| Lifestealer | |
|---|---|
| |
| About | |
| Associated With | |
| Races | Oglodi |
| Factions | Vile Council |
| Places | Devarque |
| “ | ▶️ No chains can hold me.
— Lifestealer intentionally ignores the shackles on his limbs
|
” |
Reborn in the foul dungeons of Devarque, N'aix the Lifestealer unleashes himself upon the world to continue the thievery that he was once punished for in his previous life. N'aix is not of a single mind, but rather an unnatural mingling of two minds that inhabit a single body. Combining the newfound strength of N'aix and the life-force magic of a nameless wizard, it's only a matter of time until N'aix releases the essence of his victims to feed him and his master.
Biography[]
N'aix, the LifestealerSeeing a perfect vessel for his plans, the wizard wove a spell of Infestation and cast his life-force into N'aix's body, intending to compel N'aix to sacrifice itself in a frenzy of violence while the mage returned to his body and crept away unnoticed. Instead, the wizard found his mind caught in a vortex of madness so powerful that it swept away his plans and shattered his will. Jarred to consciousness by the sudden infusion of fresh life, N'aix woke from its nightmare of madness and obeyed the disembodied voice that filled its skull, which had only the one thought: To escape.
In that moment Lifestealer was born. The creature cast its mind into dungeon guards and soldiers, compelling them to open locks and cut down their companions, opening an unobstructed path to freedom while feeding on their lives. Lifestealer still wears the broken shackles as a warning that none may hold him, but on the inside remains a prisoner. Two minds inhabit the single form--a nameless creature of malevolent cunning, and the Master whose voice he pretends to obey.
In the dungeons of Devarque, there was a vengeful wizard imprisoned within its walls and bars. This unnamed wizard shared a cell with a gibbering Oglodi named N'aix, a thief cursed by the Vile Council with longevity, so that its long life in captivity may be as punishing as possible. Such was the longevity that was placed on him, that he could live for many generations of the nobles of Devarque, thus succumbing from old age will never be an escape from the torment that he will receive for the rest of his sentence.
The thief's mind was broken from the countless cruelties that the nobles of Devarque and their descendants had visited upon him, each method being different from the previous one. But even though his broken mind could not understand why he was being punished, nor could he even fathom the meaning of punishment, the methods of torture were still different from the last, maintained by the wicked creativity of Devarque's nobles and progeny.[1]
Finding a great opportunity for his escape plan, the wizard set his schemes to action. He would weave a spell of Infestation: a spell that will cast the wizard's life-force into a victim's body, allowing him to control N'aix against his own will. After compelling him to attack the guards and set a commotion, he would return to his body and creep out unnoticed. Casting his life-force on the creature, he found his mind caught in a vortex of intense madness that swept away his plans and shattered his will, leaving his consciousness trapped within the creature, or whatever was left of his former identity.
Although the spell failed and even backfired, it did not go to waste at all. The botched spell infused N'aix with the life-force of the wizard and he was jolted back to consciousness from his state of insanity and madness. In the first moments of his reawakening, he managed to comprehend a voice in his head that could only think one thought: To escape.
Thus the Lifestealer was born, a mingling of two wicked minds inhabiting a single vessel. Heeding the thought of escape, Lifestealer cast his mind into the dungeon guards and soldiers, compelling them to break open the locks and cut down their companions, leaving a trail of chaos and bodies for him to feast on. At end of this trail, Lifestealer escaped from the dungeons of Devarque, free to continue its thievery once more: not of gold and possessions, but of the sweet life-force that flows within every living creature.
He wears his broken shackles in plain sight as a reminder that none should hope to contain him, a sick irony that is belied by his physical form: a prison of tortured flesh containing a disembodied consciousness that he only knows as the Master, whom he only pretends to obey.[2]
Vile Augmentations[]
N'aix once sought an enchanter who could craft a set of vile augmentations to strengthen his twisted body. But his feats and reputation have reached the ears of many people far and wide, and the task of finding an enchanter that would even offer their services to one so evil and insane as N'aix would prove difficult to complete. He finally found a disgraced enchanter's apprentice who had an interest in the darker arts of augmentation. N'aix gave him a commission to craft a set of augmentations for his body, including a set of claw blades[3] and a skeletal backpiece that when opened, revealed a pulsing blob of flesh.[4]
The enchanter's apprentice got to work and managed to forge the requested augmentations and attached them onto N'aix's body, further strengthening his form and twisting his silhouette into something unrecognizable from his previous self. The last piece was a monstrous looking muzzle that was secretly attached with a controlling agent that would allow him to control the Lifestealer after performing a ritual. Attaching the muzzle onto the maw of the Lifestealer then performing the ritual, he realized too late that the controlling agent never bound itself to the muzzle during the ritual–not at all.[5]
Personality and Mannerisms[]
- Even though his past identity and memories have been destroyed, N'aix still retains several aspects of himself when he was still an ordinary thief. He dislikes the concepts of imprisonment, purchase, and control;[6][7][8] and is confused when something is given to him freely.[9]
- The one thought that the wizard gave to N'aix after being trapped in his mind indicates his dislike of control. "To escape" might not mean that the wizard is telling N'aix to escape, but the wizard himself actually wants to escape N'aix's mind. This plea fell on deaf ears (or minds in this context) as he only pretends to obey him.[10]
- Despite disliking control and being controlled, he seems to be a hypocrite in that regard. His lack of hesitation on using mind control (e.g. Infest) is an indicator of this.[10]
- N'aix's newfound powers over the life-force of others have given him a malicious and sadistic personality as a side effect.[11][12]
- Already an insane creature himself, N'aix finds nothing disgusting in the awful things that he does to satisfy his wicked needs and desires.[4]
Relationships[]
The Master[]
N'aix frequently refers to the Master, who is the same wizard that shared his cell and attempted to control him.
Powers and Abilities[]
Physiology[]
N'aix is an Oglodi. This is evident in his facial features: he has a wide flat nose, yellow eyes, and pointed ears. His skin color has a light shade of brown, indicating that he is an unblooded type of Oglodi. This could make sense seeing how an Oglodi can only become blooded when they have participated in war, whereas N'aix has only engaged in theft before he was imprisoned.
Although his broken body would say otherwise, N'aix is a Strength hero, an embodiment of overwhelming force and great durability. He relies on his blood soaked claws to dig into the opponent's flesh and release their essence to him, but he also has a disfigured set of jaws lined with wicked teeth. It should be noted that his longevity might have preserved him in his current state, his skin color remained pristine even after many generations that should have turned him into a rotting, discolored corpse.
With the help of an enchanter's apprentice, N'aix acquired a set of bodily augmentations to further strengthen his form. His augmentations include a skeletal backpiece that opens to reveal a fleshy blob, a pair of metallic claws, and a muzzle that appears to have twisted his visage into a canine-like creature with a long tongue. Without taking the cosmetic's spell effects into consideration, the effects of these augmentations, to what extent do they augment his form and powers, and any new powers that he gained from these items are unknown.
Powers[]
N'aix got his powers when the wizard inadvertently trapped himself within his mind. Thanks to this chance encounter, he can now control the life-force of others to his liking by wielding the wizard's magics to a greater extent than its original caster.
It's unknown if Rage actually gives N'aix spell immunity or any protection from magic without considering gameplay mechanics, since its lore does not state that anywhere at all. At best, it is simply a state of frenzy and bloodlust that N'aix undergoes during battle, suddenly making him vicious and relentless against his opponents.
Feast is a translation of N'aix's carnivorous appetite and sustenance from life-force into a passive ability. It may be possible that N'aix can leech one's life-force with every strike that he lands on his victim. His ability to deal a percentage of his victim's max health is a gameplay mechanic, however.
Unfortunately, Ghoul Frenzy has no written lore to even speculate its capabilities outside of gameplay.
Open Wounds is quite a gruesome ability with some form of ludonarrative dissonance. N'aix rends the flesh from his opponent, which causes them to bleed profusely. The scent of blood then attracts scavengers to finish off the bleeding victim as they share in the victim's life-force, just like how the ability allows his allies to steal life with any attacks and any spells that they inflict on his victim. Lorewise, this wouldn't make any sense as not every hero allied with N'aix is comfortable with stealing his victim's life-force in a rather gruesome method, not to mention that spells being able to steal life-force from a simple wound makes no sense. It may simply be set aside as gameplay mechanics.
Infest is heavily implied to be Infestation, the same spell that the wizard cast on N'aix to control him. But since the wizard has been trapped and absorbed into N'aix's being, he now wields this magic to his own ends. By casting his life-force into an unfortunate victim, he can infest their body and wait inside before bursting in a gory explosion. He may even choose to control/attack his victim from within. In N'aix's biography, he also uses this ability to cast his mind into the dungeon's inhabitants to control them against their will.
Friendships and rivalries[]
Allies meeting Lifestealer
- ▶️
r Look I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life. But moisturize. - ▶️ r Please don't murder me.
- ▶️ r This is one of those cases where it's really hard to tell if this is a person or someone's pet...
- ▶️ r Get back to me when you learn something 'telligible.
- ▶️ r Do you even know why we fight, creature?
- ▶️ r Stick with me and you'll go as far as one of your ill fortune can get.
- ▶️ ▶️ r Lifestealer, is that a family name? Or more of an occupation, like haberdasher?
- ▶️ ▶️ r So, you were in prison a long time. Got any good stories?
- ▶️ r Poor creature. I do not envy what you have become.
- ▶️ r Blink twice if you prefer that I put you out of your misery...
- ▶️ r Throw off your shackles, friend.
- ▶️ r Where do they dig these guys up?
- ▶️ r I don't know what your problem is Lifestealer but... Cookie?
- ▶️ r Take for us, Lifestealer.
- ▶️ r Lifestealer, if you ever feel like serving a different master, let me know.
Enemies killing Lifestealer
- ▶️ Heh, Your blood was a prisoner begging me to set it free.
- ▶️ The Oglodi, they don't die easy, I will give em that.
- ▶️ r I'm not ending up like you!
- ▶️ r Stay away from me!
- ▶️ r The mindless are of no use to me.
- ▶️ r Did you see that bloke? There's no way he's not thanking me. And if he's not, he should be.
- ▶️ My mast, your master.
- ▶️ r Hard to bite down with a spear in your gullet!
- ▶️ r You should thank me, creature. This death brings honor to one I suspect has none!
- ▶️ ▶️ r You were safer in that dungeon, Lifestealer.
- ▶️ ▶️ r Your name's 'Lifestealer'? Hohoho! Man, this joke writes itself.
- ▶️ Lifestealer, I will find what did this to you.
- ▶️ r Why is it always my responsibility to dispatch the grotesques?
- ▶️ r I did not steal your life. But I certainly did take it.
- ▶️ That's what you get, taking a bite out of my turf.
- ▶️ You can look but don't touch. Come to think of it, don't look either.
- ▶️ Oh look, another shackle-dragger.
- ▶️ r Eat lizard chips, toothy! I got plenty to spare.
- ▶️ r I stole one back for the good guys. Well, good-ish.
- ▶️ Your life is stolen.
- ▶️ I think you bit off more than you can chew, Lifestealer.
- ▶️ My life is too big to be stolen.
- ▶️ ▶️ You steal, we consume.
- ▶️ I will unmake your master's work, Lifestealer.
- ▶️ r Your tormented existence comes to a merciful end.
Others
- ▶️ r Learn to be your own life's master, lest ye be ruled by evil servitude.
References[]
- ↑ Torment of the Chainbreaker description.
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ That is for the Master, there is no Master.
- ↑ Dread Requisition
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Profane Union
- ↑ Dark Maw Inhibitor
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ Please don't put me in a box.
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ r It pains me to purchase what ought to be stolen.
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ You can't make me.
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ Life, given freely?
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lifestealer biography.
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ Undying, you're a source of endless…amusement.
- ↑ Lifestealer response: ▶️ Oh, Puck, I wanted to tear your wings off while you were still alive!