Gormastyl

*"If fireball had a poster boy, it'd be Gormastyl"* - *Alex Rogier*

## Bio

Growing up, Gormastyl had an increasing obsession in studying books of all manner due to his father, Konraxs. Gormastyl was determined to follow in his father’s footsteps and study the various schools of magic through research in ancient texts. One day, Gormastyl stumbled upon a mysterious book that summoned demons to bargain with and he summoned an ancient demon named *Galidrael*. Gormastyl traded his soul for a wealth of knowledge to dedicate towards researching all schools of magic. After a few years, Konraxs passed away and Gormastyl felt it was time to enact his plans by burning his village down for picking on him all throughout his childhood. After the village was burned, Gormastyl set out on his own in hopes of finding rare books like the one he found before. As he left, the demon Galidrael praised him for his acts and desired to accompany him on his adventures.

## Adventures

Gormastyl began his adventures following the advice of his newfound demon friend, Galidrael. The demon instructed him to travel to *Avilstead* for it might have the books that Gormastyl seeks. On his route, he stopped into *Vico* but was ultimately detoured due to *Elder Dragon Dulath’s* attack on the city. When fleeing the city with a couple of others, he encountered *Elder Dragon Rider Merek Uhmil* who took the party to safety and trained them to fight for themselves to survive. Afterwards, Gormastyl was apart of a small group of adventurers along with another dragonborn named *Tian Scalemoor* and a halfling named *Tyrion*. The party followed Merek and had various encounters by performing deeds for the *Dragonscales*. Gormastyl was most known by his companions for eating Tyrion’s fingers which were dismembered by zombies and killing Tyrion, but he was later resurrected.

Gormastyl was caught on the wrong end of the *Thieves Guild* as they thought he gained secrets of their operations and captured him with Tyrion’s help. However, their information proved to be false and the guild let Gormastyl go in *Nyrendell*.

At the end of the party’s adventures, they discovered that Merek had plotted to betray *Elder Dragon Rider Kaiden Armov*. After Kaiden killed his companion Tyrion, he dismissed Gormastyl and told him to never return to the Dragonscales. Gormastyl later traveled to *Calnlian* and became a prominent member of the *Mages Guild*. One day, *Barl* summoned Gormastyl with the company of Merek. Barl gave *Ealrith’s* Soul Gem of Evocation to Merek and arranged a plan with him to have Gormastyl take Ealrith’s place in the 4th contest of DhuKhan to join *Chokoff*. After being infused with an enormous amount of power from the Soul Gem of Evocation, Gormastyl was transmuted to look like Ealrith and traveled to *Thamtaruhm* to assist in DhuKhan. Gormastyl’s disguise was broken due to the burst of magical energy from the portal that caused the *Elemental Incursion*. He later assisted Calnlian in uprooting *Khulot Ironheart* during the Calnlian Assault on Thamtaruhm.

After returning to Calnlian, Gormastyl assisted Barl with investigating the Elemental Incursion. During the battle with *The Druids 3*, Gormastyl became enraged in their defeat and nearly got himself killed. Barl teleported the party back to Calnlian. Soon after, *Rhothomir* asked for Gormastyl and his companions help regarding a band of nefarious men along the north Calnlian road. The band of men were a small batch of rogues along with the appearance of *Assassins Guild* members. The rogues turned out to be a trap for *Elder Dragon Rider Dwight Jackson* to lure the party away from their group and slay Chokoff. Gormastyl was pinned in a forcecage during the battle and was indisposed. He looted *Enwelneth’s Boon* with Chokoff dead and used it sparingly afterwards. Gormastyl delivered a meager report of the events to King *Cailu Calnlian* who responded by invoking the creation of the *Dragon Inquisition* and invited Gormastyl to become a council member of the order. Barl invited Gormastyl into his private study and offered him membership into the *Cartographer's Guild* while also prepared to poison him upon his decline of membership due to the secrecy of the guild.

*Elder Dragon Zurrath* returned to Calnlian to fetch Chokoff for his quest to free *Elder Dragon Venia* from her adamantine imprisonment. However with Chokoff dead, Gormastyl, *Ser Ravyn*, and *Zavidur Ugadesh* joined Zurrath in his stead. Gormastyl joined the party on the voyage across the *Crilix Ocean* aboard the Silver Diamond and endured many sea encounters.

While traveling across *Therinox*, Gormastyl became trapped in a goblin workshop with his companions. After overcoming the deadly traps, he discovered the true nature of the workshop. Gormastyl unlocked a magically sealed vault and looted many magical items.

*Yestow* guided Gormastyl and his companions into *Death Valley Canyon* which Gormastyl decided to split from the group by heading into a different path. He later realized the party wasn’t following him, but failed to perceive their location due to the canyon’s deep hollowness and losing himself in the labyrinth-like crevices. Gormastyl continued his journey until nightfall where he became ambushed by large wurms which he easily defeated. However, the blood of the wurms attracted the most dangerous creature in the canyon. An *Umber Hulk* ambushed Gormastyl which crushed him. Gormastyl attempted to fight the creature and eventually tried to escape, but failed. Gormastyl was devoured by the Umber Hulk.

Yestow attempted to find trails of Gormastyl within Death Valley Canyon, but only found his belongings. Gormastyl was believed to be eaten by Umber Hulks.

## Player Written Backstory

Growing up in an attic above the town library, Gormasthyl was always fascinated by his father, Konraxs, research of magic. Gormasthyl always took any chance he had to practice magic or research with his father. Gormasthyl hardly ever left the library growing up and when he did the rest of the town would laugh and make jokes about him as they walked through the streets. When Gormasthyl first started to study and use magic he was just outside the walls of the town, while practicing his magic he caught himself and all of his clothes on fire and had to run back to the library all the way across town in the middle of the day.

After years and years of teasing and pranks from the townspeople Gormasthyl found a book in the back of the library covered on dust underneath a pile of broken shelves and trash. Upon reading the book he realized that it was an instruction book on how to summon a demon and make a deal. As soon as he realized what the book was Gormasthyl knew what he had to do. Once his father left the library the next day Gormasthyl had no hesitation in summoning the demon to make a deal. Moments after reading a spell from the book a smoky black figure with reddish eyes appeared in front of Gormasthyl and demanded to know why it had been summoned. Shaking he rose the book from the floor for the figure to see. The figure glared at the book with a smirk on its face and began laughing. "Another useless being needing my assistance I see." said the figure as Gormasthyl froze in shock. Demanding what Gormasthyl wanted the figure shifted in place and before Gormasthyl knew it he was face to face with the figure. Gormasthyl looked into the figures eyes as he told the figure he was tired of all the jokes and remarks from the townspeople, and he was tired of sitting back and doing nothing about it. Laughing at him the figure asked if he really summoned him to get back at the townspeople for making a joke of him. Gormasthyl replied with a deep and loud "NO". Gormasthyl told the figure he wanted knowledge, as much as he could have of it so he could put it towards his research and training, to one day set fire to this town so then he could look down and laugh in the faces of the burning bodies that used to once make fun of him. As the figure looked back at him Gormasthyl could tell the figure knew that this was no time to laugh or make jokes of being summoned by him. The figure told Gormasthyl that the only way to give him this kind of knowledge was for him to sell his soul for it. Instantly Gormasthyl told the figure it was a deal and that he wanted to do it now. The figure smirked one last time before ripping into Gormasthyls body and pulled out a ball of light from his body and said this is what has been stopping you the entire time, and then the figure fanished.

For the next few months Gormasthyl noticed a drastic change in himself, his research was much easier he felt the need to only skim through books to understand them entirely, and during the time he practiced magic it was like he had been using magic for the past hundred years it came so naturally to him and his spells were never out of place. Towards the end of that first year after selling  his soul, Gormasthlys father passed away in his sleep of what seemed to be of old age. After his father passed Gormasthyl collected his belongings, and the book, and decided it was time to do what he sought out to do from the beginning, burn down the town with everyone in it. Walking slowly through the night Gormasthyl lit fire to every building and natural life inside the town and stood outside the gates waiting for people to come screaming and running towards him. After a few minutes people started to come running and right before they reached to gates to leave town Gormasthyl set a wall of fire from wall to wall so that no one could escape the town.

After burning everyone alive in the town he felt relieved of everything, so he just turned away and started to walk away in hope that he could be lucky enough to find more books like the one he did in his father’s library.