The Wazir

*“The object of war is to terrify your enemy into surrender. At least, unless you feel the desire to destroy your enemy outright. I have no wish to destroy humanity, Derek. I am human. Sort of. However, the various world powers will never accept nonhumans unless they have weapons equal to the ones mankind has built. Nuclear bombs, chemical weapons, and more need to be checked if the supernatural is to find any home in the public.”*— Karl Bjornson, *Esoterrorism*
**The Wazir**, real name **Karl Bjornson**, was the leader of the Emerald Eye and the number one adversary of The House for centuries. Hailing from the Viking era, the man who would become the Wazir was once a member of The House back when it was called "The Court", only to stumble on Odin's eye. Putting it in his eye socket destroyed his mind and convinced him he was Odin himself; he subsequently left the Court and led a one-man crusade against them for centuries. After forming the Emerald Eye out of disgruntled supernaturals, the Wazir led a campaign of death and destruction, with the House never able to catch him or prevent his assaults.

By the modern day, the Wazir was the House's #1 enemy and he shifted his goal severely, going from trying to cause as much chaos as possible to trying to unearth the truth of the existence of the supernatural. After rescuing Cassandra Cassidy from her marriage to Derek Hawthorne and forming an alliance with her, the Wazir masterminded the creation of Matheson-22, a virus that turns people into draugr capable of spreading the virus through bites like zombies. As part of this plot, the Wazir encountered Derek several times, manipulating him when he could and encouraging him to join The Committee for his own ends. This backfired on him, and the Wazir was ultimately killed by Derek and Shannon O'Reily during an assault on Cassandra's base.

He is the main antagonist of *Esoterrorism*.

## Biography

### Early Life and Crusade

In the Viking era, Karl Bjornson joined The Court, the organization that would later be known as the House. Back then, the House actually cared about protecting the world and did so as much as it could; however, according to Karl, the House was gradually corrupted by power and began forcing supernaturals underground instead. Around this time, Karl found a magical artifact that piqued his interest, thinking it might grant him more power. Unfortunately, the artifact in question was Odin's glass eye, and when Karl put it in his empty eye socket, his mind was destroyed by the sheer power of the item. In the process, Karl became convinced that he was Odin himself and broke away from the Court, dedicating the rest of his life to trying to destroy the House.

Karl formed the Emerald Eye and led a centuries-long crusade, always managing to escape through his use of homunculi. With an army of loyal supernaturals and monsters at his beck and call, Karl quickly became the House's most dangerous and persistent enemy and earned the nickname "The Wazir", focusing on trying to "save" humanity from technology and science. Along the way, he caused hundreds of attacks and made at least one attempt to start World War III, killing thousands if not millions of humans. At least one incident Derek investigated had the Wazir poisoning a school's worth of children so that they would cannibalize their parents.

### Matheson-22

In an effort to bring about his final endgame, the Wazir began crafting a master plan to finally expose the supernatural to the world once and for all. To begin, the Wazir tracked down Cassandra Cassidy, the CEO of Pantheon Corp, to use her resources for his own ends. When he found her, she had been brainwashed by her father to force her to marry Derek; the Wazir cleared the brainwashing, bringing her back to herself. Desiring revenge against the House for what had been done to her, Cassandra agreed to partner with the Wazir, leading to their final plan: craft a new version of the Matheson virus, Matheson-22, to allow it to convert people into draugr. Unlike typical draugr, however, the new virus would be able to be spread by bites, making it infinitely more dangerous.

As Cassandra began dedicating her company's resources to the virus with the assistance of Dr. Edward Strickland, the Wazir began testing it whenever he could. This eventually climaxed in the town of Wheatfield, Kansas, where the Wazir deployed the virus as a test of its capabilities. The result was the complete destruction of the entire town, with The Professor estimating the casualties to be around 2,000 people. With the virus having reached a place where it was capable of the destruction that he needed, the Wazir began preparing for his endgame.

### Thompson City Mall Attack

Thanks to Cassandra and Strickland, the Wazir had unlimited access to the Red Room's information, which eventually led him to Derek. Karl poured over Derek's file ceaselessly, memorizing every detail he could. This included private information such as his relationship to Nathan, his previous partners' deaths, and his marriage to Cassandra (though he was already aware of that through Cassandra). The Wazir became convinced that Derek could either be converted to his side through his disillusionment with the House or, failing that, could serve as a useful pawn should he stay on their side. As part of his long-term plan, he sent a bribe to Division Two of the House, arranging for Shannon O'Reily to become Derek's new partner.

As part of his preparation for his final attacks, the Wazir began disseminating the virus among his troops, which led him to participate in a routine handover with some of his men in the Thompson City Mall. Derek and Penny Hawthorne, having been sent to intercept the meeting, became alarmed by his presence. Once Derek realized that Karl was there, he began trying to peacefully get Karl out of the mall without triggering a fight, but Karl put Derek on the back foot by revealing that he knew exactly who Derek was and several private details about him. The Wazir then made conversation with Derek, trying to appeal to him and explain his points about the House's corruption. When Derek made clear that he was unwilling to hear any of the Wazir's points regarding the House, Karl ordered his rakshasa to attack, prompting Derek to shoot him four times. Karl, having used a homunculus, survived the shots and made one more attempt to release the Matheson-22 virus inside the mall, but Derek killed the homunculus again, ending the attack.

The attack on the mall caused around a dozen deaths and had several long-term consequences, not the least of which being that Derek was cleared as a suspect as the potential mole and that the Matheson virus was soon public knowledge among the Red Room.

### Ambush at Strickland's Hideout

As Derek and his new partner Shannon tried to solve the mystery of the virus while investigating Cassandra, Strickland fled the Red Room and faked his death on the way out, though they were eventually able to realize he was both alive and the mole. As Cassandra, having been sussed out by the Committee, launched a campaign against any House facility she could find backed by the Sons of Mars and the Emerald Eye (and the Wazir himself participating in dozens of attacks, with the House completely unable to apprehend him), Derek, Shannon, and Penny tracked Strickland down to his hideout in Chicago. Though their attempt to ambush Strickland failed, the Wazir demanded that Derek be brought in peacefully and, as another token of "good faith", murdered Strickland when Derek sarcastically asked him to.

Finally face to face with Derek, the Wazir revealed that when they first met in Ohio, the Wazir had secretly put a compulsion on Derek to make him let Cassandra go, ignore Shannon's status as a succubus, and be obedient during the current conversation, ensuring that they got to have this face to face meeting. With all his cards on the table, the Wazir explained his story and how it tied in to the House's history as well as his role in bringing Shannon to Division One, ending with a condemnation of everything the House stands for and reiterating his desire for humans and supernaturals to be able to live in peace. He also tried to assure Derek that crimes like the kind Cassandra committed against him would never be allowed in his new world.

To back up his point, the Wazir gave Derek a flash drive containing every immoral thing the Committee has done, including murdering Strickland's innocent daughter, assassinating their own agents just to inconvenience each other, and, most damningly, letting the Wazir destroy Wheatfield despite having advance notice so they could justify their own existence to world governments. When Derek asked why he was being given this flash drive, the Wazir admitted that he wanted Derek on the Committee, but any option benefitted him - if Derek joined, then he and Cassandra would duke it out until one of them lost and the Wazir could finish the other off, and if Derek didn't join then he'd just keep going business as usual. Just as the two seemed to be reaching an agreement, Shannon woke back up and killed him, revealing him to be yet another homunculus.

### Final Assault

Thanks to the Wazir's information, Derek ascended to the Committee and immediately began working to unite the various divisions of the House against Karl and Cassandra. Thanks to the House working together for a change, Derek was able to locate Cassandra's last base of operations and gather a small team to storm it; at the same time, the Emerald Eye released an official demand, saying that all governments needed to cease their cooperation with the House or suffer reprisals with the Matheson virus, limiting the House's response capability. However, by the time they arrived, the Wazir had found the base as well and begun his own siege, with the Emerald Eye and the Sons of Mars clashing all over the base. Derek's team stormed the base and defeated Cassandra herself, but were confronted by the Wazir at the last moments, who killed Cassandra with his magic.

After revealing that he had found the device they were going to use to kill him by destroying the base, the Wazir gave Derek one last offer to join his side, continuing to commend his abilities as an agent all the while yet dismissing Shannon as a "whore". However, despite trying to recruit Derek, the Wazir was focusing his attention on Shannon, which left him unprepared for a roundhouse kick to the head from Derek. Unlike the previous encounters, Karl was actually present and not using a homunculus; unprepared for such a strike, his glass eye popped out and was then destroyed by Shannon, destroying his physical body and leaving him as a vengeful spirit.

### Death

In a psychotic rage, Karl proclaimed that the artifact, his glass eye, was irreplaceable, and summoned as much power as he could to try to kill Derek and Shannon. No longer having a body to channel all of his emotions, Karl's rhetoric completely disappeared; rather than talk about how he wished for harmony among the races, he instead boasted that he intended to send the world straight back to the Stone Age, intending to decimate most of the world so he could rule over anything that remained. His power was enormous and almost leveled the entire compound, but Derek and Shannon managed to combine their powers to force Shannon to absorb all of his power and life force, killing the Wazir for good.

## Legacy

Despite his death, the Wazir's actions continued to hang over the House for the rest of its existence. Derek's ascent to the Committee due to his actions completely changed the House's internal politics, for the better and for the worse; on the one hand, Divisions began to cooperate with each other, but on the other, Derek was almost scapegoated for Protocol Zero due to his inexperience with office politics.

Contrary to Derek's expectations, the Emerald Eye was not disbanded upon Karl's death; though they were nowhere near as organized or powerful as before, they remained an influential mercenary group that clashed with the House multiple times.

The Wazir's goal would ultimately be realized in 2008, when Nathan Hawthorne and Roland Cassidy brought about the destruction of the House and broke the masquerade on the supernatural, ensuring that the truth finally came out and the supernatural species' could come out of hiding.

## Personality

*“The girl was adorable, and I had no doubt Karl would rip her head clean off if it helped him.”*
The Wazir put up a front of a kindly old man, but in reality, Karl was a vicious monster who was willing to cross any line if it brought him closer to his end goal. He particularly enjoyed targeting children, turning an entire school of children into draugr so that they would murder their own parents, and was willing to destroy entire towns in the same manner. Even while maintaining an air of respect towards his enemies, Karl was racist and sexist, referring to Derek as "Dragonspawn" and calling Shannon a "whore" in the same breath that he compliments their skills.

Despite this, the Wazir's goal was genuinely noble. He truly believed that his actions would bring a better world for humans and supernaturals by finally allowing everyone on Earth to coexist, bringing what he thought to be "world peace". He acknowledged the casualties that his actions would bring but considered them necessary for the world he would create, never taking outright sadistic joy in the deaths he brought. With this conviction came a dangerous level of charm that made him an expert manipulator; he was almost able to turn Derek and Shannon against each other within a single conversation just by playing on both of their own insecurities regarding the House.

Underneath all of this rhetoric, however, the Wazir was truly a selfish man. While his goal was noble, a key facet of it was that he would be in charge of whatever comes out of the rubble his actions caused, letting him specifically guide the world toward what he believed to be the right thing. This was best shown when his glass eye was destroyed; rather than repeat his rhetoric, Karl revealed that he truly thought he was the God of War who knew better than anyone else, and he would be willing to sent the world back to the Stone Age just so he could rule over anyone that was left when he was done.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Magical Power** - The Wazir was one of the most powerful wizards in the entire world, with an entire selection of powers mastered. This power remained even after Odin's Eye was destroyed and he lost his corporeal form.
	+ **Magic Spells**: Karl's raw power was unlike any other magic user of his time. As a metric of his ability, a single spell was capable of destroying all of the glass inside an entire mall, and in his final battle, he was able to wordlessly use lightning and wind to create a storm inside a building. With this power, Karl was able to use a variety of both offensive and defensive spells depending on the situation to easily kill enemies and defend himself from harm.
	+ **Homunculus Production** - Karl was a master of creating homunculi and did so several times throughout his crusade. As a result, he was capable of being in multiple places at once, surviving mortal wounds and encounters while his clones took all of the damage. Through these clones, Karl was able to survive the destruction of Wheatfield, the bio-attack attempt in Ohio, and his one-on-one confrontation with Derek. Derek only chose to go all-out in the final battle after realizing he wasn't using a homunculus, which led to Karl's death.
	+ **Mystical Compulsion**: The Wazir was able to place a compulsion spell on the vial of Matheson-22 Derek retrieved in Ohio, giving Derek the compulsion to accept Shannon as his partner, trust Cassandra's innocence, and cooperate during their first conversation. He was also just as capable of reversing the damage done to Cassandra's mind when he recruited her.
	+ **Mummification**: Karl was capable of mummifying Dr. Strickland to keep him alive despite his cancer. He was just as capable of instantly killing him by commanding him to return to the grave with his true name.
	+ **Healing Factor**: With his magic, Karl and his homunculi were able to regenerate from dangerous wounds instantaneously, as shown when Derek shot out both of his knees and he stood back up within moments.
	+ **Agelessness**: Karl was several centuries old but remained in his physical prime.

### Abilities

* **Strategic Mastery**: Karl was a strategic mastermind, capable of planning out long-term goals months if not years in advance. His long-term strategy was grand and carried out over months, involving recruiting allies while subverting the House, using his homunculi to keep himself alive, and adjusting his plans on the spot whenever he needed to adjust. In particular, his ability to gain and lose followers depending on what he needed most in the moment was unmatched, giving him the exact power base he needed at any particular moment. Even when his war against the House became a three way battle between him, Derek, and Cassandra, Karl was able to adjust accordingly and set his two enemies against each other, intending to wipe the survivor out once one had been eliminated.
* **Charisma**: Karl was a smooth talker, capable of recruiting countless people to his side regardless of their goals so he could use them for his own ends. Through this, Karl created the Emerald Eye, the organization that was the House's single-greatest enemy for centuries. He was even capable of briefly turning Derek and Shannon against each other after only one conversation, with Shannon genuinely worrying that Derek fell for his charm.
* **Resources**: As an immortal, Karl's power base was unmatched and gave him incredible reach, to the point that he was able to arrange for Shannon to become Derek's partner via a bribe and create a flash drive of every single crime that the Committee has ever committed (of which Derek was only able to officially confirm less than half of a percent).

### Weaknesses

* **Odin's Eye**: Odin's Eye, the same artifact that gave him his power, was also his greatest weakness, as it contained all of the power keeping his physical body together. Once it was destroyed, Karl was reduced to a spiritual form, giving Derek and Shannon an opening to absorb his power and kill him.