ABRAX LIVES!
Abrax is a large, old spirit tree that once stood proudly as a guardian of the lands of Hassant. After the kingdom's destruction at the hands of Elevarani, Abrax became corrupted by the chaotic magical fallout and began to seed evil into the world through its position on Slaghead Island. A great group of heroes rose to oppose him, apparently vanquishing the tree; however, it managed to survive, and at the behest of Batrax, shed a single branch that grew to become a sort of humanoid avatar for the tree, working alongside the Darkheart to free Vortek. This branch was later destroyed, but Abrax still lives.
Description
Abrax is a giant spirit tree with a thick, gnarled trunk and twisted branches that bear no leaves and are cut close to the tree's body. Embedded into its wood is various weaponry from those who wished to slay it, and large scars in locations that aren't filled with swords, axes, and daggers. The face of the tree displays a large humanoid face twisted into a sad, tired expression. This face does not move.
When using his branch avatar, Abrax takes on a humanoid form similar to a treant-type creature. His exterior is covered in an old, gnarled bark, and he usually towers over those around him. His face is long and somewhat sullen, with a long nose and darkened, sad eyes. He tends to wear concealing robes and a scarf in order to disguise himself in populated areas.
He seems to have a generally no-nonsense personality. After the defeat of his branch form and the destruction of many of his powerful artifacts as a result, Abrax fell into a deep depression.
Skills and Abilities
Abrax is capable of telepathy and may force hallucinations onto those in close proximity. In the legends, Abrax was capable of making the weak-minded turn mad, and raised an army of trees and blights to attack the world at large.
As a "branch", Abrax appears to be able to command various forms of plant life around him, is capable of growing massive trees, and can even bring plants to moving life. Independently of that, he is a capable druid, and casts spells freely.
Wooden Form
Abrax is made of wood, and can grow or shrink as it seems fit. It can also root himself into the ground.
Minion Growth
Abrax can grow new tree minions from the earth at will.
History
Many hundreds of years ago, roughly around the 100s IaC, Abrax threw the world into chaos. Once a peaceful, ancient spirit tree, it was twisted into a sinister form by chaos magic. It spread chaos and insanity across the continent of Gessaria, attacking settlements with its army of blights and forcing people into permanent madness. A heroic adventuring party eventually felled him, but over time, the story of their heroics became regarded simply as fairy tales.
In truth, Abrax had managed to survive the assault from these heroes from his home deep in the Isles of Wrath. Abrax's durability had proved too great for the heroes to overcome, who instead resorted to cutting off its branches and sealing its power into a variety of artifacts, which then became scattered across the world.
Unable to much else than simply watch the world go by, in Iron 945, Abrax was given a sliver of power by the god Batrax, allowing him to grow a single branch which fell to the ground and became an avatar for the tree. As per his promise with the god of evil, Abrax set to work attempting to free Vortek alongside the Nightseeker and Yyk Sen, who had their own personal reasons for pursuing the task. He assisted in stealing the various sealed artifacts of Vortek from around the world, while collecting slivers of his own power along the way.
In Iron 950, Abrax recruited Mardyth to steal the Farseeker's Eye from Astrilane, and later afforded the rogue escape to Gessaria by crafting him a magic boat capable of sailing the Fissured Sea.
After the Rain Knight's escape from the Tevari Isles, the knight gave Abrax its splinter that he managed to steal away from the bandits after the defeat of Kreegal by the Peas. This allowed Abrax to grow greatly in strength, and accelerated his ambition to become whole once again.
Abrax met up with the Nightseeker and Yyk Sen in Vardev when recruiting Mardyth and Leadbelly Balnar. He later appeared searching for Godfrey's sword at the Bandry Keep, ultimately destroying the keep and exchanging the sword for Seamus' life. This even gave Abrax even greater power, and he took a new position within the Darkheart in warding off the demigod Tarisi's interference.
Abrax was present in Madrioc during the The Mad King's Festival in Iron 951, crafting a small hideout beneath a blind woman's apartment. He later pursued the Peas after the group managed to separate Balnar from Mardyth, working to get the dwarft back by attacking the party with trees. He was ultimately forced to fight Tarisi instead, who had arrived to take her anger out on the Darkheart due to the Peas interference in her "prophecy".
As the Darkheart completed their collection of artifacts, Abrax took point alongside Yyk Sen in distracting Tarisi long enough for the Nightseeker to finish setting up her sealing ritual. In the ensuing battle, Abrax was throughouly destroyed by Tarisi in her fury, leaving only a single seed in the aftermath. Yyk Sen later planted this seed, and the Darkheart took turns raising the plant until Abrax managed to manifest his full form again.
Shortly after Abrax regained his locomotive properties, the Nightseeker attempted to raise Vortek. The battle between the Darkheart and the Peas for the Sallow Stone caught Abrax at a particular time of weakness, and a powerful spell from Journey both killed it and crystalized its body, destroying any hope of reconstitution as well as some of Abrax's priceless artifacts. The act of experiencing this loss sent the real form of Abrax into a deep, solemn depression.
Abrax later met the Peas face to face when they traveled to its location through the ley lines. While the adventuring party expected a fight, the depressed tree of chaos had little to say, wishing only to be left alone. Some of the party members took some of the weaponry lodged in the tree's bark, and they left on their way to confront the Nightseeker.
In Iron 956, a group of elven druids journeyed to Abrax in an attempt to purify its chaos, but were unsuccessful. Regardless, the elves formed a small sanctuary on Slaghead Island to assist any who might wish to attempt the task.