoking his powers of spirit speaking, Pazuzu listened for her ghost. Nothing. He had finally discovered the spell of Final Death! No resurrection or healing was possible for one struck with this spell, it was The End.
The spell left Pazuzu weak as a kitten, but while he waited, he mixed another batch of reagents in preparation for casting Final Death again. When he regained his energy, he grabbed his rune marked inside the Castle of Arx Draconis, the home of The Syndicate � the guild of his "twin," Pazuzu LLTS.
"Kal Ort Por," he intoned, and was instantly inside the Castle. Sure enough, Pazuzu LLTS was there, along with his friends Godson and KNIGHT VENTRUE.
Seeing Pazuzu, KNIGHT VENTRUE grabbed his Viking sword, yelled "DIE PK SWINE!" and charged at him. His sword went right through Pazuzu as if through thin air.
"Nice try, VENTRUE, but I've discovered many new magicks since The Split. Evil is power, you know," Pazuzu told VENTRUE.
"Nay, swine, Good always triumphs over Evil. The Virtues always win out!" the knight replied.
"Haha!" Pazuzu laughed, "You speak of Virtues? A Vampire, a creature of evil, speaking of Virtues? Wake up, VENTRUE! Even the most foul murderers of the land have pointed out, in public discussions, that you have no care of Virtues. In the name of 'Justice,' you daily commit vile and cowardly acts. The murderers of the lands behave with more honor than you! Now begone!"
Just as VENTRUE prepared to make another attack, Pazuzu chanted "Corp Por," and the familiar feeling overtook VENTRUE as he fell dead, his ghost running to find someone to resurrect him.
Godson watched on in horror, unable to take any action, as Pazuzu turned to his twin, and said, "Alright, 'Brother,' this Shard will not abide by the abomination of a split Soul. Come with me to petition Oblivion for a re-joining, or die the Final Death right here and now."
"Never! Go ahead, kill me, I will be resurrected, and come back again and again to fight Evil!" Pazuzu LLTS told his twin.
"Nay, fool, I have discovered the spell of Final Death. There will be no resurrection for you, ever," the Dark Magistrate replied.
"I do not believe you," Pazuzu LLTS said matter-of-factly.
Godson watched as Pazuzu intoned "Kal Tym Corp," made some very unusual gestures at Pazuzu LLTS, and threw some strange looking reagents into the air. Pazuzu LLTS was struck with an orange burst of magickal energy, and fell dead.
"Manifest, I'll resurrect you!" Godson shouted.
"Nay, fool. I told thee � that was the spell of Final Death. Now goodbye," Pazuzu said, and was gone.
Part three: The Embrace
Pazuzu had just gated the Death Knight Lucus and four newly-tamed Drakes to the Sepulchre of the Damned after assisting with their taming.
"Ah, an excellent day in Wind," Pazuzu thought to himself, "I think I'll go have a look around."
It had been a very long time since Pazuzu had strolled the streets of the Mystical City of Wind, a long time indeed. In earlier days, he spent much time there, but that was before he had become known as "Dread Lord" � now, he was as unwelcome here as in any of Lord British's towns. But no matter, Pazuzu was a Mage, and Mages can walk anywhere, provided they invoke the proper spells.
Invoking the power of Incognito, Pazuzu climbed the marble steps into Wind.
"Hail Citizen! Come in here quickly, we've heard reports of murderers outside, taming Drakes!" one of the town guards said to Pazuzu as he entered Town.
"HAHA! Silly goons," Pazuzu chuckled to himself.
He walked around town for a while, noticing that not much had changed. Wind was still a beautiful and strange town as always. The population was still comprised mostly of Mages, as it had been in the past. One of the Mage Shops had a prominent display of strange reagents, something he made a note of to investigate further at a later date. A growing crowd in front of the nearby Inn drew his attention away from the Arcane for the moment.
The large crowd in front of the Inn were all trying to book rooms at the Inn, obviously for some important event. There already were no rooms left, but people were asking to be triple and quadruple-booked with others, so important was this event. Pazuzu had to find out what it was.
"Hail! What is this crowd all about?" Pazuzu asked one of the people gathered at the Inn.
"What? Art thou completely daft?" the townsperson responded, "Tis Lord Tremere's Annual Ball!"
"Lord Tremere?" Pazuzu replied, wondering why that name sounded so familiar.
"Of course! The Lord holds a Grand Ball once per year. Tis so Grand that many of the guests never leave!" the excited Ball-goer exclaimed.
"Where can I find this Lord Tremere?" Pazuzu pressed.
"His Estate is over there," the person motioned to a large hillside Mansion with huge grounds and a rather high fence surrounding it, "but he'll not see the likes of us until the Ball."
"We'll see about that," Pazuzu assured him.
Approaching Lord Tremere's Estate, Pazuzu formulated a plan to get inside. The fence surrounding the Estate was quite high -- 15 feet at least. And it was clear the guard posted at the gate was not letting anyone inside until the Ball, so Pazuzu decided to use another method...
He went around to the side of the Estate, where he was sure no guard would see him.
"Rel Por," he intoned, and was inside the Estate Grounds.
He walked up to the door of the Mansion, and slammed the knocker three times. Before long, a very pale man, about six feet tall, and dressed in very expensive clothing, answered the door. He wore around his neck a silver medallion depicting a square within a circle, with a triangle pointing outwards from the northeast section of the circle.
"Yes? Who in blazes are ye?" the man asked Pazuzu.
"Nevermind that, who in blazes are YOU?" Pazuzu replied.
"What? Are ye MAD? I am the Lord Tremere! And you are trespassing on my Estate!" the Lord said to Pazuzu, becoming very angry.
"Oh! Then perhaps you can tell me why your name sounds so familiar to me. And come to think of it, you look familiar too," said Pazuzu.
"Hmmm. Well, come in. What is your name?" Lord Tremere asked.
"I am Pazuzu. I'm not native to Britannia, however," Pazuzu answered.
"Pazuzu! Of course!" Tremere exclaimed, remembering Pazuzu's face, and beginning to see through the Incognito spell.
"What? Do I know you?" Pazuzu asked.
"Well, you should, but perhaps due to the shock of your arrival here in Britannia, and, well, the shock of your partial Embrace, you may not remember me," he answered.
"Embrace? What in Hythloth are you talking about?"
"Come, have a seat, and I'll tell you the full story."
Pazuzu and Lord Tremere walked into a large sitting room. The furniture was most elegant, some of it worth more than most peasant's houses. Rare and wondrous artwork hung on all the walls, and the huge windows of the room looked out onto the Estate grounds. This place was fit for a King.
"When you fell into Britannia through that Moongate, you were unconscious for quite some time, as are most who enter this world that way. I, with my entourage, were travelling by carriage on the road by which you lay. I saw you, and ordered my driver to stop. Approaching you, I could feel that magickal energy was very strong within you � you are a born Mage. I could also sense that you would not live much longer. You see, many die due to the shock of inter-world travel."
"So, you resurrected me?", Pazuzu asked.
"Not exactly. I... Embraced you. Or tried to," Tremere answered.
"What? I don't like the sound of this. You hugged me? What the hell is that good for?" Pazuzu said, becoming furious.
"No! I am a Vampire! Embracing is what we Kindred call it when we create another Vampire. I tried to make you a Vampire, but before I could finish, a troop of Lord British's goons were upon us, and we had to be off. We left you there, knowing you'd be safe. Since we were near Vesper, I assumed the guards would take you to the Hostel there, where you would be safe and allowed to recuperate."
"Yeah, Vesper Youth Hostel, that's where I came to. I don't remember anything after stepping into that Moongate, until I woke up there," Pazuzu told him.
"I always planned to finish your Embrace at a later date, but you took to Britannian life so quickly, I could never catch up with you. You were always out dungeoning, or fighting battles, or exploring. News of your fame reached far and wide. I hear you are labelled a Dread Lord!"
"Well, yes, there is that... I'll be leaving now," Pazuzu said hastily, and made to leave.
"No, wait, I care nothing of Lord British's stupid titles. Stay a while. I want to finish what I started," Lord Tremere said, already advancing towards Pazuzu, making to finish the Embrace.
When it was over, and Pazuzu was a full-blooded Kindred, Lord Tremere asked him to take a walk outside, on the Estate grounds.
"But, we are Vampires! Won't we burst into flames in the sun?" Pazuzu asked.
"Oh no, not us. You see, I am of the Second Generation, and as my Childe, you are Third Generation. Kindred of that age cannot be harmed by sunlight, though you will always feel uncomfortable in it," Lord Tremere assured him.
"Oh well � I always did anyway."
As they walked on the Estate grounds, Lord Tremere told Pazuzu everything he needed to know as a Kindred. He told him of the Vampiric social and political structure, both how it was in the world he came from, and how it was in Britannia. There weren't enough Kindred around to maintain the rigid Camarilla structure, so they maintained a loose fellowship, consulting each other when needed, and always looking out for Vampiric interests. He told him of the other Kindred in Britannia � several Tremere, some Ventrue, some Malkavians, a few Tzimisce, several Gangrel and Nosferatu, even several Ravnos. He also told Pazuzu of each Clan's symbol, worn as a medallion by the Leader of that Clan. Lord Tremere himself was the most powerful Tremere in Britannia, and he wore the Clan's symbol around his neck as evidence of his power.
He further told him that this Annual Ball was simply a ruse to get peasants and such into the Estate so Tremere could feed off them and get away with it, hence the "Tis so Grand, some never leave!" comment the man made to Pazuzu at the Inn.
Pazuzu very quickly grew to dislike Lord Tremere, who treated him as a child. Of course, to the older Kindred, Pazuzu WAS a Childe, but that did not matter. He was a powerful Mage -- a leader of Necromancers, member of the Ebon Council, and feared Dread Lord. No one would treat him thus and live -- Lord Tremere had to die.
"Corp Por!" Pazuzu intoned, and Lord Tremere fell, wracked with pain.
Pazuzu was on him in a second, slitting his throat with an obsidian dagger, a gift from Azazel, the Daemon Knight. He drained the Kindred's blood into several potion vials he happened to have on him, yanked the Tremere medallion from his neck, and stepped back.
"Kal Vas Flam!" he chanted, and the Kindred's body burst into flames, ending his Unlife forever.
"Thou wilt regret thine actions, swine!"
Pazuzu heard the familiar mantra of British's goons, and decided it was time to be off. He looked back, saw three goons, heard the familiar sound of teleportation, chanted "Kal Ort Por," focusing on his rune marked at the Court of the Ebon Skull, and was gone just as the guard's halberds would have cut him in three pieces.
Pazuzu reappeared under a tree about 20 paces south of the Court of the Ebon Skull.
"Chloe, give me the keys," Pazuzu said to his faithful vendor, and walked inside, locking the door behind him.
He placed the symbol of Clan Tremere around his neck, defiantly claiming himself the most powerful Tremere in Britannia. He counted up the vials of Tremere blood -- 34 in total, and placed them into a locked, double-trapped box which he placed into a locked, trapped chest for safe-keeping.
The next night, there was a loud knock at the door of the Court.
"It's fudgicles midnight! Who the hell?" Pazuzu asked, opening the door.
Standing there was a tall Kindred dressed in royal-looking robes, wearing the symbol of Clan Ventrue around his neck.
"Another one? Very well," Pazuzu said. "Corp �"
"WAIT! It is alright -- let me in, there are gargoyles about," Lord Ventrue said.
Pazuzu let him in and locked the door securely behind him.
"We know of your .... sin, Pazuzu. But do not worry, this is a different world, we will not punish. But know that you are now so to speak in charge of Clan Tremere in Britannia. You will be consulted, and will be expected to speak, on any matters relating to your Bloodline. Further, you will have a voice in our bastardized Camarilla. Where we come from, Pazuzu, you would be executed for what you did. But here in Britannia, power is always transferred by violence, so you can not be blamed. We have taken care of British's goons, they will not hunt you for murdering Lord Tremere. Now I must be off. You will be contacted. Kal Ort Por."
Lord Ventrue was gone, and Pazuzu pondered his new-found powers...
