The Dark Elf Sorcerer is the main villain and final enemy of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Siege of Sardath. He is a highly powerful and exceptionally intelligent sorcerer, and one of the few villains about whom nothing is known from the start. He abducted the mighty Storm Giant Corianthus to syphon his power, sends shape-shifted agents to infiltrate cities, and targets the titular city of Sardath. Fortunately, a dignitary thwarted his agent's attempt on their life and sets out to unravel his plot, before he can take over the continent of Allansia.
Origins[]
Millennia before the start of the story, many elves judged that their superior magic potential gave them the right to dominate other races, but failed and were banished. They established subterranean realms, with the main kingdom of Tìranduil Kelthas being located under the dangerous Darkwood Forest.
Over time, they got irredeemably corrupted and became the dark elves: shadow-dwelling masters of Dark Magic and worshippers of the Demon Princes of Titan, ruled by nobles and priests from four major clans.
Some of them, horrified by the depravity of their peers, broke away and became the black elves, still mostly evil but much less corrupted and less obsessed by domination.
Characteristics[]
Little to nothing is known about the Dark Elf Sorcerer, to the point that he is one of the few main villains whose name is never disclosed. He most likely belongs to one of the four ruling clans, and has likely lived for many years.
What is sure is that he is one of the most powerful evil mages ever seen on the world of Titan, on par if not above the likes of Mordraneth, the Snow Witch, Razaak, Oldoran Zagor, Balthus Dire and Zharradan Marr.
He achieved several magical breakthroughs, including a perfect shape-shifting potion and the transformation of his subjects into black flyers with bat-like wings. And he devised deadly spells that he taught to his elite mages.
He is also a master of Mental Magic able to paralyse anyone with beams from his eyes and to irrevocably shatter minds.
He does not even need to move in battle, for he can raise very powerful force-fields able to send any assailant reeling, and cast a powerful beam that kills anyone at contact, by burning away their life-force in mere seconds.
Personality[]
The Dark Elf Sorcerer is as cruel, merciless, hateful and power-hungry as any other dark elves. Like them, he looks down upon the other races, only viewing them as inferior and unworthy slave-material, and enforces a strict caste system reducing the lower classes to little more than servants and cannon-fodder. He would stop at nothing to not only take over Allansia, but to raze any rival to his kingdom, and take any magic as his own.
He is haughty, boastful and hates wasting time, albeit unshakably poised and refined, never taken aback even when surprized. Despite this, he is impeccably polite, and surprisingly enough, he sincerely respects the hero's worth, praising their skills in earnest and never underestimating them. He addresses them as if engaging an entertaining discussion with an esteemed guest. While certain of his superiority and gleefully taunting if he gains the upper-hand, he never gloats. He seems bored with the lack of challenge and enjoys the prospect of a worthy foe.
More importantly, the Dark Elf Sorcerer is one of the smartest villains of the franchise. He is exceptionally intelligent, cunning, calculating and observant. Not only could he invent magic tricks and study rare artifacts with great results, but he built a complex, multi-layered plan, dispersing the elven tribes defending the land and sending shape-shifted agents to kill and impersonate councilmen in city states, to prevent action, sow discord, and weakens them from within, leaving the land open for conquest.
Moreover, he displays excellent strategic skills in his war against Sardath, the major power of northern Allansia and thus his biggest obstacle. He isolates it from reinforcements, cuts off all escape routes as he besieges it, wrecks his defences with thunderstorms, and attacks with airborne squadrons harder to repel. He takes great care in removing all threats, most notably the equally powerful Storm Giant Corianthus.
Finally, he can analyse all situations perfectly, notice seemingly innocuous details, and guess right from small clues. He reads through the hero's words and actions to deduce their plans and assets, and they can only hope to win by beating him at his own mind games.
Role in the Story[]
Spotting the Imposter[]
The playable character is a high-ranking member of the leading council in the city of Grimmund, and a talented forest ranger in good terms with the local elves. They are a skilled archer whose bow is as important as their sword, and knows enough about plants to concoct healing samples.
The Black Flier is unmasked!
The story begins when the council is discussing the mysterious disturbances in the sacred Forest of Night. A messenger called Morn Preeler warns them that the forest itself is turning hostile and advocates military action.
Morn asks to speak with the hero when they object, and reveals himself as a shape-shifting black flyer named Iulien, a winged dark elf sent to kill them and replace them as he did with the real Morn, hence his aggressive stance meant to lead the city to its doom and get rid of a potential threat.
Iulien is not that powerful, with 7 in skill (power-level) and 8 in stamina (life-points), but depending on how the battle unfolds, the hero can either kill or capture them, or grab him as he flies away, forcing him to reveal that many shape-shifting black fliers are infiltrating cities, to make sure they do nothing against their plan or rush to battle and get destroyed.
The hero starts investigating, with the passing days influencing their quest. Wasting too much time leading to disaster. Before leaving town, they must visit Liam Astromonicus the astrologer, and get precious clues from a Suma, a spirit servant of the gods. They also buy a Mystery Potion from a merchant.
Exploring the Forest of Night[]
By rowing a boat on the river, the hero can find a cube holding a very powerful demon called Istu the Veiled Guardian. He has 12 in skill (the normal maximum) and 15 in stamina. He does not lose stamina in battle, but lose 3 after each fight and returns to the Demonic Planes of Existence if its stamina drops to 0.
The hero then meets Sorrel, their elf friend who mistakes them from a shape-shifted imposter, and must successfully shoot him with an arrow or get killed. With the dark elf who took Sorrel's place dead, the elves give the hero a snake ring and resolve to restore the Forest of Night the impostor made them neglect, taking part in the war.
The hero must now enter the vault of the seer Khornu Wych and escape his ghost, to gain the powerful Brain Slayer Amulet. The hero must wear it only when needed, for its power decreases their skill score by 2. They must also drink from the silver goblet to increase their skill, and take the silver shield, though it makes them fight a dangerous mirror demon with 8 in skill and 10 in stamina, who seals them in the mirror if it wins an attack round.
Exploring the forest deeper, the hero realises that the dark elves sent the normally recluse giant spiders all around, causing chaos. They now use the Mystery Potion to save their friend Colrhyn, who was turned into a mould zombie. He advises them to visit the castle of the wise Storm Giant Corianthus and gives them a brass key.
Gathering Allies[]
The hero finds that the dark elves are besieging Sardath, keeping it under a permanent thunderstorm and attacking with hordes of black flyers. The city state is resisting with its considerable military might, but with all escape impossible and all neighbouring cities infiltrated by shape-shifted agents, its fall is imminent if nothing is done. The amphibian humanoid slykks agree to help the hero, as while they are usually hostile, the dark elves threaten all of Allansia.
The hero must then head to the mountain where lives the irascible demi-goddess of lightning Thyra Migurn. They must kneel before her and tell her about the dark elves, to get a lightning sphere.
The hero must then enter the caves of the dwarf king Lokimur, who provides priceless information and gives them a crystal ball. Fighting with the dwarves against the humanoid Toa Suo, enlists them in the war against the dark elves. The hero must now travel to Corianthus' castle with an eagle. In the castle swarmed with dark elves, they can use a magic mirror to contact the astrologer Liam, who reveals the secret of the Brain Slayer Amulet. In the laboratory, they must brew a shape-shifting potion, using it to take the aspect of the dark elf Lord Chaugh whom they just killed.
Infiltrating the Dark Elven City[]
The hero infiltrates the new dark elven kingdom, finding it almost completed. Without Lokimur's crystal ball, the eldritch architecture drives them mad and all is lost. They must now be extremely stealthy, using what they learned on their customs and plans to go unnoticed, lest they get unmasked and killed.
They must partake in activities, find keys and passwords, preside a sacrifice and take clues from the victim's pocket, but can put sleep potion in their drinks. They need herbs to calm down two obligaths, reptilian watchdogs, with 10 in skill and 5 in stamina, and 11 in skill and 4 in stamina respectively.
They must find the iron keys to free the enslaved dwarves, while the hero's allies attack the city. After that, they must kill a powerful elite guard with 10 in skill and 8 in stamina to enter the Sorcerer's innermost sanctum, where Corianthus is held captive and tortured to syphon his power. They must destroy the other sorcerers with the lightning sphere, or get killed with a spell.
Confronting the Sorcerer[]
Facing the Dark Elf Sorcerer.
The Dark Elf Sorcerer greets the hero, knowing who they are, and states his plan to enslave Corianthus with their Brain Slayer Amulet and bloat out the sun with dark clouds. If they attack, he paralyzes them before breaking their mind, and all is lost.
He cannot be faced in a direct fight. The hero must wear the Brain Slayer Amulet, and engage an intense battle of wits. The slightest mistake sees them knocked on a force-field and killed by a death ray.
The hero must goad the Sorcerer into casting a Mind-Shattering spell, but he knows that the amulet can reflect it. They must pretend to have powers he lacks, though he can easily see through their bluff. Threatening to use the amulet against him is useless.
The hero must threaten to break it or boast that he will have to kill them, then feign panic as if it lost its power and win a test of luck. (They must admit he got them if that fails.) He will believe them but presume that they have other defenses, and cast the spell. The amulet then reflects it leaving the Sorcerer irremediably brain-dead and helpless.
With the Sorcerer defeated, and his realm and armies utterly wrecked by the hero's allies. Freed at last by the commotion, Corianthus thanks them profusely and throws a celebration in his castle.
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 Villains
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Dark Gods Demon Princes of Titan Allansia Khul Old World Others | ||