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Born to a pair of rich dwarven traders whose penchant for gambling and racking up debt saw both them and him sold into slavery, Gauzhe may have been born with a silver spoon, but would barely come to know it's taste at all before being run through the ringer of Katapesh's underground child trafficking.
There he lost a great deal of his compassion and faith in others as he was sold and resold by a series of increasingly more hateful and abusive masters, quickly outgrowing the appeal of most buyers as his body continued to grow far beyond common dwarven stature. At the same time, his single, gnarled horn, a token of the tiefling blood that lie dormant in his family for generations, painfully grew in over the course of those traumatic teenage years, standing alongside the infernal birthmarks on his belly and rump to mark him as tainted goods. Making matters worse, the boy's frequent nightmares began to seep a dark power that threw his surroundings into chaos, bending and warping space to toss anything or anyone near him into disarray.
The boy prayed to every god he'd heard of, begging for release from this torment. None answered. Desperate, he called out to anyone who would listen, be they angel, fiend, or eldritch thing from beyond the veil... Then the whispers came... They came in his dreams mostly, but occasionally he could glimpse them scrawled across shadows in his peripheral vision as well, only to vanish as he focused upon them. Someone cared for him. They promised power, but even more, purpose, should he serve them - enough power to free himself and forge his own path in the world. He couldn't jump at the opportunity fast enough, but despite the whispered promise, his salvation was not immediate. He resolved himself to wait, hardening his heart against his daily suffering to await his destiny. He followed the advice of the whispers, displaying his accursed brand openly for all to see.
At last, his symbol was recognized by a Nexian warlock known as Kazuma - a secret devotee of Ose. He was summarily extracted and freed from bondage, whisked away from the horrors of Katapesh to the magical wastelands of Nex to the south. The cultist tried to train him in the profane arts, but try as he might the badger couldn't manifest even the simplest of spells despite his efforts and his connection to the Nine Hells. After observing the energy that would flare up during the boy's nightmares, the cultist finally figured out the nature of the boy's occult powers. Though Kazuma was well practiced in Ose's dogma, the manifestation of these powers was beyond the scope of his knowledge. Despite this, he did his best to teach the boy the basic tenets of his faith, even if very little of it would stick.
He found the boy filled with an endless appetite. At first he chalked it up to making up for years spent malnourished and hungry, but soon found that this was no natural famine. Researching the phenomena, he found this to be a sign of Ose's blessing, and set about gathering the materials needed to stabilize and unlock the fiendish boon before the hunger consumed the badger, turning him into an immobile blob, or worse yet, a ravening, mindless cannibal.
The ritual was a success, unlocking the true potential of the boy's profane sigils as gateways to Ose's Soulforges in the pits of Hell. The surging powers that had flooded the boy all these years, as it turned out, were vented void energy, a byproduct of the Soulforges, but now he had the means to control and conjure them at will.
The two didn't have long together before Kazuma was called away to undertake more clandestine, inscrutable missions on behalf of his patron. He tore a single page from his dark grimoire for Gauzhe to keep - explaining that the pages of this damned tome were a direct link to a Contract Devil known as Ozymandias - a coordinator distributing Ose's profane decrees to his faithful.
Now left on his own, Gauzhe followed the decrees of Ozymandias, or Ozy as the gregarious devil insinuated he should be called by the Tiefling - quickly getting the badger to warm up to him through honeyed words and silver tongue, even through the distant medium of that scroll. He was tasked with dozens of missions throughout Nex, mostly consisting of obtaining and consuming rare items or creatures to send to the Soulforges, but occasionally more covert activities as well, rewarded with a drip-feed of praise from Ozy, but more importantly, messages of praise and encouragement passed on from Kazuma as well. The boy grew strong through these adventures, acquiring not only greater mastery over his voidsent abilities, but items of great power as well: a belt to support and enhance his fiendish corpulence, a bracer that bid him passage to forbidden realms, and even the eye of an Accuser Devil he was made to replace his own with. But soon, he found himself plateauing in his capabilities as a solo act. As he came up against entire groups of guards, adventurers, and rival cultists, he began to envy the things they could accomplish through teamwork, even if they were weaker than him individually.
As fate would have it, it seemed the boy was destined to find allies of his own soon. Ozy's missive now sent the boy back to Katapesh, to meet a Rakshasa at a village on the city's outskirts that would teach him further. He recoiled at the idea, terrified to return to Katapesh where he was still legally property and could be reclaimed at any moment. But Perhaps this Rakshasa would protect him and teach him what he needed to survive and further his dark master's will.
He arrived at the villa, surprised to find the enrapturing and elegant Rakshasa Anizhar not a worshiper of Ose, but instead a godless heathen focused on his own betterment, an egotistical and promiscuous purveyor of flesh and pesh bent on turning all who gazed upon him into eager, willing admirers, and caring for them as his pets. Gifted with arcane robes after ingratiating himself into the Rakshasa's good favor, Gauzhe now stands as one of Anizhar's most trusted 'good boys', joining the Wayfarers on the feline's recommendation to accompany them on their exploits.
Art by me, Colors by
Kah
There he lost a great deal of his compassion and faith in others as he was sold and resold by a series of increasingly more hateful and abusive masters, quickly outgrowing the appeal of most buyers as his body continued to grow far beyond common dwarven stature. At the same time, his single, gnarled horn, a token of the tiefling blood that lie dormant in his family for generations, painfully grew in over the course of those traumatic teenage years, standing alongside the infernal birthmarks on his belly and rump to mark him as tainted goods. Making matters worse, the boy's frequent nightmares began to seep a dark power that threw his surroundings into chaos, bending and warping space to toss anything or anyone near him into disarray.
The boy prayed to every god he'd heard of, begging for release from this torment. None answered. Desperate, he called out to anyone who would listen, be they angel, fiend, or eldritch thing from beyond the veil... Then the whispers came... They came in his dreams mostly, but occasionally he could glimpse them scrawled across shadows in his peripheral vision as well, only to vanish as he focused upon them. Someone cared for him. They promised power, but even more, purpose, should he serve them - enough power to free himself and forge his own path in the world. He couldn't jump at the opportunity fast enough, but despite the whispered promise, his salvation was not immediate. He resolved himself to wait, hardening his heart against his daily suffering to await his destiny. He followed the advice of the whispers, displaying his accursed brand openly for all to see.
At last, his symbol was recognized by a Nexian warlock known as Kazuma - a secret devotee of Ose. He was summarily extracted and freed from bondage, whisked away from the horrors of Katapesh to the magical wastelands of Nex to the south. The cultist tried to train him in the profane arts, but try as he might the badger couldn't manifest even the simplest of spells despite his efforts and his connection to the Nine Hells. After observing the energy that would flare up during the boy's nightmares, the cultist finally figured out the nature of the boy's occult powers. Though Kazuma was well practiced in Ose's dogma, the manifestation of these powers was beyond the scope of his knowledge. Despite this, he did his best to teach the boy the basic tenets of his faith, even if very little of it would stick.
He found the boy filled with an endless appetite. At first he chalked it up to making up for years spent malnourished and hungry, but soon found that this was no natural famine. Researching the phenomena, he found this to be a sign of Ose's blessing, and set about gathering the materials needed to stabilize and unlock the fiendish boon before the hunger consumed the badger, turning him into an immobile blob, or worse yet, a ravening, mindless cannibal.
The ritual was a success, unlocking the true potential of the boy's profane sigils as gateways to Ose's Soulforges in the pits of Hell. The surging powers that had flooded the boy all these years, as it turned out, were vented void energy, a byproduct of the Soulforges, but now he had the means to control and conjure them at will.
The two didn't have long together before Kazuma was called away to undertake more clandestine, inscrutable missions on behalf of his patron. He tore a single page from his dark grimoire for Gauzhe to keep - explaining that the pages of this damned tome were a direct link to a Contract Devil known as Ozymandias - a coordinator distributing Ose's profane decrees to his faithful.
Now left on his own, Gauzhe followed the decrees of Ozymandias, or Ozy as the gregarious devil insinuated he should be called by the Tiefling - quickly getting the badger to warm up to him through honeyed words and silver tongue, even through the distant medium of that scroll. He was tasked with dozens of missions throughout Nex, mostly consisting of obtaining and consuming rare items or creatures to send to the Soulforges, but occasionally more covert activities as well, rewarded with a drip-feed of praise from Ozy, but more importantly, messages of praise and encouragement passed on from Kazuma as well. The boy grew strong through these adventures, acquiring not only greater mastery over his voidsent abilities, but items of great power as well: a belt to support and enhance his fiendish corpulence, a bracer that bid him passage to forbidden realms, and even the eye of an Accuser Devil he was made to replace his own with. But soon, he found himself plateauing in his capabilities as a solo act. As he came up against entire groups of guards, adventurers, and rival cultists, he began to envy the things they could accomplish through teamwork, even if they were weaker than him individually.
As fate would have it, it seemed the boy was destined to find allies of his own soon. Ozy's missive now sent the boy back to Katapesh, to meet a Rakshasa at a village on the city's outskirts that would teach him further. He recoiled at the idea, terrified to return to Katapesh where he was still legally property and could be reclaimed at any moment. But Perhaps this Rakshasa would protect him and teach him what he needed to survive and further his dark master's will.
He arrived at the villa, surprised to find the enrapturing and elegant Rakshasa Anizhar not a worshiper of Ose, but instead a godless heathen focused on his own betterment, an egotistical and promiscuous purveyor of flesh and pesh bent on turning all who gazed upon him into eager, willing admirers, and caring for them as his pets. Gifted with arcane robes after ingratiating himself into the Rakshasa's good favor, Gauzhe now stands as one of Anizhar's most trusted 'good boys', joining the Wayfarers on the feline's recommendation to accompany them on their exploits.
Art by me, Colors by
KahIf you enjoy my work consider supporting me monthly on Patreon
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Posted using PostyBirb
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Badger
Size 2009 x 2553px
File Size 1.54 MB
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