Art by Jack Gonzales (AKA TheWeezyIsHere)

Norlion Vatumal was an adventuring Paladin of Nobanion, the Lion King. He has fought many foes with his divine power & thought himself a hero. But his home was destroyed because of his reckless actions & none of his family he held dear to him survived. As he weeped for his foolishness, hooded assassins began to emerge out from behind the rubble, with glowing eyes & blades struck him down to near death as he fought tooth & nail. He fought with all his might, until he won & succumbed to his wounds of poison blades. His eyes squint as they haze over one last hooded figure, taller & slicked than the rest, with fangs jutting out of his curled lips.
When he came to, his skin became ash grey, his heart barely beating, his armor torn to shreds & his sword & Shield broken. The forest he now stands on is dark & grey, teeming with dark forces. The lone figure, hiding in the shadows emerges & reveals himself to the scared Paladin. He said his name is Sthrad & he brought him back from death’s embrace to join his army, seeing how well he can fight from the assassin’s blight.

Norlion snarled as he then began to fight towards him, the vampire playing him like a fiddle, the fight one-sided towards him. Norlion is cornered, he calls upon the strength of Nobanion to arms, his light piercing across the sky & unto Sthrad, who his dark magic swirls around him. The light is weak in this world as Sthrad grabs it with burning hands, his dark magic & Norlion’s light magic clash, the pressure becomes too much & Norlion’s Holy symbol breaks in 2, causing Norlion to lose his connection to Nobanion.

Sthrad stands before him with burned hands with a feral growl as he picks him up by the neck, whispering through his soul, “You’d rather risk your chance to join me to become something greater to a beast? I AM YOUR TRUE GOD & I will punish you on this land, as the beast you truly are....” Sthrad’s magic swirls around him as Norlion’s form change to that of a Were-lion, leaving him to his instincts & darkest emotions amplified as he wandered along the forests of Barovia. It was until one day that a band of adventurers came across his way on his way to get a drink, holding onto a doll’s head toward the would-be allies, sword clutched & eyes squinted at a certain tiefling....