Severus Seversky - Prophet of the Sands

Severus, The Prophet of the Sands:

It is said that his heritage stems from the nearly mythical tribe of Ad, he grew up a shepherd but his gift of sight and sensitivity to the spirit realm led him to travel to forgotten and unholy places across the Middle East in search of knowledge of such matters. The first of these led him to Egypt where he studied under the notorious wizard, Yakthoob alongside Abdul Alhazred the Mad. After his master's death by a monstrous being in the middle of the marketplace of Damascus, he and the other discples of Yakthoob followed Alhazred to Memphis and then to Ireem where many were killed by dark forces summoned by a cult of the Old Ones before they ever arrived. Alhazred the Mad made it to Ireem and stayed there in what he called The Nameless City, an ancient city of catacombs and reptilian horrors and other dark beings burried deep beneath Ireem. Severus had fled with the remaining few disciples to Alexandria to await his master. Once Alhazred returned, he seemed changed, uneasy with all around him and would say little of what he saw in Ireem. He was asked by authoroties in Alexandria to dispel the evil from a Black Mosque and when he and his disciples failed to do so they were banished. Severus followed his master to the Valley of Tombs and the Black Mountain in Turkey before settling for a time in Damascus where he continued his studies and research into ancient and forbidden arcana, much troubled by the dark sorceries and practices he had witnessed in the Black Mosque. He wandered the sands again with his master, traveling to Chorazin on the Sea of Galilee where his master, Alhazred fell into a trance that lasted for eight years. He tended to his master as he wrote the Kitab al Azif, later known as the Necronomicon and read the manuscript that would forever change him by opening his eyes to the elder darkness that sought to reenter this world. During his master's trance, he learned through the use of magical procedures and alchemical potions how he was able to gaze upon different worlds and dimensions where Alhazred saw much of what he recorded in the book.

It was during one of these trances that a powerful vision struck him. He saw Irem, the City of a Thousand Pillars as it was in its birth. First built by terrible creatures of great size and colossal strength before the time of man and before it was cursed and covered by the desert sands, losing its name. He saw his ancestors, the two brothers and joint rulers of the city of Ad, Shaddid and Shaddad. He watched the tragic and mysterious death of Shaddid and the corruption of Shaddad who became egotistical and decided to create an imitation of the celestial paradise on Earth. He gave orderes to build a great city and garden in the desert upon the bones of another ancient city. Severus watched as time passed swiftly in his vision until it seemed to come to the present day and darkness began to creep anew from the foundations of Irem where his master had unwittingly left open a portal. He saw a great dark storm upon the horizon and furtive figures in dark cloaks with hollow eyes and hollow hearts preying upon the unwary citizens and making diabolic sacrifices to the terrible being that waited seeking entry just outside the portal. His vision focused upon a great tower adorned with serpents and the shadow of a titanic Worm shrouded it and an icy wind tore through the city, shattering the ornate towers, freezing the citizens in place where they crumbled, and chilling him to the bone. His last vision saw the carved figure of a reaching hand above one of Irem's gates and a silver key descending into its grasp, at that point the entire city blew apart and was scattered, lost to the swirling sands. Just before he awoke, he saw figures in black scuttling amidst the ruins accompanied by fell and unholy beasts howling in triumph as something evil beyond the scope of mortal mind emerged from the broken stones. Severus snapped awake, his raven hair, skin and eyes leached of all color and his breath fogged the air as though he were still in the dream. His pale flesh never lost the chill that touched him from his vision and he knew he had to return to Irem to try and stop what he had seen.