Zuhak and Dark Sorcery

Zuhak’s reign was tainted by a peculiar affliction that cursed him. What started as two unexplainable very painful bolds on his shoulders would within months grow into two giant serpents emerging from his shoulders. Their insatiable hunger demanded brains from young boys and so Zuhak turned towards the Kurdish population. Tormented by this dreadful curse, Zuhak was driven to desperation for a way to get rid of the snakes.

Throughout the years, Zuhak attempted several times to get rid of the snakes, but for each failed attempt, the snakes became more threatening and violent towards Zuhak. His state mentally tortured him, and he could not think of any other explanation rahter than that this was his punishment for how he had treated the many minorities of his kingdom, with pain and suffering.

As despair settled upon him, a mysterious stranger arrived at Zuhak’s grand castle. This enigmatic figure, known only as Malachar, possessed an air of arcane knowledge and dark mysticism. Intrigued and desperate for a remedy, Zuhak welcomed the stranger into his court. Malachar spoke with an aura of confidence and offered Zuhak a glimmer of hope. He revealed to the cruel rule that the only path to liberation from his wretched state lay within the forbidden arts of dark sorcery. Zuhak was initially hesitant, wary of venturing into such treacherous territory, but the promise of salvation eclipsed his fears. Driven by his overwhelming desire for freedom and the eradication of the serpents that plagued him, Zuhak made a fateful decision. He embarked on a perilous journey into the depths of dark sorcery, guided by the teachings and mentorship of Malachar. Zuhak delved deeper and deeper into the forbidden arts, gradually unraveling the ancient secrets of the arcane world.

For Zuhak, and many before him, giving in to the arts of Dark Sorcery would require sacrifise. For Zuhak it corrupted his soul to a level that could never go back. However, Zuhak took the opportunity to learn how he could use the corruption for his own benefit, and thus became the first ever sorcerer to use the art of corruption on other beings.

 

During these years, Zuhak split his time between The Serpent Statue and The Secret Cave of Hewler spending lots of hours in these locations in order to dig deeper and deeper into violent and disturbing sorcery. Zuhak’s soul became tainted, and the line between right and wrong blurred as he delved further into the shadows. The pursuit of power and the desire for liberation consumed him, overshadowing his initial intentions. Zuhak would find many other things before he found a solution. Soon people knew him as a formidable sorcerer, feared by the most.

The serpents on his shoulders, once symbols of his torment, started to fear his power and would in time adapt into his loyal companions and the power of the dark sorcery blinded Zuhak from the original reason for why he adapted the dark sorcery to begin with. 

With each forbidden spell, Zuhak’s appearance transformed. His once wise and noble countenance became twisted, and his heart grew colder with each incantation. The dark sorcery he wielded tainted his soul, corrupting his intentions and driving him further away from the path of light.

Finally, after years of tireless pursuit, Zuhak discovered a forbidden ritual capable of destroying the serpents. In a note found close to The Serpent Statue, Zuhak explains that a new path of the dark sorcery will lead him to immortality by splitting his soul into several items, in this way, Zuhak himself will be immortal but not the snakes, hinting that Zuhak planned to commit suicide and reappear through dark sorcery without the snakes on his shoulders.

But before he could go through with the ritual, the ultimate price had to be payed. Zuhak had to sacrifice the life force of countless innocents, drawing their souls into a twisted vessel of power. The unexplained faith of these many thousands of innocent Kurds that Zuhak wanted to use for his ritual would be the starting point of the First Kurdish revolution performed by Kawa The Blacksmith.