Daraken defending himself from the Ka'ril Warband's Treacherous attack.
Daraken (also known as The Empty Lord, Great Lord and God of Unknown Power) is the god of Blood, Control, and Ambition. His arrival in Nimth was one of the most important events of the early Second Age. During this age, he ruled a vast empire stretching from Ice Mountain in eastern IvanGuard to SilferScape in Morytania, and from Ghorrock in the north of the Wasteland as far south as Ubrekk as he waged war against the Chrodinian Desert. From his arrival soon after Nex entered his first great slumber until his downfall at the hand of Zistari, he was the most powerful god known on Nimth ,both in personal power and influence. Daraken is the patron of the Ancient Magicks and Ancient Curses, and is associated with conquest and domination. Daraken has recently regained contact with his followers on Nimth by way of the Communion Portal.
Daraken Vs. The world.[]
Present-day Remorians and Zistarians consider Daraken an adversary. Others, like certain inhabitants of Chrodinian Desert and some Ka'ril Warband Soldiers, still worship Daraken as their lord. There is currently no indication as to Daraken's motives, other than that the player may be part of his plans at some point in the future.
Remorians such as Lennissa, the StewardsTale Librarian have claimed that
"Evil will always breed more evil, and will never be satisfied with what it has. The Empty Lord chose to ally himself with the dark creatures of this world, fully aware that their own natures would cause them to rally against his rule, and take every opportunity they could to betray him."
— Lennissa, The StewardsTale librarian.
With Friends like those...[]
Some of Daraken's followers are evil in the conventional sense of being ruthless, enjoying being deceptive and seeking power for power's sake. In addition, the Ancient Curses seem to be evil (or at least highly combative) in nature: they focus on inflicting damage on others and draining others of their powers. Although some may jump to the conclusion that Daraken is evil, evidence is inconclusive. It is very likely Daraken's army of demons and vampires committed evil acts, but there are no records of Daraken himself promoting evil: however, it is likewise true that there are no records of him promoting good. Additionally, even creatures who did not and do not follow Remora or Zistari, such as the Pharaoh Queen, call Zaros a 'vile creature' whom they clashed against long ago, though this may be due to his war with the Chrondian Pantheon.
Wrapping it up...[]
Daraken's legacy is still strong, as Remora will not speak of him, instead making evasive responses; when asked about Daraken by a Mortal in the Tower of Voices, she refused to say anything: "For your own continued good health, I implore you to drop this subject. Speak that name no more, and trouble not your mind with such thoughts."
Zistorians fears him immensely, as Daraken will seek out vengeance against him if he manages to return, the reason Zistori tried to omit every reference leading to him, to try to prevent him from returning. Remora also joined Zistori in this action, as she dislikes Daraken immensely, for unknown reasons however, most likely because of his unholy influence (demons, vampires, the Ka'ril Warband...).
According to the Volturan Book of Divinity , "As I told you, the Empty Lord was extremely powerful, but not so powerful that he could rule over the other deities of this world. Should he have made a move against any other god, then he could still have been easily brought down by the combined efforts of the others." With the aid of the Staff of Remidi, though, Daraken's power would have been magnified to a degree enabling him to overcome all the other gods; however, due to interference by certain followers of Zistori and Remora, he failed to obtain the artefact.
Notable followers of Daraken include the Ka'ril Warband Generals Akthatosh, Icarin Bey, Jhallan, Silkranad and Washiniski. Traditionally, the vampires, Ifrits, and demons of Gielinor were allied with Zaros, but most, if not all of these, switched their allegiance to Zistori once he defeated Daraken.
The Second Age[]
Daraken arrived in Nimth after Nex entered his first sleep. Therefore, it is likely that Nex has little knowledge of Daraken.
At some point, Daraken discovered the race known as the WyrmRiders in a realm very different to Nimth, both geologically and culturally; it was a peaceful world, with no need for conflict. Eventually, after some time observing them, Daraken came before the WyrmRiders, whom he had learned had suffered infertility for some decades, and gave to them a proposition:
"I have an offer for your people; I can cure your infertility. You must stop playing nanny to these beasts and have children of your own. Come away from this world and receive my gift." - Daraken
Faced with the promised prospect of the return of childbearing to their race, the WyrmRiders accepted the Empty Lord's offer and accompanied to Nimth through a portal [which is suggested in Last Riders to have lead to what is now the King Black Dragon's Lair]. The WyrmRiders adapted quickly to the ways their new world worked, learning the concepts of combat, war, betrayal, loyalty, and lies, and over time proved to be formidable soldiers for the Empty Lord, becoming feared by Daraken's enemies. Yet despite this, Daraken did not deliver on his original promise, and with their infertility still an issue, the WyrmRider's numbers were eventually depleted, never to increase again, until in the end only five of them remained: Abientan, Wyrmla, Doggan, Dove Ro', Chorolo
BETRAYAL[]
Zistari, Ka'ril Waband's general in Daraken's service, wanted to usurp Daraken's leadership of his vast empire and the Ka'ril Warband. When he, by chance, got hold of the Staff of Remidi, he decided to make his move. With his close Ka'ril followers Iblis and Zamouregal, as well as the vampyre Lord Dharok and others, he plotted Daraken's downfall. His allies would engage Daraken's bodyguards while Zistari fought their liege.
One week before his plan was executed, Zistari approached the five remaining WyrmRiders, and gave them an offer; that he would provide them what Daraken could not deliver, in exchange for two of their number joining him as personal bodyguards. Abientan and Doggan agreed to the deal, believing that if they helped Zistari take Daraken's place as a god, he would cure their infertility as was long overdue.
Staff of Remidi[]
Valdez, a Remoran explorer, stumbled upon the Staff of Remidi. He realized this immensely powerful weapon should not fall into the wrong hands. However, a thief called Rennard found Valdez, knocked him unconscious and stole the Staff. He intended to sell it to Daraken. Instead, Daraken's messenger, Hakim, took it to Zistari, who was mortal at that time. Lennissa, a Remoran spy, found out about the sale and informed her superior Verac, a Saradominist mage. Dhalak was supposed to pass the information on to Remora herself, but he instead enchanted the staff so that Daraken could not detect it. He hoped that Daraken, the greatest enemy of Remoraat that time, would be defeated.
Fallout[]
Zistari, accompanied by his loyal followers - many of the Ka’ril, vampyres, demons, and a human called Viggora, set out to attack Daraken in his throne room.
Whilst the followers of Zistari distracted the guards, Zistari fought Daraken and managed to stab him in the back with the Staff of Remidi. This weakened Daraken, but he still seemed to be much more powerful than Zistari. With the staff still impaled in his back he seized Zistari by the throat and lifted him into the air. Zistari would have been killed, But then, Iblis, one of Zistari's close followers, and a powerful mage, shot a burst of energy towards Daraken, knocking him on his back as The Staff of Remidi impaled Zistari without leaving Daraken' body. Unexpectedly, it acted as a conduit that transferred at least some of Daraken' divine power to Zistari. For "usurping/banishing" a god, Zistari was banished from Nimth. However, according to information in The Codex Of Nex, he somehow obtained the Crystal Stone and returned to Nimth as a god. At Zistari's return, most of Daraken' followers abandoned their original god and sided with Zistari. There were notable exceptions however, including the fortress city of Padewwa and the magnificent capital of Daraken' empire, Ghorrock.
"The Empty Lord was a powerful god, stronger than any of the others awake at the time, possibly even as strong as Nex is, and Zistari was but a mortal: a Ka’ril warrior all the same, with all of the strength and power that entails, but mortal nonetheless, but to see him fight, you would not think of him as a ‘mere’ anything...He was war itself! Flurry after flurry of blows he rained upon the Empty Lord, and the very castle walls shook and quivered with their power, but the Empty Lord would not fall! Even with the weapon of a god embedded in his back, he fought on, and with each blow our victory seemed less and less certain..."
— Viggora
Aftermath[]
Daraken faded from Nimth while Zistari seemed to become more real. However, before he was "banished", Daraken uttered a curse onto all those involved in the rebellion. The curse was to make them wander around Nimth as ghosts for eternity. The following six people were affected by the curse:
Valdez, a Remoran explorer.
Rennard, a seemingly Darakenian thief.
Kharrim, a Zistariian messenger.
Lennissa, a Remoran spy.
Verac, Lennissa's boss.
Viggora, a Zistariian warrior.
Zistari and his followers were also targeted by Daraken' curse, but as he and most of his followers were magical, the curse seems to have had no effect on them. (e.g. Thammaron, Lord Dharok, and the other vampyres, all the Mahjarrats that aided Zistari).
The remaining followers of Daraken were actively hunted by followers of both Remora and Zistari. However, Zistari soon turned against Remora and other gods, starting the God Wars. Even during the God Wars, when Zistari battled with other gods, he occasionally joined forces with Remora to fight off the remaining followers of Daraken.
The WyrmRiders that Zistari had enlisted, Abientan and Doggan, were branded traitors by Zistari's other followers and were eventually hunted and killed by his vampyre allies and helldogs respectively. At the same time, those who remained loyal to the Empty Lord, Wyrmla and Chorolo, were also labeled traitors by Daraken' followers and were also slain, by a number of ripper demons still loyal to the Empty Lord. Only Dovan Ro' survived, and was able to escape to the cave in which his race had first stepped foot on Nimth.
Before the God Wars during the third age, some Remorans attempted to wipe the memory of Daraken from Nimth. The Remorans locked away a group of Darakenians, including Zyx in a dungeon close to the present day God wars dungeon.
Domain and Statistics[]
Daraken Controlled the Domains of:
- Darkness
- Trickery
- War
Symbol: Circle with an X within it.
Home Plane: Banished/Unknown
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Favored Weapon: The Ancient Staff
Favored Animal: Raven
Book: The Ancient Tome