Necromancer Shaggozar al Thule impatiently clicked his claws on the wooden arm of his throne, forgetting for a moment that after transcending the pitiful human constrains of flesh with unending exposure to necromantic energy forced onto his circle by one they had all believed to be a god, he could easily inflict too much damage on that rarest of woods. It could only be found nowadays at the outskirts of Irem, inside the sacred grove that since time immemorial served to honor the great Tsotsogoa, the trickster toad nominally deemed responsible for the foundation of noble Irem.
But the god has not been seen by his followers for ages beyond counting and the noble city needed new gods. Besides, although Shaggozar had no formal claim to the throne of Irem since its last dynasty of monarchs died out two centuries ago in a civil war , he remained the sole survivor among his circle upon summoning their holy patron Adranus that betrayed them so.
All of those human and elven necromancers who used to counteract his will at the city council meetings, who dared to talk back to him in the past, were now dead, drained presumably by the deadly ire of Adranus. At least that was the official rumor spread around by Shaggozar when the truth was far more prosaic. Their god simply used them as vessels, to summon other demons indefinitely, and nobody but him could take the toll.
Al Thule did not relish in the least thinking of his error in judgment, but he was grateful to have survived and changed. He supposed that was the price one had to pay when dealing with dissatisfied gods. Adranus may have proved to be merciless but there was no telling what Falok, Master of Inspiration, may have done in his place, or how the great Shadow weaver Queen of the gods, Hilda the Subterranean would shine her favor.
At the end, none of the monarchs in the past had better luck at summoning their favorite gods than his circle, so he still believed in being right when vanquishing the opposition to his plan of summoning Adranus. In fairness, the god may have rewarded him after a fashion. if there was anybody who benefited from the treachery of Adranus, that was Shaggozar, the only remaining necromancer of Irem.
He did not miss his human shell, with its small build, weaker stamina and constant cravings. Being transformed by the necromantic essence could be considered a divine blessing and he ordered the palace staff to proclaim it a miracle ordained by the will of Adranus, declared now the supreme deity of the dessert city.
He was much taller now, his skin acquiring delicious purple and green hues, becoming also more resilient against physical damage as was discovered during the final mutiny orchestrated by the jealous proponents of Nodens who announced that lacking the god's protection and good will could cost the city its already limited water supplies. They thought to first dispose of his rule and that destroy the well sculpted statue of Adranus, but even their three armed and physically imposing hirelings could not break his skin after catching him off guard.
All their blows bounced harmlessly off Shaggozar's skin and then the true power of necromancy was revealed as he reduced his opponents to a green slimy pool while feeding himself on the essence thus obtained. The necromancer then personally approached the priest of Nodens who encouraged this outrage and used his thin claws to pierce the old man's eyes.
That personal touch felt more satisfying than any human lust to him, even discounting the great benefits of feeding on more essence. There may have been additional rebellions brewing against him still, Qethalion and Tsotsogoa were too well entrenched from the earliest times to easily discount their influence, arcane sorcery, or number of soldiers.
But Shaggozar was not worried about them in the least, he rather began feeling like a god himself and wondered if that was how the serving staff began viewing him as well, their expressions at his commands, sometimes even at his appearance at court, were very reassuring in that regard.
Shaggozar did not even feel lustful anymore, but wondered if he should indulge himself eventually with a serving maid scurrying out of his way, so that he can look into her face as he took her, and inhaled the sweet aroma of her fear. But until he appeased that craving, Shaggozar has been impatient to see what was happening in the great war of the gods Adranus had mentioned in passing.
Making a slow imperious motion with the slightly curved palm of his right hand, Shaggozar felt his non verbal spell acting on the great crystal sphere so heavy that it took five trained soldiers to bring it in. Yes, necromantic power definitely had its uses, al Thule slowly smiled, noticing two new fangs protruding out of his currently elongated mouth. He made one gesture, and the sphere floated towards him effortlessly, while another gesture contributed to images showing up on its surface
His eager eyes focused on the battle scene which was graced with the presence of his ancient god to whom he still felt obliged, Shaggozar missed the moment when the fearful maiden he has been considering for a lustful pursuit rushed out of the palace into an alley on an errand on her true Lord's behalf. If the warrior standing at the darkest corner of the alley where shadows reign over light missed his cue, it might have been different.
The girl's journey would have ended then and there when she was accosted by five ruffians. But the warrior, while never nice, could not allow his own schemes to have unraveled. Unexpectedly retrieving a long sharp needle from his very forehead where it was situated, he quickly disposed of five eager souls, barely even registering the alluring aroma of their horror. This was but an a appetizer, the main course would arrive afterwards, when the girl who believed herself to be chosen by Nodens fulfilled her dreams. Shaggozar may have been a pompous idiot, but still remained the first piece of the puzzle needing to be assembled and the warrior who already collected so many boring companions was now ready for a more entertaining one.
He still did not know why this time was different from all others, but when he asked of the Highest Will of his realm, there was the movement in the dark waters, it could be of a reptilian substance or a fish tail, it never showed itself with greater clarity but of once thing the master of the Cenobite order was certain. It was the first affirmation that Lord Leviathan has ever given since Pinhead asked. And now, the greatest endgame of all was about to begin with the king and queen of the opposing side both likely to be swept of the board, finally driven by their perverse desires into his domain. And he laughed, for there was nothing else to do but to wait for things to culminate and for the soul of Adranus to start whining in unholy voices at Pinhead's every whim.