Varek Azzur

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Varek Azzur
Preferred Weapon	oriental sabres and daggers
Homeland	Port Blacksand
Known associates	Kukulak (worshipper), His City Guard
Race/Species	Human
Gender	Male

Lord Varek Azzur is the infamous ruler of Port Blacksand in Allansia.

Early Life

Varek was born into the noble House of Azzur in Arion, north-east Khul. Neither the day nor year of his birth (reckoned by some to be 223 AC) are certain. His birthday is officially celebrated in Port Blacksand on the 4^th of Winds, though acolytes of the cult of Kukulak are required to celebrate a new birthday from the day when they are initiated into the cult (which would presumably then have been the 4^th day of Birds Chatter).

Acolyte of Kukulak

His fall from grace came at the age of sixteen when he was converted by devotees of Kukulak, the Khulian god of Storms, whose cult in Arion worshipped the god in a most unwholesome manner. Clad in thick black clothes, the devotees of the god burnt brands into their faces and bodies as part of their initiation. If scars formed themselves into Kukulak's runes then the acolyte would be accepted, if not then death would follow. Azzur was forced into becoming an acolyte but as a result of the scarring ran away for fear of his parent's reaction. They were never to see him again.

Life of Piracy Begins

He fled Arion for Corda but the merchant ship he was on was raided by pirates operating from the Rockwall Islands. He was effectively kidnapped by the pirates and converted into one of them quickly rising to become second in command. He moved on to operate out of the Arrowhead Islands as a pirate warrior. The first time he was known as a pirate Captain was when his pirate galley, the Face of Chaos raided the port of Merluk in the extreme south-east of Allansia. This was nine years after his disappearance from Arion. Six years of raiding the southern coastline of Allansia raised his reputation further.

Crest of Lord Azzur

Port Blacksand

It was in the fourth of those years that Azzur's boldest move was made when he stormed Port Blacksand in 252 AC deposing Illios Valentis hanging the Baron from the highest tower of his palace. That palace was torn down and in 254 AC Lord Azzur's new palace was finished. Azzur quickly formed an elite City Guard. Azzur's Guard wear distinctive black livery and include Ogres and Trolls as well as Humans. In 257 AC Azzur instituted the bizarre New Year event of executing several of the most prominent citizens and distributing their riches to the poor.

The scars that Varek Azzur has as a result of his induction to the cult of Kukulak have bound him to that god, yet he does not display them proudly. Rather he hides them under a veil and few have ever seen them. It is said that those that have and tell the tale have little time left on this mortal coil. Lord Azzur only occasionally ventures from his palace, but when he does so it is inside his ornate coach and he will always be swathed in his black robes.

Azzur is served by a select band of trusted people, who have been taken from their homes at a young age never to return. They are trained to be loyal to Azzur above all else and may never leave the palace. Only the most trusted servants, for example the coachman and the head of the kitchens are allowed contact with the outside world. Azzur himself rarely speaks to an outsider directly except when speaking in anger. His servants include the Mouth, the Eyes, and the Ears, all of whom participated in the torture of Fazilus Astra, a powerful wizard.

Azzur rules the city with an iron hand. In the early days of his rule, there were numerous rebellions and attempted coups launched against Azzur's overlordship. However the brutality that Azzur and his lackeys used to suppress these uprisings meant that his rule of the city has been unchallenged for years. Two other attempts to overthrow Azzur's rule (using magic) were made by The Riddling Reaver and Xortan Throg, but both of these attempts were defeated by adventurers. Anyone arrested by Azzur's City Guard and charged will be imprisoned in one of the city's gatehouses before being put on trial. Unless the prisoner can bribe the guards to obtain release, or get a expensive lawyer to argue his or her case, they face rough justice. Azzur's laws prescribe draconian punishments for convicted criminals, including enslavement, mutilation, and various gruesome forms of execution. Members of Blacksand's aristocracy or guild leaders who have been arrested will be tried in closed session by Azzur himself. A strictly enforced "pass" system applies to the city; outsides need to acquire a pass to entry the city, another to leave it, other passes to drink in certain taverns, enter the temples, or trade in the city. These passes are expensive.

Lord Azzur Today

Lord Azzur attending the opening of the Trial of Champions.

Azzur still likes to sail the Face of Chaos out of harbour on raids up and down the "Pirate Coast". He remains calm and assured, intellectual and mystical, and is a clever tactician and inspirational leader. He is rarely seen in public, save at the gladiatorial arena.

Lord Azzur also loves cultivating exotic flowers. He displays some of them in the Blacksand Public Gardens. The pride of his collection, the rare Black Lotus flowers, are guarded by the dreaded Leaf Beasts.

Knowledge of Azzur

Azzur is a mysterious figure even in Blacksand, where he is only occasionally seen, covered entirely in black robes. Only two people are said to have seen his face; his personal holy-man who he consults once a month, and, according to popular legend, Drogo Widemouth, who snuck into the palace through Blacksand's extensive sewer system, and entered his bedchamber at night; his dismembered body parts were later discovered as a warning to others.

Anyone who wishes to communicate with Azzur usually does so through one of Azzur's lackeys. However, on rare occasions Azzur will allow visitors to speak to him. Azzur will invite such visitors to a audience chamber deep within his palace. Visitors in this chamber have to sit in front of a carved wooden screen. This screen obscures most (but not all) of the view to the other side. Lord Azzur sits on the other side of the screen in a carved throne. Azzur listens carefully to what his visitors have to say. He then whispers his responses to his trusted man servant, Gathrun, who relays the ruler's message. Azzur only speaks directly to outsiders if he plans to shout at them, and that is not a prospect to be relished!

While the House of Azzur is well known in the city of Arion, it was the famous historian, scholar, and traveller, Zelakar of Chalannabrad who brought knowledge of Varek Azzur's background to the rest of the world.

It is revealed in The Port of Peril that Lord Varek Azzur swore fealty to the Night Prince Zanbar Bone, being described as his "most faithful servant" by the failed treasure hunter Gurnard Jaggle. He conspires with the Spirit Stalkers to force the stonemason Horace Wolff to carve a cursed keystone that could revive their lord, by holding his wife Luannah Wolff hostage in his palace jail. He also sent the Chaos Warrior named Klash to steal the magical Ring of Burning Snakes and capture Zanbar Bone's hated rival, the Legendary Mage Arakor Nicodemus to be jailed and executed.

In, The Gates of Death, it is revealed that Azzur has plans for Allansia as a whole, which the demon plague spreading throughout Allansia was inhibiting. His solution was to send a Guardian of the Crucible to the Invisible City to find a cure rather than his own servants. He was willing to lend his khopesh, an anti-demon sword, to the Guardian, since the weapon could pass the rival sorcerer's power back to Azzur.

Azzur sends his assassins

In Assassins of Allansia, Lord Azzur is the primary antagonist by proxy, putting a bounty on an adventurer's head for killing his liege, the Night Prince Zanbar Bone. Azzur appears in person in Fang where he directly confronts the adventurer. If the adventurer survives all of Azzur's assassins, then Azzur would allow his friend, Baron Sukumvit to let the adventurer gain a pardon by entering the Trial of Champions and perhaps survive Deathtrap Dungeon.

Further Notes

• Lord Azzur has a court magician working for him, Duramax Frogshaper.
• Azzur is known to be hostile to Salamonis and its ruling house. Hence King Salamon LVII insisted that a group of adventurers travelling to Blacksand on his behalf do so in disguise.
• In a map of Allansia published in The Salamonis Gazette Issue 2, the area near Blacksand, (between the mouths of the Catfish River and the Red River) is labelled "Azzuria". This implies Azzur may have plans to expand his political power into these areas around Blacksand, and has renamed the region accordingly.
• Varek Azzur has an uncle, Lord Steinig Azzur. Steinig Azzur stills lives in Arion and shares his nephew's ruthless disposition. Steinig and Varek are estranged from each other.

Rulers of Countries or City-States
Preceded by Illios Valentis	Ruler of Port Blacksand 252 AC to present	Succeeded by N/A

Appendix

Gallery

Lord Azzur and his assistant Grovelsnitch, in a promo for Ian Livingstone's City of Thieves: The Graphic Novel.

Appearances

Adventures

• Assassins of Allansia (book)
• City of Thieves (book)
• The Gates of Death (book) (mentioned)

Sourcebooks

• Blacksand!
• Blacksand (AFF)
• Heroes of Titan (mentioned)
• Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World
• Travels in Arion (mentioned)
• Voyages en Terre d'Arion

References