Saeed History
Born the son of a King, Saeed inherited a legacy of ruthless tyranny which he continued. At the age of 36 he was assassinated by his most trusted advisor and life long friend. As his soul divided from his flesh it was seized by a great and ancient Lich Demon named Solbaid, a demon which a certain occult priesthood called the Order of the Black Horn in his kingdom worshipped as 'The Dark One.' As his soul was seized by Solbaid, his body crumbled into dust as it was seized by a dead realms gate. It was in that plane of the dead that the Dark One bathed Saeed's body in his blood then filled his mouth with his undead lifeblood ten times and again until six pints had been drunk. In that sleep of death Saeed's body underwent changes; he become two creatures, an ageless man and a lich demon called a Horned Demon, or Morsaeog in the language of Acheron. The source of his life and power was placed by his maker in a stone which he imbedded in the meat of his acolyte's thigh. Unless this stone was destroyed, death was but an inconveinienace to Saeed which set him back and diminished his power for awhile. Solbaid returned Saeed to his kingdom telling him, "What is yours is mine, and you belong to me now." Saeed seldom saw Solbaid after that. The king who no man would have resurrected returned from death to rule his kingdom as a man, keeping secret what he had become. He feared his people would rise against him if they were aware of what he was.
For hundreds of years Saeed ruled Hassim as a Neffari, pretending to die and returning again as his own son. With the use of proviscus, his flesh crafting ability, he was able to achieve this deception. He killed his eldest sons and took their place as heir, made himself his own beneficiary. To expect absolute obedience, efficiancy, profit, and undivided loyalty from your people for your protection and keeping order was completely normal to expect from his people. It was the law of his kingdom. If you were caught stealing from the king, and all within Hassim was his, you lost a hand for each count, and something else after that until you died. He was his people's father and had to discipline them properly for them to learn to obey his laws. If you stole food from the king's mouth, your tongue was cut out. If you invaded the King's privacy you might lose your eyes and tongue. If you killed a king's man, lady, or child, you were executed, if you betrayed the king you would be tortured until dead, dead, dead. All that was Hassim was his, and he had every right to take what he wished from any of his subjects, including their men to make servants and warriors, their women to make concubines or wives of (he always had many wives), or their children to have his wives raise as he saw fit. No possession, no provision, no person could be denied him if he wanted it. Occasionally someone earned his respect and their freedom. All free people were exempt from his claim of them, but these were rare, and the irony was these free men almost always served him of their own free will. Saeed had a way about him, despite his heartless ways, which won the hearts of those who admired strength, cunning, charisma, and courage, these things Saeed had in spades. Saeed never revealed what he was, not to anyone, including his wives and children. He became the Horned Demon King when he visited Acheron, his Sire's haven in the Dead Realms, his own haven in the Dead Realms, or demon allies or superiors in their domains.
When his oldest living son Yorek turned sixteen, Saeed sent a demon slave to him with strict orders for her take his son's viginity. Because she knew failure meant death, she had forced herself on the young warrior. Because she was a demon, she was far stronger than Yorek. Saeed saw to it that a child was got of this traumatic experience, and Yveline was born three months later in secrecy. Yorek was Saeed's good son, the son with blinding virture and ethics which his very nature bred in him. He was a thorn to Saeed, no matter how Yorek proved himself on the battlefield, no matter how devoted and obediant he was, he knew Yorek would become his enemy. His son had been trained for battle since he was a small boy, under disciplines as unforgiving as any spartan conditioning, the same martial training Saeed had become a warrior by. At the sapling age of fourteen Yorek was sent out on the battlefield. Every battle; Saeed expected to receive the news that the Prince had fallen. Every battle; Yorek returned, not always unscathed, but in one piece. Like his father Yorek was too handsome and too talented; unlike his father Yorek was too good, too empathic, and far too well liked by the people to please Saeed. Oh the king pretended he cherished Yorek, treated him like he was gold. Behind closed doors he or his men whipped, battered, and kicked his son senseless, telling him it was to make him strong, tough enough to survive an unkind world. Saeed personally tortured him psychologically in ways which were as subtle as they were ruthless. Saeed weakened his son's will and constitution with these methods he was so proficient at utilizing, but no matter what he did, he could not purge Yorek of his aggravating sense of honor.
When Yorek was approaching his 24th birthday, Saeed had planned to have one of his assassins murder his eldest son, and sent Yorek to Hawker's Fort for his yearly visit to the citadel. It was there the King's assassin was to murder him and frame a local for the deed. Yorek was the son whose place he would take as High Prince of Hassim for this century. This was the last time Saeed and Yorek parted on peaceful terms. Before the assassin ever caught up to Yorek in the Westguard Kingdom, the Red Dragons of Marsol's tribe laid seige to Inaaksu, during a time when Marsol had gone missing. Lies had been leaked which placed the blame on Saeed, when it was Sammael who had taken Marsol. A handful escaped the slaughter, among them Saeed, his most cherished son Rafee, his daughter Safiel, who was between Yorek and Rafee in age, and his youngest son Valkar, who looked up to Yorek as his hero. While most of his wives had been killed, Paalaana and Nibetu survived, as did his adopted daughters Yveline and Teazja. Saeed's guard captain and a number of the King's Guard had survived the attack as well. Yorek's knights had survived, because Saeed had sent them north to carry a message to the Adramelech Clan Demons of Dusky Swamp.
On his way to Hawker's Fort Yorek was attacked at night in camp by a figure he never saw the face of, cursorily killed to recreate him, then left to figure it all out for himself. It was while he was in Hawker's Fort that Yorek met someone Saeed would never have approved of, an attractive immortal named Corwyn, son of the Morning Star. What would have enraged Saeed, was that Yorek had allowed himself to be seduced by the devil's son. But it was later, on his way home after hearing of the terrible attack on Inaaksu, that Yorek discovered his father's plot to have him murdered. On his way back home, a very long journey by horse back, Yorek was ambushed by Saeed's assassin. Yorek defeated the cold blooded killer, and recognizing him as one of his father's men, he understood why he had been attacked. It crushed Yorek to know that his own father would send one of his paid assassins to kill him. When Yorek returned to the desert Inaaksu was in ruins. The Prince knew the secret underground passages which led out of the city from the palace, and starting there, went to search for his family. It was at the end of a large, stone conduit which gazed at the desert that he found his father's camp. He confronted his father, and when he accused him of wanting him murdered, his father attacked him in a rage. There was purpose behind his fury other than to kill his son, as he had previously desired. Saeed had discovered that he was vulnerable and that Yorek resisted injury. The desert King needed an heir, one of HIS making, and he needed to protect his phylactery. Where better than inside of the son who could not be injured? Saeed tested that report his sire had relayed to him, did his best to wound his son, but his flesh was like elastic steel and could not be cut or punctured. When he had tested his theory enough he backed off.
"I never purchased or commanded your murder. Vaasai must have taken it on himself. He tried to persuade me it must be done, but I refused to give up on you, Yorek," he lied, but Saeed always lied very well.
"I don't believe you," Yorek declared, the wounded edge to his voice acute.
"You must. You are my son and must obey me." He embraced Yorek who stood stiffly against his father as his arms coiled him. Yorek was reminded of a viper and wondered if this was to be an embrace of death...somehow. Saeed transferred his Spiritous Stone from the muscle of his right thigh into the pelvic bone of his son. It proved difficult, far more difficult than Saeed had anticipated, as his son's body resisted his well concealed power. Had Yorek not just been remade and still maturing in his rebirth, Saeed would never had been able to imbed his phylactery inside of Yorek. The act served three purposes. No one would ever expect him to hide his Spiritous Stone inside of the son he most distrusted; Yorek's body would protect the stone far better than even his would, and he could gain control of Yorek more easily with his Lich Stone inside of him. Part of him was inside of Yorek now. Saeed gripped Yorek tighter, and as he glanced towards the guards, his son knew exactly what he intended. There was a struggle, Yorek overpowered his battle weakened father and ran for his horse, the fastest horse known in An Morendor. The guards pursued, and not for the last time. While the guards pursued Yorek a shadow fell over Saeed. He looked up and a dragon claw hooked him from behind to carry him aloft. Those in the camp ran for the protection of the tunnel, some escaped, others were either burned alive or snapped up in the jaws of hungry dragons. Saeed's last thought before the dragon crushed the life out of him was, with all their strength, these hellraptors cannot harm my son.
When Saeed was raised again by the power of his phylactery, he found himself in Acheron, and could not return to Hassim until two years after his transient death. Those two years were to him as decades. When he arrived in the desert, he was a different man, though old habits eclipsed those changes for awhile. He received a report from one of his personal guards; Yorek had claimed Inaaksu and was rebuilding the damaged buildings. He had gathered what people had survived, and they had flocked under him as moths to a flame. Yorek was greatly loved and admired by his people.
Saeed took the city back. He summoned all manner of living dead things from the Dead Realms and Spectral Planes, all the monsters he had created secretly over hundreds of years, all the demons his sire would lend him, and attacked Inaaksu to take it back from his good son. Saeed and his legions slew or made obediant slaves and monsters of those who resisted, or disobeyed, and he tested their will to obey him against each other. Yorek escaped him, but not Saffiel, Rafee, or Valkar. Rafee he took to his side, and Rafee gave him all of his devotion. Saffiel and Valkar he imprisoned and had terrible, even unspeakable things done to, if only to spite Yorek for his clean escape. He would use his brother and sister against him. Saffiel he used a breeder with his monsters and the demon conscripts. She gave birth to broods every three days which would mature quickly and be added to Saeed's legions. They were sword fodder, and those who had the talent to survive, would rise in the ranks. Yorek was able to sneak back into the palace, through a little known escape tunnel which opened beneath a bridge in the most damaged part of the city. He had not expected to find Saffiel and Rafee in the dungeon, but to have to sneak through the palace past all kinds of creatures to find them. But no, he found them in the dungeon. It was too late for them...Saffiel was pregnant with another litter of monsters, the constant mixing of their blood with hers changing her into something aweful. Valkar was almost completely turned into a Dead Realms Zombie. Yorek could not tell exactly what they were, but it was clear that death would be merciful. He killed them both, decaptitated them. The act would never be forgotten by him, but haunt him for the rest of his days to add the scars that could not be seen.
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