Norassu, The King of the Desert

"And in the age of swords and souls, a man will be born amongst the Sahari to bring about the end." -Excerpt from *A Prophesy of Sahar*.

Norassu is a Saharin Sorcerer and the central antagonist of *Dumdums & Dragons: Sundown*. He is the prophesied destroyer of the Sahari people.

## **History**

Norassu was born during The Age of the Sword, to the Sahari people, in the deserts of Sundown. His childhood began as peacefully as any other's, but was mercilessly cut short once it was revealed that he possessed the power of magic, as, within the Sahari race, only the women were capable of using magic, and there existed a prophesy that there would one day be a man born amongst the Sahari who could do the same, and that he would one day bring about the end of their kind. Due to this, his own people attempted to execute him almost immediately. He was saved by a Sorceress named Enyababa, who took him with her to live as her apprentice in the arcane arts.

Over the years, he learned to master his power, though was raised to be a good and honourable man by Enyababa. However, those peaceful times were not to last, and one fateful day, their homestead was attacked by Saharin warriors, and Enyababa was killed.

Left alone, Norassu wandered the deserts of Sundown, seeking a place to belong. Soon into his journey, however, he learned of the battles being fought between wielders of Soul Weapons. Deciding he could not stand the mass death these caused, he embarked upon a journey to end it. During his journey, he ventured to The Soul Forge. and created his own Soul Weapon, The Eclipse, which he put to use as he continued.

Throughout his life, Norassu faced many trials, which forged him into a stronger, albeit harder man, and he eventually found it difficult to hold to the ways Enyababa has taught him. Ultimately, he faced the hero of the Sahari people, Jamana, and while he fought valiantly, and would have won if he had not been merciful, his friends, who had accompanied him, as well as his beloved, Eranan, were all slain by Jamana, and Norassu himself was taken, and imprisoned in a dungeon for three years. During these three years, he began to go mad, as he was tortured, degraded, and abused, and otherwise left in silence, to turn his mind to the pain his own people had inflicted on him throughout his entire life. Three years into his imprisonment, he was rescued by one of his old comrades, Mouri, whose Soul Weapon, The Horizon, was destroyed during the following battle to escape, having been taken, and Norassu being forced to destroy it with The Eclipse in order to escape. With Mouri seemingly killed, Norassu's final hopes were dashed, and he escaped to the desert, having become a changed man. It was here that he learned that The Eclipse, in addition to its base power, now held the power of The Horizon. Having learned that The Eclipse could take the power of any Soul Weapon it destroys.

With his immense power as a sorcerer, his new powers with The Eclipse, and the pain of all he had been dealt, Norassu decided that he now had both the means and the will to change the world. He returned, after a month of wandering, and once again involved himself in The War of Swords and Souls, killing many Soul Wielders, and taking their power for his own, as well as recruiting many to his side, building an army of his own. Over the twelve years, Norassu visited all the leaders of the Sahari, systematically killing them all, all the while razing everywhere he passed to the ground. By the end of those years, he had killed every member of his race. He then went on to wage war with the rest of Sundown, becoming known as The King of the Desert.

During this time, he was met once again by his old friend, Mouri, who had recovered from the loss of his soul, becoming the first of the Soulless. Mouri expressed forgiveness for destroying The Horizon, but explained that he could not allow the man Norassu had become to exist regardless. Wielding his new powers as a Soulless, as well as the powers of The Twelve Spirits of Sundown, he managed to kill Norassu. Following this, he made a tomb for his fallen friend in the central Sahari temple, leaving his weapon, The Eclipse, to honour him, though as a precaution, used the power of The Twelve Spirits to seal the tomb, that none may open it. He then went on to negotiate peace with the various factions within Sundown, forming the federation that enables Sundown to function as a nation to this day.

## **Dumdums & Dragons**

Norassu's Soul Weapon, The Eclipse, is the central goal of Taliesin Garman, and he seeks to take it by corrupting The Twelve Spirits of Sundown, and taking their power.

## **Personality**

Norassu was once a kind soul, selfless and earnest. Those that truly know him knew him to always choose the most peaceful solution to any given problem, no matter the cost to himself. He would even go so far as to disguise himself as a woman with no complaints, as it aided him in avoiding unnecessary conflict. However, as his life went on, and as he faced hardships due to his prophesied fate, both from the rest of the world and from his own people, he began to grow colder and less merciful. He began to grow impatient with the state of the world, and lost sight of why he should merely endure what pain the world would inflict unto him. His trials ultimately culminated in a battle that cost him all that remained to him, and he decided to simply become the calamity he was assumed to be, and became the villain he is remembered as in history.

## **Abilities**

During The Age of the Sword, Norassu was the greatest sorcerer in the nation, greater than even the rest of the Sahari race, who were renowned as powerful mages. In addition, he was also a Soul Wielder, and his sword, The Eclipse, allowed him to harness that power to an even greater extent. In particular, The Eclipse allowed him to, though destroying other Soul Weapons, to gain their power, and has gained the power of hundreds of Soul Weapons over the course of the war.

## **Appearance**

As a young man, Norassu was slender and soft looking. His eyes reflected the kindness of his soul. Though to avoid conflict, he often disguised as a woman. As he became older, he grew more muscular and hard looking, reflecting the hard journey already behind him, as well as the even harder journey he was now ready to face. After his transformation into the prophesied destroyer of his people, he was tall and broad shouldered, with long, rough red hair and a beard, dressed in regal, dark clothing. As a Saharin, he had stark red eyes, and dark grey skin.

## **Trivia**

* Norassu takes some inspiration from Ganondorf Dragmire from The Legend of Zelda. This is manifested in his visual design, his home being a desert land, and his people being a matriarchal society with a prophesied male being central to the culture of those people.
* Norassu is intended to represent the negatives of both tradition and change. This is most obviously demonstrated in the traditions of his people driving him to become the villain he became, as well as his upheaval of the civilisation of Sundown being an obvious change for the worse.