“Black Stone” [Commission]
11/17/2020
Pencil on Parchment
9 x 12 in.
Artist’s Note:
One of the five commissions (as of this post) I recently received from my 5e DM. This is Black Stone, the BBEG, who our party has encountered in November 2020. My merchant wizard wants no part of trying to stop this evil threat, because he is not an adventurer or a crusader. He did, however, found lore about Black Stone.
This is part of a commission set. See also
2) Fjolk (Portal)
3) Línghún nǚwáng
4) Línghún nǚwáng Revised
5) Umara
Flavor Text:
Black Stone: The surviving chronicles of Xanthias, written in 483 C.H. shortly after the banishment of Black Stone. Annotated and translated by Count Simon De Montfort in 1526 C.H.
He Started life as a simple farmer in an unknown land, its name long since forgotten. His actual name was lost to the ravages of time. The only facts that are known about his life are as follows; He was a man, married to an elvish woman named Fayeth, and that Fayeth was murdered by a Drow conqueror named Feanor. After her murder, Black stone went into great despair pledging to all the gods and demons of the world that he will get his revenge on them for the pain they had caused him. I know not when or by whom his prayers were answered by. I only know that they were answered by a demon barring a stone dagger. The dagger containing a power called "Το μαύρο λεμόνι του ανθρώπου" or the black venom of man, later to be nicknamed the black stone for the effects it has on the user's physical appearance turning their skin to a dark grey. The power is what grants black stone his immortality and his total immunity to any physical harm. But when his rage and hatred mixed with the venom, it corrupted him completely, separating him from all sense and reason. The two powers feeding off each other. The more rage he feels, the stronger the venom becomes, the stronger the venom becomes the more he slips into blood-soaked madness.
The world at large did not know of his existence until the name “Black stone” was recorded roughly fifteen years after the initial cataclysm that set him down this path. He was mentioned in a report from a small city called Klepos requesting help from their king, saying they are being besieged by a great army of darkness. This army would go on to later be referred to as "Black stones Legions." The greatest and most terrible force of destruction our world has known. They would spend the better part of two hundred years enacting Black stones revenge. But not just on this land, but many other continents and realms of existence as well. His army even laid siege to and sacked the great demon strongholds of the nine hells, and saw the celestial heavens burn in the fires of their hatred.
Next to nothing is known about his generals except a brief poem that was written by one of the defenders of the now ruined city of Dis.
"Η μαύρη πέτρα οδηγεί τον στρατό, η Fjolk μετακινεί τον στρατό, ο Umar οργανώνει τον στρατό και ο Línghún nǚwáng nghún nǚwáng κρατά τον στρατό ζωντανό."
Or
"Black stone leads the army, Fjolk moves the army, Umara organizes the army, and Línghún nǚwáng keeps the army."
The army's size and strength are entirely unknown but it is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about his disappearance almost ten years ago; I only know two things. The secretive vampire lords of the black coast are believed to be the ones who banished him, and that the dagger, which gave him his terrible power, is believed to be one of the only things in creation which can pierce his skin.
Notes
The account above is the only commonly known first hand account of Black Stone and his war against the world. Xanthias was a scribe for the lord of a great city called Pellos, one of the few cities to not be destroyed by Black Stone, we don't know why the city was left untouched or how Xanthias was able to observe Black stone and his Generals so closely. But if it was not for his efforts next to nothing would be known about Black stone and his dark forces. From what my research has shown Xanthias traveled in and around the world and realms after the banishment trying to piece together what had happened from those who survived. Compiling their accounts with his own first hand experience. Into what we have now, unfortunately a large portion of his works were lost to the ravages of time so we have only been able to recover pieces of what he wrote.
On a more pleasant note, at least for scholars such as myself. I was able to recover the four sketches that Xanthias did of Black stone and his generals. Again it is completely beyond me how he was able to get close enough to do such detailed sketches of these individuals. But without his work and effort we would have no concept of what they looked like. The sketches are badly damaged from roughly a thousand years of neglect and mistreatment in the archives of Calimport. Especially the sketch of Fjolk which is missing half of the poem that Xanthias had written about him.
The sketches as they appear are of Black Stone, The large brutal looking monster with red eyes and his famed horned helmet. Next is Línghún nǚwáng, the queen of souls. She is easily denoted by her necromancers flames and black cloak. The third one is Fjölkyngi or as it was later shortened to Fjolk, truly a fearsome looking creature with no actual face or distinguishing features, aside from his tattoos which are said to have moved about his body as he used his powers. The forth sketch is of Umara, she is easily identifiable by her distinct Orimonen helmet and armor, and the wretched onyx sands of Almawt that she wielded so ruthlessly.
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