The Corruption of the Arcanist
Alistair Malvorn was once the youngest and most gifted arcanist in the royal council of King Lucio Solari. But brilliance without restraint is a blade without a hilt, and his insatiable hunger for power drew him down paths where light could not follow. Obsessed with the forbidden, Alistair scoured vaults and ruins for scraps of lost knowledge—until whispers came. They were not the whispers of mortal schemers, but the slow, deliberate drawl of a presence beyond the veil: Vecna, the Whispered One.
Vecna did not seize him all at once; he traced his claws slowly. First, in dreams. Then, in the flicker of candlelight when Alistair studied alone. Promises were made, always vague, always costly. With each dark bargain, Alistair’s morality thinned, replaced by an almost reverent devotion to the voice in the dark.
His descent manifested in many cruelties:
Abuse — He assaulted a palace servant who, upon becoming pregnant, was cast out under false charges. Her son, Dorian, grew up unaware of his father’s identity.
Profane Experiments — In Crysalda, a tiefling warlock of dubious allegiances, Alistair found a partner for unholy work. Together they experimented on living creatures, twisting them into chimeras of flesh and magic. Some escaped into the wilds; most were left to rot in the bowels of the palace.
Manipulation — He cultivated trust with Riven Hollowmoor, captain of the Solaris navy, using him as an unwitting pawn in plans that would soon turn fatal.
Yet his cruelties were not reserved for strangers. Eryndor Malvorn, Alistair’s elder brother and a paladin sworn to Lathander, had always regarded him with cold disdain. Where Alistair sought domination, Eryndor embodied service and virtue—an affront Alistair could neither forgive nor forget. Their rivalry was quiet but venomous, each encounter at court edged with contempt.
From his unholy union with Crysalda came Malachai Malvorn—a being not wholly man nor beast, shaped by dark sorcery before his birth. Malachai is monstrous in both form and will: a towering, sinewed nightmare of claws, blackened bone, and ember-glowing eyes. His loyalty to Alistair is absolute, his mind sharpened for cruelty, and he roams the sealed passages of Solcrest Palace as its hidden fang, eliminating threats before they ever reach the throne. Few know of his existence; fewer survive meeting him.