Incredible character concept piece created by the talented  tumbari_jons.

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The Vaendrakhei, long hailed as protectors of natural law and order, were gone. The Last Vaendrakh had left to confront the Tyrant on his own, hoping the combined strength of his fallen kin within him would be enough. Across the many planes and dimensions of reality, the fate of the Last Vaendrakh and the Tyrant were unknown. Had the Last Vaendrakh triumphed? Or, had he fallen to the Tyrant as his kin before him did. Were they both gone? In hiding?

In the absence of answers, many began to consider the worst possible outcomes. Fear spread that the Tyrant, ever enigmatic, was simply biding his time for unknowable reasons. Surely, he would reveal himself again. Their greatest protectors were all gone now. They needed a power that could challenge the Tyrant if he should return.

Zhalash was a prime candidate. He had learned much from the Vaendrakhei. He channeled the power of the cosmos through himself with ease, even gracefully. They just had to break the barrier that separated him from the level of the Vaendrakhei. Or rather... beyond it. They had fallen, after all. If the Last Vaendrakh had fallen as well...

Paranoia would twist the purpose of the pursuit. They focused on their fear of the Tyrant to the point that they forgot what the Vaendrakhei had been.

In many ways, their efforts were successful. Intense surgical and genetic alterations to Zhalash's body, the channeling of intense energies to fuel his ascension, and the sheer volume of biological material needed to achieve his transformation resulted in a being that could easily rival the power of the original and true Vaendrakhei. It was far from a natural thing, however.

They were so impressed with their own accomplishment that they could not help but admire and adore what Zhalash had become. Admiration grew to devotion, and devotion grew into worship. Unlike the Vaendrakhei that preceeded him, Zhalash was so drunk on the power he now possessed that he welcomed that worship. He did not even see the way his presence could twist and corrupt his new worshipers as a problem at all. To the contrary, he was helping them to grow stronger as well! He was confident in this new strength. If the Tyrant did return then he and his followers would be ready for him. Those who rejected him as a true Vaendrakh, those who called him a corruption of nature and what the Vaendrakhei had been, just had to be shown the error of their ways...