Xakhaz

Xakhaz is the primary antagonist and final enemy of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Beneath Nightmare Castle. A former human archmage defeated long ago; he was later revived by a follower of his cult and intends to take over the entire continent of Khul. Xakhaz and his awful creations were notably influenced by the works of HP Lovecraft.

Appearance
What Xakhaz looked like during his human life is not known. During the course of the book, he built himself a new "body" to inhabit from the corpses at his disposal, resulting in a repellent Eldrich Abomination, whose mere sight is scarcely bearable.

He looks like an immense conglomerate made from mutated body parts of varied origins, with a vaguely humanoid upper-body atop of it; sporting a demented-looking face, a deformed right arm with claws and a long, boneless left forearm. The rest of his body is bumbling and shapeless, covered with eyes, nostrils and mouths. It sports several arms of variable size and shape that come from under his "skin", many tentacles, including one with pincers, two with fanged mouths and six eyes, and a tongued trunk; and stands on four disproportionate legs, including that of an insect and one with a mouth on the knee.

Background
Xakhaz was once an evil human archmage. A few years after the dreadful Chaos Wars, which left the continent of Khul devastated and permanently scarred, he founded the Khaz Priesthood bent on worshipping the grim Howling Gods. He named the priesthood after himself, having each priest and priestess having "Khaz" at the end of their name. He claimed that this apparently new religion was ancient in origin, but he might have made it up for his own nefarious goals.

Xakhaz based himself in the ruins of the city of Zagoula, which had been destroyed during the Chaos Wars, and enticed the local populations into his cult, promising them the prosperity they lost during the war and even more. Then, he twisted their desperate needs into greed and turned them all into fanatic worshippers, who populated Zagoula and assisted him in his twisted experiments to create new life-forms. In the end, he used his followers and creations as an army to take over Khul, only to be defeated by an army led by the hero Skarlos and helped by priests of Oiden, God of Battles. Xakhaz got slain, but his soul was immortal so the priest sealed it underground and built the garrison city of Neubourg over the battlefield to seal the access to his vault.

However, Xakhaz armies and priesthood were not entirely wiped out, and the survivors retreated to the ruins of Zagoula, now a cursed city which no one dared to even approach.

About Xakhaz
Among the many evil wizards who threatened the world of Titan, Xakhaz is one of the only three to bear the title of archmage, (the other two being Mordraneth and the Archmage of Mampang) implying that he is one of the most powerful that ever was. Indeed, his ability to create awful mutants and creatures while he himself lacked the body he needed to cast spells give enough indications of his power. Xakhaz was also able to seal the soul of his general Vlax the Slayer into Vlax's own scimitar, causing its host to possess whomever would seize it, and to devise magical weaponry able to compel their bearer.

Whether the Howling Gods were invented by Xakhaz as a way to rally the southern tribes under his banner, or were aliases used by malignent deities, if not the Demon Princes of Titan themselves, is not known. The former would seem more likely though, the sorceress Senyakhaz who revived the Xakhaz was stated to work for the Demon Prince Ishtra. It might also be the Demon Princes who rendered his soul immortal, forcing those who destroyed him to seal him away.

Settings of the Story
The player is a famed warrior veteran and a close friend of Baron Tholdur, the ruler of Neubourg, whom he or she decides to visit. Unfortunately, when on his/her way, the player gets ambushed and thrown in jail. He/She gets rescued by a mysterious figure and must promptly escape to save his/her life. The player then learns that Tholdur recently went to Zagoula and came back with an army of southern warriors who now have a huge influence over Neubourg.

It all eventually appears to be the doing of the witch Senyakhaz, a worshipper of the Howling Gods who commands the southern warriors. She brainwashed Tholdur, revived Xakhaz and is now providing him with the corpses he needs to create the awful Lovecraftan creatures that plague the town. While Xakhaz directs Senyakhaz's actions and remains the biggest threat, he remains trapped during the whole course of the game; thus making Senyakhaz the central antagonist of the story.

The player has a Willpower score which helps him/her to retain his/her calm when confronted to Xakhaz's horrors. The more horrors he/she witness the less willpower he/she has left and if the score was to drop under 6 points, the player would mad and lose the game.

The Course of the Story
When freed, the player first wanfers through the town and must go to Oiden's temple to speak with the priest; then head to the market, (while not pursuing the pickpocket girl to avoid a disturbing fight with murderous children) to buy the head of the trident of Skarlos, a powerful magical weapon.

The player must then enter the castle, but not by the front doors to avoid a painful death by the hand of the southern warriors. By entering the caste by the garden, the player can gather useful artifacts and even immediately head towards the basements, avoiding all the part in the fortress.

Should he/she enter the fortress, the player might enconter many monsters and even Baron Tholdur's adopted daughter, whom Senyakhaz put in a clawed suit of armour that forces her to attack anyone on sight, much to her despair.


 * Tholdur's daughter is a powerful enemy with 10 in skill (level of power - the maximum bening 12) and 8 in stamina. (Life points.) Considering that she is innocent and that the player loses 2 points of luck when killing her, it is best to flee the battle.

The player might also encounter Baron Tholdur himself and his mysterious hooded advisor. (Senyakhaz in disguise.) Due to Senyakhaz's influence, he does not recognize the player and has him/her put in jail. If the player uses the ring Tholdur has given him/her to make him recongnize him/her, Senyakhaz will pretend to welcome him/her and will try to have him/her killed by her guards.

Upon heading towards the basements or being thrown to jail, the player might encounter a young priest who will give him/her the Talisman of Loth, a powerful anti-evil artifact, and can get the second half of the trident of Skarlos, gaining an ace card against Xakhaz. Then, the player eventually confronts Senyakhaz herself. With Senyakhaz dead, the player must use her magic box to reach Xakhaz's vault and put an end to the archmage's madness once and for all. The player must chose right when using the magic box, otherwise he/she might get teleported far far away and lose the game; or even return to the past when Senyakhaz is alive and must be fought again.
 * If the player meets Senyakhaz alone, (who pretends to be a servant maid) and resists her hypnotic power, she will escape through a magic mirror, leading either to a pyrrhic victory in which Tholdur is freed but Senyakhaz and Xakhaz are still alive; or to a game over in which the player dies trying to chase after the witch.
 * The real confrontation with Senyakhaz happens when the player encounters three "servant maiden" who hypnotise him/her through their dance. (In fact the withc and two illusionary doubles.) The player must test his/her willpower and strike the maid on his/her left, otherwise he/she would have to test his/her willpower once more and deal with the two remaining maiden.
 * Then, the unmasked Senyakhaz attempts to flee. The player must chase her through the door on his/her right, or risk either a pyrrhic victory or a game over when she escapes through her mirror.
 * Senykhaz tries to distract the player with the mirage of a giant spider and he/she must dash through the spider web, otherwise, the witch will escape. The player must battle Senyakhaz immediately. She attacks with a dagger and proves to be a dangerous enemy with 9 in skill and 8 in stamina.

Upon reaching Xakhaz's lair, the player is greeted by a Shinning Warrior who claims to be the hero Skarlos - In fact a replica created by Xakhaz - and the last obstacle between the player and the archmage.
 * The fake Skarlos is a very powerful foe with 11 in skill and 14 in stamina. The player can avoid the fight by showing it the trident of Skarlos. Fighting with the trident inflicts severe wounds to the warrior and using the Talisman of Loth graudally weakens it.

The Final Battle
When the player finally confronts the Eldrich Abomination that is Xakhaz, his awful aspect alone forces him/her to win a test of willpower. (Risking a game over, should he/she lose with less than 6 willpower points.) If he/she loses with more that 6 in willpower, Xakhaz's blow cost only 3 stamina points but the player has no other choice than to engage the fight directly.

If the player owns both the Talisman of Loth and a green globe, he/she can infuse the globe with the talisman's power and test his/her skill to use it as a Holy Grenade. In case of success, the blast obliterates Xakhaz without fight. Losing the test of skill but winning a test of luck severly wounds Xakhaz, reducing him to 10 in skill and 9 in stamina and making the fight way easier; though the player loses 3 stamina points in the blast. Losing both tests means that no one gets hurt.

Xakhaz is a formidable foe with 14 in skill (2 over the maximum) and 32 in stamina, virtually invincible without special weapons. The Trident of Skarlos is almost mandatory, since it increases the player's might and deals a loss of 7 stamina points per wound inflicted. Also, the Talisman of Loth reduces Xakhaz's skill to 13, which means that with both items the player is almost sure to win.

With Xakhaz defeated and his soul trapped forever in a tiny box, Baron Tholdur is promptly freed from the spell and he banishes the southern warriors before naming the player his heir.