Alhazred

**Zubayr Alhazred**, stylized as **Emperor Alhazred I**, and often referred to as **The Dread Emperor**, **The Saint of the Black Sun**, and less frequently as **The Black Sorcerer**, is a vampire of the Carraway bloodline, and current ruling emperor of Caelkirk. He is actively waging war in Heshan against the armies of the Immortal Empress, one of the few entities on Manus who rivals his power.

Alhazred is an incredibly old vampire, whos lineage traces back to some time before the Palatine Empire. He is one of the most powerful spellcasters on Manus, and has at times received these powers through pacts, through lore, and through raw aptitude. He spent considerable time serving the Black Duke, Edmond Carraway, before coming out of hiding when Gailen and Zeth found the Heart of Omnitrix. When Gailen killed the Black Duke, and Zeth betrayed him by giving the Heart to Alhazred, the vampire lord assumed control of the Duke's coven.

After Gailen's death outside Norumgar, Merrick the Lionheart and several other members of the Silver Circle followed Alhazred to the Shadowfell, where he attempted to consume the soul of Malephar. The Baron Markov, a mortal servant of Alhazred, constructed a golem to house the Heart and reverse engineered the wards that bound the demon. Merrick succeeded in destroying the golem when Gailen returned, but was slain and transformed by Alhazred's new powers.

## Description

Alhazred was once a human man from Kasar, but became transformed into an undead vampire by Edmond Carraway. Standing over six feet tall, he was imposing, albeit slim and slender. In life, he had dark bronze skin and jet black hair, though both had faded by the time he had become a vampire. He was fluent in common, undercommon, elvish and dwarven, and was capable of conversing in a dozen other languages. He was educated and learned, and had spent much of his time as a vampire exploring and researching, notably about the elves and the fall of the Halyr.

He normally wore a cloak of black feathers, and a suit of armor made of mithril that bore marking from the Khemeraki period. He also wore some decorative jewelry, though this was often secondary to magic jewelry he had collected during his travels.

## Personality

Alhazred was ruthless in life, and any joy or happiness he have once felt was stripped from him when he was transformed. Now he is devoid of pity, and is willing to kill and destroy as he sees fit. Despite his inherently evil nature, he is above all else fair and honest, and refuses to lie or use deception in diplomacy. If Alhazred makes an offer, he means to keep it. He frequently offers rulers and nobles the chance to join his empire, and those that do are rewarded and shown favor. He rewards his lieutenents and agents for successes, and uses punishment sparingly. When he does choose to punish his servants, however, he does so in spectacular fashion, often brutalizing them and their families to set an example.

While Alhazred has at times served other, more powerful entities, such Malephar and The Black Duke, he is only interested in his own self-advancement. He may reward those that pledge fealty to him, but this is only to keep them loyal to him. He holds no loyalty to his minions, as they are only pawns to sacrificed when the time is right.

## Abilities

As a mage, Alhazred could cast incredibly powerful spells from a wide range of disciplines, but his expertise was in illusions. He could create lifelike images of himself that fooled even competent wizards, and he could project them from an enormous range. He frequently created images of himself while in combat, and could switch between them to fool opponents. He also had the power to infiltrate dreams and both extract information and leave suggestions behind.

As a vampire, Alhazred has a wide range of abilities. His strength and vigor were significantly increased, and he was durable to any weapons that were not coated in alchemical silver. He could shapeshift into a wolf or bat, evaporate and fly, drain strength from foes by drinking their blood, and most importantly, dominate minds. A single glance as all that was required to bring someone under his control, and they could remain that way for days. The only sign of this domination, aside from radical changes in behavior, was a change in eye color. Dominated individuals had a golden glint in their eyes, which was incredibly hard to notice without looking for it.

After consuming a significant portion of Malephar's essence, Alhazred's natural powers and magical prowess were greatly expanded. Before, he could only dominate a handful of people at any given time, but afterwards the extent of his dominating powers were unknown. He could easily dominate the entire Inquisition and Purple Dragon Knights with ease. He was more than a match for Gailen after his resurrection, and could cast advanced magic at will, and with no limits.

Despite this immense power, Alhazred was still bound by his limitations as a vampire, albeit to a lesser degree. He could not stand in direct sunlight, he had to be careful crossing moving water, and the only way to kill him permanently is a stake through the heart. He cannot enter a building without being invited, though he would likely not do so either way. Any time he was entering a building, it was most likely he already controlled it.

## Possessions

Alhazred's most notable possession was *Maledictum*, one of the elven Runeblades. Like the other runeblades, it was sentient and could communicate with whoever carried the sword. It produced a venom that dripped from the blade, and was capable of poisoning even divine entities, as seen in his duel with Gailen in Sarlona. He also wore *The Crown of Dominion*, the crown of the Caelkirk emperors. Aside from signifying his right to rule, it greatly increased the wearers force of personality. With it, he has brought the whole of Caelkrik and Astoria under his control, and it makes his dominating powers all but irresistable.