Praevus

Overview

The dark sorcerer called Praevus, an enigmatic being that surfaced shortly after the death of Eidolon, emerged on the world of Thyrion as the most clear and present threat to the realm in the immediate aftermath of the Serpent Riders' failed conquest. It is not known who or what Praevus was, or from whence he originated, but he was known unquestionably as a magic-user of considerable means. His arrival on Thyrion (or at least the revelation of his existence there) coincided with the abrupt appearance of a theretofore unknown landmass which came to be called Tulku, a continent that acted both as Praevus' personal demesne and the site of his stronghold. It can be assumed that the sudden emergence of Tulku, as well as its previous concealment, was the direct result of Praevus' magic, though how such an immense tract of land could have been hidden from plain sight is beyond what most can fathom. The minions left leaderless after Eidolon's fall quickly coalesced around this new dark lord upon witnessing his power, and thus Praevus was able to mobilize a sizable army in a fairly short amount time.

Praevus' sudden appearance on Thyrion proved not to be without cause. In truth, he had waited in secret for ages for the deaths of the Serpent Riders to become reality. The fall of the mighty Eidolon, which was preceded by the deaths of his brothers D'Sparil and Korax, was the last impediment to the fulfillment of his goals. After each Serpent Rider was slain, Praevus collected their soul, and once all three were in his possession, he could combine them with his own to become a being of such power as even the Serpent Riders could not have fathomed. Despite his meticulous planning, Praevus fatally underestimated the four heroes who had slain the demon Eidolon. Along with the Demoness, a being of Eidolon's creation who sought to punish the new arrival for desecrating her master's soul, the four traversed the frozen landscape of Tulku to Praevus' inner sanctum, preventing him from completing the assimilation process and loosing the Serpent Riders' souls from his grasp in the process.

Appearance

Complimenting the Tibetan architectural theme of Tulku, Praevus himself resembles a twisted perversion of a Buddhist deity, with blood red eyes and elongated, clawlike fingers. Several aspects of his design were seemingly meant to evoke traditional depictions of Buddhist divinities, from his additional pair of arms, to his cross-legged stance and mudra-esque hand gestures. In the final confrontation of Portal of Praevus, he teleports between three fixed points within a small arena, casting various fire, lightning, and arcane spells at the player. He is initially protected by a series of rotating magical shields, which must be brought down through normal weapon fire before he can be properly damaged.