| Creator, patron of Clan Sehkma
Many years ago there lived a man named Calistarius, a man beleived by
many to be the most dangerous and feared man alive. Calistarius was a thief
of exceptional skill. More importantly, Calistarius was the leader of the
Heresy. In that era, The Heresy was without doubt the deadliest guild of
assassins among many. It is said with no false modesty that no one has ever
survived a hit carried out by the Heresy. In short, he was an evil man who
would do anything for the promise of wealth or power.
On one fateful day, Calistarius was approached by agents of an evil
warlord plaguing the lands to the west. Specifically, these agents were sent
by an archwizard in the employ of the warlord to obtain his services. With
the promise of great rewards, Calistarius packed all his usual working gear
and went with the messengers to meet with this archwizard.
The meeting went rather smoothly and only lasted about an hour. The
archwizard, one Rimbol of Scarab, wanted Calistarius to find an artifact deep
within the bowels of the Underdark. It was a perilous assignment, but no
more so than hundreds of others he had accepted. The fact that this one was
paying ten times the amount of his most lucrative assignment ever was just
the clincher.
The following morning, Calistarius made preparations and was on his way
to the Isle of Agony by mid morning. Not much is known about his expedition
through the caves of the Isle or the perils he faced in the Underdark, but it
is said that it took all his wits, cunning, and skills to make it to the
resting place of the artifact and escape in one piece.
A month later, Calistarius returned to Rimbol's laboratory and presented
him with the artifact: a rose made of some unidentifiable black crystal.
After gingerly handing the rose over and accepting his payment, Calistarius
hastened back to his fortress.
What happened next marked the dawn of a new era. Unbeknownst to Rimbol,
Calistarius had taken a singular petal from the rose. With all his power and
influence, there was one thing he was not able to acquire. He hoped that by
giving the petal as a gift he would win the heart of a fair maiden now known
by the use-name of Firewitch. Since many years of more mundane gifts had
failed, he figured that this might be just the thing. This turned out to be
an unwise move on his part though, because when Rimbol invoked the rose the
spell went awry and The Sundering occurred. Most beings at ground zero of
the blast died instantaneously. Though no longer inside the fortress of the
warlord, Calistarius had not moved fast enough, nor far enough to escape the
effects of the initial shock wave of a magic that warped and redefined
reality. A burst of magic hit Calistarius like a tornado as he was making
his way along the path leading to the borders of the warlords domain.
By all rights, the dastardly fellow should have died in nanoseconds, but
for some reason he did not. It is speculated that the petal resting in his
pocket protected him in some way from the blast. Calistarius was caught in
the magical maelstrom, and whipped about for what seemed an eternity,
relentlessly pelted by little glass-like slivers that cut through flesh and
fused to his bones. It is rumored that these were in reality, shards of the
shattered rose, but nothing can be found to prove the veracity of these
claims.
When at last the maelstrom died out, Calistarius was lowered to the
earth. Calistarius lay unconscious for some time. He was awoken by the one
known as Smote, it became readily apparent that something deep inside the
assassin had shattered. Like the maelstrom through which he passed, he was a
wreck, his mind divided into countless personas, each warring for control
over the others. However, the events that had transpired also fulfilled his
dark goals. He had gained the power of a god. This new god's presence was
not felt right away. He who was Calistarius went into a self imposed exile.
Out of this exile, he did not return. What did return is that known as
Mephiston.
Mephiston God of Wealth and Prosperity. A god whose favor is a always
welcome, but is also known to be rather short-lived. He is known and feared
for his fickleness and wild changes in character. This is rumored to be
because of his shattered psyche. Though he possess massive self-control and
willpower, he is still overtaken by one or more of these personas in moments
of stress or confusion.
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