Xer Supideo the Great Orc

In time past before recorded time was a Great Orc named Xer Supideo.  Xer was a great warrior and fighter.  He was born under a prophetic omen and thusly was dedicated to the God Ares.  As the child of a tribe chieftain Xer grew in skill due to his father’s relentless training and constant warning, “Ares does not accept failure,” and “there is only victory or death, nothing more.  By the age of 15 Xer Supideo had proven himself a capable warrior through not only excelling amongst his peers but amongst the veteran infantry warriors.

As time passed and Xer’s accolades continue to mount, he found himself as the Commander of all the Great Orc armies.  It was after this achievement that Rex began to grow to question the gods.  Specifically, the god Ares.  All the Great Orcs praise Ares and offer him sacrifices out of fear of his might.  Xer Supideo began to question why a great champion and conqueror of realms would ever need to bend a knee to a god that he believed he could fell.  His distaste for the feasts of Ares became evident when he used his influence to sway many of the Ares’ celebrations to rejoice in his own accomplishments.

At first the Great Orcs were weary of the change and feared that Ares would rain down vengeance for their heresy.  But as Xer had prophesized nothing happened, and the Great Orcs continued to praise the feats of Xer Supideo.  Xer had grown to be known as a god and as such was placed as ruler over all Great Orcs.  Xer ruled over his kingdom as a god and after years Ares began to rage.  Ares was ridiculed by the other deities as he had not only lost his power over his creations, but also had his godship usurped by a mere mortal.  Ares would no longer stand for this outrage.

On the day of Celebration (once reserved for Ares) a great calamity struck the Great Orc City ruled by Xer Supideo.  Fire rained down on the city from above.  Thunderous explosions could be heard around the city as the fire fell.  As the fire fell the Great Orcs began to panic and evacuate the city.  The clerics of Ares were the first to begin the condemnation of all the Great Orcs as heretics receiving their deserved divine retribution.  The priest of Ares continued exalted chants “All praise to our divine god of war. Death to the weak and insipid. Be baptized by fear and pain and rejoice in the strength of Ares!” The priest even captured those fleeing the city and sacrificed them to Ares as a sign of their dedication to Ares above all other gods (immortal of otherwise).

At the first explosions Xer sounded the alarm and readied his guard.  Xer had been waiting for the day Ares would arrive and give him the challenge he had been craving.  As a self-proclaimed god, Xer called out to Ares, “COWARD! You fight your battles from a distance like a coward.  If you believe me so weak that you can swat me and my people away as bugs, then come smite me yourself!”  Xer raged as the only attacks were coming from above.

Xer ordered protective barrier be cast to protect his people.  Xer then mounted the black dragon which he had dominated and tamed as yet another sign of his supreme powers.  He took flight leaving the barrier and searching out Ares.  “FIGHT ME COWARD!  I spit in the mockery that is your legend!  You are less than a worm and like a worm hide in fear of my HEEL!” cursed Xer.

Xer flew higher continuing his raging desperately searching for the god he wished to fell.  Ares appeared in a chariot being pulled by the Hippoi Areioi (4 Horses of Ares).  Ares baring shield and spear charged Xer.  Xer reared his mount quickly changing his upward flight into a dive bomb.  The black dragon torpedoed toward Ares and his mounts with mouth agape.  As they dove past the front of the chariot the black dragon removed the head of the far-left horse (Aithon) while Xer simultaneous ripped the middles horse (Conabus) head from its body with only his hands. The sudden removal of the heads of half Ares horse forced him to stop his decent and address his losses.

As Ares pulled back on the chariot reigns Xer came about and unleashed the black dragon’s acid breath.  Xer heaved the horses head at Ares as the acid hit and began melting away chariot and both the remains of and remaining horses.  Xer leapt from the back of the black dragon brandishing a greataxe being ready with two hands over his head.  In that moment Ares launched his spear striking Xer through the chest and stopping his momentum.  Xer fell from the sky crashing into the earth.  Ares followed behind, having left his mount to the acid.

Xer removed the spear from his chest and roared heaving the spear at Ares.  Ares moved to catch the spear as it was thrown by a mere mortal.  Ares attempted to rip thespear from the air, but as he grabbed the spear the sheer force powered through his grip.  The spear penetrated Ares armor injuring the immortal in both pride and physicality.

“YOU ARROGANT SWINE!  I AM A GOD!” screamed Ares as he quickly ripped the spear from his chest plate.  Xer was before him on one knee holding his chest with his right hand and the great axe with his left.  The axe blade buried in the dirt with the handle acting as staff to steady himself.  He struggled to stand as blood rushed from the hole in his chest and collected at the corners of his mouth. “You believe you are the level of a god?  You’re barely on the level of a dog,” quipped Ares.

Xer smiled at the line just spoken.  “You smile?  Am I a joke to you?  You insolate…” mused Ares walking toward the crumpled Great Orc.  Ares was a step away from Xer when Xer jerked his great axe with his left hand burying the blade into the chin of Ares.  Again a small trickle of blood appeared this time on his chin.  Ares’ face contorted; rage growing with every passing second.

“I see you bleed a lot for a god.  I must say for a supposed divine being you are especially disappointing,” mocked Xer easily standing and readying his battle axe.  Ares steadied himself and drew his gladius that was ready in his belt.  “Oh you intend to fight me as an equal after all…  ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU MY GODLINESS!” screamed Xer heaving himself blade first at Ares.

The god and mortal battled for days.  The Great Orc city had been leveled by the battle between the two.  All that had been built by Xer was nothing more than ruble, In spite of what would be considered a massive loss to any other was just a stone on the path defeating a subpar god and securing his place among the gods.

On the 13th day Xer could move no more.  He had broken every weapon he had or could find.  His armor did not exist, and his body was a road map of cuts and scars.  Ares too had taken damage from the battle, but as an immortal was not physically injured by anything more than scratches.  Ares showed little damage on the outside, but the gods pride and honor had not only been sullied, but with every passing day that the battle raged the other deities judged and mocked him.

“Heretic! As you lie there understanding your own inadequacies as the worm you are I shall help you learn from your mistakes,” spoke Ares as he kicked Xer to his belly.  “Now spend eternity wandering without rest as you will never see the Elysian Fields nor experience the joy of praise and renown ever again.”

Ares raised his spear and sank it into the back Xer Supideo’s skull ensuring that he would experience a coward’s death with face in the mud and his soul would never rest.  Ares kicked the dying Great Orc attempting to hurry his passing. 

“Remember well the power of a god as these words haunt you for an eternity, You will rot and fade to be remembered only by the worms that have made a meal of your flesh.  Only a true god is immortal,”

With the last uttered words Ares spit at the heretic and faded away to return to Olympus and repair the damage created by the heretic’s rebellion.  Xer let out a long breath, the mud in his mouth bubbled.  He heard well the last words of Ares and knew that he was right about a god’s immortality.  Xer as a mortal did not stand a chance only because of the divine. 

In his last moments Xer prayed, “I will dedicate my entire being to any god that will grant my plea.  Grant me the honor of killing Ares.  I will entertain you with the death of Ares and serve you his head on a silver platter.” Xer’s consciousness faded and immense sadness overtook him.

“My, my you are quite amusing now, aren’t you?” mused a woman glad in white and gold.  “Though I do not like to take sides in any matter as neutrality is the safest path in my opinion; I would love to see if you could in fact defeat that pompous fool.”

Time had stopped.  Xer was certain that he was dead, and this was simply the start of his wandering for eternity.  He continued to question in his mind what was happening, who was this woman, and will I truly get my revenge.

“Oh me?  To you I am Lady Luck, because it is your day to shine,” answered the woman reading Xer’s thoughts.  “I am Tyche a goddess, well in your case I am “The Goddess” as I am answering your prayer…maybe.”  Tyche continued, “I will gladly give you the opportunity to not only defeat Ares, but possibly become a god.  Well, demi-god, but heyyy, you will be divine, and you will have a chance to properly equip for the battle.”

Xer screamed in his mind without hesitation, “I ACCEPT.”

“Great! Now let me make sure you understand what you accepted and what you will get.”  Tyche explained, “you, your bloodline, your kingdom, anything you create is a dedication to me.  As I will give you life, I will give you a land of both sanctuary and discovery, I will give you the opportunity to kill, neigh, destroy Ares.  And you are my errand boy.  Though I don’t see me asking you for much if anything but remember this well.  I will provide you with all I spoke in exchange for you and your future subjects’ loyalty, and the expectation is the defeat of Ares.”

Xer still lying face down unable to move heard all that was said agreeing again.  Tyche continued talking.  “I am glad you still agree, but you should listen closely to the next part of the agreement.  If you fail to defeat Ares and break our contract, I will drop you into the River Styx and allow you to experience something worse than an eternity wandering the realm.”

Tyche bent over and touched Xer.  Xer began to move his limbs and regain his mobility.  He reached back behind his head and removed the spear that was so violently plunged into his skull.  He threw the spear aside as all his wounds closed.

“I have knowledge of a realm that is not well-known.  In fact many would say it is lost, but in being lost it will not be found,” explained Tyche.  “This will give you time to prepare yourself for your upcoming battle, construct whatever you need, gather whatever troops you may want, and of course assist me with minor errands from time to time.”

Xer dropped to one knee and lowered his head. “My goddess thank you for your blessing and the privilege of bringing you Ares head,” praised Xer.

“Fantastic!  Glad to hear you so enthusiastic, and I love “My goddess” line.  It really pulled at my heart strings,” joked Tyche.  “Well I have other business and you have an army to grow and equipment to find so…” with the last words spoken by Tyche the world around Xer began to waver and fade to black.

When vision returned to Xer’s eyes he was in a dark boggy area.  The land smelled of rot of sickly-sweet fruit and rancid meat.  There appeared to be a mushroom forest in the distance to the West and a large mountain to the east.  Suddenly a flash of green-yellow light split the sky and a large mass appeared.  The mass fell to the ground with a loud thud as small pieces of debris were thrown into the air.  In the pile were daggers and swords but he could not tell where or who forged the weapons.  There was also apples peels and orange rinds mixed in with what looked to be a child’s doll resembling a humanoid Xer had never seen.

“What is this place?  What trick is this?” shouted Xer.

The ground began to shake as Xer’s wounds from earlier began to reappear.  A voice began to boom in Xer’s head.  He dropped to the ground coughing up blood and grasping his head.

“Have you forgotten so soon?” the voice boomed in Xer’s head.  “I am your goddess and you my errand boy.  You, your existence, and anything you bring into existence are mine.  Now I know it was unfair to throw you into The Void without warning so I guess I can be lenient.”

The pain in Xer’s head vanished and the wounds closed again.  He wiped the blood from his mouth but remained on his knees.

“Oh, you are such a good boy,” Tyche mused.  “Anyway, I’m sorry about that again, but let me help you understand my gift.  This land is a land where things that have been lost go.  As you can see this world is full of potentials.  There are weapons, tools, magic items, and so much more.  I will say it is a land of strong wild magic, but it is quite gloomy. AH, that’s it Ooziegloom Land.”

Tyche looked down at Xer and gave one last line, “Xer Supideo I crown you King of Ooziegloom Land!  Now don’t disappoint me.”  She vanished as the last word left her lips.

“Yes, my goddess thank you.  You have made me a king over a magical realm that I will build, grow, and equip for the glory of my goddess and demise of Ares!” shouted Xer to the heavens.  Xer now blessed by the piety of Tyche began his mission.

Tyche's Castle

During the day those inside of the grounds of Tyche's Castle gain Advantage on all rolls.  During the night those inside of the grounds of Tyche's Castle gain Disadvantage on all rolls.