The Patron

**The Patron** is an escaped denizen of The Shadow, a dark prison of eternal torment. To remain free from its former confinement, it would offer its power to gifted individuals, such as the Hunter called Houlork, whom he bonded with in a symbiotic manner. He appears to have history with the Gourmand King, who he wishes to stay as far away from as possible.

## Description

### Appearance

The Patron appears as a roiling mass of shadowy ooze when it is exposed in the Prime Plane. It prefers to remain hidden within its host.

### Personality

The Patron is primarily concerned with its own survival, abandoning its old vessel Houlork when she was close to death, causing her to be beynd saving. It is somewhat cowardly, attempting to mask its presence from the Gourmand King and Asmodeus alike, and was easily intimiated by Valeth. For the most part, it keeps to itself, avoiding the constant pestering and seducing that other patrons would partake in. It was suprised that Valeth took an interest in its origins, as its previous host did not. It delighted in possessing knowledge and power that Valeth desired, tempting him and giving cryptic clues to deliberately frustrate the unflappable warlock. It also appears to have very little emphaty, caring not what happens to its hosts, its fellow Shadows or Io itself, so long as it survives and stays free of its old prison.

## History

The Patron was once an Astari who lived on Io. During the Jupiter Incident, it was sundered like the rest of its kin, and its soul was plunged into the Shadow. For centuries, it endured the torture of living in the Shadow Veil and eventually forgot most of who it used to be.

It remained independant of other Shadows and sought to find its own way out. When another Shadow somehow found a way out through into Io, specifically a land called Etropa, this Shadow followed it out. However, Shadows cannot survive in Io without a vessel, so this Shadow offered its service to a Hunter in the region, known as Houlork. The Hunter accepted and the Patron hid itself within her, quietly providing her power in exchange for sanctuary. For the next few years, Houlork hunted monsters using the Patron's shadow magics to overcome her foes.

## Story

### A New Vessel

Houlork was called by the paladin Emasi to track down a group of renegade Hunters that were trying to activate an old runestone. During the fight that ensued, Holourk began duelling with another warlock named Valeth. Her opponent was relentless, and chased her down. As she was in a vulnerable state, he declared his interest in her power and his intent to take it from her. Holourk, bleeding a viscous black ooze, declared such power was beyond him. She was then stabbed in the back by Valeth's companion, and went unconsious. The Patron then attempted to get free from her, unwilling to die with his vessel. Valeth stepped forwards and reiterated his interest in the power of Shadow. The Patron was equally interested, but not before Valeth abandoned his current power source. A brief flash of its home was revealed to Valeth, as well as the face of a strange twisted creature. The Patron offered to provide further information about the Shadow. It offered one further piece of information to tantalize the elf; that the Gourmand King was not native to this plane. Valeth, fascinated, accepted its offer and the Shadow left Houlork to inhabit Valeth's body and his blade, Siren's Call. This transfer of power tore Houlork's body asunder, killing her instantly to the horror of her foes and allies alike.

Making itself at home, The Patron informed Valeth that he and the Gourmand King came from the same place: The Shadow Veil. It expressed its desire to never return to the Shadow Veil and to stay away from the Gourmand King at all costs. Valeth then briefly practicsed with his blade, immediately seeing the changes to his power. Not one to rest on his laurels, he took an oppurtunity to learn about the source of the Patron's power from Houlork's hunting companion, Gen. He then inquired more about the nature of the Shadow from The Patron, who expressed suprise at his curiousity. The Patron then showed Valeth an in-depth view of the Shadow; a place of nothingness and death. He tried to convince Valeth to seek out someone in this vision, but Valeth relented. This dissappointed the Patron, but it was not disheartened, knowning Valeth would seek more.

### Dealings with The Devil

Valeth and his party travelled to the mysterious Spire of Euclid. During their investigation, Valeth sought out the Patron's aid in identifying a creature in the logs identified only as the Shadow Glutton. The Patron, familiar with the creature, merely said that they would meet it soon, and it wanted to stay free from the Shadow. When Valeth asked what the Patron wanted, it told him he wanted Valeth to keep him hidden when the time comes. Uncertain of what he meant, Valeth fell silent and the Patron followed suit. The Patron silently observed the rest of their poking around, witnessing the flood of shadowy ooze taking over the Spire. It listened as the Gourmand King ranted over the intercom, attempting to reaffirm his right to stay in Etropa and feast to his heart's content. The Gourmand King then summonded the being that the Patron was attempting to show Valeth before; the twisted and corrupted Juiblex.

As the hunters tried to fight the creature, they were interrupted by the appearance of another shadowy being, who called himself Asmodeus. Asmodeus teleported Juiblex away from the facility and stated that he had a job for the hunters; to killed the Gourmand King, who had betrayed Asmodeus' fellowship in puruit of his own selfishness. Though there was a heated debate, Valeth assured the Devil Lord they would do as he asked, if not for him then for themselves. Satisfied, Asmodeus left. Valeth then consulted his patron, inquiring as to how to shut off the Shadow from Io. The Patron was initially dismissive of the idea, asking why it should care, that the opening of the Shadow was, in its eyes, a good thing. Valeth then threatened to find a way to send the Patron back to its old prison, something that deeply scared the Shadow. Deferring to Valeth, it told him that the defeat of Asmodeus should be enough to close the gates. It speculated that they would not be the only ones planning to do thus. It then reminded Valeth of their agreement; that it would remain with Valeth even if the gates were closed. Valeth declined to agree, simply demanding the Patron tell him everything he needed to know about the Gourmand King before they slay him. Agreeing jovially, the Patron went quiet and the group left the Spire to face the Gourmand King.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Warlock Patron**: The Patron is able to offer the powers of the Shadow Veil to any vessel that agrees to house it.
* **Scrying**: The Patron is able to show people's visions to better elucidate its points. It has only shown images of the Shadow, so it is unclear if this ability is limited to its home plain.