Jim Melvin

THE DEATH WIZARD

Who is Torg and what is a Death Wizard?

Torg is the main character in The Death Wizard Chronicles. He is king of the Tugars, the famed warriors who live deep within the desert Tējo. Torg has risen to the rank of Asēkha, highest among the Tugars, but he has taken yet another step of ascension. While deep in meditation, Buddhist monks have been known to achieve recorded heart rates of fewer than 10 beats per minute. Torg has taken this to the extreme, meditating so deeply that his heart literally stops, which results in a temporary death.

(Go HERE for a free short story that describes this in detail).

At this point, Torg is able to enter the Realm of Death, where he feeds on death energy. When he returns to life soon afterward, he is engorged with magical powers. Torg is one of the few Asēkhas in Tugarian history who has accomplished this feat and hence become a Death Wizard, or more accurately, a Death-Knower wizard.

Only a Death-Knower can die.

And live again.

Only a Death-Knower can return from death. 

And remember.

Only a Death-Knower can tell the world what he’s seen.

Not all care to listen.

During the time frame of my series, Torg is more than one thousand years old and has died and returned to life more than a thousand times. In addition to being a powerful wizard, he also is a supremely trained warrior with unprecedented physical prowess and strength. He is an imposing figure, standing 7 feet tall and weighing 300 pounds. He is deeply tanned with shoulder-length black hair and deep-blue eyes that glow when he becomes angry. He carries a white staff that he has named Obhasa, which was molded from the tusk of a desert elephant found dead of old age at the base of a desert basin. Obhasa, which Torg has imbued with his magic, is a formidable weapon in its own right and adored by the wizard.

With his powers, Torg is able to destroy but also to heal. He is the leader of the forces of good in the land of Triken—and though some are jealous of his stature, all respect him.

Torg and his Tugars believe in the concept of karma—that all actions result in reactions. Torg has seen this for himself during his daily meditations, which most often do not result in death. Only about once a year does the wizard dare to achieve what the Tugars call Sammasamaadhi, the supreme concentration of mind that results in temporary death.

Though Tugarian history extends into the distant past, Torg is considered by his people to be the greatest of all the Death-Knowers who have ever been—a king among kings. Ironically, death energy has given him the gift of long life, and he could conceivably live for several thousand more years, if the forces of evil don’t get to him first.

THE SORCERESS

Who is Laylah and what is the source of her magic?

Laylah is the grandchild (unknowingly) of Vedana, the most powerful and ancient of demons. Though the grandmother is selfish and evil, Laylah grows up as an ordinary child—beyond the demon’s influence—and becomes a force of good.

Laylah has one sibling, the evil sorcerer Invictus who is ten years her elder. Invictus derives his power from the absorption of sunlight, which makes him the mightiest of all beings. Laylah derives her power from moonlight, which is a reflection of sunlight, so she is the weaker of the two. But this is not to say that Laylah is not also powerful. It’s just that everyone is weaker than Invictus.
Laylah escapes from her brother’s clutches as a young girl and is raised by a tribe of people in a hidden valley deep within the mountains. But she is eventually recaptured by Invictus and held as his prisoner for many years.

Laylah wields a white magic that flares from her fingers, hands and eyes. Like Torg the Death Wizard, she can both heal and destroy with it. Night is her favorite time, and she often feels queasy and weak during mid-day.

Since Laylah is an offspring of Vedana, her body contains demon magic and therefore she is long-lived. During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Laylah is about ninety years old, but she appears as a woman in her physical prime. She has long, lush blond hair, pale skin and gray-blue eyes and is tall and voluptuous—considered by those who have seen her to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Laylah eventually escapes from Invictus a second time, and much of the epic tale of The DW Chronicles involves her desperate flight from the insanity and perversion of her brother.

THE DEMON

Who is Vedana and why is she so evil?

Vedana is an ancient demon—more than one hundred thousand years old—who is known as the mother of all demons. Vedana takes the credit for the creation of all magical creatures on Triken, including the other demons, as well as dragons, dracools, witches, vampires and trolls, etc. The dragons and dracools dispute this, being far too proud to believe such a thing. But it is not debated, at least, that Vedana created the Warlish witches, who will be featured in the next vignette.

Vedana exists within the Realm of Undeath, the only one of the three realms that exists outside the rules of karma. In her realm of purgatory-like despair, she is the undisputed master—and she appears as a writhing black worm that is even darker than darkness. But Vedana, like all demons, is able to bleed a portion of her essence into the Realm of Life and exist among the living—in Vedana’s case, as a devilish woman with salt-and-pepper hair in her mid-50s. She is unkempt and wears scraggly robes, and her flesh is sometimes so transparent that you can see her heart and bones.

Vedana is a rascal of the highest order, always causing mischief and constantly attempting to manipulate living beings, which she views with disdain. But at the same time, she is utterly consumed with the desire to be freed from her realm and become a true living being in the Realm of Life. There, she believes she would become all-powerful and rule all realms—Life, Death, and Undeath.

However, the only being powerful enough to break the fabric between dimensions and release her from her prison is a Sun God, a sorcerer who derives his magic from the absorption of sunlight. But the karmic process of creating such a being is fantastically complicated, and Vedana has spent many millennia scheming to do so by mating—using drugs and seduction—with thousands of human males in an attempt to create the perfect bloodline that would give birth to a Sun God.

THE WARLISH WITCHES

What are Warlish witches and what makes them ‘special’?

Warlish witches are living beings created by the magic of Vedana, the mother of all demons. As mentioned earlier, Vedana conceitedly claims to have created all magical beings—and there is some truth to this and some stretching of the truth—but there is little doubt or debate that it is Vedana who gave birth to Warlish witches.

In the ancient tongue, Warlish means “transform.” And indeed, full-blooded Warlish witches are able to transform at will between being exquisitely beautiful and hideously ugly—in appearance, voice and odor. They are prideful and deceitful, and cannot be trusted. They also wield powerful magic and are able to blast crimson flames from their eyes, mouth and hands, while vomiting poisons that can devour flesh to the bone and bubble through the hardest armor. They are physically strong and can move with great speed and athleticism. One witch alone is formidable, but when they fight in groups, they rank among the most dangerous beings on Triken. They often carry tall wooden staffs that spew fire and ruin.

“Failed” Warlish witches—in other words, ones that cannot transform—are perpetually trapped in only one state, either beautiful or ugly. But neither is preferred over the other, because both beauty and ugliness carry their own brands of fright and power. Failed witches are called hags, and they are faithful servants of true witches and will fight to the death on their behalf.

Warlish witches and their hags are filled with demon blood and are therefore long-lived beings, with the most ancient of them surpassing fifty thousand years in age. At the time of The Death Wizard Chronicles, there were believed to be between two and three hundred witches in existence, though their exact numbers were known by only a few. Even Vedana lacked this knowledge.

THE SORCERER

Who is Invictus and why is he so powerful?

Invictus is the grandson (knowingly) of Vedana, the mother of al demons. As mentioned before, Vedana has spent tens of thousands of years breeding with mortal men in an attempt to perfect the bloodline that would lead to the birth/creation of a Sun God. In Invictus, she finally succeeded.

Invictus derives his magic from the absorption of sunlight, which makes him the most powerful being in the world. He wields a yellow-gold, liquid fire that spurts from his fingers, hands and eyes and that also shields his body from physical harm. The golden fire disintegrates anything it touches, including solid granite. He is so powerful, not even a great dragon can stand against him. He also is a master of the dark arts, and knows things that even the demons do not. He has surpassed all beings on Triken—and perhaps any living being that has ever been.

In fact, Invictus’ puissance threatens the universe itself, because he has the power to break the fabric between the three universal realms—Life, Death, and Undeath.

Invictus was taken from his parents (the father of whom was an unknowing offspring of Vedana’s machinations) by Vedana when he was just 2 years old, and she raised him herself, teaching him all kinds of evil spells and incantations. She did this in hopes of controlling him and using him to free her from the Realm of Undeath where she and the other demons reside, but when Invictus became a teenager he realizes the extent of his power, which exceeded even Vedana’s. And so he struck out on his own, determined to create his own kingdom and eventually rule the world.

Because of Vedana’s influence, Invictus has become depraved, perverted, and devilishly immature. He has a severe temper and will destroy anyone or anything that dares to thwart him, taking delight in torture and depravity.

During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Invictus is one hundred years old, but he appears as a boyishly handsome man of about 30. He has long blond hair and is average in height and build. But his stature is the only thing average about him. Otherwise, he is everyone’s worst nightmare and a threat to all beings.

THE GREAT DRAGON

Who is Bhayatupa and what is a great dragon?

Bhayatupa is, by all accounts, the single most powerful and feared dragon to ever exist on Triken. The great dragons differ from the lesser dragons and the dracools because of their immense size and fantastic magical powers.

At the time of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Bhayatupa was more than eighty thousand years old, second in age only to Vedana and a few other demons. He was almost 300 feet long from snout to tail and weighed close to 30,000 pounds. His scales were a bright crimson and impervious to injury, and he breathed fire and spewed liquid flame. His brain alone was the size of a boulder, though his extreme intelligence was dwarfed by his selfishness and deceit.

Until the appearance of Invictus, Bhayatupa had feared no being and was called Mahaasupanna, which meant “mightiest of all” in the ancient tongue—and for millennia beyond count he had ruled vast kingdoms and was revered by everyone, including the other great dragons. Even Vedana, the mother of all demons, feared Bhayatupa the Great, though she boasted that he was her creation, a claim that Bhayatupa treated with disdain.

Despite his immense size, Bhayatupa could fly higher, faster and more gracefully than any other being. This was due partially to his wide, strong wings, but more likely was made possible by magic, for surely no being of such girth could move quickly on the ground, much less fly. Bhayatupa also had very flexible jaws and a thick, red tongue, and he was able to speak in the same way that a human could speak, being fluent in hundreds of languages, many long forgotten. He also was wise in the ways of the demons and knew all their spells. His physical strength alone would have made him deadly, but when combined with his magic, he was powerful beyond ordinary comprehension.

Bhayatupa’s lone weakness was an insufferable fear of death. Because of his unbridled narcissism, Bhayatupa could not bear the thought of his existence ever coming to an end, and he obsessed over it every waking second.

THE DAASA

Who are the Daasa and why was Invictus the sorcerer able to control them?

The Daasa are a peace-loving and intelligent race of beings who live on the other side of the Akasa Ocean, several thousand miles from the western coast of the land called Triken. Only the Daasa themselves know how many of their kind exist in the world, but in the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, they numbered close to one million. They communicate with barks, squeals and whistles instead of words, and they prefer forests to mountains or plains, though they also love oceans, lakes and rivers and are excellent swimmers. Nuts and fruits are their main source of nourishment. Like the druids of Dhutanga, they are stewards of the forest, and though the Daasa are not evil like the druids, they also resemble them in the way they psychically interrelate, moving about in single-minded droves.

In their normal state, the Daasa resemble extremely large pigs with purple eyes, and they are adorable. But like Warlish witches, they have the ability, when threatened, to transform into deadly monsters. Thorny spikes rise from their soft flesh, fangs erupt from their mouths, claws spring from their toes, and they growl like rabid wolves. In this state, a single Daasa is capable of killing a cave troll.

In the days of Invictus, a terrible creature resided within a city named Duccarita, more commonly known as the City of Thieves. This being, called the Mahanta pEpa—which in the ancient tongue meant The Great Evil—had come from across the ocean. Once on Triken, Invictus gave it free rein, and the Mahanta pEpa grew to epic proportions with supremely powerful psychic powers that enabled it to control the Daasa en masse—even those who lived across the ocean. So when the sorcerer sent his slave ships, the Daasa clambered on compliantly. Eventually Invictus managed to transport more than one hundred thousand Daasa from their homeland to Triken, where he used them for evil purposes better not discussed here.

THE CAVE MONKEYS

Who are the cave monkeys and what is the worm monster?

Cave monkeys are small creatures (about two feet tall and weighing around twenty pounds) that more resemble lemurs than monkeys. But they were given the name cave monkeys by the Torg, the Death-Knower wizard, because he could think of no other. These clever and wondrous creatures live in caves and tunnels deep in the bowels of Mount Asubha, several leagues beneath the surface.

The colony of cave monkeys that Torg encountered numbered about fifty, though the wizard never knew their exact number. They were furry creatures, with pointy noses and mouths filled with flat teeth, and they had long, bushy tails. Their most striking physical feature was their bioluminescent eyes that glowed in the dark. They were supremely athletic and energetic, but also kind and gentle, and they communicated between themselves and with Torg using a very powerful yet noninvasive telepathy.

Also residing beneath Mount Asubha was a titanic creature called the worm monster, which was most likely the largest living being on Triken. Somewhere hidden far beyond finding was the monster’s core body, but extending from it were hundreds of thick tentacles, each more than a mile long and each containing a fang-filled mouth at its tip that was capable of devouring anything it found in the underworld, including cave monkeys. But the worm monster was not particularly intelligent, more an eating machine than anything else, while the cave monkeys were brilliant creatures by any standard. And in an ironic reversal of fortune, the cave monkeys were able—using stone daggers—to leap about just out of reach of the tentacles’ mouths and carve pieces of flesh from the tentacles. This flesh was quite tasty, and it was the cave monkey’s main source of sustenance, along with mushrooms. With these ingredients and a few others, they made delicious soups that Torg quickly grew to adore.

Cave monkeys also were wonderful artists, and they decorated the stone walls of their underground home with intricate drawings using mineral extracts and worm fats to create multicolored pigments.

Was the colony Torg encountered beneath Mount Asubha the only one in existence? And was there only one worm monster on Triken? Or did each large mountain on Triken have its own version of these creatures living deep beneath the surface? The answer to this was beyond Torg’s knowledge.

Last but not least (in alphabetical order)

Asēkhas: The most powerful and revered of the Tugar desert warriors (see below). There are always twenty, and when one dies or retires, another takes his or her place.

Badaalataa: Carnivorous vines brought to the Realm of Life by the demon Vedana and then permitted to multiply. They exist mostly in the mountains north of the Gap of Gamana (see Map of Triken). Badaalataa are similar in appearance to ordinary laurel and in fact often hide within large stands of laurel, but they are deadly and devour flesh either quickly or at their leisure, depending on their mood. Only the greatest of beings—Invictus himself or perhaps Bhayatupa—would be able to survive an assault by a large number of these vines.

Bard: A tall, handsome trapper with a thick black beard and piercing blue eyes. He lives in the northern wilds near Mount Asubha with his friend Ugga and is often seen with the white-haired woman named Jord.

Black knights: The defenders of the fortress Nissaya, which is located in the eastern maw of the Gap of Gati (see Map of Triken). Also called the Kalakhattiya. They are large, powerful men and women with black hair, skin and eyes who wear black armor. Supremely skilled swordsmen and archers. Many women also attain the status of knight and fight alongside the men.

Black mountain wolves: The largest and most dangerous of all wolves, most being as large as horses, with a bristly, black coat and fangs that ooze poison. These wolves are intelligent but also evil—and they are in league with demons, witches, and Mogols.

Bonny: A pirate woman from Duccarita, the City of Thieves. She is round-faced with short red hair, crooked teeth and dark eyes—and she is muscular and beautiful.

Efrits: Invisible creatures that dwell in the Realm of the Undead. When summoned to the Realm of Life by demons or witches, they voraciously devour the internal organs of living beings.

Elu: The diminutive partner of Rathburt is a Svakaran warrior who stands only about three feet tall. Though small in stature, Elu is muscular, strong, and fearless. He also is perpetually good-natured.

Ghouls: Human-sized and shaped creatures that are hideous in odor and appearance. Not particularly strong or dangerous, but definitely on the side of evil.

Gillygaloos: Enchanters and enchantresses from Kincara, the large forest located south of Jivita and west of the Kolankold Mountains (see Map of Triken). They stand only two feet tall, but wield powerful magic wands that make them far more formidable than they appear. They are round-faced with red lips and are good-natured. The most famous of all the Gillygaloos is Burly Boulogne, who has traveled the world and is a dear friend of the Death-Knower wizard Torg. Burly maintains a saloon in Jivita, the White City.

Golden soldiers: Human-like soldiers each created from a single drop of the evil blood of the sorcerer Invictus. All mimic the sorcerer in size and appearance, with blond hair and brown eyes. In the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, they numbered more than one hundred and sixty thousand. They are called golden soldiers because they wear magnificent golden armor.

Jord: White-haired woman of mysterious origin who is the longtime companion of Bard and Ugga.

King Henepola: The king of the fortress Nissaya during the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles. Nissayans have black skin and black hair, but Henepola has long white hair cast about his shoulders, marking him as a magical conjurer as well as a king, which is a formidable combination.

Kojins: Enormous ogresses with six arms and bulbous heads that stand more than 12 feet tall. Kojins are imbued with a purple-colored magic that makes their flesh almost impervious to harm, and they are nearly as strong as snow giants. They are long-lived beings, existing for many millennia, and at one time more than two hundred roamed the forests of Triken. But during the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, fewer than a dozen remained. Kojins rank among the most dangerous and evil creatures on Triken.

Kusala: The chieftain of the Asēkhas, the highest-ranked of the Tugars, during the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles. Kusala is considered to be the greatest chieftain in Tugarian history.

Lucius Annaeus: Began as the general of Invictus’ legions before he was usurped by Mala and then became a traitor. Lucius is called the firstborn, because he was the first golden soldier born magically from a drop of the evil blood of Invictus. Lucius has shoulder-length blond hair and brown eyes and resembles Invictus in appearance, though not in personality.

Mogols: Warrior race that dwells in Mahaggata Mountains (see Map of Triken). Longtime worshippers of the dragon Bhayatupa and the demon Vedana. Ancient enemies of the black knights of Nissaya.

Pabbajja: Homeless people who live on the fringes of the dark forest called Java (see Map of Triken). Little is known of their history or habits, but they are short and squat and covered head to feet with scraggly hair. They are long-lived creatures that carry magical tridents capable of great destruction.

Queen Rajiini: During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, she was the queen of Jivita, the White City. All pure-blooded Jivitans are pale-skinned with white hair, but Jivitan necromancers are pale-skinned with black hair, as is Rajiini, making her a necromancer queen, rare much in the way that King Henepola of Nissaya is rare.

Rathburt: The only other living Death-Knower in the world besides Torg. But Rathburt is no warrior, preferring the mastery of plants over the mastery of flesh.

Sister Tathagata: The High Nun of Dibbu-Loka, the stone city that lies west of the desert Tējo that is home to the monks and nuns called the Noble Ones (see Map of Triken). Tathagata is three thousand years old.

Sōbhana: A brave Tugarian warrior who has achieved the rank of Asēkha. Sōbhana is about a finger-length shorter than the average Tugarian woman, about 6 feet 2 instead of 6 feet 6, but she is extraordinarily strong and flexible and is an extremely dangerous fighter, capable of defeating most Tugar men.

Tasēti: Second in command to Chieftain Kusala and the most formidable female Tugar that has ever existed, surpassing even Sōbhana.

Trolls: There are two kinds—cave trolls and mountain trolls. Both are extremely large and physically powerful, but cave trolls are the greater of the two, standing as tall as 10 feet and weighing more than one thousand pounds. They wield no overt magic, but their hides are as tough as canvas and they are extremely difficult to kill. They are hideous to behold and they stink. Trolls can hurl boulders hundreds of feet.

Tugars: The famed desert warriors of Tējo, called Kantaara Yodhas in the ancient tongue. To become a warrior, a Tugar has to train for fifty years under the guidance of a Vasi master. Tugar men stand about seven feet tall and women are usually only about six inches shorter. They are deeply tanned with shoulder-length black hair and deep-blue eyes and are similar in appearance, at least to those who are not Tugars.

Ugga: A crossbreed creature—part man, part bear—who lives in the northern wilds with his friend Bard. Ugga stands more than 7 feet tall and weighs close to 400 pounds. He has a temper, but for the most part is perpetually good-natured. He is often seen with the white-haired woman named Jord.

Vampires: One of the lesser monsters on Triken. Far stronger than an ordinary human, but no match for most magical creatures. For instance, a single Tugar could easily slay a dozen vampires. They drink blood and eat flesh, but their bite is not infective. Vampires are born as vampires and do not have the ability to create others. They are long-lived—some existing for tens of thousands of years—and they are pale, haggard and dark-eyed but otherwise human in appearance.

White horsemen: The defenders of Jivita, the White City that is in the Green Plains west of the Gap of Gati (see Map of Triken). During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, they numbered close to forty thousand. They are pale-skinned with white hair, and they wear white armor. They ride massive, barded destriers and are masters of battle in the open plains. Few can withstand their lance and bowmanship. Women fight alongside the men and are typically superior with the bow.

Zombies: Unlike vampires, zombies are ordinary humans that have been transformed into flesh-eating monsters by demonic creatures called undines. They are stronger than ordinary humans, but a single zombie is not particularly dangerous. It is when they are massed in great numbers that they become dangerous. They are hideous to behold and stink even worse than trolls. And again unlike vampires, their bite is infective. A single zombie can creates hundreds more.