Mordraneth

The primary antagonist and final enemy of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Stealer of Souls, Mordraneth is an immensely powerful archmage, necromancer and illusionist able to give birth to the worst fears inside the soul of a dead person. Among the many dark wizards faced in the Fighting Fantasy series, Mordraneth is the only one to hold the position of archmage, making him arguably one of the mightiest practitioners of magic to ever walk the world of Titan.

About Mordraneth
Mordraneth is a dreaded dark wizard whose mere name is enough to strike fear in the heart of every denizen of the world of Titan. No one knows when he was born and where he learnt magic, but what his sure is that he owns a large domain in the continent of Allansia, which he either inherited or more likely conquered, and that he wants to take over the entire world. Mordraneth is often referred to as a demonic being and even his face is described with demonic features such as his shinning green eyes, evidencing his evil nature. He controls an army of monsters, undeads and corrupt humans, and he has many spies and servants working for him all over the Old World, if not the entire world of Titan. Mordraneth taught dark magic and armed combat to his many pupils, referred to as "Dark Priests," who are his most powerful and trusted followers.

Mordraneth is in permanent conflicts with the mages of of Pollua, capital of the country of Lendleland in the continent of the Old World, led by the Great Mage Vanestin, who keep standing in his way and attempt to foil his schemes for world domination.

Powers and Abilities
Mordraneth is by far one of the most powerful wizards ever seen in Titan, rivalling if not surpassing in might Oldoran Zagor, Balthus Dire, Zharradan Marr and Razaak themselves. The fact that he is stated to be an archmage and not a mere wizard underlines this difference in power. Mordraneth is the weakest among them in terms of fighting skills, but he is with little doubt the strongest in terms of sheer magical might. This is due to his already great power, which is vastly amplified by the countless souls in his grasp, as he drains near limitless energy, knowledge and power from them. He is a highly skilled practicioner of regular Dark Magic but he mostly specializes in both Necromancy and Illusionism.

As a necromancer, Mordraneth is able to raise undeads from the grave at will and to capture the souls of the deads, but he is notable for his ability to extract the worst fears from the souls of dead people, especially his victims, and to bring them into existence under the shape of nightmarish illusions monstruously amplified. These fears really affect those who are confronted to it; for example, a hydrophobia will create a tidal wave, a claustrophobia will create two walls that get gradually closer to squeeze people, a fear of the dark will create thick darkess able to engulf everything, and finally a fear of snakes or monsters (should they be imaginary) will bring them into existence. The strongests of these nightmares being immune to dispelling magic. This fearsome ability does not only stem from Mordraneth's Necromancy but also from his mastery of illusions, which he mixes skillfully.

Mordraneth is also able to disturb the balance of the magical forces in a given place, so that no one would be able to cast magic in said places any longer. The only way to circumvent this is to adapt one's magic to the disrupted balance, something only Mordraneth and his worthiest pupils know. Mordraneth also devised several spells (mostly dangerous magical attacks) which he taught to his pupils.

Moreover, Mordraneth can warp reality itself to some extent, as demonstrated when he turned the mere caverns of the Steel Crypts into a magnificent and luxurious subterranean palace, also when he created the Empire of Illusion, an extradimensional plane filled with his illusionary nightmares, that somehow expands the aforementioned caverns. He is also fully aware of everything that occur within his lair and he can talk or appear to anyone inside it.

Aside from his incredible powers, Mordraneth is also a very skilled swordsman who uses a sabre in battle, and a very clever mastermind and strategist, able to set clever traps and to turn his enemies' strategies to his advantage.

In Stealer of Souls
The player is a famed mercenary hired by Vanestin, the Great Mage of Pollua, who asks his or her help in their war against the dreaded Mordraneth. The wizard Alsander, who was spying on the Supreme Necromancer and who discovered something extremely important about his nefarious schemes, was abducted and is kept captive on the Island of Despair, one of Mordraneth's secondary bases. Vanestin asks the player to head to the Isle of Despair and rescue Alsander, while he sent several ships full of his bests mages and warriors towards Mordraneth's domain; pretending a high-scale attack in order to attract his attention. Vanestin cannot send a wizard, as the only magic which works inside Mordraneth's lairs is his own, and as a group of warrior would be easily spotted by the enemy.

When the player manages to set foot on the island, he/she can enlist the help of the Sea Giant and of the native tribe who live there, before entering the Steel Crypts where Alsander is kept prisonner. The player must remain wary, as the Crypts form a maze full of monsters and traps, rather long to travel through. The most dangerous enemies encountered being the two Dark Priests, who learnt much from Mordraneth's lessons.
 * They both have 9 in skill (level of power) and around 12 in stamina (life-points) and can cast a powerful attack spell before fighting, (costing around 6 stamina points if they strike the player) making them tough opponents.

Later, the player rescues Alsander, who was being tortured by Mordraneth's servants. Indeed, Alsander discovered the way to use magic inside Mordraneth's lair, and the Supreme Necromancer wants to know how he did it. Alsander tells the player that the whole situation is in fact a very clever trap devised by Mordraneth, who is secretly based in the depths of the Steel Crypts.

Mordraneth arranged the situation to make Vanestin believe that he always remained in his domain, so that Vanestin would concentrate his forces on an empty target. He then turned Vanestin's trick against him, and is now ready to strike from behind with all his forces and get rid of his defenceless archenemy for good. The Supreme Necromancer devised a way to turn the worst fears of his victims into illusions, and he prepared an immense army of these dangerous nightmares. An army which would grow along with the casualties it would cause, and which would enable Mordraneth to take over the entire world of Titan.

Alsander then gives the player many indications and teaches him/her several useful spells, before teleporting back to Pollua to warn Vanestin. Yet, should Vanestin be warned he still would not be able to call back his forces. Thus, the only one who can prevent the Supreme Necromancer from enacting his plan in time is the player, who ventures into the Empire of Illusions, filled with Mordraneth's countless illusionary nightmares.

Said illusionary nightmares will prove very dangerous, as facing them without a trick often leads to a very painful demise and that the Anti-Illusion spell alone is seldom useful against the strongest ones. The player will need several artifacts to overcome the nightmares safely. (The most dangerous being the claustrophobia, the Blue Dragon, the pit full of snakes, the hydrophobia and the Mammoth Spider.) Finally, the player enters Supreme Necromancer's palace and engages the final battle of the gamebook.

Facing Mordraneth
Mordraneth first casts a Fireball spell that the player needs to dodge, or else he/she will lose 6 stamina points. (Only 1 if the player wears a magical ring.) The player can also cast a spell of his/her own and engage an attack round against his enemy. (The one who wins will strike the other with his spell.) Then, the player will have to climb the staircases to reach Mordraneth, knowing that the Supreme Necromancer can cast a firebolt that cost 4 (or 1) stamina points or a very dangerous spell that conjures thousands wires of dark energy, which can kill the player outright. If the player wears a silver ring the spell will be cancelled, otherwise the player must dodge it and will automatically lose 4 stamina points.

At last, the player can battle against Mordraneth, who has 10 in skill and 17 in stamina. Despite being a dangerous enemy, Mordraneth can be regarded as disappointing, considering the powerful final enemies that the same author would create later, such as the fearsome Count Reiner Heydrich and the nightmarish Night Dragon. This can be explained by the fact that Stealer of Souls is Keith Martin's first Fighting Fantasy gamebook. Don't underestimate Mordraneth though, as he can be pretty dangerous.

Link
Mordraneth's page on Titannica the Fighting Fantasy wiki: http://fightingfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Mordraneth