| abstract
| - Rhavas was the original name of a Videssian noble who became the prelate of Phos in the city of Skopentzana, in the northern part of the Empire of Videssos. Rhavas was born in Videssos the city to a well connected family (his grandmother was sister to the grandfather of the Avtokrator Maleinos II). This helped him quickly rise in the hierarchy of the church of Phos but he also was a brilliant theologian who was widely respected among the senior clergy. While in his mid-twenties, he was appointed prelate of Skopentzana which he reluctantly accepted. Fifteen years later, while still prelate, a civil war broke out in Videssos between the Emperor and his chief general. The border and town garrisons of Skopentzana were withdrawn by the warring factions, forcing the city to fend for itself. Rhavas played an important role in preparing the city for the onslaught of the Khamorth raiders from beyond the borders, but they were eventually able to take over the city. During the preparations, he casually cursed the militia commander during an argument.The militia commander slipped on ice on the stairs leading to the wall and broke his neck. Rhavas dismissed this occurrence as coincidence, but was worried. Because of the violence of the Khamorth in the countryside, Rhavas had argued that Skopentzana should take in the peasants from the outlying farms; the militia thought this unwise, viewing the peasants both as sources of crime and disorder but as potential security threats. During another argument with the replacement militia commander, Rhavas said "on my head be it" should the peasants help the Khamorth into the city. This actually came to pass; a dissatisfied peasant opened a postern gate to allow the Khamorth to flood in. Just after escaping the sack, Rhavas cursed the Khamorth sacking the city, whereupon an earthquake struck the area immediately. Soon Rhavas found that he could murder at will, simply by pointing a finger and saying, "curse you.", but only if he said it with feeling. Along the way to the city of Videssos, he used this cursing power to commit a series of increasingly heinous crimes, culminating in the rape and murder of the wife of Skopentzana's garrison commander, when she refused to break the commitment to her husband. He would later kill a priest during an argument over whether Phos or Skotos was supreme. He also cursed the garrison commander to death when he asked after his wife's fate. Upon his arrival in Videssos, he attempted to convince Maleinos II Avtokrator of the supremacy of Skotos, but Maleinos forbade him from causing a public scandal. He ignored this, calling a synod of the priests to discuss the faith, and Maleinos disowned him as a cousin. When Stylianos crushed the Avtokrator's army and marched into Videssos the city, Rhavas attempted to convince him that Videssos' orthodox faith is inadequate, but Stylianos also rejected his arguments. After Rhavas casually cursed the patriarch during a tavern conversation, the patriarch died. Later, during the synod, the new patriarch, Sozomenos, would make every effort to be fair to Rhavas--but even the suggestion that Skotos might be equal in power to Phos was viewed as heresy by the orthodox majority. Rhavas cursed and struck down a partuclarly argumentative orthodox priest, which caused the others to be more cautious. His curse failed to kill the patriarch Sozomenos, which can explained to the fact that Sozomenos believed in Phos just as hard as Rhavas believed in Skotos and when his power became clear he was captured with a knock to the back of the head. After passing out, he had a vision of Skotos' icy hell, and made a bargain with the dark god for longer life in exchange for service and loyalty. The synod excommunicated and anathaematized Rhavas as a heretic just as the patriarch had warned; at the end of his excommunication ceremony, he was able to escape using a spell of darkness. As he looked back on the city of Videssos he called down a curse in Skotos' name, and another earthquake struck the city. He swore to get revenge on the Empire for rejecting him and his new creed. Rhavas fled into the countryside, where he eventually met up with the Khamorth once again and decided to try to convert them to Skotos-worship. After defeating the tribe's shaman in a spritual duel by calling again on Skotos, he caused another earthquake to strike the city of Imbros, which toppled several sections of the wall enabling the Khamorth to sack the city. Skotos granted to Rhavas an unaturally long lifespan, but no eternal youth--Rhavas withered to a near-skeletal state over the centuries--though he still had the enhanced strength and agility of a younger man. Rhavas learned to master both swordsmanship and magic, becoming extremely dangerous in both. He was also a proficient archer and horseman. He repeatedly masterminded plots to destroy the Videssian Empire, including a Halogai invasion under the pseudonym Harvas Black-Robe (an invasion ultimately repelled by Krispos), and the rise of the Yezd nomads, among whom he was known as Avshar. Rhavas's predilection for creating false names by rearringing the letters of his own name may reflect his deep-seated, arrogant confidence in his own intelligence. Rhavas's power to deliver lethal curses was made even more pernicious by his mastery of magic, allowing him to animate weapons to attack his foes, to summon down sheets of fire and ferocious beasts, and to imbue weapons with a soul-trapping enchantment. Only individuals protected by powerful spells or intense personal faith in Phos could withstand his curses and magic. He could also summon demons from Skotos' hell, though this was rare even for him as he could "count on the fingers of one hand" the number of times he had done so. He sent a demon to murder the King of Kings of Makuran which allowed the Yezda to conquer the kingdom, and also used one to kill Arghun, an Arshaum chieftain, during the battle between the Arshaum and Varatesh's Khamorth army. He was easily the most powerful sorceror ever seen in the world of Videssos. Rhavas was not invincible. During his time as Harvas, he was temporarily defeated by the Videssian spiritualist Tanilis, who forced him to abandon his position at the head of the Halogai, though he did kill Tanilis before fleeing. This time, Avshar orchestrated the rise of Yezd, converting the Khamorth tribe to Skotos-worship. Roughly fifty years prior to the arrival of the Roman Legion he summoned a demon to slay the King of Kings of Makuran, allowing the Yezd to pour in. Under the guise of Avshar Rhavas presumably played an important role in the political and military establishment of Yezd. He was seen fighting in border skrimishes against Videssos several years before the legion arrived. At the time of the arrival of the Romans, Avshar was stationed as Yezd's ambassador to Videssos, likely an attempt by Wulghash to remove him from Yezd's court. He encountered Marcus Scaurus at an Imperial function when the latter accidentally spilled wine on him. In his fury he challenged Scaurus to a duel, which the Roman commander won, though he spared Avshar's life. Avshar sought revenge, sending a Khamorth mercenary to assassinate Sscaurus in the night with an enchanted dagger. The ploy failed and the assassin was interrogated by Nepos, the head of sthe Sorcerer's college in Videssos. When Avshar's role in the plot was revealed he arranged a sorcerous ambush for the forces of the Videssian imperial guard. Scaurus, Nephon Khoumnos, Nepos, a squad of the imperial guard, and a squad of Halogai led by Hemond were caught in a locked room and set upon by enchanted weapons. Hemond was slain, and Avshar himself used a teleportation spell to escape. A few months later he was again spotted on the borderlands leading nomads in raids against Videssos. Avshar's ploy resulted in Videssos declaring war on Yezd, leading to Mavrikios Gavras' campaign in the westlands. Avshar's forces pinned down the detachment of Baanes Onomagoulos, resulted in the Battle of Maragha. Avshar's forces attacked the Videssian army, and Avshar himself used a freezing sorcery (an effect similar to dipping a body in liquid nitrogen) to slay Nephon Khoumnos, who was propping up Ortaias Sphrantzes' command on the Videssian flank. Avshar led the charge that routed the Videssian army, and swung into the center to slay Mavrikios. He then pursued Thorisin Gavras before disappearing from sight. He was ultimately defeated by Marcus Scaurus, leader of a Roman legionary detachment that had been transported to Videssos by druidic magic, and by Viridovix, a Celtic chieftain who had been leading the Gallic forces against Scaurus' legionaries and who was transported to Videssos by the same event. The pair of Druid-enchanted swords borne by the pair unleashed sorcery that swept Rhavas into Skotos' hell despite his best efforts to break free.
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