"My master tells me that my words guide the forces of Lalali-Puy in her battles against those of the Shadow King. This gives me joy. Though I am told she is terrible to behold, and indeed many in the city of Gulg serve her out of fear rather than love, all know that it is the power of our Oba that saves us from ruin at the hands of the Shadow King; armies. In the way of a slave, I have aided the Oba for most of my life. It pleases me that at the end of my life I still have value in her eyes." - Esreva, Slave to templar Brevit Musteva of Seven Necklaces
Nibenay is the Sorcerer-King of the city-state Nibenay, which he named after himself. His people refer to him as the Shadow King, for he'll go for decades secluded within the Naggaramakam - his Forbidden Dominion at the center of the city - without being seen by his people. It's often rumored in the years between his appearances the ancient king has finally died, and the complex hierarchy of templars who manage the city have taken his place. Every time, however, the king returns without fail, much to the chagrin of political rivals and rebellion forces alike.
History[]
Overview[]
Gallard, "Bane of Gnomes," was the 6th Champion of Rajaat, and was successful in cleansing gnomes from Athas (except the undead ones which remain in the Dead Lands) He took the name of Nibenay after joining Borys' rebellion. He still rules the city-state that bears his name, as he is one of the few survivors of the recent events surrounding the birth of the Cerulean Storm.
His templars are known as Shadow Brides or Templar Wives. All of them are women of extraordinary beauty and talent.
Nibenay has a son named Dhojakt, who has a monstrous form. It is believed his mother, in order to make him more powerful, used spells to modify his body. It is also rumored that his son got too close to the Pristine Tower, causing him to transform into a new race. As such he is now half man, half cilops (i.e. a giant one eyed centipede with the torso of a man and the legs of a centipede).
He also has an adoptive daughter named Siemhouk, whom he took in after her mother, one of his own templar, died in childbirth. An immensely powerful prodigy in both the arcane and the psionic, Nibenay has granted her the position of High Priestess of the Chamber of Air, as well as granting her privileges afforded to none but herself. Why the otherwise introverted and secretive King has willingly chosen to raise a child and train her in the arts of magic and the Way is unknown, though his closest templars speculate he believes her unique psychic power will prove useful in quelling the insanity that accompanies fully ascending to dragonhood.
The Shadow King has changed his approach to ruling the masses and dealing with the neighboring city-states. Like Hamanu and Lalali-Puy, Nibenay witnessed the deaths of the Dragon and the other sorcerer-kings. He saw Rajaat reach out from beyond the veil of Athas to wreak vengeance against those who betrayed him. He also saw Rajaat defeated by the efforts of lowly mortals from the city of Tyr. In the wake of these signs and portents, Nibenay realized it was time to consider how best to rule his city, for the time for change had come.
Marauders of Nibenay[]
One year, during the Starlight Pageant that ends the festival week of Dessilia in the city-state, Nibenay mounted an attack against the Zwuun, a powerful magical entity protected by the local Veiled Alliance.
Personality[]
Extremely secretive compared to the other Sorcerer-Kings, Nibenay seldom makes public appearances, mainly due to his human form being nearly completely replaced by a more dragon like form. The rare appearances the Shadow King does make are accomplished through illusion magic; only his most senior templars know his true appearance.
Nibenay is an ardent believer in systems and hierarchies. The structure of his namesake city's government has been designed through centuries of refinement to generally carry out his desired vision without him ever having to interact with the world outside the Naggaramakam's walls. Rather than letting his bureaucracy of templars get out of control and usurp his power, as many suspect has happened, the king affords his templars exactly enough autonomy to run the city-state like a "smooth autocratic machine." Any failure by his templars to meet his broader goals results in a swift (and often violent) punishment and restructuring of the position. The Shadow-King considers himself to be a master at analyzing human nature, pitting ambitious templars against each other when he believes their competition will be to the benefit of the city.
Nibenay spends most of his time in his Library of Darkness, a vast collection of literature spanning back millennia. When the mood strikes him, he peruses his Crimson Gallery, an immaculate art gallery primarily filled with the works of the insane and the obsessive, or toys with his intricately-crafted orrery of Athas's solar system. The Shadow-King is extremely particular about how he conducts his academic work. The Library of Darkness is organized in an extremely convoluted method that only makes sense to him, and his personal records are kept in a bizarre magical conlang, keeping them unintelligible to all but the most skilled linguists (or using a spell/psionic power to translate).
The Shadow-King appears to be quite fascinated with the cilops, a gargantuan one-eyed centipede native to the Great Ivory Plains. A cilops appears on the king's royal seal, and his son has become a half-cilops abomination through unknown means.
Tools and Equipment[]
Nibenay's clockwork orrery is so precise, it can be used to confidently make astrological predictions at least a year into the future.
Powers[]
Like all Sorcerer-Kings, Nibenay is a powerful defiler. During the assassination of Dregoth led by Alabach-Re, he used white-hot flames to scorch the life out of the would-be god and his people.
Appearances[]
Novels[]
City Under the Sand (October 2010), by Jeff Mariotte (ISBN 978-0-7869-5623-4)
The Amber Enchantress (October 1992), (ISBN 1-56076-236-5)
The Cerulean Storm (September 1993), (ISBN 1-56076-642-5)
Source Books[]
William Connors (December 1993). DSM3: Marauders of Nibenay. TSR, Inc. ISBN 1-56076-677-8.
Kirk Botula and Curtis Scott (1993). The Ivory Triangle Boxed Set. TSR, Inc. ISBN 1-56076-604-2.
Shane Lacy Hensley (1994). City by the Silt Sea. TSR, Inc. ISBN 1-56076-882-7.
Video Games[]
Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager