Dante. Just like every other eldritch lich, Cortez's soul is plagued with a malevolent parasite, but this one is far different from the rest. Dante is the silent partner to Cortez, hidden under an illusion but always present. It compels Cortez to spread evil and chaos as it strips Cortez of all remaining humanity.
Similarly to other Far Realm Parasites, Dante will transport Cortez to the Far Realm on death and reappear in 2d4 days, within 1d4 miles of where it died. If Cortez died inside a magic circle cast to contain Undead, it instead reappears as an otyugh with all of Cortez's memories.
Dante's appearance is also so horrifying that anyone that gets close to it instantly becomes frightened. Any who gaze upon Dante for long enough will experience abominable nightmares for the rest of their life. The only way this can be cured is if the memory of Dante's appearance is fully erased.
Legendary Resistance (4/Day). If Cortez fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Unusual Nature. Cortez doesn’t need air, food, drink, or sleep.
Eerie Influence. Cortez produces a small psychic link to any creature in a 100 foot radius, allowing it to posses a subtle influence over them. This takes the form in simple commands such as telling someone to stop talking or reveal themselves from hiding. This also allows it to have advantage on persuasion checks.
Multiattack. Cortez makes one Parasitic Tentacle attack or uses Spellcasting. It also uses Psychic Whisper twice.
Parasitic Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 25 (6d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 25 (6d6 + 4) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned. The poisoned target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. The third time the target fails the save, the target dies and dissolves into a gibbering mouther that obeys Cortez and uses the target’s initiative.
Psychic Whisper. Cortez targets one creature it can see within 120 feet of itself. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or take 25 (6d6 + 4) psychic damage and be stunned until the end of Cortez's next turn as incomprehensible whispers fill the target’s mind.
Spellcasting. Cortez casts one of the following spells, using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17):
At will: toll the dead, mage hand, blur, animate dead
2/day each: silence, fear, lightning bolt
1/day each: blight, disintegrate, seeming, mental prison
When Cortez reaches 30 hit points, he will cast weird as a last resort.
Far Realm Step. Immediately after taking damage, Cortez, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, magically teleports up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.
Broken Vanity. The more damage inflicted on Cortez, the more the powerful illusion he has cast on himself begins to fail. Throughout the fight, Cortez will become increasingly more grotesque, making it more and more angry.
Description
One inky black night many years ago, an honest and brave wizard was touched by the Far Realm and cursed to hold onto his bones for the rest of time, long after any trace of humanity had dissipated. This Eldritch creature is known simply as Cortez; the Unholy Illusionist.
Appearance
The creature is tall and slender, looking down on everyone and everything else. You notice that its hands are just bone of a perfect and eerie shade of white. The white contrasts the deep black clothing the creature wears which is something similar to what a matador would wear. The seams and outlines of the outfit are a mix of dark and blood red, with the return of that ever-present white. This is the same for the sombrero which is worn proudly, as if it were a crown. The strangest item of clothing dawned by this entity is most defiantly the red cloth tied around its waist and tucked behind its jacket. A length of it, at some moments, looks as if it has a mind of its own, waving about when the room is devoid of any breeze. Finally the creatures face; or should I say skull. The skull is decorated with beautiful and precise paint brush strokes and depict leaves of a flower which is also painted on the forehead. Each tooth is a different colour of grey, with a few gold ones even showing. The skulls sockets are also peculiar. One of them, the inside contains small pink and orange dots that form a perfect pattern. The other contains a flower, who's petals look like they were born but a moment ago, or have been dead for longer than it can remember. Everything about this creature is sinister, do you really think it is worth it?
The Ballard of Cortez
Cortez was once a powerful wizard and protector of the realm. His illusion magic fooled and defeated many dangerous foe who stood to harm his kingdom. Tales were told in taverns nation-wide of his greatness. He was beloved by all, and felt every last one of his followers praise, but then the whispering begun.
At first he couldn't make out what they were saying, but he had this constant chattering in his mind. The whispering made it impossible to rest and when he did, he experienced the most horrific nightmares. Cortez began to feel lost as his battled to grasp onto reality. It was only months later, when he finally went mad, that he could identify what the whispering was telling him. It spoke of a group of divine entities known as The Weird who have chosen him to be the vessel for - in the words of the whispers - "the most beautiful thing in reality". Although untrusting of the voices in his head, Cortez felt compelled to seek out these entities as an almost lust to this beautiful thing that had been drilled into his mind. Eventually he found word of where they had hid themselves and went to confront them.
What Cortez was met with however, were a gathering of grotesque, disfigured and wicked looking creatures. He thought he had been tricked, but the whispers had confirmed that these there indeed The Weird who had invested their time towards him. There were seven of them, with one particularly horrifying one leading the rest. It greeted Cortez with kindness but he knew that none of this was right. As night feel, The Weird prepared the ritual and Cortez waited, still eager to leave but unable to as his body wouldn't let him. When they were ready for him, he walked into the centre of their congregation and as they began to chant, Cortez could hear the chatting getting louder and louder until it consumed him. As this continued, they're priest approached him and before he could react, stabbed him in the heart with a ritual knife. As he fell to the ground he could just hear through the whispers its promise to him. That he'd be reborn beautiful. Beautiful and eternal.
Cortez woke up to the sound of screeching coming from his stomach. It felt different. Very very different. It didn't feel the need to eat, sleep or even breath. It could also feel an abundance of power flowing through it, but there was also this pain right in it's core, as if its very soul had been punctured by something. Cortez wondered around for a bit. The Weird were no where around. It was alone, but it didn't feel that way. The whispers were still there but they were obscure again. It soon came across a still body of water and when it gazed into it, everything became clear. Cortez was no more than an abundance of flesh and bone tied together by a milky hide. It was revolting to look at, but none of that compared to the creature that was oozing from its chest. It screeched an howled in the night and realised a sharp tentacle that whipped around in the air before resting around its waist. Was this the most beautiful thing in reality? The creature screeched in a way that made it sound like it was laughing at Cortez.
That night, Cortez walked to the closest village. Anyone who saw Cortez and the parasite that clung to his soul instantly ran away screaming and those who didn't were frozen in fear. Hearing their screams made something snap in Cortez. All it lived for was the masses to love it and now all there was was fear, so if they were going to fear it, then they were going to really really fear it. No one in that village was seen again beyond that night.
Using his illusion magic, he changed his abysmal appearance to something in which he deemed beautiful and with that, he was ready to follow the whispers of the Far Realm to cause destruction and havoc wherever he went for the rest of time.
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