Angon of Nallval

*“Government cannot be religious and self-assertive at the same time. Religious experience needs a spontaneity which laws inevitably suppress. And you cannot govern without laws. Your laws eventually must replace morality, replace conscience, replace even the religion by which you think to govern. Sacred ritual must spring from praise and holy yearnings which hammer out a significant morality. Government, on the other hand, is a cultural organism particularly attractive to doubts, questions and contentions. I see the day coming when ceremony must take the place of faith and symbolism replaces morality.”*

-Angon of Nallval

## History

Born Angon of Nallval, the subtle and secretive Grand Vizier of Aglazdere was originally an adventurer from a party of six that included the Prophet Sabahattin, the Prophet’s wife Sylviane, the card mage Rose, and the arcanologist Shaarabahn. He supported the Prophet in his wars to unify Aglazdere, never knowing the truth behind the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. In recognition of his efforts, he was made Grand Vizier, the Prophet’s right hand and closest advisor. Content with the creation of a stable nation state, Angon retreated to his laboratory in Al Dijar to initiate what he called “Project Revival”, an attempt to terraform the waste into habitable land. He was not present for any of the events that transpired in Varas, from the death of the Prophet, the theft of the Philosopher’s Stone by Sylviane, the creation of Experiment #216, and the destruction of the alchemical laboratory. When the laboratory was destroyed and the leader of Aglazdere found missing, the Grand Vizier returned to take charge of events. He led a bloody struggle to shut down and seal the laboratory, and declared Sabahattin’s young son a the rightful heir to the throne. Taking the human name Mazhar, he has served as the Grand Vizier for every successive ruler of Aglazdere, acting as the power behind the throne. Throughout the next two centuries, he continued working on Project Revival with his old adventuring companion, Shaarabahn. Armed with notes from Vaajar’s laboratory, the two of them were able to create a homunculus named Re=l, made from Sylviane’s memories and genetic template. Project Revival came to a catastrophic failure when Re=l learned of her artificial nature and went on a mad killing spree, initiating a sympathetic burst of psychic resonance from Sylviane herself, powering the arcane storm of the Philosopher’s Stone and spreading the waste. Al Dijar was almost entirely destroyed, and the waste began to expand at an ever-increasing rate. Having parted ways to Shaarabahn, Mazhar, keenly aware of his his impending mortality, began “Project Renaissance”, an attempt to find or rebuild the Philosopher’s Stone. With it, he intends to make himself immortal, so that his work will not end with him. With the intent to use the Philosopher’s Stone as a nearly infinite power source for irreparable or unusable technology, he has dispatched agents to search for it, and opened Vaajar’s old laboratory. In the time that followed, he has learned much about the original research, and has managed to create a flawed, incomplete version of the stone, which he uses to understand and duplicate the effects of the true item.

## Personality

As the Grand Vizier of Aglazdere, Mazhar is cautious, crafty, and cynical. He employs a vast spy network, and dispatches Simulacra to act in his place whenever he can. He has vast knowledge of poisons, traps, and other forms of intrigue, and is fond of using memory modification to manipulate people around him. In person, he is an aged elf with skin burnt dark from centuries under the desert sun. His hair has turned white, inviting surreptitious comparisons to a Drow. He dresses in the customary garb of a wealthy Aglazderean civil servant. Charismatic but not inspiring, he sows division and confusion amongst his peers, frequently sneering, scowling, and dispensing scathing mockery. He is largely hated by the people of Aglazdere, who blame him (not incorrectly) for the strife and intrigue that is rife throughout the empire. Mazhar knows this, and could not care less - his goals are higher then one man, one city, or, indeed, one nation. He has no family, being an only child, and having neither wife nor children. Among his greatest secrets is the fact that he has been blessed with two minds, the gift of Nallval’s patron god. The minds have divided themselves into the personality of Angon, the heroic moralist, and Mazhar, the cynical intriguer. He sometimes hears voices in his head. Angon hears the voice of Adsandoral, the King of Nallval, while Mazhar hears the voice of Demogorgon, the Prince of Demons.